Review 丨Report on the results of the deliberation of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Rural Collective Economic Organizations (Draft).

Report of the Constitution and Law Committee of the National People's Congress on the results of the deliberation of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Organization of the Rural Collective Economy (Draft).

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress:

The seventh meeting of the Standing Committee held a second deliberation on the draft law on the organization of the rural collective economy. After the meeting, the Legislative Affairs Commission published the full text of the draft on the Chinese National Congress website to solicit public opinions. The Constitution and Law Committee and the Legislative Affairs Commission went to Shaanxi, Sichuan, and other places to conduct investigations and listen to opinions, and on many occasions exchanged views with relevant parties on the main issues in the draft and jointly studied them. The Constitution and Law Committee held a meeting on 30 May and deliberated on the draft article by article in accordance with the deliberation opinions of the members of the Standing Committee and the opinions of various quarters. Relevant responsible comrades of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs attended the meeting as observers. On 18 June, the Constitutional and Legal Committee met and reconsidered it. The Constitution and Law Committee believes that in order to implement the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee, consolidate the achievements of the reform of the rural collective property rights system, and promote the high-quality development of the new rural collective economy, it is necessary to formulate the Rural Collective Economic Organization Law. After two deliberations and revisions, the draft is relatively mature. At the same time, the following main amendments are proposed: 1. Article 11 of the Second Reading Draft stipulates that rural residents whose household registration is or has been in a rural collective economic organization and has formed a stable relationship of rights and obligations with the rural collective economic organization, and whose basic livelihood guarantee is the land and other property collectively owned by the members of the rural collective economic organization, is a member of the rural collective economic organization. Some localities and the public have suggested that "rural residents" be revised to "residents" to cover situations where in some localities all or most of the members have become urban residents after the "village has been resettled," but the rural collective economic organizations to which they belong are still retained. After studying, the Constitutional and Legal Committee recommended that the above opinion be adopted and that the provision be amended accordingly. II. The first paragraph of Article 12 of the Second Reading Draft stipulates that rural collective economic organizations shall follow the principles of respecting history, taking into account reality, procedural norms, and public approval, and taking into account factors such as household registration relationships, rural land contract relationships, production and living conditions, sources of basic livelihood guarantees, and contributions to collective accumulation, and confirm the members of rural collective economic organizations through general meetings in accordance with law. The second paragraph of this article stipulates that the number of persons in a rural collective economic organization who is increased due to the birth of a member shall generally be recognized as a member of the rural collective economic organization. Some departments, localities, experts, and the public have put forward that, first, the principles and factors to be followed in the first paragraph above on confirming the members of rural collective economic organizations have been refined and summarized into the provisions on the definition of members in the draft, and in order to avoid repetition, it is recommended to delete them and revise them to confirm the members of rural collective economic organizations in accordance with the provisions on the definition of members, so as to avoid that the conditions for the recognition of members may not be clear and clear due to the relatively broad and flexible provisions; Second, it is suggested that the number of people in rural collective economic organizations increased due to the birth of members should be revised from "generally should be confirmed" to "should be confirmed" as members; Third, it is proposed to add a paragraph to this article to clearly confirm that members of rural collective economic organizations shall not violate the provisions of this Law and other laws and regulations. After studying, the Constitutional and Legal Committee recommended that the above opinion be adopted and that the provision be amended accordingly. 3. Article 15 of the Second Reading Draft stipulates that if a member of another rural collective economic organization truly needs to join the rural collective economic organization due to production and living needs or other reasons, it must obtain the consent of more than three-quarters of the members of the general meeting of the rural collective economic organization, and at the same time lose the membership of the other rural collective economic organization. Some localities and members of the public have suggested that this article overlaps with Article 12 of the Second Reading Draft of the Second Reading Draft on the circumstances of members joining rural collective economic organizations due to marriage, childbirth, adoption, or policy immigration, and that there are no provisions on the relevant conditions for joining, which may lead to abuse in practice, and it is recommended that it be deleted. Where members of other rural collective economic organizations truly need to join that rural collective economic organization for special reasons other than marriage, childbirth, adoption, or policy immigration, the provisions of this Law on the identification of members based on the definition of membership may be applied. The Constitutional and Legal Commission, after study, recommended that this opinion be adopted and that this provision be deleted. IV. Article 18, Paragraph 1, Item 4 of the Second Reading Draft provides that those who have already become civil servants shall lose their membership in rural collective economic organizations. Some departments suggested that the appointment system of civil servants (which are appointed for a period of one to five years according to the Civil Service Act) was very different from that of ordinary civil servants, and it was suggested that they be excluded from the scope of civil servants provided for above. The Constitutional and Legal Committee, after study, recommended that this opinion be adopted and that the provision be amended accordingly. 5. Paragraph 2 of Article 18 of the Second Reading Draft stipulates that a person who loses his or her membership in a rural collective economic organization because he or she has become a civil servant or has already obtained membership in another collective economic organization may retain the property rights and interests he already enjoys for a certain period of time in accordance with the provisions of laws and regulations and the articles of association of the rural collective economic organization, or after consultation with the rural collective economic organization. Some departments have suggested that the rights and interests that the above-mentioned persons may retain after losing their membership in rural collective economic organizations should be more flexible and inclusive, so as to meet the needs of encouraging outstanding rural grassroots cadres to join the civil service. After studying, the Constitution and Law Committee recommended that this suggestion be adopted, stipulating that "in accordance with laws and regulations, relevant state provisions, and the charter of rural collective economic organizations, and after consultation with rural collective economic organizations, the relevant rights and interests already enjoyed by the above-mentioned persons may be retained for a certain period of time after consultation with the rural collective economic organizations." VI. Paragraph 2 of Article 19 of the Second Reading Draft provides that where a member of a rural collective economic organization marries and does not obtain membership in the rural collective economic organization in the new place of residence, the original rural collective economic organization must not revoke his membership. Some departments, experts, and the public have proposed that after a woman marries, whether she "resides with her husband" or continues to live in her mother's home, as long as she has not obtained membership in other rural collective economic organizations, the original rural collective economic organization must not cancel her membership, and it is suggested that the expression "new place of residence" in this paragraph be deleted. After studying, the Constitutional and Legal Committee recommended that the above opinion be adopted and that the provisions of this paragraph be amended accordingly. 7. The first paragraph of Article 28 of the Second Reading Draft provides the rules for convening a general meeting of members of rural collective economic organizations. Some localities and the public have suggested that a provision be added that rural collective economic organizations shall notify all members of the time, place, and matters to be deliberated of the meeting 10 days before the convening of the general meeting, so as to facilitate the members to make arrangements in advance and participate in the meeting in a timely manner. Some members of the Standing Committee, localities, and the public have proposed that in order to facilitate the exercise of rights by members of rural collective economic organizations and to solve the problem of difficulty in convening general meetings in practice, it is suggested that a provision be added that family members in the same household with full capacity for civil conduct may participate in the general assembly on behalf of the members upon written entrustment. After studying, the Constitutional and Legal Committee recommended that the above opinion be adopted and that the provisions of this paragraph be amended accordingly. 8. Article 68 of the Second Reading Draft stipulates that the confirmation of members of rural collective economic organizations when carrying out the reform of the rural collective property rights system before the implementation of this Law shall continue to be effective after the implementation of this Law. Some departments, experts, and the public have proposed that the provisions on the continued validity of member confirmation before the implementation of this Law are unclear in meaning, and are not conducive to parties who have not previously been recognized as members in accordance with law to protect their rights in accordance with this Law, and suggest that it be amended. After studying, the Constitution and Law Committee recommends adopting this opinion and amending this article to read: "Members who have been confirmed when the rural collective economic organizations carried out the reform of the rural collective property rights system before the implementation of this Law do not need to be reconfirmed after the implementation of this Law." "There is one more issue that needs to be reported. Article 18, Paragraph 1, Item 4 of the Second Reading Draft stipulates that those who have become civil servants shall lose their membership in rural collective economic organizations. Some members of the Standing Committee, localities, and the public have proposed that in addition to civil servants, staff members of public institutions and employees of state-owned enterprises should also lose their membership status. The Constitution and Law Committee, in consultation with relevant parties, believes that the situation of public institutions is complicated, and some of them are not fully financially guaranteed, and the reform of public institutions is still in progress; State-owned enterprises also have a variety of employment forms. In practice, the practice varies from place to place, with some stipulating that only civil servants lose their membership status, others stipulating that civil servants and staff members of public institutions lose their membership status, and still others stipulating that civil servants, staff members of public institutions, and employees of state-owned enterprises lose their membership status. In consideration of the above circumstances, it is appropriate for national legislation to remain appropriately inclusive, and it is not appropriate to make uniform legal provisions on the issue of the loss of membership of personnel such as staff of public institutions and employees of state-owned enterprises, and may be determined by local legislation or the charter of rural collective economic organizations on the basis of actual conditions as authorized by item (5) of paragraph 1 of article 17 of the third deliberation draft. In addition, some editorial changes have been made to the second reading draft of the draft. On June 11, the Legislative Affairs Commission held a meeting and invited some deputies to the National People's Congress, responsible persons of rural collective economic organizations, experts and scholars, arbitration institutions, and representatives of local, agricultural and rural authorities, etc., to assess the feasibility of the main systems and norms in the draft, the timing of the introduction of the law, the social effects of the implementation of the law, and possible problems. It is generally believed that the draft implements the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions on the development of a new type of rural collective economy and the decision-making and deployment of the Party Central Committee, fully absorbs the replicable and generalizable experience formed in the reform of the rural collective property rights system, and is conducive to promoting the high-quality development of the new rural collective economy. The important role of the basic socialist economic system and the basic rural management system is of great significance to safeguarding the fundamental interests of the broad masses of peasants and achieving common prosperity. The draft has a reasonable structure, complete content, strong pertinence and operability, and is basically mature, and it is recommended that it be issued as soon as possible. The participants also put forward some specific amendments to the draft, some of which have already been adopted. The third deliberation draft of the draft has been revised in accordance with the above-mentioned opinions, and the Constitution and Law Committee recommends that it be submitted to the current Standing Committee meeting for deliberation and adoption. Please consider whether the third reading draft of the draft and the above reports are appropriate.

Constitution and Law Committee of the National People's Congress

June 25, 2024

Source: Chinese Network

Editor: Cheng Ming Supervisor: Guo Wenping, Xu Feng Submission Email: [email protected]