Take-back of a right to use a lot of land (Ledong Longmuwan) without Compensation
Take-back of a right to use a lot of land (Ledong Longmuwan) without Compensation
[Keywords]
take-back of a right to use a lot of state-owned land for construction purposes without compensation, administrative review
[Case summary]
In August 2020, Ledong County government made out four Decisions to take back a right to use a lot of state-owned land for construction purposes without compensation to recover without compensation four plots of land (approx. 1,152 mu) of Longmuwan Company, on the ground that the plots were not developed before deadline. Longmuwan Octopus Hotel Co., Ltd. and Longmuwan Company, not satisfied with the decisions, applied to the Provincial government for administrative review. In February 2021, the Provincial government issued an Administrative Review Decision, affirming that the land recovery decisions violated the law but sustained their validity. Longmuwan Octopus Hotel Co., Ltd. and Longmuwan Company, not satisfied with the decision, brought an administrative lawsuit to Hainan First Intermediate People’s Court, and petitioned to revoke the land recovery decisions and the administrative review decision above.
[Verdict]
When trialing the case, the court organized several sessions of communication and coordination between the parties, who, under the joint mediation of the Provincial government and the court, reached in the end an out-of-court settlement. Longmuwan Octopus Hotel Co., Ltd. and Longmuwan Company submitted a Withdrawal Application to the court to withdraw the case on the ground that the administrative dispute involved had been resolved. And Hainan First Intermediate People’s Court issued (2021) Qiong 96 Xing Chu No. 272-275 Administrative Ruling, approving Longmuwan Octopus Hotel Co., Ltd. and Longmuwan Company's request to withdraw the lawsuit.
[Significance]
This is a landmark government-court linkage case in Hainan. The 1,152 mu of land concerned is full of complicated historical hangovers. Valued over 5 billion yuan in subject matter, it involves a variety of disputes, and one misstep in the disposal may bring about major risks to the real estate and financial industries. Under the strenuous guidance of the Supreme People’s Court, Hainan Party Committee organized several sessions of coordination, and determined on administrative mediation for the resolution of the dispute. The Provincial government and the enterprises involved, after several rounds of out-of-court mediations, finally reached a settlement, and the latter applied to the court to withdraw the lawsuit. When handling the case, the court adhered to the leadership of the Party committee and government-court linkage, properly disposed of the case based on the rule of law, made full use of the Party committee’s coordination role between all parties to lead the government and the court to a substantive resolution of the administrative dispute, and effectively prevented the regional risks to the real estate and financial industries, forming an indivisible whole among political, legal and social effects.
