Civil law could address accident compensation

Six draft sections on specific areas of civil law were submitted to China's top legislature on Monday, beginning the second phase of formulating the country's long-expected civil code.

The question of whether a driver needs to pay compensation if a colleague carpools and is injured in a traffic accident has been controversial for a long while.

The draft on torts stipulates when a non-operational vehicle is involved in a traffic accident that causes the carpooler injury, if the vehicle is responsible for the accident, the driver's liability for compensation should be mitigated or exempted. However, it doesn't apply if the incident is due to intentional misconduct or gross negligence on the part of the driver.

The stipulation protects the victim on the one hand and takes into consideration of the driver's favor to the victim on the other hand, said Xie Hongfei, head of the civil law office at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ Institute of Law. It's also good for maintaining a helpful social environment.