Brief facts of the case
Cai and his wife were originally villagers of the Shangcai Village Group, who contracted 15 acres of cultivated land in the village, and later the two went to a factory in the county to apply for recruitment, and Cai was successfully recruited and worked in the factory. A few years later, Cai's children also took up jobs in the county after graduating from college. Later, Cai's wife also found a job in the county seat. Soon, the couple used their years of savings to buy a second-hand house in the county town, and moved the household registration of the couple and the children from the countryside to the name of the county house they bought. Cai's family works and lives in the county all year round, and occasionally returns to the village on holidays. The village team learned that Mr. and Mrs. Cai had moved their hukou to the county seat and decided to recover the 15 mu of cultivated land contracted by Mr. and Mrs. Cai. Mr. and Mrs. Cai believe that although they moved their hukou to the county seat, their rights were recorded in the land contract management right certificate, and the rural collective economic organization had no right to recover the land they had contracted. After fruitless consultation, Cai and his wife filed a lawsuit with the people's court, requesting confirmation that the village group's decision to reclaim the cultivated land was invalid.
Referee Rules
Peasants who have already acquired contracted land do not automatically lose the right to land contract management that they have already acquired when they settle in the city, and rural collective economic organizations cannot recover the contracted land on the grounds that the peasants have already moved their hukou to the county seat.
Judge interpretation
The right to land contract management has the function of guaranteeing the livelihood of farmers. Although some peasants have established themselves in the cities through business and run enterprises, mainly relying on their income in the cities as their source of livelihood, most of the peasants who have gone to the cities to work have the situation of doing farm work at the same time when they are busy and working outside when they are idle. Because China is currently in a period of social transformation and the process of urbanization is constantly advancing, there is a phenomenon of a large number of farmers going to the city to work and settle down. At the same time, the reform of rural collective property rights is still in the process of pilot exploration, and the country's household registration system, social security system, and rural land system are all being reformed and improved. Whether peasants who have moved to the cities can retain the right to contract land management has received widespread attention.
Paragraph 3 of article 26 of the original Rural Land Contracting Law stipulates that during the contract period, if the whole family of the contracting party moves into the districted city and converts to a non-agricultural household registration, the contracted cultivated land and grassland shall be returned to the contracting party. If the contracting party does not return it, the contracting party may take back the cultivated land and grassland from which the contract was issued. Since the settlement in the city will lead to the recovery of the contracted land, this provision has an adverse impact on the peasants' entry into the city, which is not suitable for China's current rural land system, household registration reform and urbanization development. The 2018 revised Rural Land Contracting Law has made major amendments to relevant provisions and improved the protection measures for the right of farmers to enter the city to contract and manage land: 1. It is clear that before the farmer enters the city, the withdrawal of the right to land contract management shall not be used as a condition for the peasant household to settle in the city; 2. The provision requiring the peasant households to return the contracted land and take it back without returning it is deleted, and revised to mean that the farmers who enter the city independently choose how to dispose of the land contract management right, and the law guides and supports it. Article 27 of the revised Rural Land Contracting Law stipulates that peasant households entering the city have three options for disposing of the land they have contracted: first, transfer their land contract management right to other peasant households in the collective economic organization, second, voluntarily return the contracted land to the contracting party for compensation, and third, transfer the land management right in the form of leasing, subcontracting, and shareholding.
In short, during the contract period, no matter what changes occur to the contractor, including changes in domicile, changes in the nature of work, household registration migration, etc., the contract issuer cannot recover the land that the contractor has contracted. Therefore, in the above-mentioned case, the village team's decision to recover the 15 mu of cultivated land contracted by Cai's family on the grounds that Cai's family had settled in the city was illegal, and the decision should be revoked.
Relevant laws and regulations
Civil Code of the People's Republic of China
Article 337 The contract issuer shall not reclaim the contracted land during the contract period. Where the law provides otherwise, follow those provisions.
Law of the People's Republic of China on Rural Land Contracting
Article 27 During the contract period, the contract issuing party shall not reclaim the contracted land.
The State protects the right of peasant households entering cities to contract land management. Withdrawal from the right to land contract management must not be used as a condition for peasant households to settle in cities. During the contract period, if the contracted peasant households settle in the city, they shall be guided and supported to transfer the land contract management right within the collective economic organization in accordance with the principle of voluntary compensation or return the contracted land to the contracting party, and may also encourage them to circulate the land management right. During the contract period, when the contracting party returns the contracted land or the contract issuing party recovers the contracted land in accordance with the law, the contracting party has the right to obtain corresponding compensation for its investment in the contracted land and the improvement of the production capacity of the land.
Case Notes:
Opinions of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council on Improving the Measures for the Separation of The Right to Operate the Contracting Right of Rural Land Ownership
(2) Strictly protect the right of peasant households to contract. The right of peasant households to enjoy land contracting is the foundation of the basic rural management system, and it is necessary to stabilize the existing land contracting relationship and maintain it unchanged for a long time. The holder of the land contract right shall enjoy the right to possess, use and benefit from the contracted land in accordance with law. Rural collective land is contracted by peasant families who are members of the collective economic organization, and the right to collective land contracting belongs to peasant families, regardless of how the right to operate is transferred. No organization or individual can replace the land contracting status of peasant families, nor can they illegally deprive or restrict peasant households' land contracting rights. In the process of improving the "separation of the three rights" method, it is necessary to fully safeguard the various powers of the contracted peasant households in using, circulating, mortgaged, and withdrawing from the contracted land. Contracted peasant households have the right to occupy and use the contracted land, to construct the necessary agricultural production, ancillary and supporting facilities in accordance with laws and regulations, to independently organize the production and operation and disposal of products and obtain benefits; they have the right to transfer the contracted land and obtain benefits through transfer, exchange, lease (subcontracting), shareholding or other means, and no organization or individual may force or restrict their circulation of the land; they have the right to set a mortgage on the right to operate the contracted land in accordance with laws and regulations, voluntarily withdraw from the contracted land, and those who meet the conditions may receive relevant subsidies for the protection of the contracted land. Where contracted land is expropriated, the contracted peasant households have the right to receive corresponding compensation in accordance with law, and those who meet the conditions have the right to receive social security fees. Peasant households' contracted land must not be adjusted in violation of the law, and withdrawal from land contracting rights must not be used as a condition for peasants to settle in cities.
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Editor: Li Jialing
Typesetting: Meng Xiangyu
Review: Liu Chang