The Supreme People's Court (SPC) released the first batch of typical cases involving heirship disputes on Dec 3 as it leverages the regulatory, evaluative, educational and guiding functions of the judicial system to promote family values and social harmony.

The four released cases focus on the application of newly-added provisions in the Civil Code such as the estate administrator system, unifying judicial standards, and the promotion of the "Fengqiao model", an alternative dispute resolution and social governance model at grassroots level, for the new era.

The Civil Code introduced provisions about the estate administrator system, outlining the selection, responsibilities and rights of the estate administrators. In one of the released cases, the court proactively informed the parties involved, including both domestic and overseas residents, about the provisions concerning estate administrators, guiding them to jointly select an administrator to manage the estate, compile an inventory of assets, and provide updates on the estate. This ultimately led to all parties reaching a settlement agreement on estate division.

In another case, the court handling the case applied the provision in the Civil Code concerning the subrogation of inheritance by the children of the predeceased sibling of the decedent, and clarified the rights and obligations of the parties involved.

In judicial practice, differing interpretations exist regarding whether rural land contract rights can be inherited as part of the estate. In one case, the court made it clear in the judgment that rural land contract rights are acquired on a household basis, with family members within the household equally enjoying the rights and interests to the contracted land. Following the death of the household head, those land contract rights are not heritable, but other household members could continue to enjoy the land rights during the contracted period, according to the judgment, which set a precedent for similar cases in the future.

The released cases also demonstrate the importance of effectively resolving heirship disputes with focus on mediation and the adept use of diversified dispute resolution mechanisms.