Study Of The Legal Status Of The Owners’ Committee

Since the 1990 s,China has gradually transformed the existing small unit housing model into a commodified housing model.The internal management of residential communities has also undergone changes.After detailed planning by local governments and agencies,they typically only assume the responsibility of macro-control.At this time,neighborhood committees,as grassroots organizations in cities,can usually only occasionally coordinate affairs.For communities that urgently need to implement regional autonomous management,owners often have not yet adapted to their new roles and need to face a series of problems,such as establishing their own institutions and autonomously handling property management.Although the judiciary is the final line of defense for protecting the rights and interests of owners,it is often difficult to achieve when facing special situations that require litigation or collective civil lawsuits due to community psychology and high litigation costs.Additionally,within the existing legislative framework in China,although the management system of owners’ committees is specified,it cannot determine a subject that can represent all owners in litigation.Moreover,in handling property disputes,courts encounter a series of problems from filing to execution,which not only cannot be effectively solved with the establishment of owners’ committees but also hindered at each level,and thus urgent solutions are needed.Given this situation,the first step is to clarify the legal status of owners’ committees in civil litigation from a legislative perspective.This requires combining the main issues faced by owners’ committees and proposing corresponding legislative suggestions based on relevant laws,judgments and opinions of the Supreme People’s Court,as well as the factual identification criteria of courts in various parts of China.Secondly,in terms of the judiciary,courts in many parts of China have conditionally recognized the subject qualification of owners’ committees in civil litigation through legal practice.Furthermore,according to the leading concept in China’s civil litigation theory,there is an inherent "kinship" between administrative litigation subjects and civil litigation subjects,and the subject who obtains civil litigation status also simultaneously possesses administrative litigation subject status.Discussions in academia about the judicial status of owners’ committees in substantive law in China neither recognize them as legal persons nor non-legal person entities,and there are also doubts about the litigation qualification of owners’ committees in procedural law.Through the division of civil liability basis in the Civil Code and the study of direct interest relationship in the Civil Procedure Law,it is necessary to further clarify the ideological issues regarding the status of owners’ committees within the scope of Chinese civil litigation law.Additionally,considering that some countries and regions outside China have considered granting subject qualification to owners’ committees or owners’ organizations in civil legislation or practical activities to better protect the collective interests of owners,it is important to review the criteria for recognizing subject qualification of owners’ committees or civil litigation subjects in these countries and regions and consider applicable references based on China’s actual situation to further improve the subject qualification of owners’ committees in civil litigation.In conclusion,given the frequent internal and external disputes in residential areas in China,there is a need for a permanent organization to represent the entire community of owners and engage in a series of activities such as management and litigation.Moreover,with legislative and implementation efforts in various countries and regions,the subject qualification of owners’ committees in civil litigation has gained broad recognition,which indicates certain legitimacy.Finally,several perspectives have been studied and improved regarding the subject identity of owners’ committees within China’s current civil litigation legislative framework.It is proposed that owners’ committees in residential communities meet the formation conditions for "non-legal person" groups according to the Civil Code and should belong to "non-legal person" organizational entities.In addition,in explaining the concept of party status in China’s civil litigation law,the "protective rights holder theory" corresponds to the current development of civil litigation,suggesting further improvements and enhancements to China’s civil litigation law.Neighborhood committees are the smallest units of grassroots organizations and play an important role in community management and autonomy.Owners’ committees,as the main component of residential community organizations,are composed of representatives of the majority of owners through voting,expressing the will of the majority of owners,effectively supervising internal management,safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of properties externally,and having a significant impact and role in property management.Due to the relatively recent emergence of owners’ committee systems and the lack of comprehensive and indepth research,relevant legislation is not yet mature.Currently,owners’ committees find it difficult to fully exercise their functions in specific activities.Therefore,the exploration of legislation related to owners’ committees has significant theoretical value and practical significance.