A Comparative Study of Theories of the Object of Civil Law

After a thorough study of 32 definitions of the object of civil law which were put forward by scholars in 19 countries and regions across 4 continents,this paper concludes that they fall into three mainstream doctrines,i.e.,the old-parallel doctrine,the new-parallel doctrine,and the folding-fan doctrine, an additional one being labeled the miscellaneous doctrine.The definition of object of civil law in The General Principles of The Civil Law of The P.R.C belongs to the German variation of the old-parallel doctrine.It is defective because it overlooks the existence of law of personality that is a characteristic of public law in the civil law.Therefore,it is suggested that the object of civil law in our country be defined as follows: the civil law confirms the status of persons and their property and coordinates the relations between the persons,which include relations concerning family members and relatives,succession,ownership of property,intellectual property right,and obligation.