A wide range of changes to the 71-year-old Civil Code
The changes, including the creation of three new chapters and amendments to 234 articles, are the first since the Civil Code was created in 1929, when the KMT government was based in China.
In light of increasing disputes over travel contracts in recent years, a chapter on travel has been specially designed to protect consumers' rights to alter contracts or claim compensation for flawed service from travel agencies.
Under the new law, travel agencies cannot refuse a customer's request to transfer his or her travel contract to another person if an incident occurs which prevents the person from traveling.
In the past, such transfers were not allowed.
Under the new law, consumers will also be able to request partial refunds from agencies if the services provided are different from what was agreed to in the contract.
Moreover, the new law allows travelers to claim compensation from their service providers when any delay, such as a flight delay, occurs during the trip.
In addition to regulations on travel services, the new law also extends protection to members of "rotating credit associations" (
Such associations are generally formed among relatives, friends, or neighbors.
The head of the society collects monthly savings from each member within a set term and then any of the members can then borrow the collected money when needed.
Under the new regulations, all members of the association are contractually bound and have a legal relationship with each other.
Thus, even if one member breaks the contract, the members who have borrowed money from the society continue to be obligated to fulfill the terms of the pact -- to pay back debts to the others.
Equally important in the newly revised code is an amendment that extends the scope of compensation that can be claimed under an infringement of personal rights.
While the old law limited personal rights to body, health, reputation and personal liberty, the amendment allows compensation claims for infringement of one's rights of credit, privacy, virginity and other rights one obtains from parental or marital relationships.
For example, under the amendment, a husband can request compensation from an offender who has sexually assaulted his wife. Parents of a child who is taken away from them may also claim compensation from the offender for the psychological distress they have suffered.
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