在二十世纪的最后五十年里,东西半球的焦点凝聚于中国的社会主义建设历程和欧洲的一体化进程。在东方,中国人民以坚韧不拔的精神探索着建设一个民主、富强的法治国家的必由之路;在西方,欧洲人民带着和平统一的梦想,建立了一个稳定、民主、繁荣的新欧洲。在这两项伟大的历史进程中,法律以其自身具有的独特功能发挥着不可替代的重要作用。从中国的社会主义建设历程来看,法律成为确立和发展社会主义市场经济和实现社会主义民主的重要保障,法治是当代中国的治国方略;就欧洲的一体化进程而言,从三个共同体的建立到共同外交和安全政策的确立和司法及民政事务的合作,法律与政治、经济和社会因素一起,成为纵横发展的欧洲联盟的核心。在新世纪来临之际,中国的社会主义建设和欧洲的一体化进程都面临着新的转折。从总的发展趋势来看,法律发展模式的选择、民主法律建设方针的转变和法律运作体制的改革将成为中国发展进程中不可或 In the last five decades of the twentieth century, the focus of the Eastern and Western hemispheres has been condensed into the course of socialist construction in China and the process of European integration. In the East, the Chinese people, with their indomitable spirit, have explored the only way to build a democratic, prosperous and rule of law country. In the West, the European people, with the dream of peaceful reunification, have established a stable, democratic and prosperous New Europe. In these two great historical processes, the law plays an irreplaceable and important role with its own unique functions. Judging from the course of China’s socialist construction, the law has become an important guarantee for establishing and developing a socialist market economy and realizing socialist democracy. The rule of law is a strategy for running the country in contemporary China. As far as the process of European integration is concerned, The establishment of a common diplomatic and security policy and the cooperation in the administration of justice and civil affairs, together with political, economic and social factors, have become the core of the European Union that is developing vertically and horizontally. At the dawn of a new century, China’s socialist construction and the process of European integration are facing a new turning point. Judging from the general trend of development, the choice of the mode of legal development, the transformation of the principle of democratic law construction and the reform of the legal operation system will become indispensable in the process of China’s development