Chapter VI Civil Liability
Section 1 General Stipulations
Article 106
Citizens and legal persons who breach a contract or fail to fulfil other
obligations shall bear civil liability.
Citizens and legal persons who through their fault encroach upon state or
collective property or the property or person of other people shall bear
civil liability. Civil liability shall still be borne even in the absence
of fault, if the law so stipulates.
Article 107
Civil liability shall not be borne for failure to perform a contract or
damage to a third party if it is caused by force majeure, except as
otherwise provided by law.
Article 108
Debts shall be cleared. If a debtor is unable to repay his debt
immediately, he may repay by instalments with the consent of the creditor
or a ruling by a people's court. If a debtor is capable of repaying his
debt but refuses to do so, repayment shall be compelled by the decision of
a people's court.
Article 109
If a person suffers damages from preventing or stopping encroachment on
state or collective property, or the property or person of a third party,
the infringer shall bear responsibility for compensation, and the
beneficiary may also give appropriate compensation.
Article 110
Citizens or legal persons who bear civil liability shall also be held for
administrative responsibility if necessary. If the acts committed by
citizens and legal persons constitute crimes, criminal responsibility of
their legal representatives shall be investigated in accordance with the
law.
Section 2 Civil Liability for Breach of Contract
Article 111
If a party fails to fulfil its contractual obligations or violates the
term of a contract while fulfilling the obligations, the other party shall
have the right to demand fulfillment or the taking of remedial measures
and claim compensation for its losses.
Article 112
The party that breaches a contract shall be liable for compensation equal
to the losses consequently suffered by the other party.
The parties may specify in a contract that if one party breaches the
contract it shall pay the other party a certain amount of breach of
contract damages; they may also specify in the contract the method of
assessing the compensation for any losses resulting from a breach of
contract.
Article 113
If both parties breach the contract, each party shall bear its respective
civil liability.
Article 114
If one party is suffering losses owing to the other party's breach of
contract, it shall take prompt measures to prevent the losses from
increasing; if it does not promptly do so, it shall not have the right to
claim compensation for the additional losses.
Article 115
A party's right to claim compensation for losses shall not be affected by
the alteration or termination of a contract.
Article 116
If a party fails to fulfil its contractual obligations on account of a
higher authority, it shall first compensate for the losses of the other
party or take other remedial measures as contractually agreed and then the
higher authority shall be responsible for settling the losses it
sustained.
Section 3 Civil Liability for Infringement of Rights
Article 117
Anyone who encroaches on the property of the state, a collective or
another person shall return the property; failing that, he shall reimburse
its estimated price. Anyone who damages the property of the state, a
collective or another person shall restore the property to its original
condition or reimburse its estimated price. If the victim suffers other
great losses therefrom, the infringer shall compensate for those losses as
well.
Article 118
If the rights of authorship (copyrights), patent rights, rights to
exclusive use of trademarks, rights of discovery, rights of invention or
rights for scientific and technological research achievements of citizens
or legal persons are infringed upon by such means as plagiarism,
alteration or imitation, they shall have the right to demand that the
infringement be stopped, its ill effects be eliminated and the damages be
compensated for.
Article 119
Anyone who infringes upon a citizen's person and causes him physical
injury shall pay his medical expenses and his loss in income due to missed
working time and shall pay him living subsidies if he is disabled; if the
victim dies, the infringe shall also pay the funeral expenses, the
necessary living expenses of the deceased's dependents and other such
expenses.
Article 120
If a citizen's right of personal name, portrait, reputation or honour is
infringed upon, he shall have the right to demand that the infringement be
stopped, his reputation be rehabilitated, the ill effects be eliminated
and an apology be made; he may also demand compensation for losses.
The above paragraph shall also apply to infringements upon a legal
person's right of name, reputation or honour.
Article 121
If a state organ or its personnel, while executing its duties, encroaches
upon the lawful rights and interests of a citizen or legal person and
causes damage, it shall bear civil liability.
Article 122
If a substandard product causes property damage or physical injury to
others, the manufacturer or seller shall bear civil liability according to
law. If the transporter or storekeeper is responsible for the matter, the
manufacturer or seller shall have the right to demand compensation for its
losses.
Article 123
If any person causes damage to other people by engaging in operations that
are greatly hazardous to the surroundings, such as operations conducted
high aboveground, or those involving high pressure, high voltage,
combustibles, explosives, highly toxic or radioactive substances or high-
speed means of transport, he shall bear civil liability; however, if it
can be proven that the damage was deliberately caused by the victim, he
shall not bear civil liability.
Article 124
Any person who pollutes the environment and causes damage to others in
violation of state provisions for environmental protection and the
prevention of pollution shall bear civil liability in accordance with the
law.
Article 125
Any constructor who engages in excavation, repairs or installation of
underground facilities in a public place, on a roadside or in a passageway
without setting up clear signs and adopting safety measures and thereby
causes damage to others shall bear civil liability.
Article 126
If a building or any other installation or an object placed or hung on a
structure collapses, detaches or drops down and causes damage to others,
its owner or manager shall bear civil liability, unless he can prove
himself not at fault.
Article 127
If a domesticated animal causes harm to any person, its keeper or manager
shall bear civil liability. If the harm occurs through the fault of the
victim, the keeper or manager shall not bear civil liability; if the harm
occurs through the fault of a third party, the third party shall bear
civil liability.
Article 128
A person who causes harm in exercising justifiable defence shall not bear