The Origin Of The Modernization Of Chinese Civil Action

Modernization of Chinese law began in the Opium War. Western powers invaded China and the Western political system, legal culture imported into China through various channels. Then the Chinese legal culture and Western legal culture began continuing conflict and the gradual integration process. Western legal systems also have a profound impact on the development of the Chinese legal system. In ancient China, the Chinese law has its unique national legal culture and traditional litigation characteristics. All of these concept of the proceedings, the trial or the Code, the codification of the concept are depended on the Chinese political system, economic condition and the impact of Confucian culture. Therefore, ancient China ultimately failed to establish an independent Code of Civil Procedure. The revised law of the late Qing Reform Movement is the first time introduced the Western civil law, the basic concepts, principles and legal systems to China, opening a new chapter in the development of Chinese civil litigation system and Lay the foundation for the development of Chinese civil litigation system. As a result of the lack of financial resources, the judicial institution-building was not comprehensive, professional legal talent scarcity, as well as the constraints of traditional lawsuits and other various reasons, the most of the civil litigation system didn't implement. However, it opened up the Chinese civil system and advanced on the process of modernization, while the revised law of the late Qing Reform Movement is also seen as the beginning of the history of the Civil Procedure Law of China. The late Qing Reform Movement provides a lot of thoughts on historical experience for the development of Chinese civil litigation system. In this paper, author studied ancient Chinese tradition of law and analyze its influence on the reform of civil litigation in late Qing Dynasty, then analysed the difference between China and Japan in civil litigation reformation. The paper also consider the legal and cultural foundation and the legislative situation of Civil Procedure Law in late Qing Dynasty. From all these studies of the late Qing Reform Movement, we can learn the experience of legislation and the practice of the Civil Procedure Law. It will be useful for us to learn how to improve the modern Civil Procedure Law in China today.