Way of the future

The mainland currently has a range of civil laws defining various property rights, from mortgage guarantee to land use.

The most important is the General Principles of Civil Law, which form the basis of the civil code and are based on a system adopted from the former Soviet Union.

The general principles give greater legal protection to public ownership than the private sector and were included in the civil code when the country was dominated by the planned economy.

The new Property Law, however, will lay out the principles of private ownership, consolidate all the rules on property, and give property rights legislative standing.