National debt, also known as national debt, is a creditor-debtor relationship formed by the state on the basis of its credit and in accordance with the general principles of debt.
National debt is a bond issued by the state, a government bond issued by the central government to raise financial funds, and a debt certificate issued by the central government to investors, which promises to repay the principal and interest within a certain period of time. Because the issuer of national debt is the country, it has the highest credit and is recognized as the safest investment tool.
National debt law refers to the general name of legal norms formulated by the state to adjust the social relations in the process of issuance, circulation, transfer, use, repayment and management of national debt. It mainly regulates the behavior of the state (government), national debt intermediaries and national debt investors when they participate in national debt, and adjusts various national debt relationships that occur in the process of national debt behavior.
Different from the debt law in civil law, the national debt law adjusts the creditor-debtor relationship with the country as the main body, which is consistent with the characteristics that the main body of financial law is always the country. Moreover, national debt is an important way for the country to obtain fiscal revenue, and its purpose is to meet social needs and realize national functions. Therefore, the national debt law is an important branch law of financial law.
However, the core of the social relations adjusted by the national debt law is the creditor-debtor relationship between the subjects of national debt, that is, the rights and obligations between the state as a debtor and other creditors. Therefore, the national debt law is closely related to the civil law, especially the debt law in the civil law, and the theory and specific provisions on debt in the civil law can often be applied to the national debt law.
Although the national debt law belongs to the important departmental law of financial law, it is obviously different from other departmental laws such as tax law. For example, the subject equality of the national debt law is obviously different from other departmental laws. Although a subject of national debt law must be the state, in the legal relationship of national debt, the state, as a debtor, has rights and obligations with other rights subjects. Whether there is a creditor-debtor relationship between other rights subjects and the state is generally determined by their own will. In the legal relationship of national debt, they are in an equal position with the state. In addition, the state's right to obtain the proceeds of national debt is closely related to its obligation to repay the principal and interest, and other obligees must also fulfill their obligation to pay the funds for purchasing national debt in order to enjoy the right to obtain the principal and interest. Therefore, in a sense, the national debt law is a private law with the nature of public law.