Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues concerning the Application of Law in the Hearing of Criminal Cases Involving Refusal to Execute the Judgment or Ruling

Fa Shi [2015] No.16

July 20, 2015

The Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues concerning the Application of Law in the Hearing of Criminal Cases Involving Refusal to Execute the Judgment or Ruling (hereinafter referred to as the "Interpretation"), adopted at the 1657th meeting of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People's Court on July 6, 2015, is hereby promulgated for implementation as of July 22, 2015.

Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues concerning the Application of Law in the Hearing of Criminal Cases Involving Refusal to Execute the Judgment or Ruling

(Adopted at the 1657th meeting of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People's Court on July 6, 2015)

In order to punish criminal activities of refusal to execute the judgment or ruling in accordance with the law, guarantee the legal enforcement of the judgment as well as ruling of people's courts, and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the parties, in accordance with the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the "Criminal Law"), the Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the "Criminal Procedure Law"), the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China and other laws, the interpretation on several issues concerning the application of law in the hearing of criminal cases involving refusal to execute the judgment or ruling is hereby put forward as follows:

Article 1 Where the persons subject to execution, persons obligated to assist with the execution, guarantors and other persons having the execution obligation have the ability to execute the judgment or ruling made by a people's court but refuse to do so, if the circumstances are serious, they shall be punished for committing the crime of refusing to execute the judgment or ruling according to Article 313 of the Criminal Law.

Article 2 Whoever has the execution obligation and has the ability to execute the judgment or ruling but implements one of the following acts shall be identified as falling under "other serious circumstances of refusing to execute the judgment or ruling in spite of being able to do so" as prescribed in the interpretation of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress regarding Article 313 of the Criminal Law:
1. having the act of refusing to execute the judgment or ruling such as refusing to make a report or making a false report on property status and contravening a restriction order on extravagant spending and the relevant spending made by a people's court, and after being subject to compulsory measures such as fine or detention, still refusing to execute the judgment or ruling;
2. forging or destroying important evidence on the performance ability of the person subject to execution, or obstructing another person from giving testimony by violence, threat or bribery or making another person give false testimony by instigation, bribery or threat, which impedes the identification of the property status of the person subject to execution by a people's court and makes it impossible to execute the judgment or ruling;
3. refusing to deliver property, bills or certificates specified by legal documents or refusing to move out of the house or pull out of land, thereby making it impossible to execute the judgment or ruling;
4. colluding with others and impairing execution by false proceedings, false arbitration, false reconciliation or otherwise, thereby making it impossible to execute the judgment or ruling;
5. obstructing executors from entering execution sites by violence or threat, or gathering people to stir up trouble or attacking execution sites, thereby making it impossible to carry out the execution;
6. insulting, laying siege to, detaining, or beating the executors, thereby making it impossible to carry out the execution;
7. destroying or seizing execution case materials, official execution vehicles and other execution devices, clothes of the executors, and official execution certificates, thereby making it impossible to carry out the execution; and
8. refusing to execute the judgment or ruling made by the court, thereby causing material loss to the obligee.

Article 3 Cases for which the execution applicants have evidence to prove that the cases have the following situations and which, as the people's court believes, conform to Item 3 of Article 204 of the Criminal Procedure Law shall be filed and heard as private prosecution cases:
1. the persons having the execution obligation shall be subject to criminal liability in accordance with the law for refusing to execute the judgment or ruling and having infringed the execution applicants' personal or property rights; and
2. the execution applicants have filed a complaint, whereas the public security organs or the people's procuratorates do not hold the persons having the execution obligation criminally liable in accordance with the law.

Article 4 The private prosecutor may, in accordance with provisions in Article 206 of the Criminal Procedure Law, arrange a settlement with the defendant or withdraw the prosecution thereof before a judgment is pronounced for a private prosecution case stipulated in Article 3 of the Interpretation.

Article 5 Criminal cases involving refusal to execute the judgment or ruling shall generally fall under the jurisdiction of the peoples' courts in the places where the local execution courts are located.

Article 6 The accused who refuses to execute the judgment or ruling and has performed all or part of the execution obligations before the judgment of first instance is pronounced shall be given appropriate leniency.

Article 7 Cases involving refusal to execute the judgment or ruling of paying support payments, maintenance payments, upbringing payments, survivor's pensions, medical expenses and work remuneration shall be given a heavier punishment as appropriate.

Article 8 The Interpretation shall come into force as of the date of promulgation. Where there is any discrepancy between any prior judicial interpretations and regulatory documents and the Interpretation, the Interpretation shall prevail.