Gallagher Law Library - UW School of Law
Chinese Legal Research at the University of Washington
中华人民共和国法学研究

East Asian Law Department
Legal Research Guides
Prepared by William B. McCloy for Law B541, Prof. Zang
Updated December 06, 2011 08:23 AM		  
Home Introduction Basic Materials Finding Books & Journals Finding Articles
Finding Laws Finding Cases

Finding Other Materials

 UW Resources Research Strategies

Chinese Online Journals List

 Online Databases

 

 

 

East Asian Law Department
Phone: 206-543-7447
Send comments to: rrbritt

Introduction

Objectives of This Guide

The objectives of this guide are:

  1. To introduce some of the most useful resources for finding Chinese legal information, along with some hints about the best ways to use them, and
  2. To introduce the East Asian Law Department and the kinds of services we provide.

Information about the Chinese Law Collection

  • University of Washington's Chinese law collection consists of books and journals in various languages covering all periods of Chinese legal history.
  • Collection Development Policy is to "support the curricular and research needs of the University of Washington School of Law" and the Law School's Asian and Comparative Law curriculum. As a result, materials on Chinese law are actively collected. This includes both primary and secondary materials in Chinese and English. The emphasis is on academic studies rather than practice materials.

Viewing and Inputting Chinese Text in Marian (the Law Library's Catalog), on the Web, and in Email

  • Marian, the catalog of the University of Washington Law Library, defaults to displaying Chinese and other foreign scripts in Unicode encoding. Follow the steps below to view Chinese traditional and simplified scripts and for proper display of diacritics in romanized fields:
    • Connect to the Marian catalog at http://marian.law.washington.edu/
    • In Internet Explorer, select view, encoding > more > UTF-8.
    • Make sure you have Chinese fonts on your computer (one of the following should apply):
      • You have Windows 2000 or Windows XP with the Chinese IME installed.
      • You have a Chinese operating system.
      • You have configured your browser for Chinese Display and Input
      • You have another Chinese IME (input method editor) installed
  • The UW Internet Connectivity Kit, http://www.washington.edu/computing/software/uwick/, is a convenient way for UW students and staff to set up Chinese-capable internet access. This kit may be purchased on CD ROM. Some of the software may be downloaded for free.
  • Windows 2000, XP or Vista offer great convenience and flexibility in viewing and inputting Chinese, Japanese and Korean. Both come with CJK support available. It must be installed as an option from the installation disk. Go to Start, Settings, Control Panel, Regional Options and set the software for Chinese viewing and editing.
  • Windows 9x or NT: Chinese Support can be added to Internet Explorer by downloading the Microsoft Global IME: http://www.microsoft.com/msdownload/iebuild/ime5_win32/en/ime5_win32.htm. 
  • Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, and most browser-based email programs (Hotmail, etc.) support Chinese email.
  • Character sets.  Email and Internet programs generally use the GB character set for simplified Chinese and the Big-5 character set for traditional Chinese.  Many library catalogs use the Unicode (UTF-8) character set as a means of displaying a variety of scripts in one catalog.
  • Marjorie Chan's Chinalinks http://chinalinks.osu.edu/

Notes about Romanization (Transliteration) of Chinese

In the Library Catalog: Records for Chinese books and journals may be searched by subject terms in English (e.g. Environmental Law-China) or by Chinese author, title or series information. Most Chinese cataloging records in the Library's catalog include original Chinese scripts, and it is possible to search the catalog using Chinese characters. However, when searching for a Chinese author, title or series, best results will be obtained by searching in romanized Chinese, that is, Chinese words transliterated into the English alphabet. As there are many ways to romanize Chinese, it is necessary to understand the particular method used in American library catalogs. The standard used in library catalogs in North America is the Pinyin system (as modified by the U.S. Library of Congress).  This modification means, primarily, that Chinese is romanized character by character or syllable by syllable  except for personal or place names where syllables are combined.  Examples: 民事诉讼法 Min shi su song fa, 北京大学法学百科全书 Beijing da xue fa xue bai ke quan shu, 陈安明 Chen Anming, etc.  

Comparative romanization tables are found in many Chinese dictionaries, and some information may be found on websites such as those below. Help is also available in the East Asian Law Department.

Online Chinese romanization guides:

Note that when searching the library catalog, diacritics (such as the umlaut or the apostrophe used in Chinese romanization) should not be input.

Romanization used in other indexes and catalogs (and sometimes the Library catalog) is not always consistent. In some cases, romanization schemes are inconsistently applied within one index or catalog. So when searching for romanized Chinese text, it is a good practice to use the browse function if it is available, and/or try different romanization and word division possibilities.  Note particularly that some other libraries, including the University of Washington East Asia Library, have not completed conversion of library records from the earlier-used Wade-Giles romanization system.  For those libraries, it may be necessary to search in Pinyin first, then in Wade-Giles if satisfactory results are not obtained.

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Basic Materials for Chinese Legal Research

Updated January 2006

Citation and Romanization

  • China and in the U.S.), U.S. standards for transcription of foreign language materials, and the transcription of Chinese, specifically.
  • Cambridge, MA: Harvard Law Review Association, 2000.
    This is the standard source for citation of laws, cases, and bibliographical citations in U.S. legal publications.  Pages 151-155 give general guidelines for citing foreign language materials.  Pages 257-258 give guidelines for Chinese citations.  Note that the 18th ed., due out shortly, will include an extensive rewrite of the standards for Chinese citation.
    KF245 .U5 2000 at Reference Area
  • China: http://chinalawinfo.com/ad/ad20040626.asp
  1. Notes about Romanization (Transliteration) of Chinese.
    • Somerville, MA: S.E. Harrison, 1991.
      Z692.S5 H37 1991 at CLAS (Classified Stacks)
      Provides brief information on Chinese romanization, and has tables for conversion of Chinese dates to Western dates.
    • University of Hawaii],  (rev. 3/97), http://www.hawaii.edu/eall/img/stylesheet.pdf.

Dictionaries

For a more complete list, search Marian for subject:  Law-China-Dictionaries (for dictionaries of Chinese law) and for Law-Dictionaries (limited to language Chinese) for Chinese language dictionaries of law.  For language or general dictionaries, search the subject Chinese language-Dictionaries.

  • Legal Dictionaries
    • Calif. : Stanford University Press, 1981.
      KNQ26 .B55 1981 at REF (Reference) 汉英法律词典/ "汉英法律词典编写组编 A Chinese-English law dictionary / edited by the Editorial Group. -- Zhongguo shang ye chu ban she, 1995
      K52.C5 H36 1995 at REF (Reference)
    • 汉英法律词典/ 主编薛波; 副主编徐兆宏, 牛风国, 沈泓= A Chinese-English dictionary of law / chief editor Xue Bo ; deputy chief editors Xu Zhaohong, Niu Fengguo, Shen Hong. --Beijing: Wai wen chu ban she, 1995
      K52.C5 H35 1995 at REF (Reference) & CLAS (Classified Stacks)
    •  中国律师大辭典(China Lawyer's Companion) / 苏醒主编. -- [Peking] : Fa lü chu ban she : Xin hua shu dian jing xiao, 1992 (1993 printing)
      KNQ1630.A7 C86 1993 at CLAS (Classified Stacks)
    •  英汉双向法律词典 = English-Chinese and Chinese-English dictionary of law / 主编何高大; 编写毛莉萍... [等]. -- Shanghai Shi : Shanghaijiao tong da xue chu ban she, 2002.
      K52.C5 Y64 2002 at REF (Reference) 英汉 汉英法律词汇 = English-Chinese, Chinese-English, a glossary of law / 姚栋华, 欧阳柏权合编. -- Beijing: Fa lü chu ban she ; Xianggang : Shang wu, 1999, c1998.
      K52.C5 Y575 1999 at REF (Reference)
    • http://www.legislation.gov.hk/glossary/index.htm 
      Note: The terms are from Hong Kong (i.e common) law, but these dictionaries are none-the-less useful
  • University of Hawai'iPress, 2003.
    PL1455 .A33 2003 at REF (Reference) 汉英词典= A Chinese-English dictionary / 北京外国语大学英语系词典组编. -- 修订版缩印本, 第1版．-- 北京: 外语敎学与研究出版社, 1997 (2002 printing).
    PL1455 .H338 1997 at REF (Reference)
  • Calif. : Musheng International Pub., 1996.
    K1004.3 .C53 1996 at REF (Reference)
  • China/ compiled by Kwok-sing Li ; translated by Mary Lok. -- Hong Kong: Chinese University Press, c1995.
    JQ1500.A25 L513 1995 at REF (Reference)
  • 中文字譜 http://www.zhongwen.com/m/hello.htm
  • http://zhongwen.com/
  • http://www.tigernt.com/cedict.shtml
  • http://library.ust.hk/res/beyond/Reference/Dictionaries/
  • MDBG Chinese-English Dictionary
    http://www.mdbg.net/chindict/chindict.php

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Guides to Research (Chinese Law, Chinese Studies)

  • Web
  • In English / Print
    • China/ Albert Hung yee Chen. -- Singapore: Butterworths Asia, c1992. 
      KNQ68 .C53 1992 at CLAS (Classified Stacks), REF (Reference)
    • China/ Albert Hung yee Chen. – 3rd ed. : Hong Kong: LexisNexis Butterworths, 2004.
      On order.
    • Far East), c1991.
      KNQ68 .C58 1991 at CLAS (Classified Stacks)
    • St. Paul, Minn.: West Pub. Co., 1992.
      KNQ70 .F65 1992 at CLAS (Classified Stacks)
    • China(People's Republic of China) / edited by Freshfields. -- Yonkers, NY: Juris Publishing, Inc., c1999-
      KNQ920 .D64 1999 at REF (Reference)
    • Chinalaw deskbook : a legal guide for foreign-invested enterprises / James M. Zimmerman = 中国法律手册/吉莫曼. -- Chicago, Ill.: American Bar Association, Section on International Law and Practice, 1999.
      KNQ78.B87 Z56 1999 at REF (Reference)
    • China: trade, investment, and finance / editors-in-chief, Daniel A. Lapres, Zhang Yuejiao. -- Paris: ICC Pub., 1997.
      KNQ920 .B98 1997 at CLAS (Classified Stacks)
    • Boston: Kluwer Law International, 1999.
      KNQ68 .C43 1999 at CLAS (Classified Stacks)
    • Boston: Kluwer Law International, c1999.
      KNQ68 .C364 1999 at CLAS (Classified Stacks)
    • East Asia/ edited by Poh-Ling Tan. -- Sydney: Butterworths, 1997.
      KNC79 .A847 1997 at CLAS (Classified Stacks)
    • University of Melbourne with CCH editors.  Singapore: CCH Asia Ltd. ; Chicago, Ill., U.S.A.: Commerce Clearing House, 1991-
      KM764 .D65 1991 at REF (Reference).
    • Asia/ Arthur Wineburg, Editor.  Salem, N.H.:
      Butterworth Legal Publishers, c1991-
      KNC370.I56 1991 at REF (Reference)
    漫游虛拟法律图书馆: 在线法律资源硏究指南(Roaming the virtual law library : a guide to online sources for legal researchers) / 主编刘丽君, 于丽英. -- 北京: 法律出版社, 2004.  (NOTE: Chinese & English)
    K87 .M36 2004 at CLAS (Classified Stacks)
  • China Law Digest 中国法律文摘 http://chinese.chinalawdigest.com/  a bilingual, monthly web digest detailing the latest news and developments on contemporary Chinese law and legal scholarship - free, but requires registration

Guides to Research (Asia and International)

  • China, India, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam. -- Chiba-shi : Institute of Developing Economies(IDE-JETRO), c2003.
    KNC43 .D65 2003 at CLAS (Classified Stacks)
  • Modern legal systems cyclopedia / general editor, Kenneth Robert Redden ; contributors, William Brock ... [et al.]. Buffalo, N.Y., U.S.A.: W.S. Hein, 1984-
    K530 .M63 1984 at REFERENCE AREA
  • Martindale-Hubbell international law digest. -- New Providence, NJ: Martindale-Hubbell, c1993-
    KF190 .M35. Current ed. at REFERENCE AREA, REFERENCE OFFICE, REF (Reference)
  • Germain's Transnational Law Research : A guide for Attorneys / Claire M. Germain.  Ardsley-on-Hudson, NY: Transnational Juris Publications, c1991-
    K85.G47 1991at REFERENCE OFFICE, REF (Reference)
  • Guide to international legal research / The George Washington University international law review. -- 6th ed. -- Newark, N.J.: LexisNexis Matthew Bender, c2004.
    KZ1234 .G85 2004 at Reference Area, Reference Office
  • http://www.21coe-win-cls.org/rclip/e_index.html Includes articles in English
  • http://www.21coe-win-cls.org/rclip/edb So far, not much dealing with China, but bears watching

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Searching the Web

Updated January 2006.

The entire universe of web pages can be searched for practically any combination of key words. This means that if you are looking for materials on Chinese patents, for example, you can use an online search engine to find out quickly and easily how many sites on the Internet use the word "China" and "patents". Unfortunately, this method doesn't work well for the "invisible web", for example, when texts are stored in a database.  Further, if searching for Chinese texts, it will be necessary to use Chinese terms, and the search will be most effective if you use a Chinese search engine. Getting the full benefit out of search engines takes some practice. Note that results from different search engines will NOT be the same!  For links to several of these handy tools, see the section on Search Engines below.

Some English Language Search Engines

Some Chinese Language Search Engines

Finding Books and Journals

See also  University of Washington Resources

Bibliographic Databases

Chinese Libraries

Finding Articles in Journals, Newspapers and Edited Volumes

Periodicals

Chinese legal periodicals are mostly located on L1 in the CLAS (Classified Stacks).  General periodicals on Chinese law are assigned the call number KNQ6; however, periodicals on specialized topics are classified under the number for that topic.  For example, China Patents and Trademarks (中國專利與商標) is classified KNQ1194.A13 .C582, and periodicals on non-legal topics are located elsewhere in the CLAS (Classified Stacks) according to their topic.  Most English language law reviews (which sometimes contain articles on Chinese law) are shelved by the name of the journal in the Compact Stacks.  (They have the call number "PERIOD").  In addition, current issues of a periodical may be located with the bound volumes or may be kept in the Reference Area past the Circulation desk on L1.  It is always best to check the catalog for exact locations.

Periodical Indexes

Many English or other Western language articles on Chinese legal topics can be found through the online indexes described elsewhere in this document.  Note, however, that many English language journals on Chinese law published outside the United States are not indexed anywhere.  It is sometimes necessary simply to identify relevant journals and then peruse the tables of contents.

For Chinese language articles on Chinese law, the sources listed below are useful.  However, compilation and publication of indexes is very slow.  For more current articles, a strategy similar to that described in the paragraph above is often the best course of action.

English Language Indexes and Databases
Note: Most of the databases below can also be accessed through the UW Libraries Research Databases page: http://www.lib.washington.edu/types/databases/

Chinese Language Indexes and Databases

  • China Academic Journals (CAJ) (UW Restricted)
    Includes full text of many periodicals on Chinese law in Chinese
  • 中国期刊全文数据库. F-H辑 (文史哲辑, 经济政治与法律辑,敎育与社会科学辑) Connect through Marian.  (UW Restricted). 报刊资料索引. 第2分册, 政治, 法律. –  Beijing: Zhongguo ren min da xue Shu bao zi liao zhong xin, 1983-
    KNQ5 .P36 at REF (Reference). -- Lib Holdings: 1986-2004
  • 复印报刊资料(Topical Indexes/Reprints) (China People's University)
    Note:   This series of publications combines indexes and reprinted articles.  The index portion is cumulated by: 报刊资料索引. 第2分册, 政治, 法律(see above) The library has a number of these topical publications.
    KNQ5 at CLAS (Classified Stacks)

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Bibliographies

    中国法律图书总目 / 中国政法大学图书馆编
    KNN3 .C84 1991 at REF (Reference)
  • China: a bibliography of selected English language legal materials / Jeanette L. Pinard. -- Washington, D.C.: Law Library, Library of Congress, 1983.
    KNQ3 .P56 1983 at CLAS (Classified Stacks)
  • China: a bibliography of selected English language legal materials / Jeanette L. Pinard. -- 1985 ed. -- Washington, D.C.: Law Library, Library of Congress, 1985.
    KNQ3 .P56 1983 at CLAS (Classified Stacks)
  • China: a bibliography of selected annotated English language legal materials, Part II / Jeanette L. Pinard. -- Offprint from Chinalaw reporter v. 6, no. 1.
    KNQ3 .P56 1985 Suppl. at CLAS (Classified Stacks)
  • Washington, D.C.: Far Eastern Law Division, Law Library of Congress, 1990.
    KNQ3 .P56 1985 89 at REF (Reference), CLAS (Classified Stacks) 中外社会科学名着千种评要。法学. -- Beijing: Huaxia chu ban she, 1992.
    K38 .C48 1992 at CLAS (Classified Stacks)
  • Japan and China; an annotated bibliography of doctoral dissertations in Western languages, 1877-1969. Compiled and edited by Frank J. Shulman for the Center for Japanese Studies, University of Michigan. -- Chicago, American Library Association, 1970.
    DS806 .S58 1970 at CLAS (Classified Stacks)
  • Japan and on China, 1969-1979: an annotated bibliography of studies in western languages / compiled and edited by Frank Joseph Shulman. -- Seattle: University of Washington Press, c1982
    DS806 .S58 1982 at REF (Reference)
  • Asia/ F.J. Shulman, editor. -- [Ann Arbor, Mich.]: Association for Asian Studies, 1975-1993.
    DS5.A1 D62 at CLAS (Classified Stacks)
  • Japan and China: a critical bibliography / Bernard S. Silberman. -- Tucson, University of Arizona Press, 1962.
    Z3301 .S55 at CLAS (Classified Stacks) 

Newspapers

See China Core Newspapers Database and the Newspapers list of the Finding Other Types of Materials

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Finding Laws

Collections of Laws

  • In English or Bilingual
    • Lawchinainfo.com (UW Restricted; In English)
    • Chinalawinfo.com (UW restricted; in Chinese)
    • China laws for foreign business = 中国对外经济法规汇编. -- [North Ryde, N.S.W.] : CCH Australia Ltd., c1985
      KNQ78.B87 C57 1985 at REF (Reference).
    • Chinalaw reference service. -- Hong Kong : AsiaLaw & Practice, c1996-
      KNQ78.B87 C56 1996 at REF (Reference).
      Note:  December 1986 to the present.  Some laws and regulations fully bilingual.  Some digested, with digest in English and original Chinese title noted.
    • The laws of the People's Republic of China
      Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 1987 KNQ12 .C5413 at REF (Reference)
    • Statutes and regulations of the People's Republic of China
      China. -- Hong Kong : Institute of Chinese Law (Publishers) Ltd. And University of East Asia Press, 1987-1990.
      KNQ12 .S73 1950-1989 at CLAS (Classified Stacks), Latest vol. of index at REF (Reference)
      Note: Although this set covers only through 1989, it contains many translated laws and regulations that may not be found elsewhere.
    • Laws and regulations of the People's Republic of China
      Beijing, China: China Legal Pub. House, 2001-
      KNQ13 2001c  at REF (Reference)
    • 中国法律法规全库[electronic resource] : 中华人民共和国法律法规检索系统= China laws : laws and regulations of the P.R.C. -- Chinese-English bilingual ed. -- 北京: 国务院法制局信息中心: 中国检察出版社, 1998.
      KNQ13 1998 at East Asian Law Office.
    • RIA worldwide commercial law
      Ormond Beach, Fla. (P.O. Box 2187, Ormond Beach32074) : Published for members of the Foreign Tax Law Association, 1976-
      K1004.15 1976 at Reference Area
    • RIA worldwide tax law
      Ormond Beach, Fla., [1964?]-
      K4504.15 1974 at Reference Area
    • China Index
      http://www.oefre.unibe.ch/law/icl/ch__indx.html
    • Novex Cn.com
      http://www.novexcn.com/
      Includes English translations of Chinese, North Korean, and Vietnamese laws.  Update schedule unclear.
    • 中华人民共和国全国人民代表大会常务委员会公报 (Gazette of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress). -- Beijing: Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo quan guo ren min dai biao da hui chang wu wei yuan hui ban gong ting, 1957-KNQ7 .C48 at CLAS (Classified Stacks), Microforms 中华人民共和国法规汇编. 1 (1954 nian 9 yue/1955 nian 6 yue [Sept. 1954/June 1955]) 13 (1962/1963); 1979    . – Beijing: Zhongguo fa zhi chu ban she, 1956
      KNQ12 .F3 at CLAS (Classified Stacks)
      Note:  This is the closest thing to an official collection of session laws that is available.
    • 中國對外經濟貿易文告 = China foreign trade and economic cooperation gazette. --[北京] : 商務部; 香港: 中國資訊行傳播發行, 2002-
      KNQ3407.A33 Z486 at CLAS (Classified Stacks)
      Note: Continued title immediately below. 中华人民共和国对外贸易经济合作部文告(Gazette of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC)).    Beijing: Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo dui wai mao yi jing ji he zuo bu ; Xianggang : Da gong bao, 1993-2002.
      KNQ3407.A32 T84 at REF (Reference)
      Note:  This is the Gazette of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC).  It includes notices, regulations, etc. for the Ministry.  Monthly. 中华人民共和国国务院公报 Beijing : Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo guo wu yuan mi shu ting, 1954-
      KNQ7.K86 at CLAS (Classified Stacks), Pre-1984 vols. at MICROFICHE
      Note: This is the official gazette of the State Council.  It includes selected new laws as well as regulations passed by the State Council.  Table of contents is bilingual, English and Chinese. 中华人民共和国最高人民检察院公报. -- Beijing: Zhongguo jiancha chu ban she, 1989-
    • 新法规速递  New Chinese Laws and Regulations http://www.law-lib.com/law/
      (Note: On this webpage there is a place to register your email address to receive the texts of new Chinese laws and regulations free via email.)
    • 国信中国法律网(Formerly: CEILAW ~ CEI中国法律法规) http://www.ceilaw.com.cn/
      About CEILAW:  http://ls.wustl.edu/Chinalaw/ 
      Select Mainland China Legal Resources on the Internet
  • In Other Languages
  • Internet Search Engines:  Use internet search engines to look for laws by title in English or Chinese.  This works for some websites but not for those where the laws are in a database.
    • http://www.google.com/ (for English searches),
    • http://www.google.com/intl/zh-CN/ (for Chinese searches).
    • http://marian.law.washington.edu/. Search for laws by name (English or Chinese) as books cataloged separately or as included in books. Note that another method is to search for "China" as "author".
  • China (MOFCOM) http://english.mofcom.gov.cn/ (English)
    China(MOFCOM) http://www.mofcom.gov.cn/ (Chinese) 
    NOTE: MOFCOM was created during the 10th National People's Congress in March 2003.  It is a combination of the former Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation (MOFTEC), the State Economic and Trade Commission (SETC), and the State Development and Planning Commission (SDPC).
  • 国家知识产权局 http://www.cpo.cn.net/
  • 中国政府网页 (Chinese) http://www.gov.cn/
  • 中国政府网页 (English) http://english.gov.cn/

Collections of Treaties

For a more comprehensive list, search keywords "treaties" and "China" (or title of treaty) in Law Library or UW Libraries catalogs.

  • Treaty Indexes/Catalogs
      中外条约协定索引, 1662-1980= Index to the treaties and agreements with and concerning China, 1662-1980 / 陈尺楼主编. -- 第1版. -- 北京: 中国对外翻译出版公司, 1989.
      KZ965 .Z46 1662-1980 at CLAS (Classified Stacks)
    • China, 1949-1967: a calendar, by Douglas M. Johnston and Hungdah Chiu. -- Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1968.
      KZ965 .J64 1968  at CLAS (Classified Stacks)
    • China: a calendar of events, 1966-1980 / Hungdah Chiu. -- New York, N.Y.: Praeger, 1981.
      KZ965 .C45 1981 at CLAS (Classified Stacks)
    • Chinawith foreign countries, 1949-1990 / by Wolfgang Bartke. -- 2nd, rev. and enl. ed. -- München ; New York: K.G. Saur, 1992.
      KZ966 1992  at CLAS (Classified Stacks)
    • China, 1949-1978 : an annotated compilation / Grant F. Rhode, Reid E. Whitlock . -- Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1980
      KZ966 1980 at CLAS (Classified Stacks)
  • China, 1894-1919 / comp. and ed. by John V. A. MacMurray. -- New York : Oxford university press, 1921.
    KZ946 1921 at CLAS (Classified Stacks)
  • China, 1919-1929. – Washington : Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 1929.
    KZ5513 .C37 no.50 at CLAS (Classified Stacks)
  1. 中外舊約章彙編/ 王铁崖编. -- 北京：生活・讀書・新知三联书店：新华书店发行, 1957-1962 (1982 printing)
    KZ946 1982 at CLAS (Classified Stacks)
    Note: Cover 1689-1949. 中华人民共和国条約集/ 中华人民共和国外交部編. -- 北京: 法律出版社, 1957
    KZ945.3 .C45  at CLAS (Classified Stacks)
  2. 中华人民共和国多边条约集 / 中华人民共和国外交部条约法律司编. -- [Beijing] : 法律出版社: 新华书店发行, 1987-
    KZ966 1987 at CLAS (Classified Stacks)
    Note: Covers 1875-date

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Finding Cases

Tools for Finding Cases and Sources for Cases

There are no comprehensive indexes to or digests of Chinese caselaw, nor are there any true reporters to speak of.  Cases or digests of cases may sometimes be found in current periodicals, both Chinese and English, or in legal newspapers such as 法制日报 As well, in the last few years, there have been a number of publications, usually containing the characters 案例选, which compile cases of historical or popular interest or deal with a particular field of law.  These are, however, by no means comprehensive, and it is very difficult to approach these publications seeking to find a given case.

In general, cases are much harder to locate than laws. This is especially true if you are looking for an English translation of a case. Cases are not cited or indexed in a format that is familiar to U.S.trained attorneys.  The few available electronic sources that include cases are a boon, as they add "keyword" indexing, which allows the researcher to search by any word in the record for the case.

In English

  • Lawchinainfo (UW Restricted)
    Click "Judicial Cases"
  • China law reports. Authorized English ed. -- Singapore: Butterworths Asia, in co-operation with China Law and Cultural Publications, c1995-
    KNQ19.A35 C44 1991 at QUICK REFERENCE FL. 6
    Note: Issued in 3 parts: v. 1. Criminal law, v. 2. Civil law, v. 3. Administrative law, economic law.  So far, only vols. for 1991-1994 published.
  • Judicial Protection of IPR in China 中国知识产权司法保护 http://www.chinaiprlaw.com/english/default.htm

In Chinese

  • Chinalawinfo.com (UW Restricted)
    Click the tab: "司法案例"
  • 中华人民共和国最高人民法院公报. -- Beijing: Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo zui gao ren min fa yuan ban gong ting, 1985-
    KNQ7.T76 at CLAS (Classified Stacks)
    Note:  This is the Supreme People's Court Gazette, published quarterly.  It includes selected new laws, statutory interpretations, information about the Court's activities, and selected cases from the Court.
  • 中国审判案例要览/ Zhongguo gao ji fa guan pei xun zhong xin, Zhongguo ren min da xue fa xue yuan bian. -- Beijing: Zhongguo ren min gong an da xue chu ban she, 1992-KNQ20 .A37 at CLAS (Classified Stacks).
  • 人民法院案例选 / Zui gao ren min fa yuan Zhongguo ying yong fa xue yan jiu suo bian. -- Beijing: Ren min fa yuan chu ban she, 1992-date.
    KNQ19 .A31992 at CLAS (Classified Stacks)
  • 中华人民共和国典型审判案例全书/ zhu bian Li Guoguang ; fu zhu bian Yan Junxing ... [et al.]. – Beijingshi : Zhongguo min zhu fa zhi chu ban she, 1998.
    KNQ19 .A4 1998 at CLAS (Classified Stacks)
  • Chinalaws : laws and regulations of the P.R.C 
  • 中国法律法规全库[electronic resource] : 中华人民共和国法律法规检索系统= China laws : laws and regulations of the P.R.C. -- [Beijing] : Guo wu yuan fa zhi ju xin xi zhong xin : Zhongguo jian cha chu ban she, 1998.
    KNQ13 1998 at East Asian Law Office
    Note:  Two of the databases contain cases and judicial interpretations (5. 司法解释库/ 最高人民法院, 最高人民检察院-- 6. 案例库/ 最高人民法院, 最高人民检察院)
  • 法制日报(Legal Daily)  http://www.legaldaily.com.cn/
    KNQ6 .F315 at Internet, Reference Area Microform
  • 中国法律年鉴. -- [Beijing] : Fa lü chu ban she : Xin hua shu dian jing xiao, 1987- KNQ6 .C68 at REF (Reference) & CLAS (Classified Stacks)
    Current ed. at REF (Reference)
    Note: This yearbook (which is always one year behind) contains selected cases.  An abridged English translation is available for the 1987 ed. only (KNQ6 .C6813 1987 at CLAS (Classified Stacks)).
  • Judicial Protection of IPR in China 中国知识产权司法保护 http://www.chinaiprlaw.cn/

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Finding Other Types of Materials

Directories of Lawyers, Judges, Legal Scholars, etc.

  • China
    • China. -- Hong Kong : AsiaLaw and Practice, 2002-
      KNQ33.C54 Current ed. at REF (Reference) 
      http://www.alphk.com/ scroll down to "Law Firms in Greater China"
    • 衡紀氏中港新律師行總覽. -- Hong Kong : Edinburgh Financial Publishing (Asia) Ltd, 1995.
      KNC35 .H84 1995 at REF (Reference)
    • China / Malcolm L. Lamb. -- 3rd ed. -- Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe, 2002.
      JQ1501 .A14 2002 at REF (Reference)
    • Washington, DC : PacifiCom, Inc. : Beijing: Gala Worldwide Communications, c1999-
      JQ1501 .A135 at REF (Reference)
    • 中国律师黄页 (Chinese Lawyer Yellow Pages)
      http://www.cnlaw.net/LAWYER/
    • Database of Chinese Lawyers and Law Firms (in Chinese) on website of All China Lawyers Association http://www.chineselawyer.com.cn/program/retain/index.jsp
  • Asia and International
    • Summit, N.J.: Martindale-Hubbell.
      KF190 .M32 Current ed. at Reference Area
    • ABA, c2004.
      K68 .G85 2004 at Reference Office
    • United States of America. West Hartford, CT: The Graduate Group, [1992 or 1993].
      K100.A4G66 1992 at Reference Office
    • Asia Law & Practice, 1995- .
      KNC747.A85 at CLAS (Classified Stacks)
    • Asia's commercial law firms / edited by John Pritchard. -- London: Legalease, 1997- .  http://www.legal500.com/index.php
      KNC35 .A82 Current ed. at REF (Reference)
    • Asia Law & Practice, c1997- .
      KNC35 .L43  Current ed. at REF (Reference)  http://www.alphk.com/ scroll down to "Leading Lawyers"
    • AsiaLaw & Practice, 1996- .
      KNC35 .A74 Latest ed. at REF (Reference) http://www.alphk.com/ scroll down to "Asialaw Profiles"

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Bar Associations

    • Tokyo: The Association
      KNC35.I58 at CLAS (Classified Stacks)
    • London: International Bar Association, c1995.
      K68.D557 1995 at Reference Office

Law School Web Pages

Local Government Information
Newspapers
(See also China Core Newspapers Database (CCND))

Statistics on Chinese Law

  • 全国人民法院司法统计历史资料汇编, 1949-1998. 民事部分/ Zui gao ren min fa yuan yan jiu shi bian. -- Beijing: Ren min fa yuan chu ban she, 2000.
    KNQ30 .Q33 2000 at REF (Reference)
  • 全国人民法院司法统计历史资料汇编, 1949-1998. 刑事部 / Zui gao ren min fa yuan yan jiu shi bian. -- Beijing: Ren min fa yuan chu ban she, 2000.
    KNQ31 .Q33 2000 at REF (Reference) 法院司法统计讲座/ 最高人民法院"法院司法统计讲座 编写组编; 主编梁书文; 撰稿人王立文[等]。-- 北京市: 人民法院出版社, 1992。
    KNQ30 .F3 1992 at CLAS (Classified Stacks)
  • 中国經濟年鑑. -- 北京版．-- 北京: 经济管理杂志社, 1981-
    HC427.92.A1 C54 at CLAS (Classified Stacks) 中国法律年鉴. -- 北京: 法律出版社: 新华书店经销, 1987-
    KNQ6 .C68 at CLAS (Classified Stacks).  Current ed. at REF (Reference)
  • East Asia Library Statistical Yearbooks: Many statistical yearbooks by subject are available in the collection.

Translation Services

Please Note: The services listed below are not endorsed or recommended in any way. They are only listed as a starting point for those in need of Chinese legal translation services.

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University of Washington Resources

Marian Gould Gallagher Law Library Resources

The online catalog, Marian, http://marian.law.washington.edu/, has information on books and serials in the Law Library only. It does NOT contain records for periodical articles or cases or for books and serials held in other UW libraries.  Display of Chinese characters in the catalog is the default, but your browser's encoding level must be set to "Unicode" or "UTF8".

Departments in the Law Library

  • East Asian Law Department
    http://lib.law.washington.edu/eald/eald.html
    • China, Korea (North & South), Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau.
    • Backup for: Japan. Rob Britt
      William H. Gates Hall, Room L137
      Phone: 206-543-7447
      Email: rrbritt

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Finding Materials in the Gallagher Law Library

Maps to East Asian Law Materials (Adobe PDF files)
Call Numbers
  • http://marian.law.washington.edu/screens/helpc.html. Some more specific details are found below.
  • China may be classed in numbers other than KNQ and are shelved on L1 or L2 according to their call number.  For example, DS (Asian Studies), HD (Business), JS (Local Government), JQ (Political institutions and public administration in Asia, etc.), JZ (International Relations), K (Comparative Law), KNN (Chinese legal history), KNP (Taiwan law), and KZ (Law of Nations - which includes materials on Chinese Reunification, etc.). See also Library of Congress Call Numbers.
Specific Locations in the Library
  • Student papers on microfiche.

University of Washington Student Papers

  • Marian library catalog, search in the title index for "Student papers." Narrow the search by keyword, author, title, or subject.
  • Marian library catalog, search in the title index for "Student papers University of Washington. School of Law" Narrow the search by keyword, author, title, or subject.

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University of Washington East Asia Library (EAL), Chinese Studies Resources

University of Washington Libraries (does not include the Law Library).
Has bibliographic records (author, title, subject, publication information, etc.) for books and serials.

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Other Campus Libraries with China-Related Materials

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Research Strategies

The Online Catalogs

Where Are You?
First, make sure you know which catalog or index you are in.  If you are searching the University Libraries catalog, for example, you will not find any of the Law Library's titles included.

Help!
Searching the online catalogs is possible by author, title, subject, or by a combination of words in these fields. You may also restrict your search to books published in a specified year or range of years, in a given language, or by a particular publisher. For help in searching, use the online help screens or ask a librarian.

Subject Terms.
Subject headings for Chinese law topics include the general, e.g. Law-China; Justice, Administration of-China; and the specific, e.g. Products liability-China; Criminal procedure-China-Cases; Women-Legal status, laws, etc.-China.  Note that there are often closely related headings, e.g. Intellectual property, Copyright, Trademarks-Law and legislation, etc.  Do not stop with your first search!  Searches with and without the subheadings Law and legislation (under topics) or Legal status, laws, etc. (under classes of persons) will yield very different results.

Jurisdictions
Geographic subdivisions of subject headings indicate the jurisdiction or geographic area covered.  Examples:  China, Taiwan, European Economic Community countries, United States, Washington State.

Language
After retrieving a search result in the web-based catalog, you may limit your search only to works in English, only to works in Chinese, or to some other language.  To do this, click on the "Limit This Search" box at the top of your screen, choose the desired language in the pull-down menu, and click on the "Limit/Sort …" button at the bottom of the screen. 

Organizing a Research Strategy

What Are You Looking For? 
How you organize your research strategy depends on what you are looking for.  Are you looking for information in English, in Chinese, or in both languages?  Are you looking for general information on the Chinese legal system or for information about a particular topic?  For a specific law, case, or regulation?

General to Specific. 
If you know very little about Chinese law and the legal system, you may want to begin with a very general source such as a research guide or an overview to the legal system.  From there you could move to a somewhat more specific source.  For example, you might want to investigate what kind of environmental legislation exists in China.  In the end, you might look at various laws on very specific topics, for example, laws dealing with water pollution. 

Specific to General. 
On the other hand, you may have a very specific research topic in mind from the very beginning (for example, something about laws and regulations in China dealing with copyright of computer software).  Generally, if you have a very specific question such as this one, it is best to begin with a narrow, focused search.  Then, if you don't find what you are looking for in specialized books, journals, or databases, sometimes a search under a more generalized subject heading may still yield valuable information.  For example, if combining "computer software" and "China" did not yield the information you were looking for, combining "intellectual property" and "China" (or "intellectual property" and "East Asia" or just "Asia") might bear fruit.  Similarly, if you cannot locate an English translation of a particular Chinese statute in a set containing only the laws of China, sometimes  a broader, topical set of foreign laws may contain what you are looking for.  Examples of such multi-jurisdictional sources include Commercial Laws of the World, Tax Laws of the World, or the International Constitutional Law website mentioned above.

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