The Re-emergence of Family Law 113 the Civil Procedure Laws of 198221 and 199122 all contain provisions significantly affecting marriage and family.Moreover,a regulatory regime for family planning is being put in place,although it does not yet include a general national law on birth limitation.23 The Chinese family in the PRC has itself come a long way in official eyes from the time when it was attacked as an institution inappropriate for a socialist society.Efforts during the Great Leap Forward to weaken the family were abandoned after a very short time,24 and the disruptions to family authority patterns and other aspects of family life caused by the Cultural Revolution are now officially condemned.?5 The family in post- Mao China is seen by the state and the Party as serving a variety of key functions,and increasingly this view is expressed in formal,published law.Official views link sexual conduct firmly to marriage:the family is the only institution within which sexual behaviour is allowed.A wife and her husband are expected to share a sexual relationship and the Supreme People's Court in 1989 stipulated that an"inability to carry out sexual intercourse"(buneng fasheng xingxingwei)constitutes a specific ground for divorce under Article 25 of the Marriage Law 1980.26 Pre-marital and extra-marital sex are not tolerated officially.The family also provides the officially sanctioned matrix within which reproduction takes place and, given the limited degree of immigration which China allows,it is an obvious but important truth that the future existence of society in the PRC depends on the family,just as it does in most societies.The Marriage Law and the Constitution assume that reproduction will only take place in the family when they stipulate that"both husband and wife shall 21.Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo minshi susong fa(shixing)(Civil Procedure Law of the PRC(for Trial Implementation))1982.in ibid.pp.186-197.See,in particular,Articles 6 and 14 (use of mediation by the courts and by people's mediation committees).97-102(judicial mediation rules),30(4)(the jurisdiction of the courts in inheritance disputes),54(requirement of personal appearance in divorce cases),109(possibility of holding divorce hearings in camera),119(suspension of proceedings in inheritance and divorce cases),124-27(summary procedures).139-140(guardianship).141-43 (ownerless property),and 185-205 (special provision for civil actions involving foreign parties). 22.Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo minshi susong fa(Civil Procedure Law of the PRC) 1991,in Zhongguo falii nianjian 1992.pp.134-151.See especially Articles 9,16,85-91,128 155,180,and 216(mediation),22 (territorial jurisdiction in cases with a foreign element). 34(2)(territorial jurisdiction in inheritance cases).97 (preliminary execution in cases involving overdue alimony,maintenance and child support),111(7)(interrupted divorce petitions),120(divorce cases held in camera),121 (circuit courts which conduct on-the-spot trials),137(suspension or conclusion of proceedings in cases involving inheritance,divorce, maintenance and so on),and 237-269(special provisions for civil action involving foreign parties). 23.The publication of the current draft of a eugenics law has given rise to considerable and immediate criticism by observers outside China-see below.Such criticisms will further weaken attempts to introduce a full national code of family planning. 24.On such efforts see Michael Palmer,"Some general observations on family law in the People's Republic of China,"in M.Freeman (ed.),Annual Survey of Family Law:1985,Vol. 9(1986),pp.41-68. 25.Ibid. 26.Supreme People's Court."Some Specific Opinions on divorce,"at Article 1. 27.Marriage Law 1980,Articles 2 and 12. 28.Constitution 1982,Article 49. Downloaded from http:/www.cambridge.org/core.Shanghai JiaoTong University,on 15 Oct 2016 at 08:21:12,subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use available at http:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms.http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/50305741000032938The Re-emergence of Family Law 113 the Civil Procedure Laws of 19822 ' and 199122 all contain provisions significantly affecting marriage and family. Moreover, a regulatory regime for family planning is being put in place, although it does not yet include a general national law on birth limitation.23 The Chinese family in the PRC has itself come a long way in official eyes from the time when it was attacked as an institution inappropriate for a socialist society. Efforts during the Great Leap Forward to weaken the family were abandoned after a very short time,24 and the disruptions to family authority patterns and other aspects of family life caused by the Cultural Revolution are now officially condemned.25 The family in post￾Mao China is seen by the state and the Party as serving a variety of key functions, and increasingly this view is expressed in formal, published law. Official views link sexual conduct firmly to marriage: the family is the only institution within which sexual behaviour is allowed. A wife and her husband are expected to share a sexual relationship and the Supreme People's Court in 1989 stipulated that an "inability to carry out sexual intercourse" (buneng fasheng xingxingwei) constitutes a specific ground for divorce under Article 25 of the Marriage Law 1980.26 Pre-marital and extra-marital sex are not tolerated officially. The family also provides the officially sanctioned matrix within which reproduction takes place and, given the limited degree of immigration which China allows, it is an . obvious but important truth that the future existence of society in the PRC f depends on the family, just as it does in most societies. The Marriage Law27 and the Constitution28 assume that reproduction will only take place in the family when they stipulate that "both husband and wife shall 21. Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo minshi susong fa (shixing) (Civil Procedure Law of the PRC (for Trial Implementation)) 1982, in ibid. pp. 186-197. See, in particular, Articles 6 and 14 (use of mediation by the courts and by people's mediation committees), 97-102 (judicial mediation rules), 30(4) (the jurisdiction of the courts in inheritance disputes), 54 (requirement of personal appearance in divorce cases), 109 (possibility of holding divorce hearings in camera), 119 (suspension of proceedings in inheritance and divorce cases), 124—27 (summary procedures), 139-140 (guardianship), 141-^43 (ownerless property), and 185-205 (special provision for civil actions involving foreign parties). 22. Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo minshi susong fa (Civil Procedure Law of the PRC) l99l,inZhongguofaliinianjian 1992, pp. 134-151. See especially Articles 9,16,85-91,128, 155, 180, and 216 (mediation), 22 (territorial jurisdiction in cases with a foreign element), 34(2) (territorial jurisdiction in inheritance cases), 97 (preliminary execution in cases involving overdue alimony, maintenance and child support), 111(7) (interrupted divorce petitions), 120 (divorce cases held in camera), 121 (circuit courts which conduct on-the-spot trials), 137 (suspension or conclusion of proceedings in cases involving inheritance, divorce, maintenance and so on), and 237-269 (special provisions for civil action involving foreign parties). 23. The publication of the current draft of a eugenics law has given rise to considerable and immediate criticism by observers outside China - see below. Such criticisms will further weaken attempts to introduce a full national code of family planning. 24. On such efforts see Michael Palmer, "Some general observations on family law in the People's Republic of China," in M. Freeman (ed.), Annual Survey of Family Law: 1985, Vol. 9 (1986), pp. 41-68. 25. Ibid. 26. Supreme People's Court. "Some Specific Opinions on divorce," at Article 1. 27. Marriage Law 1980, Articles 2 and 12. 28. Constitution 1982, Article 49. , available at http:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0305741000032938 Downloaded from http:/www.cambridge.org/core. Shanghai JiaoTong University, on 15 Oct 2016 at 08:21:12, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use