1. Case replay
Huang is a villager of a village. In August 2013, when the village contracted land, Huang contracted 4 acres of paddy fields. In September 2020, a company set up a factory, which was located close to the farmland contracted by Huang. In October of the same year, Huang reached an agreement with the enterprise to transfer the farmland contracted by him to the enterprise, and the enterprise paid Huang 100,000 yuan. After the incident was discovered by the local village committee, the relevant leaders of the village committee promptly educated Huang and demanded that he take back the farmland he had sold. Huang disagreed, and the village committee sued Huang to the court.
The court held that Chinese law only stipulates that the right to contract and operate land can be transferred by subcontracting, leasing, swapping, transferring or other means in accordance with the law, but Chinese law does not protect other illegal transfers, so Huang has no right to sell the farmland he contracted. The court finally ruled that the land transfer agreement between Huang and the enterprise was invalid.
2. Lawyer Jing Yin discusses the law
This case involves the transfer of land contract management rights and the conditions of circulation. According to Articles 33-36 of China's Rural Land Contract Law, the right to contract and operate land obtained through household contracting may be transferred in the following ways in accordance with the law
1) Subcontracting. Subcontracting mainly occurs between peasant households within rural collective economic organizations. The property rights of the subcontractor to the land contracting and management right remain unchanged, and the subcontractor shall enjoy the right to use the land contracting and management right, obtain the income from the contracted land, and pay the subcontract fee to the subcontractor.
2) Rental. Leasing is mainly the lease of land contract management rights by peasant households to persons other than the collective economic organization. The lessee obtains the lease right of the land contract management right through the lease contract, and pays rent to the leased farmer households.
3) Interchange. Swap is the exchange of land contract management rights between peasant households within the rural collective economic organization for the convenience of cultivation and their own needs. After the exchange, both parties obtain the land contracting and management rights of the other party and lose their original land contracting and management rights.
4) Assignment. Transfer refers to the transfer of land contract management rights by peasant households to others. The transfer will deprive the peasant households of the right to use the contracted land, so the transfer must be strictly restricted. If the contractor has a stable non-agricultural occupation or a stable income, the right to contract and operate the land can be transferred. The basis for the transfer of land contract management rights is that the peasants have a real livelihood guarantee, otherwise the land contract management rights should not be transferred. The object of the transfer shall be limited to rural households engaged in agricultural production and operation. Rural households that meet the conditions for transfer shall obtain the consent of the contract issuing party and modify the original land contract contract with the contract issuing party when transferring the land contract management right to another rural household.
In addition, Article 38 of the Rural Land Contract Law also stipulates the basic principles for the circulation of land contract management rights: In accordance with the law, voluntarily and with compensation, no organization or individual may force or hinder the circulation of land management rights. The nature of land ownership and the agricultural use of land shall not be changed, and the comprehensive agricultural production capacity and agricultural ecological environment shall not be damaged. The circulation period shall not exceed the remaining term of the contract period. The transferee must have the ability or qualification to operate in agriculture. Under the same conditions, the members of the collective economic organization enjoy priority.
3. Lawyer Jing Yin reminds
In this case, Huang transferred the land to an enterprise that was not engaged in agricultural production and operation without the consent of the employer, which changed the agricultural use of the land, so the land transfer agreement between Huang and the enterprise was invalid.
Content**: Jilin Disabled Persons' Federation).