Lesson 8: Legal Language

Overview

Legal Chinese is one of the most demanding registers for advanced learners, combining the density of classical Chinese with modern technical terminology and the logical precision of codified law. Even native Chinese speakers who have not studied law find legal texts opaque, which means that at C1, the goal is not full legal literacy but functional command: the ability to read standard contract provisions, understand the structure of legal argumentation, and recognize the formal patterns through which rights, obligations, and liabilities are expressed. This lesson provides the essential grammar-lexical toolkit.

Learning Objectives

• Identify and produce the 根据...规定 and 依法... structural patterns in legal Chinese
• Read standard contract and statutory language with grammatical comprehension
• Understand the logical and register differences between legal obligations, rights, and prohibitions
• Recognize the classical Chinese features that persist in formal legal writing
• Produce a short formal provision or response using legal register

Key Vocabulary

Character	Pinyin	Register	Meaning	Usage Context
法律条文	fǎlǜ tiáowén	Legal/formal	Legal provision, statutory text	Law, regulation
合同条款	hétong tiáokuǎn	Legal	Contract clause	Contract law
诉讼	sùsòng	Legal	Litigation, lawsuit	Legal proceedings
仲裁	zhòngcái	Legal/formal	Arbitration	Dispute resolution
权益	quányì	Legal/formal	Rights and interests	Law, policy
责任	zérèn	Legal/formal	Liability, responsibility	Law, management
义务	yìwù	Legal/formal	Obligation, duty	Law, civic discourse
违约	wéiyuē	Legal	Breach of contract	Contract law
赔偿	péicháng	Legal	Compensation, indemnification	Law
管辖权	guǎnxiáquán	Legal	Jurisdiction	International law, civil procedure
当事人	dāngshìrén	Legal	Party (to a contract/lawsuit)	Legal proceedings
标的	biāodì	Legal	Subject matter (of contract)	Contract law
效力	xiàolì	Legal/formal	Legal force, validity	Contract, statutory law
不可抗力	bùkě kànglì	Legal	Force majeure	Contract law

Grammar & Structure

Pattern 1: 根据...规定 (pursuant to...provisions / according to...regulations)

This structure is the primary framing device for citing legal authority. It establishes the statutory or contractual basis for a legal statement or requirement and is used both in legislation itself and in legal correspondence and argumentation.

Examples:

1. 根据《中华人民共和国合同法》第一百一十四条之规定，当事人可以约定一方违约时应当向对方支付一定数额的违约金。(Gēnjù "Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó Hétong Fǎ" dì yībǎi yīshísì tiáo zhī guīdìng, dāngshìrén kěyǐ yuēdìng yī fāng wéiyuē shí yīngdāng xiàng duìfāng zhīfù yīdìng shùé de wéiyuē jīn.) — Pursuant to the provisions of Article 114 of the Contract Law of the People's Republic of China, the parties may stipulate that one party shall pay a certain amount of liquidated damages to the other party in the event of breach.
2. 根据本合同第七条的约定，乙方应在收到甲方书面通知后十五个工作日内提交完整的项目竣工报告。(Gēnjù běn hétong dì qī tiáo de yuēdìng, yǐ fāng yīng zài shōudào jiǎ fāng shūmiàn tōngzhī hòu shíwǔ gè gōngzuò rì nèi tíjiāo wánzhěng de xiàngmù jùngōng bàogào.) — Pursuant to the stipulation in Article 7 of this contract, Party B shall submit the complete project completion report within fifteen working days of receiving written notice from Party A.
3. 根据我国现行法律法规的相关规定，个人信息处理者在处理个人敏感信息时，须取得个人单独同意，并不得超出必要范围。(Gēnjù wǒguó xiànxíng fǎlǜ fǎguī de xiāngguān guīdìng, gèrén xìnxī chǔlǐ zhě zài chǔlǐ gèrén mǐngǎn xìnxī shí, xū qǔdé gèrén dāndú tóngyì, bìng bùdé chāochū bìyào fànwéi.) — In accordance with the relevant provisions of the current laws and regulations of our country, personal information processors must obtain separate individual consent when processing personal sensitive information and must not exceed the necessary scope.

Pattern 2: 依法... (in accordance with the law / lawfully)

依法 is a compressed legal adverbial meaning "in accordance with law" or "as required/permitted by law." It precedes a verb or verb phrase to indicate that an action is taken pursuant to legal authority. Common patterns: 依法处理 (handle in accordance with law), 依法追究责任 (pursue liability in accordance with law), 依法享有 (lawfully enjoy).

Examples:

1. 任何单位和个人均依法享有对国家机关及其工作人员提出批评和建议的权利，任何机关不得以任何理由压制或打击。(Rènhé dānwèi hé gèrén jūn yīfǎ xiǎngyǒu duì guójiā jīguān jí qí gōngzuòrén yuán tíchū pīpíng hé jiànyì de quánlì, rènhé jīguān bùdé yǐ rènhé lǐyóu yāzhì huò dǎjī.) — Any organization or individual lawfully enjoys the right to offer criticism and suggestions regarding state organs and their working staff, and no organ may suppress or retaliate on any grounds.
2. 对于违反本规定的经营者，市场监督管理部门将依法予以查处，情节严重者，依法吊销营业执照。(Duìyú wéifǎn běn guīdìng de jīngyíng zhě, shìchǎng jiāndū guǎnlǐ bùmén jiāng yīfǎ yǔyǐ chá chǔ, qíngjié yánzhòng zhě, yīfǎ diàoxiāo yíngyè zhízhào.) — Operators who violate these regulations will be investigated and dealt with in accordance with law by the market supervision and administration department; those whose circumstances are serious will have their business licenses revoked in accordance with law.
3. 甲方如未依约支付合同款项，乙方有权依法向有管辖权的人民法院提起诉讼，并主张由甲方承担全部诉讼费用及利息损失。(Jiǎ fāng rú wèi yī yuē zhīfù hétong kuǎnxiàng, yǐ fāng yǒuquán yīfǎ xiàng yǒu guǎnxiáquán de rénmín fǎyuàn tíqǐ sùsòng, bìng zhǔzhāng yóu jiǎ fāng chéngdān quánbù sùsòng fèiyòng jí lìxī sǔnshī.) — If Party A fails to pay the contractual sums as agreed, Party B has the right to bring a lawsuit before the competent people's court in accordance with law and to claim that Party A bear all litigation costs and interest losses.

Pattern 3: Obligation, right, and prohibition clauses (义务、权利与禁止条款)

Legal Chinese distinguishes three types of normative provision: obligations (应当/须, "shall/must"), rights (有权/可以, "has the right to / may"), and prohibitions (不得/禁止, "must not / is prohibited"). The choice among these creates legally significant distinctions.

Examples:

1. 用人单位应当依法与劳动者签订书面劳动合同，不得以口头协议代替，也不得以任何形式规避劳动者依法享有的社会保险权益。(Yòng rén dānwèi yīngdāng yīfǎ yǔ láodòngzhě qiāndìng shūmiàn láodòng hétong, bùdé yǐ kǒutóu xiéyì dàitì, yě bùdé yǐ rènhé xíngshì guìbì láodòngzhě yīfǎ xiǎngyǒu de shèhuì bǎoxiǎn quányì.) — Employing units shall sign written labor contracts with workers in accordance with law; they must not substitute verbal agreements, nor circumvent in any form the social insurance rights and interests workers lawfully enjoy.
2. 合同双方当事人均有权在合同有效期届满前六十日内就合同续签或终止事宜向对方发出书面通知。(Hétong shuāngfāng dāngshìrén jūn yǒuquán zài hétong yǒuxiào qī jiémǎn qián liùshí rì nèi jiù hétong xùqiān huò zhōngzhǐ shìyí xiàng duìfāng fāchū shūmiàn tōngzhī.) — Both parties to the contract have the right to issue written notice to the other party concerning contract renewal or termination within sixty days before the expiry of the contract's validity period.
3. 未经著作权人书面授权，任何单位或个人不得以营利为目的对本作品进行复制、发行、改编或以信息网络方式传播。(Wèi jīng zhùzuòquán rén shūmiàn shòuquán, rènhé dānwèi huò gèrén bùdé yǐ yínglì wéi mùdì duì běn zuòpǐn jìnxíng fùzhì, fāxíng, gǎibiān huò yǐ xìnxī wǎngluò fāngshì chuánbō.) — Without the written authorization of the copyright holder, no organization or individual may reproduce, distribute, adapt, or transmit this work via information networks for profit-making purposes.

Authentic Chinese Text

Source type: Contract clause (合同条款)

第十二条 违约责任

12.1 甲方如未按本合同约定的时间和金额支付款项，视为甲方违约。乙方有权要求甲方在违约之日起十个工作日内补足欠款，并按日支付欠款金额万分之三的违约金。

12.2 乙方如未能按合同附件一所列时间节点交付成果物，视为乙方违约。甲方有权要求乙方在违约通知发出后七个工作日内完成交付，并就迟延交付期间造成的直接损失主张赔偿，但最高赔偿额不超过合同总价款的百分之十五。

12.3 因不可抗力导致合同无法履行的，不可抗力一方应在事件发生后四十八小时内以书面形式通知对方，并在合理期限内提供相关证明文件。双方应友好协商，确定合同的变更或终止事宜。

Translation: Article 12: Liability for Breach of Contract

12.1 If Party A fails to pay the sums in the time and amount stipulated in this contract, Party A shall be deemed to be in breach. Party B has the right to require Party A to make up the outstanding payment within ten working days from the date of breach, and to pay liquidated damages at three ten-thousandths of the outstanding amount per day.

12.2 If Party B fails to deliver deliverables in accordance with the time nodes listed in Annex 1 to this contract, Party B shall be deemed to be in breach. Party A has the right to require Party B to complete delivery within seven working days of the issuance of the breach notice, and to claim compensation for direct losses caused during the period of delayed delivery, provided that the maximum compensation shall not exceed fifteen percent of the total contract price.

12.3 If force majeure renders the contract impossible to perform, the party affected by force majeure shall notify the other party in writing within forty-eight hours of the event occurring and shall provide relevant supporting documents within a reasonable period. Both parties shall engage in friendly consultation to determine matters of contract modification or termination.

Analysis Questions

1. Article 12.1 and 12.2 establish different breach scenarios for each party. Compare the remedies available to each party and explain whether they are symmetrical. What would a lawyer argue about the asymmetry, if any?
2. The phrase 视为...违约 (shall be deemed to constitute breach) is a legal term of art. Why does legal drafting use "deemed" rather than simply stating "is in breach"? What is the practical significance of this distinction?
3. The force majeure clause (12.3) uses 友好协商 (friendly consultation). This phrase appears in many Chinese contracts. Is this a substantive legal obligation or a procedural gesture? What follows if the parties cannot reach agreement?
4. Identify three instances of 应当/应 and two instances of 有权 in the text. For each pair, explain what legal and practical difference the distinction between obligation and right creates.

Production Task

Writing task: Draft a 100-word contract clause (in formal legal Chinese) dealing with confidentiality obligations. The clause should cover: (a) what information is considered confidential, (b) the obligation of the receiving party, (c) permitted exceptions to confidentiality, and (d) the consequences of breach. Use the legal structural patterns from this lesson, including at least one 不得 prohibition and one 依法 construction.

Cultural or Linguistic Note

Chinese legal language carries the imprint of several distinct historical layers. The foundational vocabulary of classical Chinese law — terms from the 唐律 and 大清律例 — has given way to a modernized legal lexicon, much of which was developed during the Republican period (1912-1949) under the influence of German, Japanese, and Swiss civil law systems. The PRC's legal system underwent further transformation after 1978, with major codification work accelerating after 2000 and culminating in the promulgation of the 民法典 (Civil Code) in 2020.

What this means in practice is that the vocabulary of Chinese legal texts is genuinely hybrid: terms like 当事人, 标的, and 不可抗力 were imported from European law via Japanese translation (日本法制语言); 根据...规定 reflects both classical citation practice and modern statutory drafting conventions; and 依法 compresses a Confucian-legal tradition of rule-following into two characters. For the advanced learner, awareness of this layered etymology is not merely academic — it helps explain why certain legal terms are genuinely untranslatable and why legal translation between Chinese and English always involves conceptual negotiation, not merely lexical substitution.