Civil Code General Theory

Author: Shi Shangkuan
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2000-03-01
Features: The General Principles of Civil Law serve as the crown of the various sections of the Civil Code, summarizing the common principles applicable to the Civil Code. Without a thorough understanding of the individual sections, it is difficult to grasp the original sources and systems, let alone the entirety. Regarding the General Principles section, I have previously authored two books: Interpretation of the General Principles of Civil Law and General Principles of Civil Law Theory. However, due to their brevity, and as times have changed, they require supplementation. After moving to Taiwan, I abandoned everything and devoted myself to writing. Over the past twenty years, I have successively completed five major works: General Principles of Obligations, Specific Principles of Obligations, Theory of Property Rights, Theory of Family Law, and Theory of Inheritance Law, totaling approximately three and a half million words. The content is now more comprehensive, and the materials are also up-to-date. Compared to the aforementioned two books, they no longer seem adequate. To achieve completeness, I have revised and expanded the General Principles section, renaming it General Principles of Civil Law, giving it a new look and enriching its content, so that it aligns coherently from beginning to end.
In particular, by applying reason to law and law to emotion, I seek the appropriateness of each section's application within the principles of the General Principles, and the relevance of general theories to social realities. This allows for a deeper understanding of the true essence and interconnectedness of the Civil Code, facilitating comprehensive application, learning by analogy, and multiple approaches to application rather than being confined to a single perspective.
Many authors of Civil Law begin with the General Principles, followed by the other sections. However, I began with the General Principles of Obligations and Specific Principles of Obligations, then moved on to Property Rights, Family Law, and Inheritance, finally rewriting the General Principles. Although this deviates from the norm, there is a certain rationale behind it. Since the General Principles serve as the framework for all sections, a thorough understanding of their detailed content is necessary before one can grasp the overall picture, harmonize and integrate them, and distill the essence from the breadth, simplify the complexity, and discern the surface from the core. Only then can one understand the original context and changes, and appreciate the subtleties of application. In fact, this approach combines deductive reasoning with inductive thought. For instance, after thoroughly studying the sections following Obligations, one can revisit the General Principles and gain a deeper understanding.
This book is based on the aforementioned two works on General Principles, with significant revisions and expansions, taking three years to complete, totaling approximately six hundred thousand words. Although I have made every effort to reference new works and recent academic discussions and judgments, synthesizing and comparing them while weighing them against legislative principles, and considering global trends in determining what to include and argue, the goal was to create a comprehensive and systematic civil law treatise. However, due to my limited knowledge and expertise, errors and omissions are inevitable. I sincerely hope that scholars in this field will kindly offer guidance.
Yet, through this book, my long-standing aspiration to complete a comprehensive civil law treatise has been fulfilled, which is a great fortune for the author.