A new contract code in 1999 represented a move away from administrative domination. Furthermore, after negotiations lasting fifteen years, in 2001 China joined the World Trade Organization. In civil law the sources recognised as authoritative are, primarily, legislation—especially codifications in constitutions or statutes handed by government—and custom. Codifications date again millennia, with one early example being the Babylonian Codex Hammurabi. Modern civil law methods essentially derive from authorized codes issued by Byzantine Emperor Justinian I within the sixth century, which have been rediscovered by 11th century Italy.
People can sue an agency, local council, public service, or government ministry for judicial review of actions or decisions, to make sure that they adjust to the law, and that the government entity observed required procedure. The first specialist administrative court was the Conseil d’État set up in 1799, as Napoleon assumed energy in France. To cross legislation, a majority of the members …