The Civil Code came into force on January 1, 2021, and before its implementation, in order to better implement the Civil Code, the Supreme People's Court revised and formulated seven judicial interpretations supporting the Civil Code, one of which is the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of the Succession Part of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China (I), which was adopted by the 1825th meeting of the Adjudication Committee of the Supreme People's Court and also came into force on January 1, 2021, with a total of 45 articles.
First of all, before the promulgation of the Civil Code, the judicial interpretations on inheritance were mainly the Opinions of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Implementation of the Inheritance Law of the People's Republic of China.
Secondly, in terms of structure, the Judicial Interpretation (1) of the Inheritance Section of the Civil Code has not undergone major changes, mainly including five parts: General Provisions, Statutory Succession, Testamentary Succession and Bequest, Handling of Inheritance and Supplementary Provisions. However, with regard to the major and difficult issues that have emerged in the field of inheritance in recent years, the Supreme People's Court believes that the formulation of interpretations of these issues still needs to be more extensive and fully investigated and demonstrated, and that it is still necessary to continue to explore in judicial practice the content of controversial or new provisions of the Civil Code.
Third, three other judicial interpretations on inheritance have been repealed because they have been absorbed by other laws or because they do not meet the needs of current economic and social development: the first is the Reply of the Supreme People's Law on Whether Insurance Proceeds Can Be Used as the Insured's Estate ([1987] Min Ta Zi No. 52), the second is the Reply of the Supreme People's Court on Whether a Person Who Has No Legal Heirs Can Share the Whole Estate After the Death of the Decedent ([1992] Min Ta Zi No. 25), and the third is the Reply of the Supreme People's Court on Whether the Decedent Has No Legal Heirs to Share the Inheritance ([1992] Min Ta Zi No. 25), and the third is the Reply of the Supreme People's Court on Whether the Decedent Has No Legal Heirs to Share the Entire Estate After His Death ([1992] Min Ta Zi No. 25), and the third is the Reply of the Supreme People's Court on Whether the Decedent Has No Legal Heirs to Share the Entire Estate ([1992] Min Ta Zi No. 25), and the Third is the Reply of the Supreme People's Court on Whether the Decedent Reply of the Supreme People's Court on How to Deal with the Inheritance of the Rural Five Guarantees (Fa Shi 2000 No. 23). In addition, with regard to the Supreme People's Court's "Reply to the Opinions of the First Division of the Religious Affairs Bureau on the Handling of Monks' Estates", the reply is retained because it does not belong to judicial interpretation and does not conflict with the Civil Code.
Fourth, in terms of main contents, the Judicial Interpretation (1) of the Inheritance Section of the Civil Code further explains and stipulates the main issues such as the determination of the time of death, the confirmation of the loss of inheritance rights, the forgiveness system of the decedent, the issue of subrogation, the issue of renunciation of inheritance rights, the issue of transfer of inheritance, the issue of wills and the issue of joint litigation in inheritance disputes.
Fifth, in order to promote the core values of socialism, the Judicial Interpretation (1) of the Inheritance Section of the Civil Code also adds that when the ownerless inheritance is owned by the state, it shall be used for public welfare, but in this case, if there are people who supported the deceased more during his lifetime, he may be given an appropriate inheritance according to the provisions on the right to claim for appropriate inheritance. This not only implements the concept of justice and assistance, but is also conducive to carrying forward China's traditional virtues of caring for the elderly and raising children, mutual assistance and mutual love.