1. The research object of economic law

Economic law is a legal discipline that takes economic law as its research object and focuses on the study of the emergence and development laws of economic law. As an important emerging discipline, economic law occupies an important position in the legal system, which is directly related to the important position of economic law in the modern national legal system.

In a general sense, economic law is a general term for legal norms that adjust specific social relationships formed under modern market economy conditions. As an important legal department, economic law is an important part of the modern national legal system. It is in the process of studying the emergence and development laws of economic law that economic law was born and developed.

Compared with the traditional departmental laws in the legal systems of various countries, economic law, which is the object of economic law research, came into being relatively late. Academic circles generally believe that economic law in the modern sense came into being after capitalism entered the monopoly stage from the free competition stage, and is reflected in the laws regulating market competition behaviors formulated in the United States, Germany and other countries at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, such as The Sherman Act of 1890 in the United States, the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of 1896 in Germany, etc. In addition, some "wartime control laws" produced during the First World War, such as Germany's "Coal Economic Law" in 1919, also reflected the state's intervention and coordination in market economic activities. The above-mentioned types of new legislation aroused strong interest among researchers, so German scholars began to call it "economic law" and put forward a variety of views and theories about economic law, gradually forming an emerging economic law.

In fact, compared to the above types of legislation, "economic law" as a term appeared earlier. For example, the French utopian socialists Molery and Desami mentioned the concept of "economic law" in their works "Code Naturala" (1755) and "Code Public" (1842) respectively. They both believed that Economic law is "distribution law"; Proudhon also mentioned the concept of "economic law" in his works; etc. However, academic circles generally believe that the economic law they talk about is not economic law in the modern legal sense. Only after the First World War did the concept of economic law proposed by German legal circles acquire modern significance. Therefore, economic law, which takes economic law as its research object, emerged more recently, and its relatively comprehensive beginning was marked by the research of German scholars in the 1920s.

Based on objective factors such as Germany’s economic and social situation, economic policies and related unprecedented legal phenomena at that time, as well as subjective factors such as German scholars’ good rational thinking and emphasis on the rigor and meticulousness of legal concepts and systems, Germany The academic community took the lead in launching legal research with "economic law" as the research object, making Germany the birthplace of economic law. Driven by German scholars, economic law research has been carried out in some other countries since the 1920s, thus bringing economic law into a new period of development.

2. The emergence and development of economic law

The emergence of economic law as a discipline does not directly correspond to the emergence of the term "economic law" and the norms of economic law. Not directly corresponding. Only when the social economy develops to a certain stage, social relations and corresponding economic law norms that need to be adjusted by economic law arise, and the academic community conducts systematic research on a large number of economic law norms, will economic law emerge. Therefore, in many countries, the emergence of economic law lags behind the emergence of economic law norms or economic law systems.

Historically, with the development of modern market economy, various market failure problems continue to emerge, and countries increasingly feel the need to use new legal norms to solve new types of problems that cannot be effectively solved by traditional legal norms. , as a result, economic law norms were not only produced in the United States, Germany and other countries, but also in other market economy countries. As the number of economic law norms increases day by day, the scope of its adjustment becomes wider and wider, and the academic circles pay more and more attention to it. As a result, economic law research is rapidly carried out not only in Germany, but also in some other countries.

The development of economic law is uneven geographically.

Among them, in countries with civil law systems such as Germany and Japan, based on systematic considerations of law and jurisprudence, and based on logically rigorous legal research habits, questions such as whether economic law can become an independent legal department in the legal system, whether economic law can To become an independent legal discipline, more research has been conducted on the relationship between economic law and other departmental laws, and the correlation between economic law and other legal disciplines. In exploring the concept, characteristics, essence, system, and value of economic law In the process of solving basic problems, a large number of research results have been obtained.

In the United States, the United Kingdom and other common law countries, because they are mainly case law countries, they emphasize "pragmatism" in legal research and do not pay special attention to the refinement of concepts and the completeness of the system. Therefore, although The economic law norms in the United States came into being very early, but they did not refine the concept of "economic law" and failed to develop a systematic economic law.

The above-mentioned uneven regional development of economic law is just that. A "formal" imbalance. In fact, although countries with common law systems do not have the name of "civil law" in the civil law system, there are a large number of substantive "civil law" norms such as property law, contract law, and tort law. Similarly, in countries with common law systems, although the name "economic law" is generally not emphasized, there are a large number of substantive "economic law norms" in various fields such as fiscal law, tax law, financial law, and competition law. Although legal countries do not have the name of "economic law", they do have the reality of "economic law". For this, it is indeed necessary to "see the essence through the phenomenon." In fact, any country cannot do without a modern market economy. Macroeconomic control and market regulation require relevant economic law norms. In this sense, economic law norms are common in all countries, just like civil law norms are common in various countries; at the same time, legal research in various countries. It will also involve the study of economic law. If economic law is divided into substantive economic law and formal economic law, substantive economic law is actually common in countries that implement market economies. Economic law is the study object of significant economic law.

In addition, economic law exists not only in market economy countries, but also in planned economy countries. For example, the economic law of the Soviet Union was once highly valued and formed. There are many schools of economic law theory. Of course, due to different economic systems, people’s understanding of economic law also differs; at the same time, due to different national conditions, each country’s economic law system will also have its own characteristics, which will be affected to a certain extent. Influence on the development of economic law.

But generally speaking, with the establishment of market economic systems in various countries around the world, national macro-control and market regulation have become indispensable, thus making economic law increasingly important. Important, this will effectively promote the development of economic law and help form theoretical knowledge to a greater extent.

In the history of China’s legal system and legal science in the 20th century, economic law and The emergence and development of economic law are particularly eye-catching. Although foreign economic law theories were introduced into our country around the 1930s, the real development of economic law began in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The continuous development of China's reform and opening up is based on the urgent requirements of the modern market economy and the corresponding legal system. With the unremitting efforts of the older generation of scholars and the active promotion of young and middle-aged scholars, China's economic law has made great progress. It is a major achievement achieved by organically combining the basic principles of Marxism with the system construction and legal research of economic law. Economic law with Chinese characteristics, as an important part of the entire legal system, has increasingly become a key factor in economic and social development and influence. "Explicit learning" that has important influence on the construction of the rule of law.

At present, "the main contradiction in our society has been transformed into the contradiction between the people's growing needs for a better life and unbalanced and inadequate development." There is an urgent need to solve the problem of unbalanced and inadequate development, especially the need for We should earnestly implement the "new development concept" of innovation, coordination, green, openness and universal sharing, constantly improve the economic law system, and strengthen economic law research. Therefore, in the new historical period, the institutional construction and theoretical research of economic law are even more important.

The development process of economic law shows that the emergence and development of economic law are consistent with the development of economy, society and law. Economic law, which takes substantive economic law as its research object, has been widely used in various markets. Economic states are universal.

Although countries may have uneven research on economic law in different historical periods due to many factors, with the further development of market economy, countries will have a lot of basic knowledge on some basic aspects of economic law. . This is an important foundation for in-depth study and research of economic law.

3. System of Economic Law

With the development of the economic law system and the deepening of related research, the basic framework of economic law has gradually taken shape. From the perspective of the general classification of legal disciplines, the system of economic law can be divided into two parts: General Introduction to Economic Law and Parties to Economic Law, each part contains rich content.

The General Theory of Economic Law, or the Basic Theory of Economic Law, is an overall and universal theory of economic law. As a general theory of economic law, it is extracted from various specific systems of economic law; it is the basis of the theory of various departments of economic law, and has important guiding significance for the research of specific departments of economic law. The General Theory of Economic Law mainly includes ontology, theory of origin, theory of value, theory of norms, theory of operation, theory of categories, etc. It focuses on theoretically explaining what economic law is, the historical evolution of economic law; the value and system of economic law. construction and operation issues.

Economic law is an analysis and decomposition of the basic principles and basic theories of various specific systems of economic law. Various specific systems of economic law are mainly divided into two categories. One is the macro-control system, including fiscal and taxation control systems, financial control systems, planning control systems, etc.; the other is the market regulation system, including the anti-monopoly system, anti-unfairness system, etc. Competition system, consumer protection system, etc. The respective explanations of the principles and theories of the above-mentioned types of specific systems constitute the main content of the economic law theory.

The above-mentioned general and sub-themes constitute the basic structure of the economic law system. Grasping the above-mentioned system structure of economic law will help to form a systematic understanding of economic law, thereby helping to better study and research economic law, comprehensively strengthen the legal construction of economic law, and promote the deepening of economic law research and the economic law system development.

The above-mentioned understanding of the economic law system also directly affects the basic structure of this book. In addition to the introduction, this book is divided into two parts: general introduction and sub-theory. Among them, the General Introduction to Economic Law is divided into six chapters, which mainly introduces the concept, history, system and status of economic law, discusses the purpose and principles of economic law, analyzes the subjects and behaviors of economic law, and related rights, obligations and responsibilities. Discuss the formulation and implementation of economic law, involving the basic contents of the ontology, emergence theory, value theory, norm theory and operation theory of economic law. The economic law is divided into two parts: the theory and system of macro-control law and the theory and system of market regulation law. Among them, there are five chapters on the theory and system of macro-control law. Based on an overview of the theory and system of macro-control, it focuses on the basic principles and specific systems of fiscal control, tax control, financial control, and planned control; The Theory and System of Market Regulation Law has six chapters. Based on an overview of the theory and system of market regulation, it focuses on introducing the basic principles and specific systems of anti-monopoly, anti-unfair competition, and consumer protection, and also introduces The conventional regulatory systems in terms of product quality, price, advertising, and measurement involved in these systems are introduced separately. In addition, this book also specifically discusses the principles and systems of special market regulations.

It can be seen that the above-mentioned economic law system is internally consistent with the structural arrangement of this book, which helps to grasp the logical main line of economic law as a whole and discover the differences between various parts within the economic law system, as well as the economic The internal relationship between legal theory and system, thereby enhancing the systematic understanding of economic law and enhancing the ability to use economic law theory to guide practice.

IV. Theoretical guidance and basic methods for studying and studying economic law

(1) Theoretical guidance for studying and studying economic law

Studying and studying economic law , should be guided by Marxist scientific theories, especially Marxist philosophy, political economics and jurisprudence, which have important guiding significance for the study and research of economic law. At the philosophical level, Marxist classic writers correctly solved the relationship between thinking and existence, subject and object, and for the first time realized the unity of materialism and dialectics, and the unity of the materialist view of nature and the view of history.

This internally unified Marxist philosophy uses dialectical materialism and historical materialism to explain various phenomena in the natural and historical fields. It is especially helpful in fundamentally understanding various phenomena and complex issues in the field of economic law, and is therefore a guide. Theoretical guidelines for the study and research of economic law.

At the level of political economy, Marxist political economics conducts an in-depth study of the general laws of social and economic movements, profoundly analyzes the process of capitalist reproduction and its inherent contradictions, and scientifically discusses socialist production relations and their development. The law of change provides basic positions, viewpoints and methods for understanding contemporary capitalism and socialism, and also provides scientific theoretical guidance for studying and researching economic law. Studying and studying economic law cannot be separated from the understanding of economic relations and their development laws. The understanding cannot be separated from the understanding of production and exchange at various stages of development of human society and the corresponding distribution and consumption laws. Therefore, it cannot be separated from the understanding and grasp of the theoretical achievements of political economics for a moment. In fact, the macro-control system and market regulation system in the field of economic law are closely related to production, exchange, distribution, consumption and other links.

At the level of jurisprudence, Marxist jurisprudence is highly scientific and has strong vitality. It profoundly answers the questions of "what is the law" and "what should the law be", thus thoroughly clarifying the Ontological and axiological issues, as well as issues derived from them such as generative theory, normative theory, operational theory, and category theory. All of these issues are core issues in the theoretical system of economic law. Because Marxist jurisprudence can reflect It provides ideological motivation and basic methods for studying various specific legal systems and promoting the development of departmental law. Therefore, it has important guiding significance for studying and researching economic law.

(2) Basic methods for learning and researching economic law

Studying and researching economic law requires thinking and research from multiple dimensions and using multiple methods. Only in this way can it be possible Better solve various "complexity problems".

The methods of studying and researching economic law can be divided into many categories. From the dichotomy between philosophy and science, they can be divided into two categories: philosophical methods and scientific methods. The philosophical method mainly refers to Marxist philosophy provides methodological guidance, and scientific methods can be divided into general scientific methods and specialized scientific methods.

1. The method of Marxist philosophy

As mentioned above, Marxist philosophy has very important guiding significance for studying and researching economic law. Principles such as the "dialectical relationship between economic base and superstructure" are important contents of the principles of Marxist philosophy. The study and research of economic law are inseparable from the guidance of these principles.

The learning and research methods provided by Marxist philosophy run through every part of this book. The positions, viewpoints and methods of dialectical materialism and historical materialism are correctly used. Everything starts from reality, integrates theory with practice, and seeks truth from facts. Looking at issues in a universally connected and developmental perspective and comprehensively revealing relevant contradictions is of extremely important value in understanding the law of emergence and development of economic law.

For example, following the contradiction analysis method in materialist dialectics, we should look at the problem "in two" and "analyze specific problems concretely". We should see the two opposing aspects of things, and look at the problem this way. To be more comprehensive and avoid one-sidedness. In the process of studying and researching economic law, we must grasp the basic contradictions to be resolved by economic law, discover many specific contradictions that exist in the field of economic law, carry out specific analysis of various contradictions, and find the main contradictions, secondary contradictions, and the main aspects of the contradictions. and secondary aspects. Only in this way can we have a comprehensive understanding of relevant theories and systems and grasp their key points.

In fact, based on the many types of contradictions that exist in the field of economic law, different types of "dual structures" at multiple levels can be extracted in economic annotations, such as the adjustment objects of economic law and the structure of the system. "Dual structure", the "dual structure" of economic law subjects, behaviors, rights, obligations, responsibilities, etc. These "dual structures" embody many contradictions in the field of economic law. As long as they are effectively refined, revealed and analyzed, they will help to grasp the differences between various systems of economic law and economic law, between systems and theories, and between various theories. This will help to better grasp the entire economic law system and the economic law system, and deepen the research on economic law.

For another example, based on the principle of universal connections, we should not only pay attention to the universal connections between economic law and other departmental laws to give full play to the overall effectiveness of the overall legal system, but also pay attention to the close connections between various systems within economic law, so as to better exert the The overall systemic function of economic law; it is necessary to see not only the universal connection between the social relations regulated by economic law and other social relations, but also the close connection between various theories of economic law; etc. Therefore, it is not enough to only see the particularity and important status of economic law. We must also pay attention to the universal connections between various elements of various levels of the system in a larger system, which is essential for solving many theoretical and theoretical problems in the field of economic law. The practical questions are very meaningful.

2. Various specific scientific methods

Among various specific scientific methods, general scientific methods are also very important, including logical methods, empirical methods, cross-disciplinary methods, etc. . Among them, logical methods include comparison methods, classification methods, analogy methods, methods that combine induction and deduction, etc. Empirical methods include survey methods, statistical methods and other cross-disciplinary methods, including systems theory methods, game theory methods, etc.

As "general" scientific methods, the various methods mentioned above have been widely used. For example, the comparative method, classification method, inductive method and deductive method in the logical method are all basic methods that people often use when engaging in various types of research. "There is no identification without comparison." Just taking the comparative method as an example, in the field of economic law, on the one hand, people can compare systems, including comparisons of economic law systems at home and abroad in ancient and modern times, as well as comparisons between economic law systems and other departmental laws. systems, etc.; on the other hand, theoretical comparisons can also be made, including comparisons of different economic law theories at home and abroad in different historical periods, comparisons of economic law theories and theories of other legal disciplines, and other related matters outside of law. Comparison of disciplinary theories, etc. Comparison helps to understand the characteristics of economic law systems and theories more clearly.

Specialized scientific methods are methods provided by certain specific disciplines (such as economics, political science, sociology, history, etc.), such as economic analysis methods, policy analysis methods, social analysis methods, Historical analysis methods, semantic analysis methods, etc. These specialized scientific methods are often of great value in solving some specific problems in the field of economic law. Among them, legal economics methods, legal sociology methods, etc. have been widely used in economic law research.

For example, the cost-benefit analysis method in the economic analysis method, the rights-obligation analysis method in the legal analysis method, etc. are very basic methods in the process of learning and researching economic law. In addition, social analysis methods, historical analysis methods, semantic analysis methods, etc., often have special significance when learning relevant economic law knowledge.

The organic combination of the above methods can constitute a method system for studying and researching economic law. Among the above-mentioned methods, the method of Marxist philosophy is indispensable and vital, whether for law or other social sciences, or for economic law or other departments of law, and therefore should be an important part of the method system. In addition, logical methods, comparative methods, etc. in general scientific methods also have important functions. In addition, some methods in specialized scientific methods should be selected based on their close connection with economic law. For example, economic law, as a law that adjusts specific economic relationships, is closely related to economic life. Therefore, economic analysis methods have their place. As for some specific methods in other disciplines, choices should be made based on the specific needs of studying and researching economic law.