Civil law in North Korea

The main sources include the Socialist Constitution, the Civil Law adopted on 5 September 1990, the Civil Proceedings Act adopted on 10 January 1976 with publicly available amendments through 15 December 2009, the Family Law adopted on 24 October 1990, the Law on Succession adopted on 13 March 2002, the Law on Compensation for Damage adopted on 19 April 2005 and the Law on External Civil Relations adopted on 6 September 1995, amended on 10 December 1998. The Supreme People's Assembly and its Presidium legislate. The Central Court, provincial and municipality-level courts, municipal, district and county People's Courts, Special Courts, public prosecutors, people's committees, the population administration institution, registry offices, notary offices, court executors and relevant banks perform different legal or administrative functions. A person generally has civil rights from birth until death. Full adulthood begins at 17. From age 16, a person may act independently within income earned personally; acts beyond that scope generally require parental or guardian consent. From age 6, a child may generally buy school supplies and everyday necessities. Parents, guardians or representatives act for a person who lacks capacity, and guardianship is supervised by the population administration institution. Representation may be oral or written. Property is divided into state ownership, social or cooperative ownership and individual or private ownership. Individual property can include goods obtained through labour distribution, state or social benefits, supplementary husbandry, purchase, inheritance, gifts or other lawful means. Houses, household and cultural goods, necessities, cars and other permitted items may fall within individual property. Family property is generally joint. Use and transfer of a state dwelling receive formal legal protection, but the available research does not establish a Western-style free market in land ownership. Civil law regulates transactions such as sale, labour service, safekeeping, borrowing and loans, passenger transport, bank deposits, insurance and mandates. The parties' rights and duties arise from proper performance of the transaction. For property dealings with a foreign counterpart, a treaty may govern; the parties may choose the applicable law, and without a choice the law of the place of the act or North Korean rules generally apply. Foreign law is not applied where its content cannot be established or conflicts with North Korean legal principles. Marriage is free and requires registration at a registry office. The minimum age is 18 for men and 17 for women. A prior registered marriage, prohibited close relationship or violation of the minimum age can lead a court to declare the marriage void. Spouses have equal rights and mutual support duties. A court may decide divorce, support, child upbringing and property when the parties do not resolve those matters themselves. A child under three is generally placed with the mother, and the non-custodial parent may owe 10 to 30 percent of monthly income for child-upbringing costs until the child reaches working age. Children born outside marriage have equal rights. Adoption of a child under 17 requires the required parental or guardian consents, consent from a child over six, approval by the population administration institution and registry registration. The Law on Succession protects private property and allows statutory and testamentary succession, donations and execution of wills. Men and women receive equal treatment, while people who cannot act independently receive preferential protection of their interests. In an external case, immovable property is generally governed by the law where it is located and movable property by the law connected with the deceased's domicile. Rules for the form of a will may refer to North Korean law, the law of the place of the act, the testator's domicile or the state where immovable property is located. The Civil Law and the Law on Compensation for Damage cover bodily injury and property damage. Compensation can include treatment costs or income lost because the injured person cannot work. A breach of civil rights or duties can create civil responsibility; conduct of a serious nature may also raise a separate criminal-law issue, which belongs to another legal area. Civil trials cover property disputes outside arbitration or administrative proceedings, divorce, child upbringing and support, and the establishment of civil rights or legally relevant facts. A citizen, institution, enterprise or organisation may bring a claim, and a public prosecutor may sue to protect State, social or citizen interests. A filing normally identifies the parties' age, sex, occupation and address, states the claim and grounds, and lists evidence. Representatives or attorneys may participate. Evidence can include statements, witnesses, documents, exhibits, expert assessments and inspections. Proceedings are in Korean, with an interpreter or interpreter-constructor available for language or speech needs. Trials are generally public, subject to confidentiality exceptions, and a tribunal normally consists of one judge and two people's assessors. The defendant's domicile generally determines jurisdiction. Exceptions can allow filing at the plaintiff's domicile for child support, damage to health or life, or cases involving a woman with a child under one or several children. A foreign-party case normally goes to a provincial or municipality-level court, while cases connected with Rason may go to the Rason zone court. A first-instance case has a target period of two months; complexity or significance can add one month with the chief justice's approval and another month with higher-court approval. Appeals, extraordinary appeals and retrials have a target period of one month. State charges and document-delivery stamps form the usual court costs, but child-support, dependant-support, health-or-life damage, crime-damage and prosecutor cases have no State charge. The defendant normally pays after acceptance of the claim, while the plaintiff normally pays after rejection. Judgment or award copies should be delivered within two days. An appeal or protest is generally filed within ten days, and execution is suspended during that process. No ordinary appeal lies against a Supreme Court judgment. Extraordinary review may be initiated by the Chief Justice or Prosecutor-General, and retrial can address false evidence, newly discovered material facts, illegal acts or a revoked legal basis; a litigant's request is generally made within three months after discovering the ground. A final judgment or award is enforced by a court executor. A writ for a property claim should generally be requested within two months after finalisation, and the executor normally acts within one month. Property of an institution, enterprise or organisation may be collected through its bank within ten days. If payment remains outstanding after one month, an account freeze may be possible. Resistance can involve cooperation from a people's security organ. An execution complaint goes to the competent court, which generally settles it within fifteen days. In cross-border disputes, jurisdiction or a choice of law may arise from an agreement for property dealings, and North Korean jurisdiction may exist where the defendant resides or has its seat, where damage or property is in North Korea, or where North Korean immovable property is involved. Recognition of a foreign judgment depends on mutual State agreement, North Korean legal principles and jurisdiction limits. Foreign evidence may be used after authentication by a foreign public notary.