Legal Practices & Institutional Reflections on Small of Houses with Limited Property Rights

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By Zhang Yingzhu, November 19, 2014.

At 18:30 on November 19, 2014, Professor Zhu Qingyu, who came from Guanghua Law School, Zhejiang University, was welcomed to give a lecture themed "Legal Practices & Institutional Reflections on Small of Houses with Limited Property Rights".

Professor Zhu started the lecture by a story about the origin of the Songzhuang artist village, which was formed in a village near the Old Summer Palace and then relocated to Tongxian country where now the artist village lies. Approximately 2000 artists assembled in Songzhuang artist village which is the largest and international known artists’ colony in China. In addition, it became one of the ten creative cultural industries in Beijing, 2006. Naturally, the small of houses with limited property rights here made a great impact on the world, which was the famous dispute in Beijing Songzhuang small property right room that was the primary coverage Professor Zhu gave to us.

Firstly, Professor Zhu showed us the specific content of the case including the prosecution Ma Haitao, a local villager in Songzhuang, and defendant Li Yulan, an artist from a different part of the country, and the case fact is that the prosecution and defense signed the Sale and Purchase Contract on July 1st, 2002 which was signed by witness and sealed by village committee. However, prosecution was determined to advocate the contact was invalid and asked Li Yulan to reclaim the house but not approved. The case began. Secondly, Zhu revealed the convictions from superior court and second-instance court which both avoided the unlawful contract between the prosecution and the defendant. But the third conviction declared prosecution Ma compensated defense Li 185290 yuan, which received a favorable report among the public and media except the clients who couldn’t afford the reparation and lost the steady house.

Apparently, nobody could benefit from this court decision, but why we all viewed what the judge did was right, Zhu told us. China has published plenty of laws and rules about the countryside homestead right of use, which all make it illegal for nonmember of the collective economy to gain the countryside homestead right of use. What the Sale and Purchase Contract specified was not only the house but also the countryside homestead right of use. Besides, Li was not the local villager. Therefore, the judgment was correct. Professor also told us that after court declares the contract was void, the property by the contract should be returned, if it is impossible or unnecessary to return, should deserve compensation. Above all, why judge came to the conclusion is clear.

This case is over, but the influence it took to the society doesn’t end. A great influence is the fortune, which contains the 32 million investments in the cultural industry of Songzhuang and 35 million tax, so we can’t image how Songzhuang will be when the artists leave. The other impact is moral hazard which will drive people to do what disobey the moral to go after individual interests. "Place our self-interest above the law and policy", "A person who makes a contract just for the high compensation after the rescission of the contract is scabrous".

In the end of the lecture, three students put questions to Professor Zhu and he gave his opinions, which won warm applause for this wonderful interaction.

Published：2014-11-23 Hit：503