A Study On Comparison Of Gift Between American And Chinese Legal Systems

Gift is a type of non-commercial act concerning gratuitous transfer of the ownership of property,which does not promote the development of social economy directly.But because of its social value,all nations make a point of establishing their legal system for gift.China is in the particular transition period at the present time, when economy is rapidly developing while there are many social problems demanding prompt solution.At the meantime,Chinese legal system for gift, especially for charitable donation is still very immature.By learning American laws and regulations,making comparisons between them,we can strengthen research and perfect our legal system for gift,which would effectively help us solve part of social problems and relieve the social contradiction in a degree.In addition to Introduction and Conclusion,the dissertation falls into four chapters.Chapter 1 is mainly about the object and method of study.The author first introduces the elements of gift and some definitions concerned to define gift,then states an overview of comparative law and last explains why to choose American law as the object of comparison.Chapter 2 focuses on the primary origins of the validity of contract in Chinese law and American law--theory of consideration and theory of causa. The thoughtway of the two theories is the essential reason why the two countries' overall attitudes to gift are fundamentally different.The core of Chapter 3 is the escape clauses under the two legislations.Since the general legal regulations about gift in China and America are quite different,it is not surprise that the contents of escape clauses point to contrary directions.However, after analysing the jurisprudence of the clauses,the author finds there is something common between the two,which may be deemed evidence of some tendency.And on the base of the similarity,we may use the theory of reliance to protect the donee's right.Chapter 4 deals with charitable donation.Considering the particularity of this type of gift,both China and American laws make special arrangement for it.In modern China,there is still very little practice,so much should be done in the related legislation areas to adapt to the present economy and society.To the contrary,in the United States,the industry is so mature that a systematic and comprehensive charitable donation system has been established,which would help China improve its legal control in the area.After summing up the identity and difference between the two jurisdictions,the author tries to put forward some legislative suggestions on legal system for charitable donations in China.