BEIJING -- A draft civil code to be submitted to the national legislature's annual session for review will strengthen the system of tort liability, experts said.

The draft civil code includes general provisions and six parts pertaining to property, contracts, personal rights, marriage and family, inheritance and torts liability.

The section on tort liability of the draft civil code makes a necessary improvement to the system of tort liability by drawing on the useful practices of judicial interpretations, said Shen Chunyao, director of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the National People's Congress Standing Committee.

In particular, it improves the system of compensation for the infliction of mental distress and expands the application of such compensation, which shows that  laws are paying more attention to the protection of mental and personal rights, said Meng Qiang, a law professor at the Beijing Institute of Technology.

The experts also cited enhanced protection for consumers who buy defective products. The introduction of punitive damages for the infringement of intellectual property rights is also seen as one of the highlights of the tort liability part of the draft.