[Case Summary]This case involves administrative reconsideration of the supervision of village affairs disclosure. On December 10, 2025, two villagers from Shuguang Village, XX Town, A City, Yang *1 and Yang *2, suspected irregularities in village management such as agricultural subsidies, land transfer, land compensation, collective income, project funds, and the disposal of collective assets. They entrusted their agents to submit the "Application for Village Affairs Disclosure" to the Shuguang Village Village Committee via EMS and the "Application for Ordering Village Affairs Disclosure" to the XX Town People's Government, requesting the town government to perform its supervisory duties and order the village committee to disclose the relevant information. However, after receiving the applications, the town government failed to investigate and handle the matter or inform the applicants of the outcome. The two villagers subsequently engaged Beijing Henglu Law Firm to represent them in the case.Zhang WeiThe lawyer filed an administrative reconsideration request with the People's Government of A City. The core dispute is whether the town government fulfilled its statutory supervision duties. Applicable laws: Article 31 of the Organic Law of the Villagers' Committees of the People's Republic of China, and Articles 44 and 66 of the Administrative Reconsideration Law. The reconsideration organ ordered the town government to handle the matter in accordance with the law and provide a response within 60 days.

I. Review of the case

Villagers often search for terms like "how to apply for open village affairs", "what to do if the town government fails to supervise the village committee", and "how to protect rights when village affairs lack transparency". On December 10, 2025, two villagers from Shuguang Village in XX Town, A City, named Yang *1 and Yang *2, had doubts about the distribution of national agricultural subsidies, land transfer and collective resource contracting, various land compensation payments and collective income, various fees and project payments, collective asset disposal, and major decision-making in the village affairs management. They entrusted their agents to submit the "Application for Open Village Affairs" to the Shuguang Village Committee and the "Application for Ordering Open Village Affairs" to the XX Town People's Government respectively through China Post EMS, requesting the town government to perform its supervisory duties over the village committee's open village affairs in accordance with the law and order the village committee to disclose the relevant matters.

Although the email shows that the staff of the town government office signed for the receipt of the materials two days later, as of the date of initiating the administrative review, the town government has never taken any effective measures to investigate and verify the materials, nor ordered the village committee to perform its statutory duties, nor informed the applicants of the relevant handling situation. To safeguard their rights and interests, Yang *1 and Yang *2 entrusted Beijing Henglu Law Firm to handle the case for them.Zhang WeiThe lawyer filed an administrative review with the People's Government of City A, requesting that the respondent's failure to perform its supervisory duties be confirmed as illegal, and ordering it to handle the matter in accordance with the law within the statutory time limit.

II. The focus of the case

  • Focus 1: Whether the respondent has fulfilled its statutory duties in response to the "Application for Ordering the Disclosure of Village Affairs".It is necessary to review whether they have investigated and verified the information, ordered the disclosure of the information, and responded to the applicants' requests.
  • Focus 2: Does the village committee's failure to disclose information constitute administrative omission?According to Article 31 of the Organic Law of the Villagers' Committees, the town government has the duty to supervise and order the publication of information in accordance with the law.
  • Focus Three: Whether the town government's defense is valid.The town government said that the area is under the unified jurisdiction of Qianjin Village Committee and that it has fulfilled its supervisory duties. However, the matter needs to be judged based on the available evidence.

III. Professional intervention by Hengluo Lawyers

The applicants (two villagers) claimed that:The applicant claims that he/she is a permanent resident of the village and enjoys the rights of a villager according to law. However, the town government, as the supervisory authority at the higher level, failed to investigate and handle the "Application for Ordering Village Affairs to be Made Public" and provide a response, which constitutes administrative omission. The applicant requests that the court confirm the illegal act and order the town government to handle the matter in accordance with the law.

The respondent (the town government) argued that:It was stated that the "Shuguang Village" mentioned by the applicant has not been set up as a separate village committee. Administratively, it is under the unified jurisdiction of the Qianjin Village Committee and there is no independent "Shuguang Village Committee". It was also stated that the Qianjin Village Committee has been urged to publicize the information on the bulletin board every month and has fully performed its supervisory duties in accordance with the law. The submitted "Reminder Letter" and monthly financial disclosure materials serve as evidence of this.

Hengluo Lawyer's Agency Opinion:Zhang WeiThe lawyer is well aware that the core of administrative litigation lies in evidence and legal application. The first step is to establish a complete chain of evidence and clarify the focus of the dispute, which is whether the respondent fulfilled its supervisory duties. Based on Article 31 of the Organization Law of the Villagers' Committees of the People's Republic of China, the lawyer points out that if the village committee fails to announce the information in a timely manner or announces inaccurate information, the villagers have the right to report it to the township government, and the relevant government shall be responsible for investigating and verifying it and ordering the announcement in accordance with the law. The lawyer believes that the two applicants enjoy the rights of villagers according to law, and the Shuguang Village Committee has the obligation to actively and truthfully disclose village affairs and respond to the application according to law. As a supervisory organ at a higher level, the respondent has the duty of supervision. Its failure to respond within the time limit constitutes administrative omission and violates relevant legal provisions. The lawyer guides the clients to collect the "Application for Ordering the Disclosure of Village Affairs", the "Application for the Disclosure of Village Affairs" and the mailing proof, and cross-examines the township government's evidence one by one: pointing out that the on-site photos are copies without the shooting time and cannot be verified, the content displayed is the financial disclosure of the management station rather than the applicants' application matters, and the financial disclosure materials are not relevant to the case.

IV. Outcome of the case

The review organ believes that, according to Article 31 of the Organization Law of the Villagers' Committees of the People's Republic of China and Article 44 of the Administrative Review Law of the People's Republic of China, the applicant has submitted the content of the request for performance of duties and the mailing receipt, which can prove that he has already submitted the application for performance of duties; while the respondent failed to submit evidence to prove that he has investigated and handled the "Application for Ordering Village Affairs Disclosure" during the review process, and also failed to submit evidence to prove that he has informed the applicant of the results of the investigation and handling. Accordingly, the review organ determined that the respondent failed to perform his statutory duties in accordance with the law. Pursuant to Article 66 of the Administrative Review Law of the People's Republic of China, the review organ made a review decision: ordering the respondent to deal with the applicant's "Application for Ordering Village Affairs Disclosure" in accordance with the law and provide a response within 60 days from the date of receipt of the decision letter.

5. Hengluo Law Firm's Reminder

This case is handled by Beijing Henglu Law Firm.Zhang WeiAttorney (Practice Certificate No.: 11101202311579912, subject to the certificate issued by the judicial administrative organ). Beijing Hengluo Law Firm specializes in representing clients in various civil, commercial, administrative, and criminal cases, and has a team of experienced professional lawyers. If you need legal assistance, you can contact our firm to obtain targeted protection solutions.

VI. Common Questions and Answers about Supervising the Openness of Village Affairs

  1. Q: Who should I report to if the village affairs are not made public?
    A:According to Article 31 of the "Organic Law of the Villagers' Committee", villagers may report their concerns to the township or town people's governments or the relevant county-level competent departments, which will investigate and verify the reports and order the village committees to make public the relevant information in accordance with the law.
  2. Q: What should I do if the town government refuses to handle the application for open village affairs?
    A:You can file an administrative review or an administrative lawsuit against the town government's administrative omission, requesting that it be confirmed as illegal and ordered to handle the response within the time limit in accordance with the law.
  3. Q: What documents do I need to submit to apply for the disclosure of village affairs?
    A:Prepare the "Application for Openness of Village Affairs", specifying the specific matters to be disclosed, and submit it together with the mailing receipt and the signing record to prove that you have submitted the application for performance of duties to the village committee and the town government.
  4. Q: Does the village committee say that it's not legal to disclose information if there's no independent entity?
    A:No, it's not exempt from liability. The supervisory authority at the higher level should still investigate and verify the applicant's application matters. If the authority simply evades responsibility by citing organizational affiliation or fails to handle the matter substantively, it can be alleged that the authority has failed to fulfill its supervisory duties.
  5. Q: If the information is still not disclosed after the reconsideration and order to handle the matter, can it be enforced by force?
    A:You can apply to the court for compulsory enforcement based on the effective review decision, or file a further lawsuit to continuously urge the village committee to fulfill its obligation to disclose information.