Full Text: Explanation on China´s draft property law

(2) Equal Protection of the Property of the State, the Collective and the Individual.

The property law comes under the civil code, one important principle of which being equal protection of the rights of the obligees. The draft property law stipulates, "The property of the State, the collective, the individual and other obligees is protected by law, and no units or individuals may infringe upon it."

The Constitution stipulates, "The State practices socialist market economy." Fair competition, equal protection and survival of the fittest are the basic rules governing the market economy. Under conditions of the socialist market economy, the subjects of the market, formed by economic sectors of different forms of ownership, operate and form mutual relations in a unified market, they all have an equal status on the market, enjoying the same rights, observing the same rules and bearing the same responsibility. If the different subjects of the market are not provided with equal protection, or if the methods used for settling disputes or the legal responsibilities to be borne are varied, it will not be possible to develop the socialist market economy, nor will it be possible to uphold and improve the basic economic system of socialism. In order to keep abreast of the development of the socialist market economy, it is further made clear by the Third Plenary Session of the 16th Central Committee of the CPC that "the equal legal status and the right to development of all the subjects of the market shall be guaranteed". Even with respect to the property which is not transacted on the market, the Constitution also clearly stipulates, "Citizen's lawful private property is inviolable." "The State, in accordance with law, protects the rights of citizens to private property and to its inheritance." On the premise that ownership of property is established according to law, as subjects of property, no matter whether it is the State, collective or individual, their right of property shall be given equal protection. Equal protection does not necessarily mean that the economic sectors of different forms of ownership play the same role or perform the same function in the national economy. According to the provisions of the Constitution, the economic sector of public ownership is dominant, the State-owned economic sector is the leading force, and the economic sector of non-public ownership constitutes an important component of the socialist market economy, each playing a different role and performing a different function in the national economy. This is chiefly manifested in the macro-economic control conducted and the public resources distributed and market access granted by the State. Where the important industries and key fields of endeavor which have a bearing on State security and the lifelines of the national economy are concerned, the controlling role of the State-owned economic sector must be ensured, and all this is stipulated by economic and administrative laws.