Understanding the Logic Behind Rule of Law in China: Guest Editor's Introduction

Abstract

All four articles in this issue discuss the special logic behind the rule of law in Chinese society. The four authors probe the subject from a range of different perspectives, specifically, the legal awareness of Chinese people, the logic behind legal practice in grass-roots courts in China, the unique Ma Xiwu trial mode created by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the evolution of perceptions of “legitimacy” in China, and the unique path of development of China’s civil society. As a mode of social governance, rule of law represents a stark contrast to the rule of men. Rule of law has a practical basis and is not simply a system devoid of substance. For this reason, the study of legal provisions alone will not allow us to gain a thorough and accurate understanding of the legal conditions of a country. It is necessary to explore how these legal provisions are put into practice in daily life. Studying the intrinsic logic in legal provisions alone will not allow us to understand the various paradoxes in the legal system of a country. It is necessary to identify these paradoxes in the social environment where the laws are applied. Transplanting the legal system of a developed country in order to promote the process of domestic rule of law is not enough. Instead, efforts must be made to find a legal system that is suited to the country in question. For that purpose, we have to alter our perspective. The mainstream in law circles is prone to interpret the law using its intrinsic logic, regarding it as a self-governed logical system. This is what is usually referred to as the “intrinsic perspective.” We advocate “looking at the law from the outside,” that is, regarding the law as one of a multitude of subsystems