Japanese-Chinese Civil Law Research. Volume 2

Author: Qu Tao
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-05-01
Features: The adoption of foreign law in modern China began in the early 20th century. In 1902, Emperor Guangxu issued an edict: "Adopt foreign laws and revise legal codes." The Legal Drafting Commission was established to oversee the drafting of legal codes. In 1906, Shen Jiabai, the Legal Drafting Minister, sent Dong Kang and others as delegates to Japan to study judicial and prison systems. He also invited the renowned civil law scholar Mei Qianciyang to China to teach and assist in drafting the Civil Code. Due to certain reasons, Mei Qianciyang could not accept the invitation and recommended Matsuo Yoshimasa, a judge at the Tokyo Appellate Court. At the same time, other Japanese scholars invited to China included Okada Asataro, a professor of criminal law at the Imperial University; Koike Shichijiro, an official at the Ministry of Justice; and Shida Kaitaro, a professor of commercial law at the Imperial University. Matsuo Yoshimasa came to China in that year and took up the position of a civil law instructor at the Capital Legal School. In 1908, the drafting of the Civil Code began, adopting the five-branch system of the German Civil Code. Matsuo Yoshimasa drafted the General Provisions, Property Rights, and Obligations sections, while the Legal Drafting Commission, with the assistance of three law graduates from Tokyo Central University—Gao Zhong and others—drafted the Family and Inheritance sections. It is evident that modern Chinese civil and commercial law and the study of civil and commercial law have benefited greatly from Japanese civil and commercial law and the study of civil and commercial law. Since the reform and opening-up, civil and commercial legislation, such as the Contract Law of 1999, has also drawn heavily on Japanese legislation and scholarship. The ongoing drafting of the Civil Code should particularly emphasize the valuable experience accumulated by Japanese civil law over more than a century. Therefore, we have connected with academic colleagues to establish the China-Japan Civil and Commercial Law Research Association, a purely civilian organization, aiming to promote comparative studies on civil and commercial legislation, scholarship, and case law between China and Japan, enhance academic exchanges between civil and commercial law scholars in both countries, facilitate the timely publication and dissemination of research findings, and launch a series of publications titled China-Japan Civil and Commercial Law Research.
China-Japan Civil and Commercial Law Research (Volume 2) is about to be published. On this occasion of its launch, we would like to introduce the achievements and progress of this volume. After the China-Japan Civil and Commercial Law Research Association conference was held in Guangzhou in June 2002, Volume 1 of China-Japan Civil and Commercial Law Research was successfully published (February 2003), and preparations for the second conference began immediately. However, the sudden outbreak of SARS disrupted all meticulously planned arrangements. The originally scheduled conference period, the second Saturday and Sunday of June each year, was repeatedly postponed, and communication between the host institutions and participating scholars became quite challenging, causing additional burdens on both parties. Yet, it is gratifying that with the strong support of the School of Law at Shandong University, after numerous twists and turns, we successfully held the second conference of the China-Japan Civil and Commercial Law Research Association in Jinan, Shandong, a city with profound cultural heritage, on October 25 and 26, 2003. Despite the multiple changes in the conference schedule, the event received strong support from many scholars who diligently adjusted their schedules to attend, making it a highly successful legal conference in terms of form, content, and outcomes.
Approximately 60 scholars attended this conference. Among them were 12 Japanese scholars, including:
- A renowned civil law expert, Academician of the Japan Academy, and honorary professor at the University of Tokyo, Hoshino Eiichi;
- A renowned civil law expert, professor at Nagoya University, Kato Masanobu;
- A renowned expert in civil procedure and law economics, professor at the University of Tokyo, Tachida Katsuzo;
- A renowned civil law expert, professor at Aichi Gakuin University, Yuasa Michio;
- A renowned expert in Chinese law, professor at Meiji University, Kimama Masamichi; and
- Professor Suzuki Ken of Hokkaido University.
Additionally, there were four Chinese scholars currently working or studying in Japan. The remaining attendees were domestic scholars and legal practitioners from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shandong, Nanjing, and other regions.
It is worth mentioning that the conference was generously supported by the Japan Foundation for International Exchange, which enabled the hiring of Mr. Lin Guoben and Ms. Yang Jing, highly skilled simultaneous interpreters, to facilitate the event, saving time and enhancing efficiency. Over the course of the conference, scholars engaged in extensive, in-depth, and lively discussions on various hot topics in Chinese and Japanese civil and commercial law. The conference was imbued with the spirit of "sacred scholarship," and the scholars' pragmatic, rigorous, and unpretentious academic approach ensured that the seminar reached a high level of academic excellence.
This volume of the academic collection includes 28 papers, some presented by scholars at the conference and others submitted by those who originally planned to attend but were unable to due to the SARS outbreak. Among these, 15 were written by Japanese scholars and 13 by Chinese scholars, all of which were published in China for the first time. Notably, six papers on the general theory of property law are worth special mention. They were presented at a special seminar during the 66th conference of the Japan Private Law Society in 2002 and were previously published as "Materials for the Japan Private Law Society Special Seminar" in [Japan] Tokyo Keizai No. 1229 (2002). These papers systematically and thoroughly discuss the history, current state, and future challenges of property law, and the five Japanese scholars who participated in the seminar and contributed to the papers are all leading figures in contemporary Japanese legal academia, making these documents highly authoritative and invaluable to the field of civil law research.
The China-Japan Civil and Commercial Law Research Association was established from scratch and successfully held its second conference with the strong support of Shandong University and the School of Law at Shandong University, as well as funding from the Japan Foundation for International Exchange, and the active participation of Chinese and Japanese civil and commercial law scholars. On behalf of the association, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to the leaders of the hosting and funding institutions, the scholars who actively participated in the association, and the professors and graduate students involved in the conference arrangements.
Additionally, we thank Mr. Huang Min, the chief editor of Legal Publishing House, and Mr. Jiang Hao, the assistant to the publisher, for their willingness to continue publishing this newly launched series of academic papers despite the increasingly challenging academic publishing environment. We also express our sincere appreciation to the editors who contributed their hard work to the preparation of the collection. Furthermore, Wang Yi, a graduate student at the School of Law at Shandong University, took on the responsibility of proofreading this volume and is hereby acknowledged.
As mentioned in the opening remarks of China-Japan Civil and Commercial Law Research (Volume 1), the China-Japan Civil and Commercial Law Research Association and its edited series aim to provide a platform for exchange between Chinese and Japanese civil and commercial law scholars and the legal profession. While we are gratified by the progress made thus far, we also recognize the heavy responsibilities that lie ahead. We sincerely hope that scholars and students who are committed to this cause will join our association and contribute their wisdom to its growth, working together toward common progress.