A contract 60 years ago
Why does a century-old house suddenly lead to ownership disputes?
Wang Jianguo: Because we checked with the Municipal Bureau of Land and Resources, this house really belongs to my grandfather.
Zhang Jiatian: We lived for 70 years. How can it be someone else's house?
Is a contract still valid after 60 years?
Zhang Jiatian: I have another appointment in this place.
Wang Jianguo: We don't admit it.
There is such an old house in Wu Tong Village, Huli District, Xiamen City, Fujian Province. Let's look at the screen. Obviously, this house is old and shabby. It's been years since anyone lived there, and it seems to have been forgotten. It was not until the end of 2005 that the memory of the local villagers returned, and a case more than 60 years ago was brought out.
This afternoon, several people suddenly came to the village. They measured and photographed around the old house.
Wang Jianguo: We have an obligation to take good care of what our ancestors left us, because it has commemorative value and nostalgic value.
This man's name is Wang Jianguo. He said that the old house was left by his grandfather, and this time he was going to apply for the property right certificate of the house.
Wang Jianguo: The manager of the Land and Resources Bureau asked us if the house was still there. We said yes, we should take evidence first and take pictures first. It's true that the house didn't collapse, so we have to go through the formalities.
However, just as Wang Jianguo was taking evidence and taking photos with the staff of the Bureau of Land and Resources, a man suddenly came over and stopped in front of the staff to ask questions.
Wang Jianguo: What did he say you were doing? He (staff) said that he would apply for a real estate license, which belongs to someone else.
Hearing this, the man immediately stopped the staff from taking pictures.
Zhang Jiatian: This house is ours. Somehow, we have lived for more than 60 years, but it belongs to others.
The speaker is Zhang Jiatian, who is also a villager in Wu Tong Village. He said that the old house was left by his father. He has lived in this old house since the day he was born and has lived in it for more than 50 years. Later, a new house was built at home before he moved out.
Zhang Jiatian: Since childhood, no one has ever been to this house.
Wang Jianguo and Zhang Jiatian said that the old house belonged to their own family, and there was an argument at the scene. But don't forget, the staff of the Bureau of Land and Resources are still standing by. Since someone followed Wang Jianguo to collect evidence and take photos, there must be some truth. So, they went forward and explained the whole story to Zhang Jiatian. But Zhang Jiatian didn't wait for the other party to finish, so he pulled them aside and said a word. After listening to this sentence, the staff of the Bureau of Land and Resources immediately decided to stop taking pictures. Before he left, he left a message to Wang Jianguo, saying that he would go back and study the property right certificate. This change, let Wang Jianguo feel puzzling.
Wang Jianguo: Because we checked with the Municipal Bureau of Land and Resources, it was confirmed that this house was my grandfather's, and it was also my grandfather's during the Republic of China, so it was still my grandfather's after the liberation of land reform.
This was discovered by Wang Jianguo in the local land and resources management department. Other files about old houses were destroyed in a typhoon 30 years ago. This topographic map of the house drawn in 1948 became the only evidence to prove the property right of the house. After the drawing is enlarged, you can see that in the position of the old house, the words "Zhang Junchuan" are written, and this Zhang Junchuan is Wang Jianguo's grandfather.
Wang Jianguo: I have known that house since I was very young. My grandmother said it was ours.
Zhang Jiatian's father is called Zhang Guangjian. According to this drawing, Wang Jianguo's grandfather Zhang Junchuan was originally a neighbor. However, in the interview, we learned that this old house has been lived by Zhang Guangjian's family since 194 1 and has lived for more than 60 years. Why?
Zhang Chamou: We used to be my father, my mother and one of my ancestors lived in his house (old house). Later, the ancestors said that they wanted to live in a big house, and they (Zhang Guangjian's family) quarreled over there and gave them a place to live, so we moved there. Move to that big room and lend it to him here.
Zhang: They are all lent to him (Zhang Guangjian). Let him stay. He has no room.
Reporter: Why haven't you been back for a long time?
Zhang: There are many more.
Zhang and Zhang Cha recalled that when his father Zhang Junchuan was alive, there were several properties at home. Seeing that Zhang Guangjian's family has a large population and a small house, he lent it to his family.
Wang Jianguo: We didn't want to come back for decades, because we had a house to live in, because they didn't build a house. At that time, the house was only over 100 square meters, and they still lived with a family. We're embarrassed to return it. After all, we are neighbors.
Wang Jianguo's uncle Zhang recalled that when he was engaged in land reform, he gave his father Zhang Junchuan a title certificate when he confirmed the ownership of the house at 1952. 1959, father died, 1984, mother died. When they were sorting out their parents' relics, they found that the title certificate was gone, but they didn't take it seriously.
Reporter: Does anyone else in the village know that the house belongs to your family?
Zhang: I know, but I don't know.
During the interview, the reporter found four elderly people in their 70s in the village.
Reporter: Hello, do you know whose old house used to be?
Villager 1: It was handed down by Jun at the earliest.
Villager 2: From Zhang Jun.
Villager 3: It was handed down by Jun. ..
Villager 4: It was handed down by Jun at the earliest.
Zhang Junchuan's descendants said that the house was lent to Zhang Guangjian's family, and Zhang Junchuan's name was also written on the topographic map of the house at 1948. All this seems to show that it is natural for the Land and Resources Bureau to handle the title certificate for Wang Jianguo. But why doesn't Zhang Guangjian's son Zhang Jiatian agree with this matter? He said the house belonged to his family. What is the basis?
Zhang Jiatian: This is an old house, obviously our house ... Our family has lived in this house for sixty or seventy years.
Zhang Jintian's elder sister Zhang Jinlian is 7 1 year old and her fourth sister Zhang Jinzu is 6 1 year old. They all grew up in that old house.
Zhang Jinzu: We think it's ours. We have lived there since childhood.
Zhang Jinlian: 60 or 70 years, more than 70 years.
Zhang Jiatian said that before the Land and Resources Bureau came to the old house to take photos, Zhang came to the house to find him once and said that he wanted to take the old house back.
Zhang Jiatian: I mean, you can't get the house back.
Two people broke up in discord. A few days later, Wang Jianguo took people from the Land and Resources Bureau to take photos. Zhang Jiatian found that Zhang was also present, so he immediately stepped forward to stop him. So, what did he say at that time, telling the staff of the Land and Resources Bureau to stop taking pictures and go back immediately?
Zhang Jiatian: I said at that time that this house was pawned by his father to my father. Does this work?
This sentence really worked. Because the Land and Resources Bureau thinks that this old house involves ownership disputes, Wang Jianguo's replacement of the property right certificate has been put on hold for the time being.
Zhang Jiatian: My mother has told me since I was sensible.
Reporter: What do you say?
Zhang Jiatian: He said that this house was handed down to us by Zhang Jun. ..
Zhang Jiatian's father, Zhang Guangjian, died on 1949, and Zhang Jiatian was born eight months after his death. For decades, he often heard his mother say that his house was pawned. 1989 after his mother died, more than ten years passed, and he unexpectedly found this pawn contract by accident.
Zhang Jiatian: Five years ago, people lent me a house for migrant workers to live in, and I asked my wife to clean it. Then my wife found a pawn (contract) wrapped in cloth and brought it back to me. Then I opened it and found that this pawn (contract) was an agreement with (Zhang Junchuan).
This is the pawn contract found by Zhang Jiatian. Judging from its contents, the first signing was in 194 1. At that time, the agreed term was six years, and the standard money was 100 yuan. Three years later, 1944, both parties renewed the contract again, adding 65438+. Zhang Jiatian said that according to the time limit agreed by his father Zhang Guangjian at that time, it should expire on 1959, but Zhang Junchuan's family never redeemed it.
A 66-year story seems to reveal another unknown history. After discovering this deed, Zhang Jiatian once wanted to get the title certificate in the past. However, when inquired by the Land and Resources Bureau, people said that it was definitely not possible to rely on such a pawn contract more than 60 years ago, and Zhang Junchuan's legal heir had to cooperate. But Zhang Jiatian is worried that the other party may not recognize it, and that's it. Later, first, Zhang tried to go back to the house, and then Wang Jianguo took people from the Land and Resources Bureau to take photos. What Zhang Jiatian was worried about really happened.
In 2006, Zhang Jiatian suddenly heard a news that made him more and more anxious.
Zhang Jiatian: I didn't know until the New Year. The municipal government said that the house was going to be demolished. I was even more nervous then. I must go through the formalities. If I don't do it, I won't get a penny.
Soon, Zhang Jiatian filed a lawsuit in court, bringing Zhang Junchuan's children, Zhang Wangzhen and Zhang Chamou, to court, requesting the court to order the pawn contract to be valid and the old house to be owned by the plaintiff.
The pawn contract 60 years ago was flawed.
Whether the contract is true or not, can the current law solve the problem?
Welcome back. Zhang Jiatian took the pawn contract 60 years ago to the court and sued Zhang Junchuan's four children. However, the defendant's family said that they had never heard of this old house and pawn.
Wang Jianguo: Including my uncle, who is sixty-five, sixty or seventy years old. He doesn't know about it, but he knows that he will lend them a house to live in.
Zhang: Where is his code? no ..
Wang Jianguo and his family are anxious to reissue the real estate license because they heard that the old house was going to be demolished.
Wang Jianguo: The government pays.
Wang Jianguo said that he didn't see Zhang Jiatian's pawn contract for the first time until the trial and the two sides exchanged evidence.
Wang Jianguo: He doesn't know where to pick out a classic ticket, and neither do we. None of the people in the classic tickets are alive, but now they are all dead, which we don't admit.
After carefully reading this pawn contract, Wang Jianguo found some doubts: all the words in it were written by the same person, but there was no signature of either party. The names of the middleman, witness and book agent are written on the back of the contract, but even the old people in the village don't know who they are or about the pawn.
Wang Jianguo: The person who can see this classic ticket is dead, and now the person who owns this classic ticket doesn't know what happened at that time.
Zhang Jiatian: That was before. I don't know. I can't read either.
In addition, Wang Jianguo also found a bigger doubt in this pawn contract.
Wang Jianguo: Because my grandfather's name is Zhang Junchuan, and his ticket says Zhang Genchuan, not word for word. How can it be bad if there is no party involved? The bad places will definitely change. So I don't think this classic ticket is real at all, it's fake.
Zhang Jiatian: It is impossible to ask who will forge this and who will forge this.
There is indeed a question raised here. The defendant claimed that his father's name was Zhang Junchuan, and the topographic map of the house 1948 was also written by Zhang Junchuan, but it was written in the pawn contract that the person who pawned the house was Zhang Genchuan. What happened? Is it a clerical error, or is it someone else? Even Zhang Jiatian, the plaintiff, couldn't say clearly. So, how will the judge judge? Can he break the deadlock?
After the first trial, the presiding judge Yan Fucheng decided to go to the old house for on-the-spot investigation first.
Judge Yan: And both parties should be called to the scene. For example, we need to confirm the setting of the houses around the houses identified by the plaintiff.
In addition to on-the-spot investigation, Judge Yan also investigated and collected evidence from neighboring neighbors and local village committees.
Judge Yan: The setting of the house on site is consistent with that stated in the deed, so we confirm that the house identified by the plaintiff is the property stated in the deed.
So, is this pawn contract true or false?
Judge Yan: His whole writing habit includes the freshness of his papers, and some terms have corresponding meanings.
The characteristics of the times, he is some terms of the Republic of China, the description of his setup, and the signature of the parties. These are all paintings. /We seem to meet the legal characteristics at that time. The age of formation accords with some characteristics of that time.
Now, the judge has identified the following facts: the pawn contract is true, and the property pawned in the contract is the old house now. For decades, Zhang Guangjian's family has been living in a house, but the biggest question mentioned above still has no answer. What happened to Zhang Junchuan and Zhang Genchuan? Don't worry, let's listen to a few interviews with reporters before, and pay attention.
Villager 2: From Zhang Jun.
Villager 3: It was handed down by Jun. ..
Zhang Shuiguan: It was handed down by Jun at the earliest.
Reporter: What's your grandfather's name?
Wang Jianguo: My grandfather's name is Zhang Junchuan.
Did you hear the mystery? The answer is here.
Judge Yan: The pronunciation rules of Minnan dialect in Xiamen are the same as that of that gentleman. It's all sticks, that's one thing. Secondly, it has been proved in the community that there was only one person named Minnan dialect, Zhang Junchuan. /Then, in the rural background at that time, of course, his education level was generally not high, and it was a folk contract, which was written by those literati from the folk.
Things really seem to come out, but the trial of the case did not stop there. Because the defendant questioned the court, this pawn contract was formed more than 60 years ago, and this practice in the early years was in line with the legal provisions at that time. However, after the founding of New China, the six laws of the Kuomintang period have been abolished. In the current law of our country, although there is no explicit prohibition of real estate pawn, it is not advocated either. So, according to today's law, is this contract still valid?
Judge Yan said that 1984 the Supreme People's Court issued the Opinions on Several Issues Concerning the Implementation of Civil Policies and Laws, in which Article 58 clearly stipulates that the relationship between housing mortgage rights within the scope permitted by laws and policies shall be recognized; However, the housing pawn relationship that has been solved in the land reform will not change. In principle, if the time limit expires for ten years or the time limit is not specified in the deed, and it has not been redeemed for thirty years, it will be regarded as an absolute sale.
Judge Yan: This provision actually stipulates that the court should handle this kind of pawn relationship with the people.
In other words, if there is no violation of the laws and policies at that time, then efficiency should be confirmed. /Then there is no evidence to prove that the property in this case has been re-confirmed in 1952 (land reform), so we can only confirm the validity of this civil contract according to this provision.
Although the validity of the contract was confirmed, the defendant's lawyer raised another key issue: the plaintiff's claim for house ownership had already exceeded the limitation of action. Because the pawn period stipulated in the contract is 1959, even according to the judicial interpretation in the Supreme People's Court, the redemption period has been increased by 10 year. It has been more than 30 years since 1969, but the plaintiff has never claimed rights.
Defendant's lawyer: Article 135 of the General Principles of the Civil Law stipulates that the limitation, time and time limit for the parties to request the people's court to protect their civil rights are two years. What about this civil right? We believe that property right is also a civil right, just like tort right. If you don't claim this right in time, you are putting your own property right in a deep sleep, which is not conducive to its protection and circulation. Therefore, we also suggest to the court that the statute of limitations should be applied when trying cases.
Plaintiff's lawyer: If it is infringement, there will be a time limit. If it is a correct confirmation, there will be no time limit. Then this case is just a question of confirmation of rights. Our country's law does not clearly stipulate the litigation of confirmation of rights. If this is the correct confirmation, it should be required within a few years. If it is infringement, as I said just now, within two years.
A pawn contract more than 60 years ago, although the party has passed away, the old house is still there. So according to today's laws and regulations, who should this old house belong to? Should the statute of limitations be applied to this civil action? This is economics and law. Please read the court's decision later.
In March 2006, Huli District People's Court of Xiamen City, Fujian Province made a first-instance judgment on this house pawn dispute.
Judge: First, we confirmed to him the true spirit of the pawn relationship, and Zhang Genchuan made peace.
We also confirmed whether Zhang Jun is the same person. Third, the disputed house is consistent with the property set in the deed, and the identity can be confirmed. From these three points, we think that the defendant's ancestors pawned the disputed property to the plaintiff's ancestors. At this time, their corresponding descendants claim the right to this house, which we think should be confirmed.
Court decision: Pawn signed by plaintiff's father Zhang Guangjian and defendant's father Zhang Junchuan (also known as Zhang Genchuan).
The contract is valid; The disputed house is jointly owned by Zhang Guangjian's five children. Then, why didn't the court consider the statute of limitations?
Judge: First of all, this case is a house ownership dispute, and the plaintiff is based on the existence code of both parties.
When the related party claims the corresponding rights, then the limitation of action should not be applied to the right of claim in rem in the corresponding legal norms of our country. There is no such regulation.
In legislation, why does "limitation of action" not apply to property rights? In order to solve this problem, we interviewed the legal adviser of this column.
Yang Lixin: My things have been taken by others. After the two-year limitation period expires, can't I get them back because I am the owner? I can't. That doesn't apply. Is to protect the rights of property owners, why can creditor's rights? For example, if you owe me money, the law stipulates that you must get it back within two years. If you don't want it, the law will ignore it, so the creditor's rights can (apply the statute of limitations), and the real right can't have no statute of limitations in all the draft property laws.