"Law and politics in pre-reform China" [2020] ELECD 430; in Lo, I. Vai (ed), "Law and Society in China" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2020) 103

Book Title: Law and Society in China

Editor(s): Lo, I. Vai

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Section: Chapter 4

Section Title: Law and politics in pre-reform China

Number of pages: 21

Abstract/Description:

Chapter 4 investigates China’s legal developments in the pre-reform period from 1949 to 1976. To provide a theoretical background, the chapter introduces Marxism, the basics of the socialist legal system and Mao Zedong Thoughts (including the two contradictions and the mass line theory). Once the theoretical foundation has been laid, the chapter highlights the salient features of China’s legal system in the pre-reform period, especially the emphasis on public law and on people’s mediation. Finally, the chapter discusses the Cultural Revolution, during which legal nihilism and ‘politics in command’ prevailed.