The Emergence of Private Property Law in China and Its Impact on Human Rights

This article explores the implications for, and development of, private property law in the PRC and its connection to the growth of the nascent Chinese human rights system. It evaluates the vitality of newly emerging human rights trends, reviews their historic, legal, and social backgrounds, and discusses how the introduction of private property in China has fundamentally altered its civil society. Drawing upon a comparative examination of international authority and statutory analysis, and evaluating them from the perspectives of both Chinese and Western scholarship, this article analyzes the trends behind improving democratic structures by reviewing the self-governance of condominium owners associations and the human rights improvements they have spawned. It also examines evolving statutory law governing property expropriation and newly developing rights to property in the PRC. Such progressive trends are counteracted by local corruption, lack of enforcement, and inadequate judicial review. These negative factors have traditional and historic underpinnings, which are currently being addressed by the Chinese legislature. This article will review this relevant legislation and offer predictions for the future of the Chinese private property system as it begins to nurture budding human rights reforms. Finally, it suggests initiatives to maximize those reforms through efficient legislative drafting and other efforts designed to nurture the sensitive and sometimes volatile free market