Legal information

In the past, due to the cycle of law enforcement, cases were discovered late and dealt with slowly. Some people took advantage of the "statute of liability" - if it was delayed for two years, it would be safe. But Article 3 of this new regulation directly blocks this path: illegal occupation of farmland will be deemed a "continuation state" until the farmland is restored to its original state. What's the meaning? That is to say, if you occupy it for a day and do not recover, the accountability will not expire for a day. The procrastination trick is completely ineffective.

What caught many people off guard is that Article 8 of the new regulations clearly stipulates that contracts that agree to occupy farmland to build houses, dig sand, retrieve soil, buy, sell or lease houses on farmland are all invalid.

So here comes the question: What other “high-voltage lines” are there under the new regulations? How do ordinary people avoid these thunders?

Lawyer Ying Ting will give you three key points:

First, the criminal threshold. Article 12 of the new regulations: Illegal occupation and destruction of more than 5 acres of permanent basic farmland, or more than 10 acres of other cultivated land, constitutes the crime of "illegal occupation of agricultural land." Note that this does not mean that you have to build a high-rise building - the foundation pit has been dug, the foundation piles have been driven, or even just digging sand, quarrying, and piling garbage that pollutes the farmland can be considered "destroyed." I was fined twice in two years. The third time, even if I only occupied 2.5 acres of basic farmland, I was still jailed.

Second, the administrative agencies have the power to “cut through the mess with a sharp knife”. Article 2 of the new regulations: If the administrative agency orders you to stop construction and demolish it within a time limit, if you continue construction, they can directly seal the construction site. The courts clearly supported it. Don’t expect to “put it off until the Chinese New Year.” If you delay for one day, the seizure will come sooner.

Third, and most easily overlooked: the litigation period is only 15 days. Article 4 of the new regulations: If you are dissatisfied with the "decision ordering demolition within a time limit", the time limit for directly filing a lawsuit in court is within 15 days from the date of receipt of the decision. If you miss this time, the court may not even accept the case. In the past, some people thought of "waiting for the outcome of the review," but now this shortcut is unavailable.

If you have any buildings or facilities on farmland, or are negotiating the sale or lease of a piece of "cheap land", please do two things immediately -

First, open the official website or mini program of the local Natural Resources Bureau and check the planning nature of the land. Is it basic farmland? Is it general farmland? Check it for free and it only takes a few minutes.

Second, if you find any possibility of illegal occupation, don’t wait, proactively consult a professional lawyer or local law enforcement department. Article 16 of the new regulations provides a "self-rescue window": those who actively repair and restore planting conditions may be given leniency or even not prosecuted. When others come to the door, it will be a different script.

The farmland red line is not a slogan. This time, the two high authorities have used 21 detailed rules to tell you: protecting cultivated land is no longer a matter of "fining some money", but "a matter of whether to enter or not."

Don't let your investment and your freedom be mired in a fleeting "I think".

The following is the full text:

The "Two Highs and Highs" jointly issued the "Regulations on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Handling Cases of Illegal Occupation of Cultivated Land"

Release time: May 11, 2026

On May 11, 2026, the Supreme People's Court held a press conference and jointly issued the "Regulations on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Handling Cases of Illegal Occupation of Cultivated Land" together with the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and answered reporters' questions. Geng Baojian, member of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People's Court and president of the Administrative Tribunal, Yang Jianbo, director of the Legal Policy Research Office of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, Yu Shuangbiao, deputy director of the Legal Policy Research Office of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and Yan Wei, a second-level senior judge of the Administrative Tribunal of the Supreme People's Court, attended the press conference and answered reporters' questions. The press conference was hosted by Lu Kunliang, a first-level inspector of the Information Bureau of the Supreme People's Court.

In order to correctly handle cases of illegal occupation of cultivated land, protect cultivated land in accordance with the law, and ensure national food security, the 1954th meeting of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People's Court on July 23, 2025 and the 63rd meeting of the 14th Procuratorial Committee of the Supreme People's Procuratorate on November 21, 2025 discussed and adopted the "Supreme People's Court The Provisions of the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Handling Cases of Illegal Occupation of Cultivated Land (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations") will be implemented on May 18, 2026. The following is a brief introduction and explanation of the background and main content of the formulation of the Regulations.

1. Background of the formulation of the Regulations

The Party Central Committee and the State Council have always attached great importance to the protection of cultivated land. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core has made a series of major decisions and arrangements based on the strategic overall situation of ensuring the safety and sustainable use of cultivated land, emphasizing the need to implement the strictest cultivated land protection system and adopt "teeth-growing" hard measures to protect cultivated land. The "Outline of the Fifteenth Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of the People's Republic of China" clearly states that the red line of cultivated land must be strictly observed and the protection of black soil should be strengthened. The Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate (hereinafter referred to as the "Two Highs") perform their duties in accordance with the law. While guiding local courts and procuratorates at all levels to promptly and fairly handle relevant cases in accordance with the law, they jointly formulated this judicial interpretation.

During the drafting process of the "Regulations", the "Two Highs" conducted many special surveys, organized and convened many seminars attended by experts and scholars, relevant comrades from the State Council departments, representatives of judges, prosecutors, land law enforcement personnel, etc., and successively solicited the opinions of the higher people's courts, provincial people's procuratorates, relevant departments within the courts, relevant departments of the State Council, and the Central Agricultural Office, and specifically solicited the opinions of the Legal Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress Standing Committee. On this basis, the Administrative Tribunal of the Supreme People's Court, together with the Environmental Protection Tribunal, the First Civil Tribunal, the Enforcement Bureau, and the Legal Policy Research Office of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, fully absorbed the opinions of all parties, conducted repeated research and demonstrations, and formed these "Regulations" to promote the implementation of the law, unify the adjudication rules, and standardize judicial behavior.

2. Basic principles for drafting the Regulations

The drafting of the Regulations always follows the following basic principles:

The first is to thoroughly study and implement Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization and Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law to provide judicial guarantee for the protection of cultivated land in accordance with the law. The "Two Highs" have thoroughly studied and implemented Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law, and General Secretary Xi Jinping's important expositions on "agriculture, rural areas and farmers". They have strictly followed the deployment requirements of the State Council on "seriously investigating and punishing illegal individuals and incidents, and firmly guarding the red line of cultivated land protection." Resolutely implement the most stringent cultivated land protection system, conscientiously organize and carry out relevant investigations and the drafting of judicial interpretations, further clarify the legal responsibilities of perpetrators of illegal occupation of cultivated land, and build a solid judicial barrier for cultivated land protection.

The second is to adhere to the people-centered approach and effectively safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of farmers. The "Two Highs" have always adhered to the people-centered approach and stood firmly on the people's side, attaching great importance to properly handling the relationship between cracking down on illegal occupation of cultivated land in accordance with the law and ensuring reasonable land use needs. , standardize and guide the determination of administrative compensation liability, severe penalties, lenient penalties, etc. While resolutely cracking down on illegal occupation of cultivated land in accordance with the law, we should pay attention to ensuring the reasonable land use needs of economic and social development, classify and handle cases in accordance with the law, and strive to achieve the unification of the "three effects" of case handling.

The third is to adhere to social co-governance and follow the principle of everyone performing their duties and fulfilling their responsibilities. To carry out farmland protection work, the legislative, judicial and administrative agencies need to work together. During the drafting of the "Regulations", the "two highs" solicited opinions from the legislative body for many times, and the Legal Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress Standing Committee provided strong guidance to effectively ensure that the "Regulations" were in line with the spirit of legislation. At the same time, the "Two Highs" extensively listen to the opinions of relevant administrative agencies, pay special attention to the functional distinction between justice and administrative management, supervise and support relevant departments to administer according to law, and clarify the administrative legal responsibility for illegal occupation of cultivated land, the administrative agency's right to stop new illegal buildings, the accountability period for administrative penalties, etc., so that judicial agencies and administrative agencies can play their due roles within the scope of their respective functions.

Fourth, adhere to legal interpretation and problem orientation, and actively respond to the needs of judicial practice. The "Regulations" are based on embodying the spirit of the Civil Code, Criminal Law, Land Management Law, Urban and Rural Planning Law, the three major procedural laws and other relevant laws and regulations, follow the original intention of the legislation, and within the scope of existing legal provisions, ensure that judicial interpretations are in line with the legislative purposes and purposes, comply with the norms for judicial interpretations, and incorporate disposal methods and dispute resolution methods that have been proven to be correct, effective, and necessary in practice into judicial interpretations. During the drafting of the Regulations, we conducted special research on outstanding issues in farmland protection to respond to practical needs and solve practical problems. Regarding divergent legal application issues, such as the connection between administrative reconsideration and administrative litigation on the decision to order demolition within a time limit, the handling of "mixed faults" between administrative agencies and administrative counterparts, and the standards for conviction and sentencing of the crime of illegal occupation of agricultural land, etc., we must listen to the opinions of all parties, strengthen the pertinence and accuracy of the regulations, and effectively provide unified and clear judgment standards for law enforcement and case handling.

3. Main contents of the Regulations

The "Provisions" have a total of 21 items. It is a comprehensive judicial interpretation that integrates administrative, civil, criminal, public interest litigation trials, prosecution, and execution. Here we focus on the specific contents of the following seven aspects.

The first is to clarify the administrative legal responsibility subjects for illegal occupation of cultivated land, the administrative authority's right to stop new illegal buildings, and the accountability period for administrative penalties, so as to investigate the administrative legal liability of perpetrators of illegal occupation of cultivated land in accordance with the law. First, for different situations, the "Regulations" are divided into two sections to stipulate that illegal occupation of cultivated land is carried out, and if the administrative agency is still unable to identify the subject of illegal occupation of cultivated land after performing reasonable and prudent investigation obligations, citizens, legal persons or other organizations that actually occupy and use the land and refuse to cooperate with the administrative agency in handling the matter in accordance with the law are the subjects that should bear administrative legal responsibility for illegal occupation of cultivated land in accordance with the law. Second, the "Regulations" are based on the relevant contents of Article 9 of the Administrative Enforcement Law and Article 68 of the Urban and Rural Planning Law, which stipulate that administrative agencies may, in accordance with the provisions of the Urban and Rural Planning Law and other relevant laws and regulations, take measures such as sealing off the construction site to stop illegal activities that continue construction. Third, regarding the issue of the liability period for administrative penalties for illegal occupation of cultivated land, the "Regulations" further clarify that before the cultivated land is restored to its unoccupied state, it shall be deemed to have a "continuation state" as stipulated in Paragraph 2 of Article 36 of the Administrative Penalty Law, and the liability period for administrative penalties shall be calculated from the date of the end of the illegal act.

The second is to clarify the validity and corresponding legal consequences of the contract for illegal occupation of cultivated land, and investigate the civil legal liability of the perpetrators of illegal occupation of cultivated land in accordance with the law. Regarding the determination of the validity of contracts involving illegal occupation of cultivated land, the "Regulations", combined with relevant provisions of the Civil Code, Land Management Law and other relevant provisions, clearly stipulate that if the parties agree to occupy cultivated land to build houses, build kilns, build tombs, dig sand, quarry, mine, acquire soil, etc., as well as agree to buy, sell or lease houses built on cultivated land, etc. in violation of the prohibitive provisions of the Land Management Law, the People's Court shall determine that the agreement is invalid. If such a contract is found to be invalid, when determining the return of property, compensation at a discount, or compensation for losses, the people's court shall reasonably determine the civil liability of each party in accordance with the principles of good faith and fairness and the degree of fault of the parties.

The third is to clarify the behavior of the crime of illegal occupation of agricultural land, etc., and investigate the criminal liability of those who illegally occupy farmland in accordance with the law. First, it clarifies the behavioral methods and quantitative standards for illegal occupation of farmland to constitute the crime of illegal occupation of agricultural land. Second, it is clarified that when illegal occupation of cultivated land also constitutes the crime of illegal occupation of agricultural land, crime of environmental pollution, crime of illegal mining, etc., the applicable rules for conviction and punishment shall be in accordance with the provisions of heavier penalties. Third, it stipulates the circumstances for severe punishment and lenient punishment. Fourth, it stipulates the treatment of official-related crimes committed by state agency staff in the field of cultivated land, especially clarifies the rules that those who also constitute the crime of accepting bribes should be punished for multiple crimes. Fifth, it stipulates issues such as the connection between unit crimes, reverse executions, and the cumulative calculation of the number and amount of crimes involving illegal occupation of farmland for multiple times.

The fourth is to clearly order the demolition within a time limit, determine the connection between administrative reconsideration and administrative litigation, and the issue of the time limit for prosecution, and fully protect the rights of the parties to apply for reconsideration and initiate litigation. First, regarding whether an application for administrative review of a decision to order demolition within a time limit can be applied for and the time limit for application for administrative review, the "Regulations" clarify that the parties may apply to the administrative agency for administrative reconsideration in accordance with the provisions of Articles 20 and 21 of the Administrative Reconsideration Law. If they are dissatisfied with the administrative review decision, they can file an administrative lawsuit with the People's Court within the statutory period. They can also directly file an administrative lawsuit with the People's Court within 15 days from the date of receiving the decision to order demolition within a time limit. Second, regarding the issue of how to calculate the prosecution period when the administrative agency makes a decision on ordering demolition within a time limit, such as a fine, the Provisions make a distinction. That is, if the administrative agency fails to notify in accordance with the law that the 15-day prosecution period stipulated in the Land Management Law applies to the action of ordering demolition within a time limit, the prosecution period shall be based on the relevant provisions of the Administrative Litigation Law and from the perspective of being conducive to protecting the administrative counterparty’s right to sue. The provisions of Article 46 of the Administrative Litigation Law and Articles 64 and 65 of the Judicial Interpretation of the Administrative Litigation Law shall be limited to the application; the exception is that when the administrative agency makes an administrative decision, it has notified in accordance with the law that the decision to order demolition within a time limit shall be subject to the prosecution period stipulated in Article 83 of the Land Management Law. In view of the special provisions of the Land Management Law, different prosecution periods shall be applied in this case.

The fifth is to improve the methods of case hearing and adjudication, clarify implementation standards, and effectively safeguard farmers’ legal land use rights. First, in certain situations such as a decision to order demolition within a time limit for buildings and other facilities that are illegally occupied by cultivated land but whose use complies with the national spatial planning, the "Regulations" clarify that the people's court should make a decision to revoke the decision to order demolition within a time limit, and may order the defendant to take new administrative actions. Second, in the case where revoking the decision to order demolition within a time limit will cause significant damage to national interests and social public interests, the "Regulations" clarify that when the People's Court confirms that the decision to order demolition within a time limit is illegal, it may order the defendant to take remedial measures; if it causes losses to the plaintiff, the defendant shall be held liable for compensation according to law. Third, the "Regulations" clearly ordered that after the decision to demolish within a time limit was made, the relevant departments made adjustments to the land spatial planning in accordance with the law. The defendant changed the sued administrative act on the grounds that the relevant buildings and other facilities conformed to the adjusted plan. If the plaintiff applied to withdraw the lawsuit, the People's Court ruled to allow it in accordance with the law. Fourth, for cases in which parties file lawsuits and require administrative agencies to perform their duties of investigating and punishing illegal land occupation, the "Regulations" clarify that the People's Court shall, in accordance with laws and regulations, refer to rules, and combine the provisions of normative documents formulated by the State Council, its constituent departments, and provincial people's governments on the issue of illegal occupation of cultivated land in accordance with the law, and make decisions on whether the defendant has performed the investigation and punishment duties stipulated in land management laws and regulations, or made reissues, improved procedures, and retained them within a certain period of time, and made judgments in accordance with the law. Fifth, in response to the issue of unclear enforcement standards for cases involving illegal occupation of cultivated land, the "Regulations" clarify that when the People's Court executes effective judgments and mediation documents involving cultivated land, it should maintain or restore the cultivation conditions of cultivated land as the standard for stopping the infringement, restoring the original status, removing obstacles, and eliminating dangers. When necessary, the People's Court may entrust relevant agencies to evaluate whether the conditions for maintaining or restoring cultivated land have been met.

Sixth, scientifically divide administrative compensation responsibilities to achieve precise supervision of administrative agencies. In practice, due to malicious collusion between staff and others, lax review of application materials, or false materials provided by third parties, some administrative agencies have caused parties to illegally occupy farmland for construction and suffer losses as a result. For this, administrative agencies should bear corresponding responsibilities. The "Regulations" clarify that the People's Court shall, in accordance with the provisions of the Administrative Litigation Law and relevant judicial interpretations, comprehensively consider factors such as the role of the approval behavior in the occurrence and result of the damage, and determine the compensation liability of the administrative agency in accordance with the law.

Seventh, clarify the public interest litigation responsibilities of the procuratorial organs and strengthen procuratorial supervision of public interest litigation. In response to violations of legal provisions and illegal occupation of cultivated land that damage the ecological environment and resource protection, and damage national interests or social public interests, the "Regulations" clarify that the People's Procuratorate can initiate public interest litigation in accordance with relevant laws to strengthen the full chain protection of cultivated land.

In the next step, the People's Court and the People's Procuratorate will further implement the various arrangements and requirements of the Party Central Committee on the protection of cultivated land, fully implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress and the 20th Plenary Session of the Party and the "Fifteenth Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of the People's Republic of China", strictly follow the relevant laws and regulations such as the Land Management Law, and handle various administrative, civil, criminal, public interest litigation and other cases involving illegal occupation of cultivated land in accordance with the law, effectively protect cultivated land, and ensure national food security.

Provisions of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Several Issues concerning the Application of Law in Handling Cases of Illegal Occupation of Cultivated Land

Release time: May 11, 2026

The "Regulations of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Handling Cases of Illegal Occupation of Cultivated Land" were reviewed and adopted by the 1954th meeting of the Judgmental Committee of the Supreme People's Court on July 23, 2025 and the 63rd meeting of the 14th Procuratorial Committee of the Supreme People's Procuratorate on November 21, 2025. They are hereby announced and will come into effect on May 18, 2026.

Supreme People's Court Supreme People's Procuratorate

May 10, 2026

Legal Interpretation [2026] No. 10

Provisions of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Several Issues concerning the Application of Law in Handling Cases of Illegal Occupation of Cultivated Land

(Adopted at the 1954th meeting of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People's Court on July 23, 2025, and the 63rd meeting of the 14th Procuratorial Committee of the Supreme People's Procuratorate on November 21, 2025, and will come into effect on May 18, 2026)

In order to effectively protect cultivated land, ensure national food security, and handle various administrative, civil, criminal and other cases involving illegal occupation of cultivated land in accordance with the law, these regulations are formulated in accordance with the "Land Management Law of the People's Republic of China" and other relevant legal provisions, and in combination with the actual trial and prosecutorial work.

Article 1 Citizens, legal persons or other organizations that violate land management laws and regulations and illegally occupy cultivated land shall be the subjects that shall bear administrative legal liability for illegal occupation of cultivated land in accordance with the law.

If the administrative agency, after performing reasonable and prudent investigation obligations, is still unable to determine the responsible subject stipulated in the preceding paragraph, if a citizen, legal person or other organization that actually occupies and uses the land and refuses to cooperate with the administrative agency in handling the matter in accordance with the law is the administrative legal responsible party for illegal occupation of cultivated land, the People's Court shall support it in accordance with the law. Unless otherwise provided by laws, regulations and rules.

Article 2 After the administrative agency makes a decision in accordance with the law to order to stop construction or to order the demolition of newly built buildings and other facilities on illegally occupied farmland within a time limit, if the construction unit or individual continues the construction, and the administrative agency takes measures such as sealing off the construction site to stop it in accordance with the provisions of the Urban and Rural Planning Law and other relevant laws and regulations, the People's Court shall support it in accordance with the law.

Article 3 The act of illegally occupying cultivated land shall be deemed to have a "continuing status" as stipulated in paragraph 2 of Article 36 of the Administrative Penalty Law before the cultivated land is restored to its unoccupied state. The liability period for administrative penalties shall be calculated from the date of the end of the illegal act.

Article 4 If a citizen, legal person or other organization is dissatisfied with the administrative agency's decision to order demolition within a time limit in accordance with the Land Management Law, and applies to the administrative agency for administrative reconsideration in accordance with the provisions of Articles 20 and 21 of the Administrative Reconsideration Law, and is dissatisfied with the administrative review decision, file an administrative lawsuit with the People's Court within the statutory time limit, or directly file an administrative lawsuit with the People's Court within 15 days from the date of receipt of the decision ordering demolition within a time limit, the People's Court shall file the case in accordance with the law.

If the administrative agency in the same administrative decision orders demolition within a time limit, fines, etc. for illegal occupation of cultivated land, the time limit for prosecution shall be governed by Article 46 of the Administrative Procedure Law and the provisions of Articles 64 and 65 of the "Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of the Administrative Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China", except that when the administrative agency makes the administrative decision, it is notified in accordance with the law that the decision to order demolition within a time limit shall be subject to the 15-day prosecution time limit stipulated in Article 83 of the Land Management Law.

Article 5 Citizens, legal persons or other organizations are dissatisfied with the decision of the administrative agency to order demolition within a time limit and file an administrative lawsuit with the People's Court. After trial, the People's Court finds that the evidence for the decision to order demolition within a time limit is conclusive, the application of laws and regulations is correct, and it complies with legal procedures, and the People's Court shall rule to reject the plaintiff's claim.

If any of the following circumstances occurs, the decision to order demolition within a time limit shall be revoked and the defendant may be ordered to take administrative action again:

(1) Violating the provisions of Articles 74 and 77 of the Land Management Law, a decision is made to order the demolition within a time limit of buildings and other facilities that illegally occupy cultivated land for construction but whose uses comply with the national spatial planning;

(2) Violating the provisions of Articles 64 and 65 of the Urban and Rural Planning Law, making a decision to order demolition within a time limit for buildings and other facilities that should take corrective measures to eliminate the impact on the implementation of the plan;

(3) Violating the provisions of Article 64 of the Urban and Rural Planning Law, making a decision to order demolition within a time limit for buildings and other facilities that cannot be demolished because their demolition will affect the safety of adjacent buildings or cause significant damage to national interests or social public interests;

(4) Other circumstances that comply with Article 70 of the Administrative Litigation Law.

If rescinding the decision to order demolition within a time limit will cause significant damage to national interests and social public interests, the People's Court, while confirming that the decision to order demolition within a time limit is illegal, may order the defendant to take remedial measures; if it causes losses to the plaintiff, the people's court shall order the defendant to bear compensation liability in accordance with the law.

After the decision to order demolition within a time limit was made, the relevant departments made adjustments to the land spatial planning in accordance with the law. The defendant changed the sued administrative behavior on the grounds that the relevant buildings and other facilities conformed to the adjusted plan. If the plaintiff applied to withdraw the lawsuit, the People's Court ruled to allow it in accordance with the law.

Article 6 If a citizen, legal person or other organization that complies with the provisions of Article 25 of the Administrative Litigation Law requests the people's court to rule on the administrative agency's performance of its statutory duties or confirm that the failure to perform its statutory duties is illegal on the grounds that the administrative agency has failed to perform its statutory duty to investigate and deal with illegal occupation of cultivated land, the people's court shall, in accordance with laws and regulations, refer to the rules, and In conjunction with the provisions of normative documents formulated by the State Council, its constituent departments, and provincial people's governments on the issue of illegal occupation of cultivated land in accordance with the law, the defendant shall be reviewed and adjudicated in accordance with the law on whether the defendant has fulfilled the investigation and handling duties stipulated in land management laws and regulations, or made reissues, completed procedures, and retained them within a certain period of time.

Article 7 If a citizen, legal person or other organization is harmed due to illegal approval of the occupation of cultivated land by an administrative agency and requests the people's court to rule that the administrative agency bears administrative compensation liability, the people's court shall, in accordance with the provisions of the Administrative Litigation Law and relevant judicial interpretations, comprehensively consider factors such as the role of the approval behavior in the occurrence and result of the damage, and determine the administrative agency's compensation liability in accordance with the law.

Article 8 If the parties agree to occupy cultivated land to build houses, build kilns, build tombs, dig sand, quarry, mine, take soil, etc., or agree to buy, sell, or lease houses built on cultivated land, etc. in violation of the provisions of Articles 2, 35, and 37 of the Land Management Law, the People's Court shall determine that the agreement is invalid.

Article 9 If contracts for occupying cultivated land to build houses, kilns, tombs, sand excavation, quarrying, mining, soil extraction, etc., as well as the sale or lease of houses built on cultivated land are found to be invalid, when determining the return of property, compensation at a discount, or compensation for losses, the People's Court shall, in accordance with the principles of good faith and fairness, and in light of the degree of fault of the parties, reasonably determine the civil liability that each party shall bear.

Article 10 If, in violation of legal provisions, the illegal occupation of cultivated land causes damage to the ecological environment and resource protection, and harms national interests or social public interests, the People's Procuratorate may initiate a public interest litigation in accordance with the Civil Procedure Law, the Administrative Procedure Law and other laws.

Article 11 Anyone who violates land management laws and regulations and falls under any of the following circumstances shall be deemed to be illegally occupying cultivated land as stipulated in Article 342 of the Criminal Law, changing the use of the occupied cultivated land, and causing damage to the cultivated land:

(1) Illegal occupation of farmland for the construction of houses and other facilities, and the buildings and structures have been formed, or the foundations and underlying structures of the buildings and structures have been completed or the foundation construction has been completed, or the foundation pit has been excavated or the foundation piles have been basically constructed;

(2) Illegal occupation of cultivated land to carry out construction projects such as building kilns, building tombs, digging lakes and landscaping;

(3) Illegal occupation of cultivated land to carry out sand excavation, quarrying, mining, soil extraction and other activities;

(4) Illegal occupation of cultivated land to discharge pollutants, pile up waste, etc., causing serious pollution of cultivated land;

(5) Other illegal occupation of cultivated land, changing the use of occupied cultivated land, causing damage to cultivated land.

Article 12 Any act stipulated in Article 11 of these Regulations that falls under any of the following circumstances shall be deemed to be “large in quantity, causing a large amount of damage to cultivated land, forest land and other agricultural land” as stipulated in Article 342 of the Criminal Law. If there are other provisions for black soil, those provisions shall prevail:

(1) Illegal occupation and destruction of more than five acres of permanent basic farmland;

(2) Illegal occupation and destruction of more than ten acres of cultivated land other than permanent basic farmland;

(3) Illegal occupation and destruction of cultivated land, although the quantity does not meet the standards specified in the first and second items respectively, but the total amount reaches the standard after conversion according to the proportion of the corresponding standards;

(4) Having received more than two administrative penalties for illegally occupying agricultural land within two years, and illegally occupying cultivated land, the amount of which reaches more than half of the standards stipulated in Items 1 to 3.

Article 13 Anyone who violates the provisions of Article 342 of the Criminal Law and constitutes the crime of illegal occupation of agricultural land, as well as the crime of environmental pollution, illegal mining, etc. shall be convicted and punished in accordance with the provisions of heavier penalties.

Article 14 If a unit commits the crime of illegally occupying farmland, the directly responsible person in charge and other directly responsible personnel shall be convicted and punished in accordance with the conviction and sentencing standards of these regulations, and the unit shall be fined.

Article 15 Anyone who commits the crime of illegal occupation of cultivated land and falls under any of the following circumstances shall be severely punished:

(1) Continue to perform relevant acts after the administrative department makes administrative decisions such as ordering the cessation of illegal acts and making corrections within a time limit;

(2) Violently resisting or obstructing state agency staff from performing their duties in accordance with the law;

(3) Bribery to state functionaries.

If the conduct stipulated in Items 2 and 3 of the preceding paragraph simultaneously constitutes the crime of obstructing official business, the crime of assaulting a police officer, the crime of bribery and other crimes, he shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of concurrent punishment for several crimes.

Article 16 If the perpetrator commits the crime of illegally occupying cultivated land and actively carries out restoration and management to restore planting conditions, he may be punished leniently in accordance with the law. If the crime is minor and does not require a criminal penalty, prosecution may not be pursued or criminal punishment may be waived; if the crime is obviously minor and the harm is not great, it shall not be treated as a crime.

Article 17 If a staff member of a state agency responsible for the supervision and management of cultivated land abuses his or her power or neglects his or her duties, causing heavy losses to public property or the interests of the country and the people, he or she shall be convicted and punished for the crime of abuse of power or the crime of dereliction of duty in accordance with the provisions of Article 397 of the Criminal Law.

If state agency staff engages in malpractice for personal gain, violates land management laws and regulations, abuses their power, and illegally approves the expropriation, requisition, or occupation of cultivated land, and if the circumstances are serious, they shall be convicted and punished for the crime of illegally approving the expropriation, requisition, or occupation of land in accordance with the provisions of Article 410 of the Criminal Law.

If a staff member of a state agency performs the acts stipulated in the preceding two paragraphs and accepts bribes, which simultaneously constitutes the crime of accepting bribes, he shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of concurrent punishment for multiple crimes.

Article 18 If the crime of illegal occupation of cultivated land has been committed multiple times and should be prosecuted according to law, or if the crime of illegal occupation of cultivated land has been committed multiple times within two years and has not been dealt with, the number and amount shall be calculated cumulatively.

Article 19 If the perpetrators who have committed illegal occupation of cultivated land are not prosecuted, acquitted, or exempted from criminal punishment, and should be given administrative penalties, government sanctions, or other sanctions in accordance with the law, they shall be transferred to the relevant competent authorities for handling in accordance with the law.

Article 20 When the People's Court executes an effective judgment or mediation document involving cultivated land, it shall maintain or restore the conditions for cultivation of cultivated land as the criteria for stopping the infringement, restoring the original status, removing obstacles, and eliminating dangers. When necessary, the People's Court may entrust relevant agencies to evaluate whether the conditions for maintaining or restoring cultivated land have been met.

Article 21 These regulations will come into effect on May 18, 2026. If the previous judicial interpretations of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate are inconsistent with these regulations, these regulations shall prevail.

The heads of relevant departments of the "Two Highs and Highs" answered reporters' questions on the "Provisions on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Handling Cases of Illegal Occupation of Cultivated Land"

Release time: May 11, 2026

On May 11, 2026, the Supreme People's Court held a press conference and jointly issued the "Regulations on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Handling Cases of Illegal Occupation of Cultivated Land" together with the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and answered reporters' questions. Geng Baojian, member of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People's Court and president of the Administrative Tribunal, Yang Jianbo, director of the Legal Policy Research Office of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, Yu Shuangbiao, deputy director of the Legal Policy Research Office of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and Yan Wei, a second-level senior judge of the Administrative Tribunal of the Supreme People's Court, attended the press conference and answered reporters' questions. The press conference was hosted by Lu Kunliang, a first-level inspector of the Information Bureau of the Supreme People's Court.

Question: The Party Central Committee requires "the implementation of the strictest farmland protection system." In the process of implementing this policy, what specific work has the procuratorial organs done and what role has it played? How well do these work?

Answer: As President Geng introduced, the judicial interpretation released today is a judicial interpretation that embodies comprehensive performance of duties and comprehensive protection. It is an institutional achievement that guarantees the construction of ecological civilization with the strictest rule of law. It lays a solid foundation for the unified application of laws and the protection of cultivated land in accordance with the law. In recent years, procuratorial organs across the country have thoroughly studied and implemented Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization and Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law, implemented the Party Central Committee’s decisions and arrangements on strictly protecting farmland, fully performed the legal duties of the “four major procuratorial organs” of criminal, civil, administrative, and public interest litigation, and prosecuted cases in accordance with the law. More than 9,800 people have committed crimes of illegally occupying agricultural land. We have urged the reclamation of 252,000 acres of cultivated land that was illegally occupied or illegally changed use. We have carried out special work in conjunction with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Natural Resources to jointly solve outstanding problems, form a joint force for protection, and firmly guard the red line of cultivated land protection. I would like to introduce four aspects of work to my journalist friends:

The first is to perform criminal prosecution duties in accordance with the law and effectively punish illegal and criminal activities such as illegal occupation of farmland. Since 2023, procuratorial organs across the country have punished crimes of illegal occupation of agricultural land in accordance with the law, severely cracked down on crimes such as environmental pollution and illegal mining committed on cultivated land, promoted strict protection of cultivated land, and ensured the security of food production and the supply of important agricultural products. The procuratorial organs urge the administrative organs to promptly transfer suspected criminal cases in accordance with the law, and provide procuratorial opinions on imposing administrative penalties to the administrative organs in accordance with the law in case of non-prosecution, forming a joint force for the punishment of illegal occupation of farmland and other illegal crimes.

The second is to perform civil prosecutorial duties in accordance with the law and continue to strengthen legal supervision of civil cases involving farmland protection. Focus on strengthening supervision over cases involving land contract management rights disputes, land lease (transfer) contract disputes, farmland damage compensation disputes, land occupation contract disputes, and other cases that concern the vital interests of farmers and affect rural social stability, and use methods such as protests and procuratorial suggestions to supervise and correct. For farmers, land contract operators, etc. who have difficulties in obtaining evidence and insufficient litigation capabilities, we will support prosecutions in accordance with the law and protect the litigious rights and legal land use rights of the parties.

The third is to perform administrative prosecutorial duties in accordance with the law and effectively promote law-based administration in the land field. The procuratorial organs have deployed special activities for administrative non-litigation enforcement supervision in the field of land law enforcement investigations and prosecutions to promote the resolution of outstanding problems and strengthen the protection of cultivated land. From 2022 to the end of 2025, a total of more than 40,000 cases in related fields were handled. The Supreme People's Procuratorate, in conjunction with the Ministry of Natural Resources, has released two batches of typical cases of administrative non-litigation enforcement supervision in the field of land law enforcement investigation and handling, improving the two-way connection mechanism between administrative law enforcement and criminal justice, and firmly guarding the red line of cultivated land protection.

The fourth is to perform public interest litigation procuratorial duties in accordance with the law and effectively safeguard national interests and social public interests. Since 2023, procuratorial organs across the country have handled more than 17,000 public interest litigation cases involving illegal occupation of cultivated land, causing damage to the ecological environment and resource protection, supervised and protected 468,700 acres of cultivated land, and urged the payment of 1.605 billion yuan in cultivated land restoration fees. The Supreme People's Procuratorate, in conjunction with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, has deployed special work on public interest litigation to support the construction of high-standard farmland, and has jointly established and improved the coordination and cooperation mechanism between public interest litigation and land law enforcement investigation and prosecution with the Ministry of Natural Resources to promote the strengthening of collaborative governance of issues related to farmland protection.

Q: What judicial measures have the People's Court taken in recent years to curb illegal occupation of farmland?

Answer: General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that food security is "the greatest concern of the country" and cultivated land is the lifeblood of grain production. We must implement the strategy of storing grain in the ground and storing grain in technology, effectively strengthen the protection of cultivated land, and make every effort to improve the quality of cultivated land. The No. 1 central document of 2026 clearly stated that it is necessary to strengthen the protection of cultivated land, strictly observe the red lines of cultivated land, resolutely crack down on all kinds of illegal activities that destroy cultivated land, and solidly promote the rectification of illegal occupation of cultivated land for housing construction in rural areas. In recent years, people's courts at all levels have thoroughly studied and implemented Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization and Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law, given full play to their judicial functions, resolutely shouldered the political, legal and judicial responsibilities of protecting cultivated land, and punished various illegal and criminal acts that destroyed cultivated land in accordance with the law.

First, attach great importance to the trial of cases in the field of cultivated land. The Party Leadership Group of the Supreme People's Court held multiple special meetings to study and deploy the work of protecting cultivated land in accordance with the law, emphasizing the need to thoroughly implement General Secretary Xi Jinping's important expositions and instructions on the protection of cultivated land to safeguard the bottom line of national food security. At the same time, the Supreme People's Court directed local courts at all levels to hear criminal, civil, administrative and other litigation cases in the field of farmland protection in accordance with the law, increase non-litigation enforcement review work, make good use of public interest litigation, and effectively safeguard land resource security, food security and ecological environment security. From 2020 to 2025, courts across the country have concluded more than 239,800 administrative cases, more than 399,700 civil cases, and 45,667 criminal cases in the field of farmland protection, and have concluded 14,361 enforcement cases in the field of farmland protection.

The second is to continuously improve the refereeing rules system. The Supreme People's Court, in conjunction with relevant departments, continues to improve policies for dealing with illegal occupation of farmland and illegal buildings, and has formulated judicial documents such as the "Opinions on Strengthening Administrative Non-Litigation Enforcement in the Field of Natural Resources" and issued judicial interpretations for criminal cases of destruction of land resources, criminal cases of destruction of grassland resources, and criminal cases of destruction of forest resources, respectively, clarifying the conviction and sentencing standards for destruction of different types of agricultural land. On May 6, 2025, the Supreme People's Court, together with the Supreme People's Procuratorate, issued the "Interpretation on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Laws in Handling Criminal Cases of Destruction of Black Land Resources" to conscientiously implement the relevant requirements of the Black Land Protection Law and increase the protection of black land. The "Regulations" issued this time unified the administrative, civil, criminal, enforcement and other related issues of illegal occupation of cultivated land, refined the rules, and further tightened the legal network to severely crack down on illegal and criminal acts of destroying cultivated land in accordance with the law.

The third is to continue to publish relevant typical cases. The Supreme People's Court attaches great importance to the warning education, demonstration and leadership role of cases, and promotes and enhances the legal awareness of "everyone is responsible for the protection of cultivated land and is responsible for damage" by publishing relevant typical cases, and promotes the improvement of social governance and national governance. In December 2020, 8 typical administrative cases on cultivated land protection were specially released. This batch of cases explained the application of relevant laws and regulations on cultivated land protection from aspects such as the legal management of "non-agricultural" and "non-grain" problems of cultivated land, the main responsibilities of land reclamation, special protection of basic farmland, and the liability period for administrative penalties for illegal occupation of cultivated land. It demonstrated the People's Court's "zero tolerance" attitude and stance towards illegal occupation of cultivated land. In January 2024, 10 typical cases of people's courts protecting agricultural land in accordance with the law were released, including four types of cases: criminal, civil, administrative, and public interest litigation. This shows that the people's courts coordinate various forms of legal liability such as criminal sanctions, administrative penalties, and civil compensation, and adhere to the clear judicial attitude of protecting agricultural land in "all links, all elements, and all chains." In October 2025, four more typical cases of people's courts trying crimes that destroyed farmland in accordance with the law were released, demonstrating the confidence and determination of the people's courts to use the strictest system and the strictest rule of law to resolutely punish illegal and criminal acts of illegal occupation of agricultural land in accordance with the law, firmly guard the red line of farmland, and consolidate the foundation of food security.

Question: The current Civil Procedure Law and Administrative Procedure Law stipulate the public interest litigation system in the field of ecological environment and resource protection. Article 10 of the "Regulations" also makes special provisions for the procuratorial organs to initiate public interest litigation. What are the considerations for this?

Answer: The procuratorial public interest litigation system is the vivid practice and original achievement of Xi Jinping’s rule of law thought in the field of public interest protection. The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China pointed out “improving the public interest litigation system”, and the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China further emphasized “strengthening public interest litigation”. Clearly stipulating in the judicial interpretation the terms for procuratorial organs to initiate public interest litigation is an important measure to implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. Although the Civil Procedure Law and the Administrative Procedure Law clarify the responsibilities of the People's Procuratorate in initiating public interest litigation in the field of ecological environment and resource protection, the judicial interpretation has made special provisions for the procuratorial organs to initiate public interest litigation, which is to further emphasize and give full play to the functional role of the public interest litigation system in promoting the implementation of the most stringent farmland protection system and promoting the protection of national food security.

In particular, farmland protection often involves ecological and environmental protection. Article 1075 of the Ecological Environment Code passed by the National People's Congress in March this year clearly stipulates that if the People's Procuratorate violates legal provisions, pollutes the environment, destroys ecology, or harms social and public interests, the People's Procuratorate may file a lawsuit with the People's Court in accordance with the law; Article 1076 stipulates that if the People's Procuratorate discovers in the performance of its duties that a local people's government or a department or agency responsible for the supervision and management of ecological environment protection has illegally exercised its powers or failed to act, causing losses to the country or harming social and public interests, it may file a lawsuit in accordance with the law. The procuratorial organs will deeply grasp and understand a series of new requirements for procuratorial public interest litigation in the Ecological and Environmental Code, combine them with judicial interpretations, focus on ecological and environmental issues involving farmland protection, continue to exert the effectiveness of the procuratorial public interest litigation system, and better serve the construction of a beautiful China.

Question: Regarding the situation where the administrative agency is still unable to identify the perpetrator of illegal occupation of cultivated land for construction after performing reasonable and prudent investigation obligations, Article 1, Paragraph 2 of the "Regulations" stipulates that citizens, legal persons or other organizations that actually occupy and use the land and refuse to cooperate with the administrative agency in handling the matter in accordance with the law shall be the subject of administrative legal liability for illegal occupation of cultivated land. What are your considerations?

Answer: In the process of administrative law enforcement against illegal occupation of cultivated land, accurate identification of the counterparty is the prerequisite for making handling decisions in accordance with the law. However, illegal occupation of cultivated land is different from ordinary illegal activities, and its time span is generally longer. When the administrative agencies investigate and deal with it, it is more common that the construction unit or individual is deregistered, died, or intentionally evaded supervision, resulting in the administrative agency being unable to identify the perpetrator of the construction. After illegally occupying cultivated land for construction, through sale, purchase, and It is more common for completed buildings and other facilities to be handed over to others for possession and use through accounts, donations, leases, etc. This results in the separation of the perpetrators of illegal land construction and the actual owners and users of the land, which brings great difficulties to the determination of the counterparty for administrative processing and leads to inconsistent judicial standards. In this regard, after actual investigation and communication with relevant departments, we believe that when the illegal construction perpetrator does not exist or is unclear, if there is no actual possessor or user or the actual possessor or user can cooperate with the administrative agency in disposing of illegal buildings and other facilities, there will generally be no dispute. However, if the person who actually occupies or uses the land refuses to cooperate with the administrative agencies in handling the matter in accordance with the law, he or she shall be punished as illegal occupation of land. This is mainly based on the following considerations:

First, according to the provisions of Article 79 of the Land Management Law, when the cause of land occupation is not attributable to the party concerned, although the party does not bear direct legal responsibility for the illegal occupation of land, but refuses to return it, it will be punished as illegal occupation of land. Referring to the spirit of this article, the refusal of the subject who actually occupies and uses the land to cooperate with the administrative agencies in handling the matter in accordance with the law is different from the general obstruction of law enforcement stipulated in Article 61 of the "Regulations on the Implementation of the Land Management Law of the People's Republic of China". It is a case of refusal to return the illegally occupied land. Therefore, it can be regarded as the subject of administrative legal liability for illegal occupation of cultivated land with reference to the provisions of the Land Management Law.

Second, according to the provisions of Article 33, Paragraph 2 of the Administrative Penalty Law, administrative penalties should generally be imposed on a party based on subjective fault. We believe that according to the provisions of Article 132 of the Civil Code, when the relevant parties actually occupy and use the land, they should pay reasonable attention to the legality of the land source. When the administrative agency has clearly informed the relevant parties of the fact of illegal land occupation and required them to cooperate with the disposal, the refusal to cooperate with the administrative agency's legal disposal is enough to prove that their subjective fault is obvious. Therefore, if the administrative agency handles the illegal occupation and use of cultivated land based on subjective faults in accordance with the law, the people's court should support it. This can not only crack down on illegal occupation of cultivated land for construction, but also effectively curb malicious occupation behaviors such as evading supervision or refusing to cooperate with legal disposal.

The above content can be summed up in one sentence: for construction activities that illegally occupy farmland, "illegal construction will be punished, and those who refuse to do so will be prosecuted."

Source: Official website of the Supreme People's Procuratorate