The Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and the Ministry of Public Security have recently jointly issued guidelines on issues related to handling criminal cases of refusing to execute judgments and rulings, which will take effect on July 1.
The guidelines, consisting of 20 articles, clarify the responsibilities of courts, public security organs and procuratorates, and provide specific provisions regarding the handling of cases of private prosecution.
The guidelines aim to punish crimes involving refusal to execute judgments and rulings in accordance with the law, to ensure the enforcement of such judicial decisions and to effectively safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the parties involved in accordance with relevant laws, legislative and judicial interpretations.
According to the guidelines, if a court discovers during the process of handling a case that an individual obligated to execute a judgment or ruling is suspected of refusing to do so, the court shall prepare a case transfer letter and an enforcement status report, and transfer them along with relevant evidentiary materials proving the criminal facts to the public security organs with jurisdiction for case filing and investigation.
The guidelines further stipulate that when public security organs receive the criminal case materials involving suspected crimes of refusing to execute judgments and rulings transferred by courts, they shall accept them, prepare a case registration form, and issue a receipt. If the public security organ determines that the case is eligible for investigation upon review, it shall initiate an investigation within seven days. If the case does not meet the filing criteria, a decision not to file shall be made within the review period, and a notice of non-filing shall be delivered to the referring court.
According to the guidelines, if the procuratorate, upon review, believes that the relevant public security organ is obliged to initiate an investigation but failed to do so, it shall require the public security organ to provide a written explanation for the decision. The public security organ shall then provide a written explanation outlining the reasons and legal basis for not filing the case, along with relevant evidentiary materials, in response to the procuratorate. If the procuratorate, after examination, finds that the reasons for not filing a case by the public security organ are not justified, the public security organ shall be directed to initiate the case upon the decision of the chief prosecutor.
Moreover, the guidelines specify the handling of cases of private prosecution. If the applicant meets the following two requirements and provides evidence, the court may accept the case as a private prosecution case in accordance with the law: First, the person obligated to execute the judgment or ruling refuses to do so, thereby infringing on the personal or property rights of the applicant, warranting criminal prosecution according to the law; second, the applicant has previously filed a complaint, but the public security organ either did not accept it or did not provide a written response to it within 30 days, or decided not to file the case, or the procuratorate decided not to pursue criminal responsibility against the obligated person.
