Master of Laws National Unified Entrance Examination Important Legal Provisions Interpretation (2nd Edition)

Author: Zeng Xianyi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-05-01
Features: Preface
Throughout the past six years of the National Law Master Entrance Examination, questions related to legal provisions have consistently accounted for a high proportion in the professional course exam. Therefore, understanding legal provisions is particularly important. From the perspective of exam question setting, , due to the limitations of the designated textbooks, theoretical debates on certain issues and the inherent ambiguity of legal provisions have made direct examination of legal content the preferred choice for question setters. Hence, it is essential to master legal provisions, especially the important ones.
Second, given the current emphasis on interpretive law in legal studies, textbooks primarily focus on explaining and elaborating on legal provisions, with "legal provisions" as the master and "textbooks" as the servant. Therefore, only by thoroughly grasping the fundamental spirit of legal provisions can one better master textbook knowledge.
Third, in the annual joint exam, a high proportion of questions directly test legal provisions. In the professional course exam, in addition to legal provision analysis questions and case analysis questions that directly involve legal provisions, a significant number of objective questions also relate to legal provisions. For example, in the 2005 National Law Master Entrance Examination Civil Law test, 559 out of 6 questions directly examined legal provisions, and 91% of the questions were related to legal provisions. Therefore, mastering the proficient application of legal provisions to solve theoretical and practical problems is crucial for successfully passing the professional course exam of the National Law Master Entrance Examination.
From the perspective of learning and research, legal provisions are a condensation and refinement of legal theory. The issues reflected in legal provisions themselves are theories. For instance, Article 24 of the 2004 Constitutional Amendment is a condensation and refinement of human rights theory; Article 49 of the Contract Law is an elevation of the theory of apparent agency. Thus, mastering the essence of legal provisions means mastering the essence of theory.
In terms of the scope of knowledge coverage, legal provisions encompass various knowledge points. All aspects of legal knowledge are extensions of legal provisions. For example, when reviewing Article 68 of the Contract Law, one will find that the provision covers numerous knowledge points, such as the four applicable scenarios of the right to suspend performance due to insolvency, the subject of exercising the right to suspend performance (the party with the primary obligation), the conditions for exercising the right, and the legal consequences of suspending performance without conclusive evidence (breach of contract liability). These knowledge points are precisely the focus of the National Law Master Entrance Examination.
In terms of learning methods, deeply understanding and thoroughly mastering legal provisions is the correct approach to studying law. For example, when a candidate understands the concept and application of recidivism, the first question they consider is how China's Criminal Law defines recidivism, and then they consider other related knowledge points about recidivism. It is hard to imagine that a candidate with only a superficial understanding of the provisions of recidivism in the Criminal Law would be proficient in other knowledge points about recidivism. Clearly, a learning method that neglects the fundamental and focuses on the superficial is unacceptable. Therefore, deeply understanding and thoroughly mastering legal provisions is the key for candidates to open the door to the National Law Master Entrance Examination.
This book lists the core legal provisions of the National Law Master Entrance Examination in accordance with the requirements and order of the "National Law Master Entrance Examination Syllabus." It first provides positive explanations and analyses of the legal provisions, then identifies related confusing and easily mistaken content from the negative side, and points out various question-setting approaches. Additionally, based on the core legal provisions, it includes examples of past exam questions and provides related practice exercises.
In addition to explaining the important core legal provisions of Criminal Law, Civil Law, and Constitutional Law, this book also analyzes and explains classic ancient Chinese texts from the history of Chinese legal system. It also summarizes and generalizes the discussion questions on legal philosophy in the comprehensive course, analyzes and explains classic discussion questions, and provides key points for answering. All of this undoubtedly greatly helps candidates in comprehensive review of the National Law Master Entrance Examination professional course.
The writing of this book focuses on the parts of the "National Law Master Entrance Examination Syllabus" that remain relatively unchanged over the years. The selected legal provisions, ancient Chinese texts, and questions are classic and have been frequently tested in the National Law Master Entrance Examination, making them essential content for candidates to review. The book incorporates the author's insights from recent years of studying the National Law Master Entrance Examination question-setting trends and summarizes various experiences from training candidates for the exam. The content is accurate and complete, helping candidates save time and improve their review efficiency.
In addition to serving as a reference book for the annual January National Law Master Professional Degree Graduate Entrance Examination, this book can also be used as a reference for the annual October Working Professionals' Legal Master Professional Degree Entrance Examination.
During the writing process of this book, we received strong support from Beijing Changqingteng Law and Business Training Center and China Law Master Network (http://www.chinafashuo.com). We sincerely welcome non-law graduates who are passionate about engaging in legal work and dedicating themselves to the great cause of building a socialist rule-of-law state to apply for the National Law Master Professional Degree Graduate Program.
Finally, we wish all candidates success in their exams and the realization of their dreams.
By the Authors
April 2005