In judicial practice, a common challenge for creditors is that judgment debtors often evade debt repayment by transferring assets to relatives or using relatives’ bank accounts, WeChat, or Alipay for income and expenditure. When the amount involved is substantial, the judgment creditor may file a criminal private prosecution with the people’s court. If the court finds the facts clear and the evidence sufficient, it may approve the filing of the private prosecution. Once the refusal-of-execution crime is established, the offender will face severe criminal penalties in accordance with the law.
The refusal-of-execution crime, formally known as the crime of refusing to carry out judgments or orders, is stipulated in Article 313 of the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China. This crime targets individuals or entities who have the ability to execute legally effective judgments or orders of the people’s court but refuse to do so, under serious circumstances. It is a key legal weapon to safeguard the authority of judicial judgments and protect the legitimate rights and interests of creditors.
Legal Penalties for the Refusal of Execution of a Crime
According to Article 313 of the Criminal Law:
For offenders with serious circumstances, they shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, or a fine.
For offenders with especially serious circumstances, they shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than seven years, and a fine.
If a company commits this crime, the company shall be fined, and the persons directly in charge and other directly responsible persons shall be punished in accordance with the above provisions.
Typical Manifestations of the Crime in Practice
In practice, the behaviors constituting the refusal-of-execution crime mainly include the following categories, as clarified in the judicial interpretations issued by the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate:
Asset transfer and concealment: Transferring, hiding, intentionally damaging property, or transferring property gratuitously or at an obviously unreasonable low price, making it impossible to execute the judgment. For example, a debtor transfers real estate to his parents or siblings at a price far below the market value after the judgment takes effect.
False asset reporting: Refusing to report or falsely reporting property status, or violating the people’s court’s consumption restriction order, and still refusing to execute after being subject to compulsory measures such as fines or detention.
Obstructing execution: Using violence, threats, or gathering crowds to hinder execution personnel from entering the execution site, making the execution work impossible.
Collusion to evade execution: Colluding with others to hinder execution through false litigation, false arbitration, or false reconciliation.
Criminal Private Prosecution: An Important Channel for Rights Protection
For judgment creditors, when the public prosecution channel is blocked (e.g., the public security organ refuses to file a case or the procuratorate decides not to prosecute), they can file a criminal private prosecution directly with the people’s court. The core conditions for filing a private prosecution are:
The judgment debtor has the ability to execute but refuses to do so, with serious circumstances, infringing on the creditor’s property rights and deserving criminal accountability.
The creditor has filed a complaint with the public security authority or procuratorate, but the authority refuses to pursue criminal responsibility.
Once the private prosecution is approved and the crime is established, the debtor will not only face criminal penalties but also be ordered to return the illegally disposed assets, effectively protecting the creditor’s legitimate rights and interests.
Conclusion
The refusal-of-execution crime is a powerful legal tool to combat “laolai” (judgment debtors who evade execution) and solve the difficulty of execution. Judgment creditors should actively collect evidence of the debtor’s asset transfer and refusal to execute, and timely resort to criminal private prosecution when necessary. For debtors, having the ability to execute but refusing to do so will not only fail to evade debt but also lead to severe criminal liability. Abiding by judicial judgments and fulfilling legal obligations is the only correct choice.