全国人大通过民法总则草案

On March 15, China’s national legislature (立法机构) passed the General Provisions of the Civil Law (民法总则草案), which will take effect on Oct 1. It is the opening chapter of a civil code, to be enacted (颁布) in 2020.
3月15日，我国全国立法机构表决通过了民法总则草案，该草案将于10月1日起生效。这也是将于2020年颁布的民法典的开篇之作。

The move is seen as a big step forward in the legal system that will lead to better protection of the civil activities of society in China.
这一举措被视为法制（建设）向前迈出的一大步，中国社会的民事活动将会得到更好的保护。

“Napoleon once said his glory lay not in his military achievements, but the civil code that would rule after his death,” Qiao Xiaoyang, a National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee member and head of the NPC Law Committee, told Xinhua News Agency.
“拿破仑曾说，他的荣耀不在于他的军事成就，而在于他留给后世的民法典，”全国人大常委会委员、全国人大法律委员会主任委员乔晓阳在接受新华社采访时表示。

“Why is the civil code important? Because the Constitution (宪法) sets limits for public power, while the civil code upholds (维护) private rights,” he said.
“为何民法典如此重要？因为如果我们说宪法重在限制公权力，那么民法典就重在保护私权利，”他说道。

The General Provisions cover comprehensive (全面的) areas of legal rules concerning people’s civil life. Below, Teens has picked some of the highlights.
该总则涵盖了关于人民群众公民生活的方方面面。以下是本报选取的部分亮点。

Protection of personal information
保护个人信息

The General Provisions state that no individual shall illegally collect, use, process and transmit personal information, nor should they illegally trade, distribute (散布) or disclose any personal information.
民法总则规定，任何个人不得非法收集、使用、加工、传输个人信息，不得非法买卖、提供或者公开个人信息。

Protection of data and virtual properties are also clarified.
同时也提出了对数据、虚拟财产的保护。

The General Provisions have been hailed by experts as a move that reflects the legal trend of respecting individuals’ privacy and their legal rights in the era of the Internet and big data.
该民法总则获得了专家的称赞，认为其反映了在互联网和大数据时代下，尊重个人隐私和合法权利的立法趋势。

Samaritans (好心人) to be encouraged
鼓励见义勇为

It’s good when people help others in emergencies. However, in some cases, those who have tried to help others have been blamed for causing their injuries. Possible legal problems have also stopped many from stepping in to help.
他人有难时挺身而出是件好事。然而，在某些情况下，这些试图帮助他人的好心人却被指责造成他人受伤。可能存在的法律问题也让不少人放弃出手相助。

However, the General Provisions fully protect Samaritans. Under a new law, people are not responsible if they injure someone by mistake that they help during an emergency.
但民法总则完全保护了救助人一方。新的法律规定，在紧急情况下因过失造成受助人损害的，救助人不承担民事责任。

Xu An, an NPC deputy from Jiangsu province, told China Daily that protecting Samaritans in some way will encourage people to help others – and as such is important in upholding China’s traditional values.
江苏省人大代表徐安在接受《中国日报》采访时表示，保护好人在某种程度上将鼓励人们见义勇为 —— 在保护中国传统美德上，这一点至关重要。