Organic Law of Villagers' Committees of the People's Republic of China (Amended in 2025)
Organic Law of Villagers' Committees of the People's Republic of China (Amended in 2025)
Organic Law of Villagers' Committees of the People's Republic of China (Amended in 2025)
Order of the President of the People's Republic of China No. 59
October 28, 2025
(Adopted at the 5th Session of the Standing Committee of the 9th National People's Congress on November 4, 1998; revised at the 17th Session of the Standing Committee of the 11th National People's Congress on October 28, 2010; amended for the first time in accordance with the Decision on Amending the Organic Law of Villagers' Committees of the People’s Republic of China and the Organic Law of Urban Residents Committees of the People's Republic of China adopted at the 7th Session of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress on December 29, 2018; and amended for the second time in accordance with the Decision on Amending the Organic Law of Villagers' Committees of the People’s Republic of China adopted at the 18th Session of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress on October 28, 2025)
Contents
Chapter I General Provisions
Chapter II Composition and Responsibilities of Villagers' Committees
Chapter III Election of Villagers' Committees
Chapter IV Villagers' Meetings and Villagers' Representative Meetings
Chapter V Democratic Management and Democratic Supervision
Chapter VI Safeguards for the Work of Villagers' Committees
Chapter VII Supplementary Provisions
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1 This Law is enacted in accordance with the Constitution to improve the grassroots mass self-governance system, enable villagers to manage their own affairs in accordance with the law, develop grassroots democracy, safeguard the lawful rights and interests of villagers, promote the comprehensive rural revitalization, and advance the modernization of grassroots governance frameworks and governance capacity.
Article 2 Villagers' committees are grassroots mass self-governing organizations through which villagers conduct self-management, self-service, self-education, and self-supervision, and practice democratic election, democratic consultation, democratic decision-making, democratic management, and democratic supervision.
Villagers' committees handle public affairs and public welfare undertakings of their villages, mediate civil disputes, assist in maintaining public order, and convey villagers' opinions and demands to, and put forward suggestions to, people's governments.
Villagers' committees shall be accountable to the villagers' meetings and villagers' representative meetings and reports their work thereto.
Article 3 Villagers' committee shall be established based on the living conditions and population of villagers, adhering to the principles of facilitating villagers' self-governance, promoting economic development, and enhancing grassroots governance.
The establishment, dissolution, or adjustment of the scope of a villagers' committee shall be proposed by the people's government of the township, ethnic township, or town, be deliberated and approved by the villagers' meeting, and submitted to the people's government at the county level for approval.
A villagers' committee may establish several villagers' groups based on the living conditions of villagers and the relationship of collective land ownership.
Article 4 The work of villagers' committees shall adhere to the leadership of the Communist Party of China, uphold and develop whole-process people's democracy, and adhere to the integration of self-governance, rule of law, and rule of virtue.
The grassroots organizations of the Communist Party of China in rural areas shall conduct their work in accordance with the Constitution of the Communist Party of China, lead and support villagers' committees in exercising their functions and powers, and support and safeguard villagers in conducting self-governance activities and directly exercising democratic rights in accordance with the Constitution and laws.
Article 5 The central and local authorities for guidance and supervision of grassroots mass self-governance shall be responsible for providing guidance and supervision over rural grassroots mass self-governance work.
Article 6 The people's governments of townships, ethnic townships, or towns shall provide guidance, support, and assistance to the work of villagers' committees, but shall not interfere in matters that fall within the scope of villagers' self-governance in accordance with the law.
Villagers' committees shall assist people's governments of townships, ethnic townships, or towns in carrying out their work.
Article 7 Organizations and individuals who have made outstanding contributions to villagers' self-governance work shall be commended and rewarded in accordance with relevant state regulations.
Chapter II Composition and Responsibilities of Villagers' Committees
Article 8 A villagers' committee shall be composed of three to seven members, including a chairperson, vice chairperson, and members.
There shall be female members among the members of a villagers' committee. Close relatives of the members of the villagers' committee shall be subject to recusal.
The chairperson of a villagers' committee may be concurrently held by the head of the village Party organization through statutory procedures. Members of a villagers' committee and members of the leadership team of the village Party organization may hold concurrent posts.
Article 9 Villagers' committees may, as needed, establish committees for people's mediation, public security protection, public health, living environment improvement, elderly people, and women and children affairs. Members of villagers' committees may concurrently serve as members of subordinate committees. In villages with a small population, villagers' committees may choose not to establish subordinate committees, and the members of the villagers' committees shall be responsible for relevant work through division of labor.
Article 10 Villagers' committees shall support and organize villagers to lawfully develop various forms of cooperative economy and other economies, undertake services and coordination for the production of their villages, and promote rural production and economic development.
Villagers' committees shall, in accordance with the law, guide villagers to make rational use of natural resources, protect and improve the ecological environment, and advance the development of beautiful countryside.
Villagers' committees shall respect and support the autonomy of rural collective economic organizations in conducting economic activities independently in accordance with the law, safeguard the dual-level management system based on household contractual management and the combination of unified and separate management, and safeguard the property rights and other lawful rights and interests of rural collective economic organizations, villagers, contracting households, joint households, or partnerships. Where no rural collective economic organization is established, a villagers' committee or villagers' group may lawfully perform the functions of a rural collective economic organization.
Article 11 Villagers' committees shall carry out publicity on the Constitution, laws, and regulations, promote the policies of the Party and the State, support and encourage villagers to fulfill their legal obligations, safeguard the lawful rights and interests of villagers, and guide villagers to practice socialist core values, strengthen the sense of community for the Chinese nation, develop cultural education, disseminate scientific and technological knowledge, promote gender equality and family harmony, care for the elderly, left-behind children, persons with disabilities, and villagers in difficulty, enhance solidarity and mutual assistance, advocate for social reforms, and foster a civilized rural ethos.
Villagers' committees shall assist in organizing villagers to participate in collective prevention and control, assist in handling petitions and resolving conflicts and disputes, assist in community correction work and the education and assistance of persons released after serving sentences, and assist in responding to emergencies.
Villagers' committees shall support and guide social organizations, social workers, volunteers, and other social forces to participate in rural governance and services.
In villages inhabited by multiple ethnic groups, villagers' committees shall support and guide villagers of all ethnic groups to enhance unity, respect each other, and help each other.
Article 12 Villagers' committees and their members shall comply with the Constitution, laws, and regulations, abide by the policies of the Party and the State, observe and implement the villagers' self-governance charter and the rules and covenants of villagers, execute the decisions and resolutions of villagers' meetings and villagers' representative meetings, act impartially, perform their duties with integrity, serve villagers with dedication, and accept the supervision of villagers.
Article 13 Villagers' committees have the legal person status of grassroots mass self-governance organizations, and the chairperson of a villagers' committee shall serve as its legal representative.
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Order of the President of the People's Republic of China No. 59
October 28, 2025
(Adopted at the 5th Session of the Standing Committee of the 9th National People's Congress on November 4, 1998; revised at the 17th Session of the Standing Committee of the 11th National People's Congress on October 28, 2010; amended for the first time in accordance with the Decision on Amending the Organic Law of Villagers' Committees of the People’s Republic of China and the Organic Law of Urban Residents Committees of the People's Republic of China adopted at the 7th Session of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress on December 29, 2018; and amended for the second time in accordance with the Decision on Amending the Organic Law of Villagers' Committees of the People’s Republic of China adopted at the 18th Session of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress on October 28, 2025)
Contents
Chapter I General Provisions
Chapter II Composition and Responsibilities of Villagers' Committees
Chapter III Election of Villagers' Committees
Chapter IV Villagers' Meetings and Villagers' Representative Meetings
Chapter V Democratic Management and Democratic Supervision
Chapter VI Safeguards for the Work of Villagers' Committees
Chapter VII Supplementary Provisions
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1 This Law is enacted in accordance with the Constitution to improve the grassroots mass self-governance system, enable villagers to manage their own affairs in accordance with the law, develop grassroots democracy, safeguard the lawful rights and interests of villagers, promote the comprehensive rural revitalization, and advance the modernization of grassroots governance frameworks and governance capacity.
Article 2 Villagers' committees are grassroots mass self-governing organizations through which villagers conduct self-management, self-service, self-education, and self-supervision, and practice democratic election, democratic consultation, democratic decision-making, democratic management, and democratic supervision.
Villagers' committees handle public affairs and public welfare undertakings of their villages, mediate civil disputes, assist in maintaining public order, and convey villagers' opinions and demands to, and put forward suggestions to, people's governments.
Villagers' committees shall be accountable to the villagers' meetings and villagers' representative meetings and reports their work thereto.
Article 3 Villagers' committee shall be established based on the living conditions and population of villagers, adhering to the principles of facilitating villagers' self-governance, promoting economic development, and enhancing grassroots governance.
The establishment, dissolution, or adjustment of the scope of a villagers' committee shall be proposed by the people's government of the township, ethnic township, or town, be deliberated and approved by the villagers' meeting, and submitted to the people's government at the county level for approval.
A villagers' committee may establish several villagers' groups based on the living conditions of villagers and the relationship of collective land ownership.
Article 4 The work of villagers' committees shall adhere to the leadership of the Communist Party of China, uphold and develop whole-process people's democracy, and adhere to the integration of self-governance, rule of law, and rule of virtue.
The grassroots organizations of the Communist Party of China in rural areas shall conduct their work in accordance with the Constitution of the Communist Party of China, lead and support villagers' committees in exercising their functions and powers, and support and safeguard villagers in conducting self-governance activities and directly exercising democratic rights in accordance with the Constitution and laws.
Article 5 The central and local authorities for guidance and supervision of grassroots mass self-governance shall be responsible for providing guidance and supervision over rural grassroots mass self-governance work.
Article 6 The people's governments of townships, ethnic townships, or towns shall provide guidance, support, and assistance to the work of villagers' committees, but shall not interfere in matters that fall within the scope of villagers' self-governance in accordance with the law.
Villagers' committees shall assist people's governments of townships, ethnic townships, or towns in carrying out their work.
Article 7 Organizations and individuals who have made outstanding contributions to villagers' self-governance work shall be commended and rewarded in accordance with relevant state regulations.
Chapter II Composition and Responsibilities of Villagers' Committees
Article 8 A villagers' committee shall be composed of three to seven members, including a chairperson, vice chairperson, and members.
There shall be female members among the members of a villagers' committee. Close relatives of the members of the villagers' committee shall be subject to recusal.
The chairperson of a villagers' committee may be concurrently held by the head of the village Party organization through statutory procedures. Members of a villagers' committee and members of the leadership team of the village Party organization may hold concurrent posts.
Article 9 Villagers' committees may, as needed, establish committees for people's mediation, public security protection, public health, living environment improvement, elderly people, and women and children affairs. Members of villagers' committees may concurrently serve as members of subordinate committees. In villages with a small population, villagers' committees may choose not to establish subordinate committees, and the members of the villagers' committees shall be responsible for relevant work through division of labor.
Article 10 Villagers' committees shall support and organize villagers to lawfully develop various forms of cooperative economy and other economies, undertake services and coordination for the production of their villages, and promote rural production and economic development.
Villagers' committees shall, in accordance with the law, guide villagers to make rational use of natural resources, protect and improve the ecological environment, and advance the development of beautiful countryside.
Villagers' committees shall respect and support the autonomy of rural collective economic organizations in conducting economic activities independently in accordance with the law, safeguard the dual-level management system based on household contractual management and the combination of unified and separate management, and safeguard the property rights and other lawful rights and interests of rural collective economic organizations, villagers, contracting households, joint households, or partnerships. Where no rural collective economic organization is established, a villagers' committee or villagers' group may lawfully perform the functions of a rural collective economic organization.
Article 11 Villagers' committees shall carry out publicity on the Constitution, laws, and regulations, promote the policies of the Party and the State, support and encourage villagers to fulfill their legal obligations, safeguard the lawful rights and interests of villagers, and guide villagers to practice socialist core values, strengthen the sense of community for the Chinese nation, develop cultural education, disseminate scientific and technological knowledge, promote gender equality and family harmony, care for the elderly, left-behind children, persons with disabilities, and villagers in difficulty, enhance solidarity and mutual assistance, advocate for social reforms, and foster a civilized rural ethos.
Villagers' committees shall assist in organizing villagers to participate in collective prevention and control, assist in handling petitions and resolving conflicts and disputes, assist in community correction work and the education and assistance of persons released after serving sentences, and assist in responding to emergencies.
Villagers' committees shall support and guide social organizations, social workers, volunteers, and other social forces to participate in rural governance and services.
In villages inhabited by multiple ethnic groups, villagers' committees shall support and guide villagers of all ethnic groups to enhance unity, respect each other, and help each other.
Article 12 Villagers' committees and their members shall comply with the Constitution, laws, and regulations, abide by the policies of the Party and the State, observe and implement the villagers' self-governance charter and the rules and covenants of villagers, execute the decisions and resolutions of villagers' meetings and villagers' representative meetings, act impartially, perform their duties with integrity, serve villagers with dedication, and accept the supervision of villagers.
Article 13 Villagers' committees have the legal person status of grassroots mass self-governance organizations, and the chairperson of a villagers' committee shall serve as its legal representative.
......