CIVIL LAW AND CIVIL PROCEDURE

Principles of civil law in kazakhstan and china: formal convergence and substantive Divergence in the context of post-socialist development

Abstract

Article provides a comparative legal analysis of the fundamental principles of civil law in the Republic of Kazakhstan and the People's Republic of China. The subject of the study includes the principles of equality, freedom of contract, inviolability of property, good faith, and justice, as well as principles reflecting the national specificities of the two legal systems. The purpose of the research is to identify substantive and functional differences in these principles despite their formal similarity, обусловленной принадлежностью обеих систем к континентальной правовой традиции. The methodological framework comprises comparative legal, historical legal, and formal doctrinal methods. The analysis demonstrates that Kazakhstan’s civil law, codified during the post-Soviet reforms, embodies a liberal market-oriented model in which legal principles perform protective and limiting functions aimed at safeguarding private autonomy. By contrast, the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China represents a legal hybrid that instrumentalizes private law principles to achieve economic and ideological objectives articulated within the framework of “socialism with Chinese characteristics.” This is manifested in the hierarchy of forms of ownership, the restriction of freedom of contract through the categories of “public order” and “core socialist values,” and the socially oriented interpretation of the principle of justice. It is concluded that the formal convergence of legal institutions is accompanied by a fundamental divergence in their substantive content and functional purpose, reflecting profound differences in the political and economic models of the two states.