Government and Policy
Court to aim at assets of convicted criminals
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-03-20 00:47
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BEIJING - China's courts have been authorized to seize or freeze assets of convicted criminals under a judicial interpretation issued by the Supreme People's Court (SPC) Friday.
The interpretation, which takes effect from June 1, aimed to better execute the property penalties, or the collection of fines and forfeiture of assets, said Hu Yunteng, director of the SPC research office.
Lack of clear procedural rules on the enforcement of penalties had led to a low enforcement rate, Hu said.
Existing criminal laws had no provisions to determine which body was responsible for enforcement, so sometimes it was the executive division, sometimes the trial tribunal or the judicial police, Hu said.
In some places, only 30 percent of the property penalty sentences were actually enforced, Hu said.
The interpretation stipulates that property penalties shall be enforced by the executive division of the first-instance trial court.
The court should assess the assets of the criminal, and seize, detain or freeze such properties for the enforcement, the interpretation says.
Assets of convicted criminals could still be seized after the court has decided to terminate the enforcement if they are found to have concealed property, the interpretation says.
