BEIJING: China's top legislature adopted Saturday a law on the mediation and arbitration of rural land contract disputes.

The law, to take effect on January 1, 2010, is "an effective guarantee" to ensure farmers' land contract management rights and "an important approach" to safeguard rural stability, according to Minister of Agriculture Sun Zhengcai when briefing lawmakers about the law in December.

The law is aimed to standardize the arbitration procedure as such disputes become frequent in recent years and was addressed as "a factor affecting rural harmony and stability."

Statistics show that more than 50,000 land dispute cases arose in 224 cities and counties across the country from 2003 to March 2008.