On The Legal System Of Family Farm In China

Since 2000,the issue of "three rural areas" has received increasing attention and become the core of the work of the Party and the state.In 2008,the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued the Decision on Several Major Issues in Promoting Rural Reform and Development,which set forth the requirements for developing large-scale business entities such as family farms.Since 2013,a number of important documents,including the No.1 Central document,have continuously emphasized this requirement.Based on the strategic background of rural revitalization,China urgently needs to build a new intensive,specialized and organized agricultural management system,and reform the rural management mode is imminent.In terms of innovative agricultural operation mode,we should insist on keeping household contract operation unchanged,and develop multiple business entities such as family farms.Family farms not only retain the characteristics and advantages of family management,but also achieve scale and modernization,and play a positive role in realizing the development path with family management as the main body and diversified cooperation as the assistant,and become one of the objects of current national support and cultivation.Compared with the long history of foreign countries,China’s family farm has only about ten years of practice time,and there is a huge gap with foreign countries in theoretical research and legal system.Therefore,the research of family farm law has the triple significance of theory,system and practice.In order to promote the development of family farms,the relevant departments of The State Council have promulgated a number of normative documents,and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and The State Council have also issued a series of policies,but these documents and policies are at a lower level of the legal level,and the content of the provisions is relatively broad,and the specific elaboration of relevant issues mainly depends on the promulgation of local regulations and documents.The above laws and documents constitute the current legal system of family farm in our country,but there are still many problems in the system content.The root cause of the problems in the current family farm legal system lies in the ambiguity of the legal attributes of family farm.At present,the discussion about the nature of family farm still focuses on the determination of the form of civil subject.In view of whether family farm is a new civil subject,the academic circles have formed two views,positive and negative.The affirmation said that the family farm is a new civil subject and should be recognized by law.Whether it is a natural person,a legal person or an unincorporated organization has not yet been determined.The negation theory does not recognize the family farm as a new civil subject,and thinks that the existing civil subject can digest the needs of the family farm.However,scholars have different opinions on which kind or kinds of family farms belong to the existing subjects.Regarding the position of civil subject of family farm,it is necessary to test the inclusivity of the current civil subject system.If the existing system can accommodate the subject requirements of family farms,there is no need to create new subjects.Instead,a new type of entity called the family farm needs to be established.A family farm is an organization formed by family members,seemingly unrelated to the individual natural person.However,the family tradition of our country makes the family and the family closely connected,and the personnel and property have a high degree of coincidence.China’s "Civil Code" includes "two households" into the category of natural persons,and the status of "households" is self-evident.Therefore,the "two households" in the existing civil subjects can include family farms.Both legal persons and unlegal organizations other than natural persons are civil subjects of the organizational type and can participate in civil activities in their own name.The most important difference between the two is whether they have independent legal personality and can bear responsibility alone.Family farm is an agricultural production and management body operated by the family,the independence of legal personality does not affect its essential attributes.Thus,both legal and unincorporated organizations can accommodate family farms.In particular,the profit-making legal person in the legal person conforms to the profit-making of family farms participating in market activities.Therefore,compared with the existing civil subject,family farm does not produce a new model,and there is no realistic necessity to set up a new civil subject in our country.Family farms are not new civil subjects.And family farm can be compatible with a variety of civil subjects,but not all civil subjects are in line with the nature and needs of family farm.Based on the compatibility analysis of family farms with different forms of civil subjects,it can be seen that rural contract households that are not included in the scope of registration and selection of market subjects,partnership enterprises,limited liability companies and joint-stock limited companies that are not included in the current scope are more suitable for family farms.Individual industrial and commercial enterprises,sole proprietorship enterprises and public stock limited companies should not be the main form of family farms.Therefore,the family farm is a complex of multiple civil subjects.Therefore,the meaning of the title "family farm" is more a certain qualification,which is the qualification obtained by the agricultural production and management subject who meets the requirements of relevant laws and regulations through the administrative confirmation act of the government.Through the regulation of factors such as family operation,moderate scale,agricultural income and government certification,it can avoid the confusion of unsuitable subjects.In the meaning of qualification title,family farm does not have the fixed and unique form of civil subject under the traditional civil law theory.The title of family farm does not conflict with the form of civil subject and can exist together.Based on the separation of qualification title and subject form,qualification recognition as an administrative confirmation act and registration of market subject as an administrative license act are two different acts,which are different in access meaning and behavior essence.The local regulations confuse the two acts and set up two kinds of identification organs,the agricultural department and the market supervision department.As a result,there are two mechanisms of formal review and substantive review in the certification of family farms,which leads to confusion in the certification process of family farms.In terms of family farm withdrawal supervision,corresponding to the above-mentioned qualification recognition and market subject registration,the withdrawal of family farm also includes qualification cancellation and market withdrawal,and the legal consequences are also different.However,some local regulations confuse the disqualification and market withdrawal,resulting in the lack of uniformity in the provisions of disqualification conditions.In addition,the disposal of land management rights in the process of family farm market exit is also in a blank state.In the process of recognizing and canceling family farm qualifications,the recognition standard serves as the cornerstone of the system.Currently,there are several deficiencies in our country’s criteria for identifying family farms.Excessive restrictions are imposed on household registration status and age range of farm managers,while the definition of kinship levels among them as family members remains unclear.The labor force structure primarily relying on family members fails to meet practical needs.The moderate scale standard is overly broad and requires refinement.Local regulations that extend the requirement for farms to rely on agriculture as their main source of income to households are unreasonable.Additionally,other standards such as operators receiving agricultural skills training,maintaining comprehensive financial records,and playing a leading role in demonstration lack practicality and necessity.In light of the existing issues within the current system,enhancing the legal framework for family farms in our country can be achieved through elevating legislative standards and formulating a dedicated legislation.Regarding the content specified by this law,it is imperative for the Family Farm Law to establish a unified qualification system,redefine eligibility criteria,and clarify procedural requirements.It should also delineate the types of market entities that family farms can register as well as emphasize voluntary registration principles for these entities.Simultaneously,improving the present regulatory system is essential by unifying local regulations and supplementing specific provisions concerning family farm withdrawal,particularly pertaining to land ownership rights and preservation of large-scale agricultural land.