Lillian Goldman Law Library | China Legal Resources

China Legal Resources

This page provides web-based resources in China law in the Lillian Goldman Library.

For print resources please go to Chinese Legal Materials in Print in the Lillian Goldman Library.

For a selective list of China-related electronic journal titles, please go to China-Related Electronic Legal Journals A to Z list.

Chinese Laws & regulations, News and Government Resources on the web

Research Guides

Primary Sources

Mainland China

Hong Kong

Taiwan

Secondary Sources - Journal Collection Databases

Secondary Sources - Open-source Websites

News and BLOGs

Research Guides

Internet Chinese Legal Research Center By Wei Luo at Washington University School of Law Library, St. Louis, MO.

Guide to Law Online:

China

Taiwan

Hong Kong

Law Library of Congress Site

Chinese Legal Research at the University of Washington University of Washington School of Law, Marian Gould Gallagher Law Library. East Asian Law Department.

LLRX: A Complete Research Guide to The People's Republic of China (PRC) By Wei Luo at Washington University and Joan Liu at New York University

Report from China: Supreme People's Court. By Jiahong Yang at Osgood Hall Law School, York University

Primary Sources -- Mainland China

China Law Info (Chinese site)
Law Info China (English site) Maintained by the Law School at Beijing University. This well-designed site, which can be read in English or Chinese, provides a up-to-date selection of key Chinese legislation, cases and official pronouncements. Also includes full-text journal database. Select <IP deng lu> after login.

iSinoLaw Primarily in Chinese with English translations of selective Chinese laws and regulations; the site covers a fairly comprehensive range of primary sources as well other legal information about China. Yale network access.

Wan Fang Data (Policies & Laws of China) Primarily Chinese online database covering state and regional laws and regulations of China, selected collection of court cases, administrative documents and texts of treaties. Searching in English is functional but cumbersome. Yale network access.

Lawyee Court Cases Database In Chinese only. We have subscription to its court cases collection only.

Gazette of the State Council of the People's Republic of China A bilingual website including gazettes issued by the State Council 1999-2005.

Ministry of Civil Affairs This user-friendly site provides information on the ministry's activities and on issues of social affairs under its purview. Includes a selection of laws and regulations on relevant matters. Coverage of these areas is narrower than Ceilaw, but material is easier to locate here.

Ministry of Justice The bilingual site provides texts of laws and regulations as well as considerable material on the legal profession. The databases for Ministries sometimes contain regulations that are not included elsewhere.

AsianLII: Laws of the People's Republic of China The website contains an A to Z list of laws of the PRC derived mainly from government websites ChinaLaw (Information Centre for Legislative Affairs Office of the PRC State Council) and ChinaCourt (Supreme Peoples' Court).

China Law & Practice The online newsletter has new business law an regulations updates and law archive. In English. Check YLS Inside <Library Databases> for login ID and password.

Primary Sources -- Hong Kong

Bilingual Laws Information System A searchable electronic database of the statutory laws of Hong Kong established and regularly updated by the Department of Justice of the HKSARG (Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government).

Department of Justice This is the official web site of the Department of Justice of the HKSARG. It includes The Laws of Hong Kong, which contains three sections: The Laws of Hong Kong; The Basic Law; and Treaties and International Agreement.. The is a very good site with clear instructions for use. It is updated irregularly.

Primary Sources -- Taiwan

Laws and Regulations Database of the Republic of China Official site with laws and regs established by the Taiwanese Ministry of Justice. In Chinese and English.

LawBank A commercial site with materials derived from the government site. The library does NOT have a subscription but free limited logins are available for searching the laws and regs section of the database.

Academia Sinica A primarily Chinese site with some translated pages attached. Available databases include the semiannual survey research journal for studies of contemporary Taiwan and the Scripta Sinica, which gives full-text access to the dynastic histories and other traditional texts.

Taiwan Government Sites - These sites provide comprehensive information on Taiwan laws and government activities. Some material is in English, though most useful information is in Chinese. To reach legal materials users must navigate several layers of menus.

Legislative Yuan The site is multilingual and covers a wide range of legislative updates and news relating to the Legislative Yuan.

Executive Yuan Click on the "English" tab for a translated site.

Judicial Yuan The website covers the Constitutional Court cases and interpretation (in English and Chinese) and full text searching of the the judgments and interpretations of the lower courts is in Chinese only.

Secondary Sources - Journal Databases

East View Chinese Academic Journals (CAJ) Subscription covers usage of the full text Chinese Academic Journals Database (1994- ), Century Journals Project (1955-1993), China Master/Doctoral full-text Database (2000- ) and the Chinese Core Newspapers full-text Database (2000-). Offers easy cross-database searching.

Wan Fang Chinese Online Journals (COJ) Selective coverage of minor Chinese legal journals.

Wan Fang Dissertations of China (DOC) Provides full texts and abstracts of scholarly dissertations. Searchable in English but full text articles are in Chinese.

ChinaLawInfo Journal Collection Full-text articles for selective Chinese law journals are available.

Frontiers of law in China (SpringerLink) Provides English translation of noteworthy articles originally published in Chinese law journals.

Taiwanese Electronic Periodical Services (TEPS) Covers more than 450 periodicals published in Taiwan. Searching in English is available but full-text downloads are in Chinese only.

Secondary Sources - Open-source websites

China Court Primarily Chinese website co-hosted by the Supreme People's Court and the People's Court Daily.

The Supreme Court of the PRC Official site with selective information on laws and regulations, cases and judicial interpretation on major criminal cases. In Chinese only.

Central People's Government of the PRC Central government information portal. Searchable in English and Chinese.

Chinese Criminal Law Net Hosted by the Law School of the People's University, the primarily Chinese site provides news and some case analyses.

China Internet Information Center (CIIC) Searchable news source in English, Chinese and several other languages. Note especially the Government White Papers contained in the CIIC's Special Archive.

National Bureau of Statistics of China A bilingual website covering statistical and census data as well as laws and regulations issued by the bureau.

Chinese Foreign-Related Commercial and Maritime Trial A useful bilingual website offering latest updates in legslation, cases and analyses.

The State Intellectual Property Office of the PRC Official website providing laws and regulations on patent, trademarks and copyright in Chinese.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission Official website of the Commission with access to laws and regulations in English and Chinese.

CIETAC Arbitration Center Materials in English and Chinese with respect to major Chinese arbitration organizations.

All China Lawyers Association A bilingual site hosted by the Association.

Hieros Gamos Worldwide Law Firms Directory - PRC A comprehensive list of law firms in the PRC searchable by city and area of specialty.

Congressional - Executive Commission on China The Commission was created by Congress in 2000 with the legislative mandate to monitor human rights and the development of the rule of law in China. The useful website covers selected PRC legislation and materials relating to international human rights.

Congressional - Executive Commission on China Archived publications via GPO Access Annual reports, hearings and texts from the roundtables are available at the site from 2002-

University of Minnesota Human Rights Library in Chinese The collection consists of human rights treaties, adjudicative materials, other core human rights documents.

National Central Library (Taiwan) Provides access to the union catalog of major universities in Taiwan, government documents, periodicals directory and theses and dissertations. Mainly in Chinese.

Taiwan ( Republic of China). Government Information Office A multilingual official website covering news of Taiwan in relation to Asia.

Hong Kong SAR Government. Department of Justice. Mainland Related Projects and Legal Issues An informative site created by the Department of Justice of the HKSARG. It covers current collaboration projects undertaken by the governments of the Hong Kong SAR and China for the mutual legal assistance of the two regions.

News and Blogs

Legal Daily Online (Fa Zhi Wang) One of the most important sources of up-to-date information about legal developments in China. This site contains articles on Chinese and international legal developments, full texts of newly promulgated laws and regulations, and binding supreme court legal interpretations.

People's Daily China's official daily national newspaper. Often publishes full text of key laws and regulations soon after their promulgation. It is a good source for checking new developments.

South China Morning Post A Hong Kong-based newspaper in English with current news about China and other Asian countries. Check Blackboard for user id and password.

China Business Review The official magazine of the US-China Business Council offers news and commentaries on Chinese trade and business deveopment.

Far Eastern Economic Review An online business news magazine covering economic development of South East Asia. Check with Reference desk for password to download full text articles.

AsiaBizBlog Features news and commentary on Asian business events, with a special focus on China.

China Elections & Governance The China Elections & Governance Website was jointly launched in 2002 by the Carter Center China Program and the Institute of International Comparative Political Economy of Renmin University of China. It has been maintained and updated by the Beijing Center for Policy Research since 2004. The bilingual site provides Chinese officials at all levels a resource center for governance and election affairs and gives scholars worldwide the opportunity to study Chinese politics and offer reform measures.

China Digital Times (CDT) A collaborative news website covering China's social and political transition and its emerging role in the world. Maintained by the Berkeley Internet Project, UC-Berkeley.

China Law Blog Written by Dan Harris, an international lawyer based in the United States and Steve Dickinson, an international lawyer based in China, the blog focuses on business-related legal issues.

China Law Professor Blog An academically-oriented blog maintained by Donald C. Clarke, Professor of Law, George Washington University Law School. It includes up-to-date news on China-related legal publications.

Please send comments regarding this page to the Foreign and International Law Department.

Research Guides
Internet Chinese Legal Research Center	By Wei Luo at Washington University School of Law Library, St. Louis, MO.
Guide to Law Online: China Taiwan Hong Kong	Law Library of Congress Site

Chinese Legal Research at the University of Washington	University of Washington School of Law, Marian Gould Gallagher Law Library. East Asian Law Department.
LLRX: A Complete Research Guide to The People's Republic of China (PRC)	By Wei Luo at Washington University and Joan Liu at New York University
Report from China: Supreme People's Court.	By Jiahong Yang at Osgood Hall Law School, York University

Primary Sources -- Mainland China
China Law Info (Chinese site) Law Info China (English site)	Maintained by the Law School at Beijing University. This well-designed site, which can be read in English or Chinese, provides a up-to-date selection of key Chinese legislation, cases and official pronouncements. Also includes full-text journal database. Select <IP deng lu> after login.
iSinoLaw	Primarily in Chinese with English translations of selective Chinese laws and regulations; the site covers a fairly comprehensive range of primary sources as well other legal information about China. Yale network access.
Wan Fang Data (Policies & Laws of China)	Primarily Chinese online database covering state and regional laws and regulations of China, selected collection of court cases, administrative documents and texts of treaties. Searching in English is functional but cumbersome. Yale network access.
Lawyee Court Cases Database	In Chinese only. We have subscription to its court cases collection only.
Gazette of the State Council of the People's Republic of China	A bilingual website including gazettes issued by the State Council 1999-2005.
Ministry of Civil Affairs	This user-friendly site provides information on the ministry's activities and on issues of social affairs under its purview. Includes a selection of laws and regulations on relevant matters. Coverage of these areas is narrower than Ceilaw, but material is easier to locate here.
Ministry of Justice	The bilingual site provides texts of laws and regulations as well as considerable material on the legal profession. The databases for Ministries sometimes contain regulations that are not included elsewhere.
AsianLII: Laws of the People's Republic of China	The website contains an A to Z list of laws of the PRC derived mainly from government websites ChinaLaw (Information Centre for Legislative Affairs Office of the PRC State Council) and ChinaCourt (Supreme Peoples' Court).

China Law & Practice	The online newsletter has new business law an regulations updates and law archive. In English. Check YLS Inside <Library Databases> for login ID and password.
Primary Sources -- Hong Kong
Bilingual Laws Information System	A searchable electronic database of the statutory laws of Hong Kong established and regularly updated by the Department of Justice of the HKSARG (Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government).
Department of Justice	This is the official web site of the Department of Justice of the HKSARG. It includes The Laws of Hong Kong, which contains three sections: The Laws of Hong Kong; The Basic Law; and Treaties and International Agreement.. The is a very good site with clear instructions for use. It is updated irregularly.

Primary Sources -- Taiwan
Laws and Regulations Database of the Republic of China	Official site with laws and regs established by the Taiwanese Ministry of Justice. In Chinese and English.
LawBank	A commercial site with materials derived from the government site. The library does NOT have a subscription but free limited logins are available for searching the laws and regs section of the database.
Academia Sinica	A primarily Chinese site with some translated pages attached. Available databases include the semiannual survey research journal for studies of contemporary Taiwan and the Scripta Sinica, which gives full-text access to the dynastic histories and other traditional texts.
Taiwan Government Sites - These sites provide comprehensive information on Taiwan laws and government activities. Some material is in English, though most useful information is in Chinese. To reach legal materials users must navigate several layers of menus.
Legislative Yuan	The site is multilingual and covers a wide range of legislative updates and news relating to the Legislative Yuan.
Executive Yuan	Click on the "English" tab for a translated site.
Judicial Yuan	The website covers the Constitutional Court cases and interpretation (in English and Chinese) and full text searching of the the judgments and interpretations of the lower courts is in Chinese only.
Secondary Sources - Journal Databases
East View Chinese Academic Journals (CAJ)	Subscription covers usage of the full text Chinese Academic Journals Database (1994- ), Century Journals Project (1955-1993), China Master/Doctoral full-text Database (2000- ) and the Chinese Core Newspapers full-text Database (2000-). Offers easy cross-database searching.
Wan Fang Chinese Online Journals (COJ)	Selective coverage of minor Chinese legal journals.
Wan Fang Dissertations of China (DOC)	Provides full texts and abstracts of scholarly dissertations. Searchable in English but full text articles are in Chinese.
ChinaLawInfo Journal Collection	Full-text articles for selective Chinese law journals are available.
Frontiers of law in China (SpringerLink)	Provides English translation of noteworthy articles originally published in Chinese law journals.
Taiwanese Electronic Periodical Services (TEPS)	Covers more than 450 periodicals published in Taiwan. Searching in English is available but full-text downloads are in Chinese only.

Secondary Sources - Open-source websites
China Court	Primarily Chinese website co-hosted by the Supreme People's Court and the People's Court Daily.
The Supreme Court of the PRC	Official site with selective information on laws and regulations, cases and judicial interpretation on major criminal cases. In Chinese only.
Central People's Government of the PRC	Central government information portal. Searchable in English and Chinese.

Chinese Criminal Law Net	Hosted by the Law School of the People's University, the primarily Chinese site provides news and some case analyses.
China Internet Information Center (CIIC)	Searchable news source in English, Chinese and several other languages. Note especially the Government White Papers contained in the CIIC's Special Archive.
National Bureau of Statistics of China	A bilingual website covering statistical and census data as well as laws and regulations issued by the bureau.
Chinese Foreign-Related Commercial and Maritime Trial	A useful bilingual website offering latest updates in legslation, cases and analyses.
The State Intellectual Property Office of the PRC	Official website providing laws and regulations on patent, trademarks and copyright in Chinese.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission	Official website of the Commission with access to laws and regulations in English and Chinese.
CIETAC Arbitration Center	Materials in English and Chinese with respect to major Chinese arbitration organizations.
All China Lawyers Association	A bilingual site hosted by the Association.
Hieros Gamos Worldwide Law Firms Directory - PRC	A comprehensive list of law firms in the PRC searchable by city and area of specialty.
Congressional - Executive Commission on China	The Commission was created by Congress in 2000 with the legislative mandate to monitor human rights and the development of the rule of law in China. The useful website covers selected PRC legislation and materials relating to international human rights.
Congressional - Executive Commission on China Archived publications via GPO Access	Annual reports, hearings and texts from the roundtables are available at the site from 2002-
University of Minnesota Human Rights Library in Chinese	The collection consists of human rights treaties, adjudicative materials, other core human rights documents.
National Central Library (Taiwan)	Provides access to the union catalog of major universities in Taiwan, government documents, periodicals directory and theses and dissertations. Mainly in Chinese.
Taiwan ( Republic of China). Government Information Office	A multilingual official website covering news of Taiwan in relation to Asia.
Hong Kong SAR Government. Department of Justice. Mainland Related Projects and Legal Issues	An informative site created by the Department of Justice of the HKSARG. It covers current collaboration projects undertaken by the governments of the Hong Kong SAR and China for the mutual legal assistance of the two regions.
News and Blogs

Legal Daily Online (Fa Zhi Wang)	One of the most important sources of up-to-date information about legal developments in China. This site contains articles on Chinese and international legal developments, full texts of newly promulgated laws and regulations, and binding supreme court legal interpretations.
People's Daily	China's official daily national newspaper. Often publishes full text of key laws and regulations soon after their promulgation. It is a good source for checking new developments.
South China Morning Post	A Hong Kong-based newspaper in English with current news about China and other Asian countries. Check Blackboard for user id and password.
China Business Review	The official magazine of the US-China Business Council offers news and commentaries on Chinese trade and business deveopment.

Far Eastern Economic Review	An online business news magazine covering economic development of South East Asia. Check with Reference desk for password to download full text articles.
AsiaBizBlog	Features news and commentary on Asian business events, with a special focus on China.
China Elections & Governance	The China Elections & Governance Website was jointly launched in 2002 by the Carter Center China Program and the Institute of International Comparative Political Economy of Renmin University of China. It has been maintained and updated by the Beijing Center for Policy Research since 2004. The bilingual site provides Chinese officials at all levels a resource center for governance and election affairs and gives scholars worldwide the opportunity to study Chinese politics and offer reform measures.
China Digital Times (CDT)	A collaborative news website covering China's social and political transition and its emerging role in the world. Maintained by the Berkeley Internet Project, UC-Berkeley.
China Law Blog	Written by Dan Harris, an international lawyer based in the United States and Steve Dickinson, an international lawyer based in China, the blog focuses on business-related legal issues.
China Law Professor Blog	An academically-oriented blog maintained by Donald C. Clarke, Professor of Law, George Washington University Law School. It includes up-to-date news on China-related legal publications.