2 Moon 23 On [date], the Supreme People's Court issued the “Interpretation (I) of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of the Property Law of the People’s Republic of China,” providing further regulations to address a series of issues, including misconceptions and improper practices regarding the relationship between real estate registration and civil litigation in practice. This judicial interpretation takes effect from [date]. 3 Moon 1 Effective from the date of issuance.

　　A relevant official from the Supreme People's Court stated at a press conference that, according to the judicial interpretation recently released, lawsuits filed over disputes arising from the attribution of real property rights—as well as disputes stemming from transactions such as sales, gifts, and mortgages that serve as the basis for registering real property rights—are within the scope of civil litigation cases accepted by the people's courts. The people's courts shall accept such cases in accordance with the law, and the civil adjudication departments shall hear them in compliance with the law.

　　According to the introduction, Article 14 of the Property Law stipulates that where the establishment, modification, transfer, or extinction of real property rights requires registration according to law, such rights shall take effect from the time they are recorded in the real property registry. However, in practice, some argue that, unless otherwise provided by law, real property rights cannot be acquired or enjoyed without registration with the real property registration authority; therefore, any disputes over real property rights involving registration should be resolved through administrative litigation. “ This viewpoint enjoys broad public appeal and has, to a large extent, led to situations in practice where civil and administrative courts pass the buck to each other and where civil judgments conflict with administrative rulings. ” The official stated.

　　To this end, the first article of the judicial interpretation released this time explicitly stipulates that, “ If a party files a civil lawsuit over disputes concerning the ownership of real property rights, as well as over transactions such as sales, gifts, and mortgages that serve as the basis for registering real property rights, the court shall accept the case in accordance with the law. ” Of course, Article 1 of the judicial interpretation goes on to state: “ The parties have already applied in the administrative litigation to resolve the aforementioned civil dispute jointly, except where the people’s court is already hearing it jointly. ” This is mainly based on Article [number] of the Administrative Litigation Law. 61 The provision is intended to refine the mechanism for handling cases where civil disputes and administrative disputes overlap, facilitating the one-time resolution of disputes and making it more convenient for the parties involved to pursue litigation. It does not alter the civil nature of the underlying disputes.

　　A relevant official from the Supreme People's Court stated that the complex nature of real estate registration means that lawsuits arising from such registrations should be categorized as either civil or administrative proceedings, depending on the subject matter of the litigation. In civil lawsuits involving real estate registration, the subject matter should pertain to the ownership of real property rights or the underlying legal relationships (such as sales, gifts, mortgages, and other foundational legal relationships) that give rise to those rights. In administrative lawsuits involving real estate registration, the subject matter concerns the registration act itself; in other words, in administrative litigation, the people’s court reviews the legality of the registration act itself.

　　This newly released judicial interpretation totals... 22 The provisions in this article also address key issues including: excessive restrictions on the disposition of real property rights by the registered owner following pre-registration; inconsistent practical application and judicial standards for the right of first refusal enjoyed by joint owners in proportionate shares; and varying standards for applying the bona fide acquisition system.

　　According to the introduction, many provisions of the Property Law require further clarification through judicial interpretations regarding their applicability. Among these, issues such as neighboring relations, rights to use residential land, easements, and possession will all be areas of focus for judicial authorities in the future.