principal and an agent.
Chapter V — Civil Rights
Section 1: Property Ownership and Related Property Rights
Article_71
Property ownership refers to the rights of an owner, according to the law, to possess, use, reap benefit from and dispose of his own property.
Article_72
The ownership property may not be acquired in violation of the provisions of the law. Where property is acquired in accordance with a contract or other legal means, ownership of the property shall pass from the time the property is handed over, unless otherwise stipulated by the law or by agreement between the interested parties.
Article_73
State property is owned by the whole people.
State property is sacred and inviolable. It is prohibited for any organisation or
individual to occupy, fraudulently seize, privately divide, withhold or damage State property.
Article_74
The property of a collective organisation of the working people is owned by the collective, including:
(i) land, forests, mountains, grasslands, wastelands, siltbanks, etc., stipulated by law as being owned by the collective;
(ii) property of collective economic organisations;
(iii) buildings, reservoirs, irrigation and water conservation installations and
educational, scientific, cultural, health and sports facilities, etc., which are owned by the collective;
(iv) other property owned by the collective.
Land owned by a collective shall, in accordance with the law, be owned collectively by the village peasants and managed and administered by an agricultural collective economic organisation such as the village agricultural production co-operative or by
the village citizens' committee. Land which is already owned by a township peasants' collective economic organisation may be collectively owned by the township peasants.
Property owned by a collective is protected by law. It is prohibited for any
organisation or individual to occupy, fraudulently seize, privately divide, damage or illegally seal up, detain, freeze or confiscate such property.
Article_75
The private property of a citizen includes lawful income, house, savings, daily
effects, cultural relics, books and library materials, forest trees, livestock and means of production which a citizen is permitted by law to own, and other lawful property. The lawful property of a citizen is protected by law. It is prohibited for any
organisation or individual to occupy, fraudulently seize, privately divide, damage or illegally seal up, detain, freeze or confiscate such property.
Article_76
Citizens enjoy the right of property inheritance in accordance with the law.
Article_77
The lawful property of associations, including that of religious associations, is protected by law.
Article_78
Property may be owned jointly by two or more citizens.
Co-ownership is divided into co-ownership according to share and
ownership-in-common. Co-owners by share enjoy rights and undertake obligations with regard to property in accordance with the proportion of their respective shares. Owners-in-common enjoy rights and undertake obligations with regard to the property owned in common.
Every co-owner of property co-owned by share has the right to demand the
separation or assignment of his portion. When selling a share, however, the other co-owners shall have a pre-emptive right of purchase on equal terms.
Article_79
Buried or hidden objects, the ownership of which is unclear, shall be handed over to the State. Units accepting such items shall commend or offer a material reward to the
unit or individual which hands in the item.
Lost articles, flotsam or lost domestic animals which are found shall be returned to the owner who shall compensate the finder for any costs incurred in doing so.
Article_80
Land owned by the State may, in accordance with the law, be used by a unit under ownership of the whole people or be designated for use by a collectively-owned unit. The State protects the right to utilize and reap benefit from the land. The unit utilizing the land is obliged to administer, protect and make reasonable use of the land.
The legal right of citizens and collectives to manage under contract land which is owned by a collective or owned by the State and utilized by a collective is protected by law. The rights and obligations of both parties to the contract shall be stipulated in the contract in accordance with the law.
Land may not be traded, leased, mortgaged or otherwise illegally transferred.
Article_81
Natural resources such as forests, mountains, grasslands, wastelands, siltbanks and waters which are owned by the State may, in accordance with the law, be utilized by a unit under the ownership of the whole people or be designated for use by a collectively-owned unit. The State protects the right to use and reap benefit from such resources. The unit utilizing the resource is obliged to administer, protect and make reasonable use of the resource.
Mineral resources owned by the State may, in accordance with the law, be exploited by a unit under the ownership of the whole people or by a collectively-owned unit. They may also, in accordance with the law, be extracted by a citizen. The state protects lawful mining rights.
The lawful rights of citizens and collectives to manage under contract
collectively-owned or State-owned, collectively-utilized forests, mountains,
grasslands, wastelands, siltbanks and waters are protected by law. The rights and obligations of both contracting parties shall be stipulated in the contract in accordance with the law.
State-owned mineral deposits and rivers and forest-land, mountains, grasslands, wastelands and siltbanks owned by the State and designated by law as being owned by a collective may not be illegally bought or sold, leased, mortgaged or otherwise illegally assigned.
Article_82
The lawful right of an enterprise under the ownership of the whole people to operate and manage property entrusted to it by the State to operate and manage shall be protected by law.
Article_83
Neighbours on real estate shall correctly resolve their relationships with regard to such matters as damming of water, drainage, access, ventilation and natural lighting in the spirit of facilitating production, making life easier, unity and mutual assistance and equality and fairness. Should one party obstruct or cause damage to his
neighbour, he shall cease the infringement, remove the obstacle and compensate for damage.
Section 2: Creditors' Rights
Article_84
Debt is the particular relationship involving rights and obligations created between parties in accordance with the stipulations of a contract or provisions of the law. The party which enjoys rights is the creditor and the party which bears obligations is the debtor.
A creditor has the right to demand that a debtor fulfils its obligations in accordance with the stipulations of a contract or provisions of the law.
Article_85
A contract is an agreement between interested parties which creates, modifies or terminates a civil relationship. A contract established in accordance with the law is protected by law.
Article_86
If a creditor comprises two or more parties, each shall enjoy rights in accordance with its stipulated share. If a debtor comprises two or more parties, each shall bear obligations in accordance with its stipulated share.
Article_87
If the number of creditors or the number of debtors is two or more, then, in accordance with the provisions of the law or agreement between the interested parties, each creditor enjoying joint rights has the right to demand fulfilment of
obligations by the debtor. Each debtor bearing joint liability shall be obliged to fully
discharge the debt. The party which has fulfilled the obligation has the right to demand that the other debtors under joint liability pay the portion they should bear.
Article_88
The parties to a contract shall fully discharge their obligations as stipulated by the contract.
If the contract stipulations concerning quality, duration, location or price are unclear and cannot be determined by reference to relevant articles in the contract and if the parties, moreover, are unable to reach agreement through discussion, the following provisions shall apply:
(i) If the quality requirements are unclear, the contract shall be performed in
accordance with State quality standards. In the absence of State quality standards, it shall be performed in accordance with usual standards.
(ii) If the term of performance is unclear, the debtor may fulfil its obligations to the creditor at any time. The creditor may also demand at any time that the debtor fulfil its obligations, but shall allow the other party the necessary preparatory time. (iii) If the place of performance is unclear and the payment of money is involved, performance shall be in the place in which the party receiving the payment is located. If the place of performance is unclear in other respects, performance shall be in the place in which the party fulfilling the obligation is located.
(iv) If the agreement with regard to price is unclear, the contract shall be performed in accordance with a price set by the State. In the absence of a State-set price, the contract shall be performed with reference to the market price or the price of a similar item or the standard of payment for a similar category of labour.
If a contract does not contain an agreement with regard to patent application rights, the party which accomplishes a discovery or invention shall enjoy the right to apply for patent.
If a contract does not contain an agreement with regard to rights to use scientific or technical results, the interested parties shall all enjoy such rights.
Article_89
In accordance with the provisions of the law or as agreed between the parties, the following methods may be adopted to guarantee the discharge of a debt:
(i) If a guarantor has guaranteed to a creditor the discharge by a debtor of a debt and the debtor fails to discharge such debt, the guarantor shall, in accordance with the