中华人民共和国农村土地承包法 Law of the Peoples Republic of China on Land Contract in Rural Areas

　　Principles and Procedures for Contracting

　　Article 18 The following principles shall be abided by in the contracting of land：

　　（1） when arrangements are made for undertaking contracts in accordance with relevant provisions， members of the same collective economic organization shall， according to law and on an equal footing， exercise the right to contract land， and they may， of their own free will， give up such right；

　　（2） democratic consultation， fairness and equitableness；

　　（3） in accordance with the provisions of Article 12 of this Law， the contracting plan shall， according to law， be subject to consent by not less than two-thirds of the members of the villagers assembly of the collective economic organization concerned or of the villagers' representatives； and

　　（4） the contract procedures conform to the provisions of law.

　　Article 19 Land shall be contracted out in accordance with the following procedures：

　　（1） a contract-working team shall be elected by the villagers assembly of the collective economic organization concerned；

　　（2） the contract-working team shall， in accordance with the provisions of laws and administrative rules and regulations， draw up and announce its contracting plan；

　　（3） convening， according to law， the villagers assembly of the collective economic organization concerned to adopt the contracting plan through discussion；

　　（4） making known to the public arrangements for the implementation of the contracting plan； and

　　（5） concluding the contract.

　　Section 3

　　Term of the Contract and the Contract

　　Article 20 The term of contract for arable land is 30 years. The term of contract for grassland ranges from 30 to 50 years. The term of contract for forestland ranges from 30 to 70 years； the term of contract for forestland with special trees may， upon approval by the competent administrative department for forestry under the State Council， be longer.

　　Article 21 The party giving the contract shall sign a written contract with the contractor.

　　A contract shall， in general， include the following clauses：

　　（1） the names of the party giving out the contract and the contractor， and the names and domiciles of the responsible person of the party giving out the contract and the representative of the contractor；

　　（2） the name， location， area and quality grade of the contracted land；

　　（3） the term of contract and the dates of beginning and end；

　　（4） the purpose of use of the contracted land；

　　（5） the rights and obligations of the party giving out the contract and the contractor； and

　　（6） liability for breach of the contract.

　　Article 22 A contract shall go into effect as of the date of its conclusion. The contractor shall obtain the right to land contractual management as of the date the contract goes into effect.

　　Article 23 Local people's governments at or above the county level shall issue to the contractor the certificate of the right to land contractual management， or the certificate of forestry ownership， etc.， and have them registered， thus confirming the right to land contractual management.

　　For the issuance of the certificates of the right to land or forestland contractual management， etc.， no fees shall be collected except for the cost of the certificates， which is to be collected in accordance with relevant provisions.

　　Article 24 After a contract goes into effect， the party giving out the contract may neither modify nor revoke the contract due to the change of the representative for the party giving out the contract or the responsible person concerned， or due to the split or merger of the collective economic organization.

　　Article 25 No State organs or their staff members may， taking advantage of their positions and powers， interfere with the contracting of rural land or modify or revoke contracts.

　　Section 4

　　Protection of the Right to Land Contractual Management

　　Article 26 During the term of contract， the party giving out the contract may not take back the contracted land.

　　If during the term of contract， the whole family of the contractor moves into a small town and settles down there， the right of the contractor to land contractual management shall， in accordance with the contractor's wishes， be reserved， or the contractor shall be allowed to circulate the said right according to law.

　　If during the term of contract， the whole family of the contractor moves into a city divided into districts and his rural residence registration is changed to non-rural residence registration， he shall turn his contracted arable land or grassland back to the party giving out the contract may take back the contracted arable land or grassland.

　　When during the term of contract， the contractor turns back the contracted land， in which he has made investment， thus increasing its production capacity， or the party giving out the contract takes it back according to law， the contractor shall have the right to obtain appropriate compensation.

　　Article 27 During the term of contract， the party giving out the contract may not readjust the contracted land.

　　Where during the term of contract， such special circumstances as natural calamities that seriously damaged the contracted land make it necessary to properly readjust the arable land or grasslands contracted by individual peasant households， the matter shall be subject to consent by not less than two-thirds of the members of the villagers assembly of the collective economic organization concerned or of the villagers' representatives and shall be reported for approval to the competent administrative departments for agriculture， etc. under the relevant township （town） people's government and the people's government at the county level. Where an agreement upon no adjustments is concluded in the contract， such an agreement shall prevail.

　　Article 28 The following land shall be used for readjustment of contracted land or for cont

racting out to new inhabitants：

　　（1） land reserved， according to law， by collective economic organizations；

　　（2） land increased through reclamation according to law， etc.； and

　　（3） land turned back， according to law or on a voluntary basis， by contractors； or

　　Article 29 During the term of contract， the contractor may， of his own free will， turn back the contracted land to the party giving out the contract. Where a contractor wishes to do the same， he shall， six months in advance， inform the party giving out the contract of the matter in written form. Where a contractor turns back the contracted land during the term of contract， he may no longer request to undertake a contract for land within the term.

　　Article 30 During the term of contract， a woman gets married and undertakes no contract for land in the place of her new residence， the party giving out the contract may not take back her originally contracted land； and where a divorced woman or a woman bereaved of her husband still lives at her original residence or does not live at her original residence but undertakes no contract for land at her new residence， the party giving out the contract may not take back her originally contracted land.

　　Article 31 The benefits derived from the contract which are due to contractor shall be inherited in accordance with the provisions of the Succession Law. In case a contractor for forestland is dead， his/her successor may， within the term of contract， continue to undertake the contract.

　　Section 5

　　Circulation of the Right to Land Contractual Management

　　Article 32 The right to land contractual management obtained through household contract may， according to law， be circulated by subcontracting， leasing， exchanging， transferring or other means.

　　Article 33 The right to land contractual management shall be circulated in adherence to the following principles：

　　（1） that consultation on an equal footing， voluntariness and compensation， and no organizations or individuals may compel the contractor to circulate his right to land contractual management or prevent him from doing so；

　　（2） that no change shall be made in the nature of the land ownership or the purpose of use of the land designed for agriculture；

　　（3） that the term of the circulation may not exceed the remaining period of the term of contract；

　　（4） that the transferee shall have the capability for agricultural operation； and

　　（5） that under equal conditions， members of the collective economic organization concerned shall enjoy priority.

　　Article 34 In the circulation of the right to land contractual management， the contractor shall be the subject. The contractor shall have the right to make his own decision， according to law， on whether to circulate the right to land contractual management and on the means by which to circulate the right.

　　Article 35 During the term of contract， the party giving out the contract may not unilaterally revoke the contract， nor， under the pretext that the minority is subordinate to the majority， compel the contractor to give up or modify his right to land contractual management， nor take back the contracted land by reason of the need to divide the land into “grain rations fields” and “responsibility fields” in order to contract it out through bid invitation， or take back the contracted land to pay off its debts.

　　Article 36 Such fees as the subcontract charges， rent and transfer charges to be collected for the circulation of

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