People's Republic of China Legal Research

Welcome to our People's Republic of China Legal Research Guide. This guide gathers some of the best sources for background on Chinese legal research as well as the best Chinese legal research materials available through the Harvard Law School Library. If you would like help with your research, please feel free to contact Nongji Zhang (zhang4@law.harvard.edu), request a research consultation, or email us at research@law.harvard.edu.

The Chinese legal system is a socialist system of law based primarily on the Civil Law model. The diagram below from the Law Library of Congress illustrates the structure of the Chinese court system:

The following sources provide a good introduction to the Chinese legal structure:

• The Law Library of Congress' Introduction to China's Legal Structure
• A Brief Introduction to the Chinese Judicial System and Court Hierarchy by Yifan Wang, Sarah Biddulph and Andrew Godwin.
• China’s Political Institutions and Leaders in Charts by Susan V. Lawrence, Specialist in Asian Affairs, Congressional Research Service.
• The Legal system of China from Pkulaw.com

Several libraries have created useful research guides on Chinese Legal Research. If you don't find what you are looking for on this guide, you should also take a look at these other research guides.

Research Guides for Chinese Studies are also valuable sources for the study of Chinese law.