Court launches website showing who hasn't paid

By Xie Chuanjiao (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-03-31 14:47

A new website will allow the public to find out who has failed to pay up after losing civil cases in court.

The new service lists more than 5.24 million verdicts handed down by 3,484 courts. In 1.44 million of those cases the verdicts have yet to be carried out, said Jiang Bixin, vice-president of the Supreme People's Court (SPC).

"Figures suggest the number of civil and commercial cases that need to be forcibly carried out has been on the rise in recent years," Jiang said.

The public can log on to http://zhixing.court.gov.cn/search/ and search individuals and groups to see if they have any pending obligations from civil court rulings nationwide, Jiang told a press conference yesterday.

Prior to the online service, members of the public who wanted to search civil cases had to submit paper-based enquiries to local courts.

"An online platform is the most direct and effective method for the public to learn the results of court rulings nationwide," Ren Jin, a law professor with National School of Administration, told China Daily.

An individual will face moral and mental pressure and even lose employment and economic opportunities for poor credibility if he or she fails to carry out a court ruling, Ren said.

As the global financial crisis expands, it becomes more important to establish a system of credibility to prevent and resolve social and economic crises of all kinds, Ren said.

The online platform will help lower risks of market management and solve problems from the start, Ren added.

The failure of the courts to enforce verdicts on civil cases has been a significant challenge for the country's judicial system, with many litigants possessing limited awareness of legal proceedings and refusing to fulfill their legal obligations, Jiang said.

"The fundamental reasons lie in the lack of a deterrence," Jiang said.

"Those refusing to comply with court rulings should face heavier costs in their morality, creditability and property than the costs of an enforcement."

The website is a prelude to a systematic improvement of the enforcement of court rulings nationwide.

Further cooperation with sectors of banking, industry and commerce registration, exit and entry departments and property management departments to jointly crack down against violators are in the pipeline, Jiang said.

Those failing to complete court rulings will not get loans, have their businesses registered or be able to leave the country, Jiang said.

"Such a joint deterrent system in the future will unite all social forces to impose sanctions on the violators, helping establish an effective credibility system," Jiang added.

As there are many details yet to be worked out, such as how to restrict the litigants and how to remove restrictions after an effective enforcement, there is not a specific timetable for a formal operation of the joint deterrent system, according to Huang Nian, an official with SPC's court ruling enforcement bureau.