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Full Text: Explanation on China's draft property law
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-03-08 10:05

(4) Property of the Collective. In accordance with the Constitution and the Party's basic rural policies at the present stage, the draft property law explicitly stipulates, "Rural collective economic organizations apply the dual operation system characterized by the combination of centralized operation with decentralized operation on the basis of operation by households under a contract." And at the same time, the "right to land contractual management" and the "house-site-use right" are stipulated separately in special chapters. In order to grant the farmers a long-term and guaranteed land- use right, the draft property law stipulates that, at the expiration of the term of a contract for a piece of farmland, grassland or forest land, the contractor of the right to land contractual management may have the contract renewed in accordance with the relevant provisions of the State. On the question whether the restrictions on the transfer and mortgage of the right to land contractual management and the house- site-use right can be lifted. In view of the fact that at present, the social security system in the rural areas of our country has not yet been established in an all-round way and that the right to land contractual management and the house-site-use right provide the farmers' lifelong foundation, the conditions for lifting such restrictions are not yet ripe, when considering from the perspective of the country as a whole. In order to maintain the laws currently in force and the policies of the State on rural land at the present stage, as well as to leave some room for revising relevant laws or adjusting relevant policies in the future, the draft property law stipulates, "Persons enjoying the right to land contractual management shall be entitled to circulate such right by adopting such means as subcontract, exchange and assignment in accordance with the provision is of the Law on Land Contract in Rural Areas." "Such laws as the Land Administration Law and the relevant regulations of the State shall be applicable to the obtainment, exercise or assignment of the house-site-use right." On property of the collective in cities and towns. The enterprises of the collective in cities and towns in our country have gradually been established since the 1950s. Through their evolution over the last few decades, some of them were established by State-owned enterprises for the purpose of offering jobs to the children of their workers and for the youths who had received a school education and had returned to cities and towns from the countryside; and others were established by State-owned enterprises for the purpose of separating subsidiary industries from them and replacing their surplus labor force in the course of reform of the enterprise system. Through reform of the enterprise system over the last few years, great changes have taken place in the enterprises of the collective in cities and towns. At present, reform of the enterprises of the collective in cities and towns continues to deepen in accordance with the principles laid down since the 16th National Conference of the CPC. The draft property law has made stipulations in principle on the property of the collective in cities and towns in term of the right to things, as follows, "The immovables or movables owned by the collective in cities and towns shall, in accordance with the provisions of laws and administrative regulations, be possessed and used by, shall benefit, and shall be disposed by, the said collective." And it stipulates, "The property owned by the collective shall be protected by law, and illegal possession, looting, illegal sharing, or destruction by any unit or individual is prohibited." These stipulations are not only in conformity with the present conditions, but also leave some room for deepening the reform in the future.

(5) Private Property. Since the reform and opening up, the economy has been developing rapidly, the people's living standards have continued to improve, and private property has been increasing with each passing day. Effective protection of private property of citizens is not only stipulated by the Constitution and is what the Party stands for, but also the general aspiration and urgent demand of the people. The draft property law stipulates, "Individual persons shall be entitled to enjoy ownership of such immovables and movables as their lawful incomes, houses, articles for daily use, means of production and raw materials." "Lawful deposits and investments of individual persons and the gains derived from their investments shall be protected by law." "In accordance with the provisions of law, the State protects the rights of individual persons to inheritance and their other lawful rights and interests." "The lawful property of individual persons shall be protected by law, and illegally taking possession, looting and destruction of such property by any unit or individual is prohibited." These stipulations serve to further improve the legal system for protection of private property and are conducive to stimulating people's initiative to create and accumulate wealth and to promote social harmony. Along with the reform of the housing system, more and more urban residents have come to possess their own houses, the bulk of which are in residential districts, therefore, the condominium right has become an important right in the individual persons' rights to immovables. Proceeding from the purpose of maintaining the lawful rights and interests of the owners of buildings, the draft property law explicitly stipulates that the owners shall enjoy ownership over the special parts within a building, such as the residential units and the units for business purposes, and enjoy the right of sharing and jointly managing the common parts other than the special parts, such as the public facilities like the lifts and public places like the greens. Moreover, the draft has also made stipulations governing such matters as ownership of the garages and parking lots, the functions of the owners' committee and the relations between the owners and the property services. (5) Private Property. Since the reform and opening up, the economy has been developing rapidly, the people's living standards have continued to improve, and private property has been increasing with each passing day. Effective protection of private property of citizens is not only stipulated by the Constitution and is what the Party stands for, but also the general aspiration and urgent demand of the people. The draft property law stipulates, "Individual persons shall be entitled to enjoy ownership of such immovables and movables as their lawful incomes, houses, articles for daily use, means of production and raw materials." "Lawful deposits and investments of individual persons and the gains derived from their investments shall be protected by law." "In accordance with the provisions of law, the State protects the rights of individual persons to inheritance and their other lawful rights and interests." "The lawful property of individual persons shall be protected by law, and illegally taking possession, looting and destruction of such property by any unit or individual is prohibited." These stipulations serve to further improve the legal system for protection of private property and are conducive to stimulating people's initiative to create and accumulate wealth and to promote social harmony. Along with the reform of the housing system, more and more urban residents have come to possess their own houses, the bulk of which are in residential districts, therefore, the condominium right has become an important right in the individual persons' rights to immovables. Proceeding from the purpose of maintaining the lawful rights and interests of the owners of buildings, the draft property law explicitly stipulates that the owners shall enjoy ownership over the special parts within a building, such as the residential units and the units for business purposes, and enjoy the right of sharing and jointly managing the common parts other than the special parts, such as the public facilities like the lifts and public places like the greens. Moreover, the draft has also made stipulations governing such matters as ownership of the garages and parking lots, the functions of the owners' committee and the relations between the owners and the property services.