China (PRC)

Database of laws and regulations

Collection of Chinese legislation in English translation, made available free of charge by the National People’s Congress (NPC) of the People’s Republic of China. Provides the Constitution and constitutional amendments, together with a large selection of laws and administrative regulations, mainly from the 1990s onwards. Can be browsed by broad subject area (also has a search facility, but this does not seem to work properly).

Human Rights in China

Website of the human rights advocacy organisation, Human Rights in China (HRIC), an international non-governmental organisation. Founded by Chinese scholars and scientists in 1989 and based in New York, HRIC works to promote a better knowledge and advocacy of human rights within the People's Republic of China. The site has information on HRIC's work covering legal reform, technology and human rights and ethical globalisation including articles, resources and news briefings.

World Law: China

Part of WorldLII's Countries service containing links to internet resources for the People's Republic of China. A full range of browse and search features are provided by the site. Browse sections include links covering China's Courts, Education, Lawyers, Legislation and Parliament supported by sites offering an introduction to Chinese Law.

Finding Chinese law on the internet

Guide to researching Chinese law online by Joan Lijun Liu of Fudan University Library. The guide was published on New York University's Globalex website in 2005 and last updated in 2021. It provides background information on the Chinese legal system and sources of law. There is guidance on obtaining Chinese legal information and resources online, in Chinese and English. Resources reviewed and linked to in the guide include full-text databases, official government resources, e-journals and legal research tools. 

Constitution of China

English translation of the 1982 Constitution of China (amended up to 2004), provided by the International Constitutional Law (ICL) Project at the University of Bern in Switzerland. There is also a copy of the unofficial Declaration of Human Rights produced by the Chinese Human Rights Alliance. ICL also gives historical and background notes to the Constitution.

Lehman, Lee and Xu

Website of Lehman, Lee and Xu a Chinese law firm established in 1992 with offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. The site has links to Chinese laws and regulations available in English. The laws are arranged by subject and cover areas such as banking, construction, criminal law, finance and trade. The site also has guides to the law in China in the form of FAQ's, a glossary of Chinese legal terms and a page of web links.

Chinalawinfo

Chinalawinfo is a subscription database providing Chinese legal information and materials translated into English. The service has been developed by the Legal Information Center at the Peking University Law School. Parts of the website can be accessed freely including Basic Laws which are laws adopted by the National People's Congress and its Standing Committee prior to January 1, 2006. An outline of the Chinese legal system, white papers and legal news stories are also made freely available.

Great Britain-China Centre

The Great Britain-China Centre exists to promote understanding between Britain and China, focusing in particular on legal and judicial reform. The website has information on projects dealing with human rights reporting, the police, judicial studies training and the death penalty. The Centre's journal, the China Review, is available on the site from 2006 onwards.

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