I. General Provisions

Article 1 Cases of civil disputes arising from the legal facts occurring after the Civil Code comes into force shall be governed by the Civil Code.

Cases of civil disputes arising from the legal facts occurring before the Civil Code comes into force shall be governed by the laws and judicial interpretations in force at that time, except as otherwise provided for by any law or judicial interpretation.

Cases of civil disputes arising from the legal facts occurring before the Civil Code comes into force and lasting until after the Civil Code comes into force shall be governed by the Civil Code, except as otherwise provided for by any law or judicial interpretation.

Article 2 Where cases of civil disputes arising from the legal facts occurring before the Civil Code comes into force are provided for by any laws or administrative interpretations in force at that time, such laws or judicial interpretations shall apply, except that the application of the Civil Code is more conducive to protecting the lawful rights and interests of the parties to civil legal relations, maintaining the social and economic order, and upholding core socialist values.

Article 3 Where cases of civil disputes arising from the legal facts occurring before the Civil Code comes into force are not provided for by laws and judicial interpretations in force at that time but are provided for by the Civil Code, the Civil Code may apply, except that the application of the Civil Code obviously impairs the lawful rights and interests of the parties, increases the parties' legal obligations or deviates from the parties' reasonable expectations.

Article 4 For cases of civil disputes arising from the legal facts occurring before the Civil Code comes into force, where the laws or judicial interpretations in force at that time only set forth fundamental provisions while the Civil Code set forth specific provisions, the laws or judicial interpretations in force at that time shall apply, but adjudicative reasoning can be made according to the specific provisions of the Civil Code.

Article 5 Where a case for which a final judgment has been made before the Civil Code comes into force is retried upon petition of a party or as decided under the trial supervision procedures, the Civil Code shall not apply.

II. Specific Provisions on Retroactive Application

Article 6 Cases of civil disputes arising from infringements upon the names, likenesses, reputations, or honors of heroes or martyrs, among others, which cause damage to the public interest, before the General Provisions of the Civil Law of the People's Republic of China come into force shall be governed by Article 185  of the Civil Code.

Article 7 Where, before the Civil Code comes into force, the parties agree before the expiration of the term for the performance of obligations that the mortgaged property or the pledged property shall belong to the creditor if the debtor fails to pay the due debts, Articles 401 and 428 of the Civil Code shall apply.

Article 8 Where a contract entered into before the Civil Code comes into force becomes invalid if any law or judicial interpretation in force at that time applies but is valid if the Civil Code applies, the relevant provisions of the Civil Code shall apply.

Article 9 For a contract entered into before the Civil Code comes into force, where the party furnishing the standard terms fails to perform the reminding or explanation obligation, and thus the determination of validity of standard terms is involved, Article 496 of the Civil Code shall apply.

Article 10 Where, before the Civil Code comes into force, a party, without notifying the other party, directly claims the rescission of a contract according to the law by instituting an action, paragraph 2 of Article 565 of the Civil Code shall apply.

Article 11 Where a party to a contract entered into before the Civil Code comes into force fails to perform the non-monetary obligations, or fails to perform the non-monetary obligations as agreed, the other party may request such performance. However, under any of the exceptional circumstances in subparagraphs (1), (2) and (3) of paragraph 1 of Article 580 of the Civil Code, which makes it impossible to achieve the purpose of the contract, a party requests the termination of the relationship of contractual obligations and rights, paragraph 2 of Article 580 of the Civil Code shall apply.

Article 12 Where any dispute arises over a factoring contract concluded before the Civil Code comes into force, Chapter XVI of Book Three of the Civil Code shall apply.

Article 13 Where any dispute arises over whether a successor who commits any of the conduct as prescribed in subparagraphs (4) and (5) of paragraph 1 of Article 1125 of the Civil Code before the Civil Code comes into force shall be disinherited, paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 1125 of the Civil Code shall apply.

Where any dispute arises over whether a legatee who commits any of the conduct as prescribed in paragraph 1 of Article 1125 of the Civil Code before the Civil Code comes into force shall be deprived of the right to legacy, paragraphs 1 and 3 of Article 1125 of the Civil Code shall apply.

Article 14 Where a decedent dies before the Civil Code comes into force, with his estate left with neither a successor nor a legatee, and any child of his brother or sister requests inheritance in subrogation, paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 1128 of the Civil Code shall apply, except that the disposition of the estate has been completed before the Civil Code comes into force.

Article 15 Where the parties have any dispute over the validity of a will made in a printed form before the Civil Code comes into force, Article 1136 of the Civil Code shall apply, except that the disposition of the estate has been completed before the Civil Code comes into force.

Article 16 Cases of civil disputes arising from the damage suffered by voluntary participants in the recreational and sports activities carrying certain risks before the Civil Code comes into force shall be governed by Article 1176 of the Civil Code.

Article 17 Cases of civil disputes arising from the victims' adoption of measures such as distraining the property of the tortfeasors for the purpose of protecting their own lawful rights and interests before the Civil Code comes into force shall be governed by Article 1177 of the Civil Code.

Article 18 Cases of civil disputes arising from the harm to passengers taking the ride gratuitously caused by non-commercial motor vehicles involved in traffic accidents before the Civil Code comes into force shall be governed by Article 1217 of the Civil Code.

Article 19 Cases of civil disputes arising from the harm to others caused by any objects thrown out of buildings or falling down from buildings before the Civil Code comes into force shall be governed by Article 1254 of the Civil Code.