Public Law Research. Issue 2

Author: Institute of Public Law and Comparative Law, Zhejiang University
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-01
Features: This article reflects on the nature of the sources of administrative law in China and understands legal sources as a form of legal argumentation, i.e., diverse and persuasive arguments that can be used when explaining a legal system or debating a legal norm. On this basis, the article proposes and elaborates that legal sources should include non-statutory factors such as general legal principles, folk customs, administrative practices, judicial decisions, legal doctrines, and comparative law. In terms of authoritative sources formulated and recognized by competent authorities, the article also discusses the judicial applicability of the constitution and international treaties, as well as other regulatory documents. Finally, the article explores how to integrate various legal sources and whether there are, or in what sense there are, priority relationships among them.