New rules to further tie down court order defaulters

A new document published by Chinese authorities will further tie down those who failed to fulfill court orders, by measures including "restricting defaulters from going abroad," to facilitate law enforcement.

According to the document circulated by the general office of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the general office of the State Council, authorities are to build a "supervising, warning and punishing mechanism" for those defaulters so that they would feel "restrictions everywhere."

The aim is to "significantly improve enforcement capabilities of people's courts by 2018," the document said.

It said defaulters will not be eligible to stand as candidates recommended by authorities in the CPC's party congress elections as well as those of the country's legislative and political advisory bodies.

Their failure to fulfill court orders will also be rendered as "reference" for promotion as civil servants and military officers, and for taking senior positions at state-owned enterprises, financial institutions, and social organizations.

There were 3.08 million defaulters on the Supreme People's Court (SPC)'s blacklist at the end of 2015.

More than 60 percent of individuals or parties with liabilities deliberately abscond or refuse to fulfill court rulings, Meng Xiang, chief of the Enforcement Bureau of the SPC, told Xinhua Thursday.

Some even transfer assets overseas or refuse to fulfill their obligations with threats of violence, Meng said.

Earlier reports said authorities also banned defaulters from taking planes and traveling in first-class sleeper train compartments.

These restrictions are also included in the new rules, which pledge "restrictions" on defaulting entities over issuing stocks and getting listed on stock exchanges, and help for courts to locate and bring under control defaulter they have lost contact with, and "restrict defaulters from going abroad."

The document said the list of defaulters will be made public and be updated in a timely and accurate manner. Relevant authorities will connect themselves with a defaulters' information sharing platform by the end of this year.

It went on to say that the rights of the defaulter, nonetheless, are to be protected in accordance with law.

Those who have eventually fulfilled court orders should be removed from the blacklist within three days, it said. Endit