Civil Trial Guidance and Reference (2005 Issue 2, Issue 22 in Total)

Author: Supreme People's Court Civil Trial First Tribunal
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-09-01
Features: 【New Judicial Interpretation】Supreme People's Court on the Application of Laws in Cases of Contract Disputes Involving State-owned Land Use Rights (Adopted at the 1334th Meeting of the Supreme People's Court Judicial Committee on November 23, 2004), Legal Interpretation No. [2005] 5. According to the General Principles of the Civil Law of the People's Republic of China, the Contract Law of the People's Republic of China, the Land Administration Law of the People's Republic of China, the Urban and Rural Real Estate Administration Law of the People's Republic of China, and other relevant laws, combined with the practice of civil trial, this interpretation is formulated to address legal issues in the adjudication of contract disputes involving state-owned land use rights.
Article 1: Contract Disputes over Land Use Rights Transfer
This interpretation refers to the contract for the transfer of state-owned land use rights, which is an agreement where the land administration department of a municipal or county government, as the transferring party, transfers the state-owned land use rights to the acquiring party within a certain term, and the acquiring party pays the land use rights transfer fee.
Article 2: Contracts Invalidated When Development Zone Administrative Committees Serve as Transferring Parties
Contracts for the transfer of state-owned land use rights entered into by development zone administrative committees as transferring parties and acquiring parties shall be deemed invalid. Before the implementation of this interpretation, contracts entered into by development zone administrative committees as transferring parties and acquiring parties, which were ratified by the land administration department of the municipal or county government before the lawsuit was filed, may be deemed valid.
Article 3: Invalid Price Clause When Transfer Fee Is Below Minimum Set by Government
When land use rights are transferred through negotiation and approved by the municipal or county government, and the land use rights transfer fee is lower than the minimum price determined by the local government in accordance with national regulations at the time the contract was concluded, the price clause in the land use rights transfer contract shall be deemed invalid. If the parties request the payment of the land use rights transfer fee based on the market appraisal price at the time the contract was concluded, this shall be supported. If the acquiring party refuses to make up the difference based on the market appraisal price and requests the termination of the contract, this shall also be supported. The losses caused by this shall be borne by the parties in accordance with their respective faults.
Article 4: Termination of Contract Due to Failure to Complete Transfer Procedures
If the transferring party in a land use rights transfer contract fails to complete the procedures for transferring land use rights and cannot deliver the land, and the acquiring party requests the termination of the contract, this shall be supported.
Article 5: Adjustment of Transfer Fee for Changed Land Use
If the acquiring party changes the land use as agreed in the land use rights transfer contract, with the consent of the transferring party and the urban planning administrative department of the municipal or county government, and the parties request an adjustment of the land use rights transfer fee based on the standard of the same land use at the time of the lawsuit, this shall be supported.
Article 6: Invalidation of Contract Due to Unauthorized Change of Land Use