Judge's Verdict: Marriage and Family Disputes Cases

Author: Chen Guoqiang, Wang Lianxi (editors)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: In the history of China, case law, as an important legal form, once played a significant role. During specific historical periods, its status and function even surpassed that of statutes. Zhu Xi once said, "Generally speaking, legislation must have flaws; there is no law without flaws." In judicial practice, case law emerged to compensate for the shortcomings of statutes. From the Yu Shi (officials) in the Shang and Zhou dynasties, the Cheng Shi (completed affairs) in the Spring and Autumn period (as recorded in the Analects of Confucius, "The Master said: 'Do not discuss completed affairs, do not advise ongoing affairs, and do not blame past affairs'"), the Bi (comparisons) and Lei (categories) in the Warring States period, the Ting Shi (judicial precedents) in the Qin dynasty, the Jue Shi Bi (precedents for resolving cases) in the Han dynasty, the Fa Yi (legal examples) in the Tang dynasty, to the Duan Yi (judicial decisions) in the Song and Yuan dynasties, and the Liao Yi (regulations) in the Ming and Qing dynasties, ancient case law practice, like the compilation of ancient statutes, continued unbroken, demonstrating a resilient vitality. Especially during the Qing dynasty, the system of establishing precedents based on cases was formally established. Case law underwent several stages—cheng an (established cases), ding li (fixed precedents), and ru lu (incorporation into statutes)—before ultimately being integrated into statutes as provisions, becoming annotations to the main text of the statutes. As society developed, statutes continuously drew nourishment from judicial practice, allowing them to be amended and improved. The legal system of parallel statutes and case law, where case law supplemented statutes and evolved into statutes, eventually matured. This is a unique feature in the world, demonstrating considerable scientific rigor and rationality.