Abstract: How to establish a legal paradigm with more social needs and factors has been a heated issue for the legal system and transitional societies. As an academic response to judicial activism， responsive laws are open， participative and flexible， which represent more social change needs. As a product of legal “ideal” and “factual” integration， they contribute to the establishment of new and universally accepted civil order， which fit the requirement for developing Chinas legal paradigm. However， China is still in transition from repressive laws to autonomous laws. Despite the possibility of man-made introduction of responsive laws and the direct transition from repressive laws to autonomous laws， it is not conducive to the overall legal construction. Therefore， China should rely on an effective construction of legal order in the process of moving towards responsive laws.

Key words: transitional society, repressive law, autonomous law, responsive law, rule of law