Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Minors
Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Minors
Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Minors
Order of the president [1991] N0.50
September 4, 1991
(Adopted at the 21st Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Seventh National People's Congress on September 4, 1991, promulgated by Order No. 50 of the President of the People's Republic of China)
Content
CHAPTER I GENERAL PROVISIONS
CHAPTER II PROTECTION BY THE FAMILY
CHAPTER III PROTECTION BY THE SCHOOL
CHAPTER IV PROTECTION BY THE SOCIETY
CHAPTER V JUDICIAL PROTECTION
CHAPTER VI LEGAL RESPONSIBILITY
CHAPTER VII SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS
CHAPTER I GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1 This Law is enacted in accordance with the Constitution for the purpose of protecting the physical and mental health of minors, safeguarding their lawful rights and interests, promoting their all- round development-morally, intellectually and physically, and training them into successors to the socialist cause with lofty ideals, sound morality, better education and a good sense of discipline.
Article 2 Minors as used in this Law refer to citizens under the age of eighteen.
Article 3 The State, society, schools and families shall educate minors in ideals, morality, culture, discipline and legal system as well as in patriotism, collectivism, internationalism and communism, foster among them the social ethics of loving the motherland, the people, labour, science and socialism, and fight against the corrosive influences of bourgeois, feudal and other decadent ideologies.
Article 4 The protection of minors shall follow the following principles:
1. Safeguarding the lawful rights and interests of minors;
2. Respecting the personal dignity of minors;
3. Fitting in with the characteristics of minors' physical and mental development; and
4. Combining education with protection.
Article 5 The State shall protect the rights of the person and property as well as other lawful rights and interests of minors from violation.
To protect minors is the common responsibility of State organs, armed forces, political parties, social organizations, enterprises and institutions, self-governing organizations of mass character at grass- roots levels in urban and rural areas, guardians of minors and other adult citizens.
Any organization or individual shall have the right to dissuade or stop any act encroaching upon the lawful rights and interests of minors, or report to or complain before a department concerned thereagainst.
The State, society, schools and families shall educate and help minors to safeguard their lawful rights and interests by legal means.
Article 6 State organs at the central and local levels shall, within the scope of their functions and responsibilities, ensure the protection of minors.
The State Council and the people's governments of the provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall adopt organizational measures according to needs to coordinate the departments concerned in their efforts to ensure the protection of minors.
The Communist Youth League organs, women's federations, trade unions, youth federations, students' federations, young pioneers' organizations and other social organizations shall assist the people's governments at various levels in ensuring the protection of minors and safeguarding their lawful rights and interests.
Article 7 The people's governments at various levels and departments concerned shall give awards to organizations and individuals that have made outstanding achievements in the protection of minors.
CHAPTER II PROTECTION BY THE FAMILY
Article 8 The parents or other guardians of minors shall fulfil their responsibility of guardianship and their obligations according to law to bring up the minors. They shall not maltreat or forsake the minors, nor shall they discriminate against female or handicapped minors. Infanticide and infant-abandoning shall be forbidden.
Article 9 The parents or other guardians of minors shall respect the minors' right to receive education, must ensure to the minors of school age the compulsory education as provided by relevant regulations, and shall not make minors receiving compulsory education at school discontinue their schooling.
Article 10 The parents or other guardians of minors shall cultivate the minors in sound ideology and conduct by appropriate methods, guide them to undertake activities that are conducive to their physical and mental development, prevent and stop them from smoking, excessive drinking, leading a vagrant life, gambling, drug-taking or prostitution.
Article 11 The parents or other guardians of minors may not permit or force the minors to marry, nor may they undertake an engagement for the minors.
Article 12 The parents or other guardians of minors who refuse to perform their duties as guardians or encroach upon the lawful rights and interests of the minors under their guardianship shall bear the responsibility therefor according to law.
Where the parents or other guardians of minors commit any act specified in the preceding paragraph and refuse to mend their ways after education, the people's court may, upon application by the person(s) or unit(s) concerned, disqualify them as guardians and designate guardians anew in accordance with the provisions in Article 16 of the General Principles of the Civil Law.
CHAPTER III PROTECTION BY THE SCHOOL
Article 13 Schools shall comprehensively implement the State policy for education and conduct moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic and labour education among the minor students, and give them guidance in social life as well as education in puberty knowledge.
Schools shall show concern for and take good care of the minor students; with respect to those who have shortcomings in conduct or difficulties in study, schools shall give patient education and help, and may not discriminate against them.
Article 14 Schools shall respect the minor students' right to receive education and may not arbitrarily expel any minor students from schools.
Article 15 Teaching and administrative staff in schools and kindergartens shall respect the personal dignity of the minors, and may not enforce corporal punishment or corporal punishment in disguised forms, or any other act that humiliates the personal dignity of the minors.
Article 16 Schools may not let the minor students engage in any activity in school buildings or in any other educational and teaching facilities that are dangerous to their personal safety and health.
No organization or individual may disrupt the order of teaching in schools, occupy or damage school ground, housing and installations.
Article 17 Collective activities organized by schools and kindergartens for minor students and children, such as taking part in rallies, recreational activities and social practices, shall be conductive to the sound growth of minors; accidents endangering personal safety shall be prevented.
Article 18 In respect of minors who are sent to work-and-study schools to receive compulsory education pursuant to relevant regulations of the State, the work-and-study schools shall conduct among such minors ideological, cultural, labour skill and vocational education.
Teaching and administrative staff in work-and-study schools shall show concern for, take good care of and respect the students and may not discriminate against or detest such students.
Article 19 Kindergartens shall do a good job in nursing care and education so as to promote the harmonious development of the children in physique, intellectual ability and moral values.
CHAPTER IV PROTECTION BY THE SOCIETY
Article 20 The State shall encourage social organizations, enterprises, institutions and other organizations and citizens to hold various forms of social activities that are conducive to the sound growth of minors.
Article 21 People's governments at various levels shall create conditions to establish and improve places and facilities suited to the needs of minors for cultural life.
Article 22 Museums, memorial halls, scientific and technological centres, cultural centres, cinemas and theatres, stadiums and gymnasiums, zoos, parks and other similar places shall be open to secondary school students and primary school pupils on preferential basis.
Article 23 In respect of places, such as commercial dancing halls that are not appropriate for minors to take part in the activities therein, the competent departments and business managers shall take measures to ensure that no admission shall be given to minors.
Article 24 The State shall encourage units of the press, publication, broadcasting, film and television, art and literature, as well as writers, scientists, artists and other citizens to create or provide works beneficial to the sound growth of minors.
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