HISTORIC CODE
Jin Ping, a 98-year-old retired law professor of Southwest University of Political Science and Law in Chongqing in southwest China, is the last surviving expert to have participated in the first three attempts to draft a civil code in China.
The three bids, in 1954, 1962 and 1979, didn’t succeed for various reasons, while the fourth undertaking, launched in 2001 with the participation of some of Jin’s students, also failed in its mission.
The Civil Code, anticipated for decades, finally came to life and was adopted at the Third Session of the 13th National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s top legislature, on May 28. It will take effect on January 1, 2021. Jin said he was “overjoyed” at the news in an interview with Xinhua News Agency, adding that it was a “blessing” for him to see his lifelong goal come to fruition.
A long process
To formulate a Chinese civil code had been a long cherished wish of generations of civil law scholars over the
