The influence of the Unidroit principles on the contract book of the Chinese Civil Code: process and examples

Abstract One of the main purposes of the Unidroit Principles of International Commercial Contracts (UPICC) is to serve as a source of inspiration and legal reference for domestic legislators. The evolution of China’s contract law system has been a gradual process, shaped by local characteristics and informed by the experiences of other legal systems. In this process, the UPICC have always been an important source of reference. This article introduces the stages of development of China’s contract law system after the reform and opening-up and shows the impact of the UPICC according to Chinese contact law’s developments over different time periods. It also illustrates examples in the latest Contract Book of the Civil Code that refers to, and incorporates, the rules of the UPICC and cases where the Contract Book to some extent still differs from the relevant provisions of the UPICC, which shows that China’s references to the UPICC are more in the form of consistency with basic concepts and similarities to some specific provisions but that it has not yet shown a systematic and large-scale incorporation or transplantation.