| Bona fide acquisition is a very important instrument of the civil law, which is expressly embodied in the Chinese Property Law promulgated in 2007.The applicability of bona fide acquisition to stolen goods has been a controversial topic for long time due to the illegal source of stolen goods as well as its conflict with the prevailing social morality and legal perception of the general public. Currently there are three main theories and legislative practices in different jurisdictions, namely non-applicability, applicability and limited applicability. Our Property Law chooses to avoid answering this issue directly.However, with the increasing transactions of commodities, stolen goods entering into the market circulation in considerable volume is now an undisputable fact. Whether or not should the law protect an individual interest when this person acquires stolen goods through a bona fide legal manner without knowing its real source, is not only a hot topic of legal theoretical debates, but also a real difficulty often encountered during the judicial practice. Properly handling the issue concerns the establishment of the socialist rule of law in our country, the accountability of the law enforcement agencies and the harmony of the entire society.This essay analyzes the various theories of bona fide acquisition and stolen goods, as well as legislative practices of a number of jurisdictions, by using previous works of others for reference. Based on such analysis and taking into consideration of China’s legislative and judicial practice, the author suggests that China shall establish and apply the bona fide acquisition to stolen goods with limited applicability, and proposes his solutions from legislative, judicial and operational aspects.In addition to introduction and conclusion, this essay is composed of five parts. The first part is about The Basic Theories of Bona Fide Acquisition and Stolen Goods is devoted to analyzing the basic theories of bona fide acquisition with focus on bona fide and stolen goods, including discussion on whether stolen goods should be put under the umbrella of bona fide acquisition. The second part is about Comparative Analysis of Extraterritorial Jurisdictions’ Practices, the author compares the three main types of legislative practices and their supporting theories and concludes that stolen goods shall be covered by bona fide acquisition with limited applicability. The third part is about China’s Bona Fide Acquisition System and its Reflective Thinking reviews and examines the China’s legislative evolution of stolen goods vs. bona fide acquisition since the establishment of P.R.China, and identifies its pros and cons. The fourth part is about The Construction of China’s Theory of Stolen Goods vs. Bona Fide Acquisition, the author elaborates the theoretical rationales and feasibility upon which we can establish our system of bona fide acquisition applying to stolen goods with limitations. The elaboration covers different angles including necessity, fairness and practicality. The fifth Part is about The Proposal on Reconstruction of China’s Bona Fide Acquisition Applicability to Stolen Goods, the discussion is focused on the requisite elements of the applicability of bona fide acquisition to stolen goods and China’s practical situation. Based on such discussion, the author proposes some concrete solutions and suggestions respectively from legislative, judicial and operational aspect. |
