Call for credit system to improve execution of verdicts

A senior judge in Guangdong province has called for the establishment of a tougher social credit system to improve effective execution of judgments and verdicts given by the court and protect the lawful rights of parties involved.

"The system should involve parties including bank, civil aviation, insurance and tourism authorities, which will provide assistance to better carry out the execution of judgments and verdicts," said Zheng E, president of Guangdong Provincial High People's Court.

"The authorities involved should impose restrictions for individuals or parties who refuse to carry out the execution of judgments and verdicts," Zheng added.

In a motion to the annual session of the National People's Congress, Zheng said an inadequate social credit system has hindered the court's efforts to improve the execution of judgments and verdicts.

"We should build a coordinated credit system to prevent parties from refusing to carry out the execution of judgments and verdicts," Zheng said.

For example, credit information on diehard debtors should be reported to the authorities involved in the system, according to Zheng.

Sources with the Guangdong court said only 15.4 percent of judgments and verdicts in the province were carried out voluntarily by the parties involved last year.

"Measures should be adopted to stop them from buying homes, financing, investing and other business activities," said Zheng, who is also an NPC deputy.

Thanks to the establishment of a coordinated execution center with some government authorities and banks, the actual execution rate in Guangdong's courts increased from 30 percent in 2009 to 80 percent last year, according to Zheng.

In an interview with China Daily, Zheng said the Guangdong court will actively take part in social management by making judicial proposals to government authorities.

"The proposals are regarded as one of the effective ways for us to take part in social management. It is aimed at raising public awareness and for government authorities to pay attention to some typical issues," Zheng said.

Over the past five years, courts in Guangdong have handled about 4.8 million cases, accounting for about one-tenth of the country's total, sources with Guangdong Provincial High People's Court said.

In 2012 alone, more than one million cases were handled by the provincial high people's court, according to Zheng.

"For judges, the core task is not to deal with more cases but to resolve contradictions in social and economic issues," Zheng said.

Citing a rising number of cases in the real estate sector, Zheng said the government needs to attach more importance to the protection of homeowners' right and people involved in land requisitions.

Disputes about demolition and compensation over land requisition have risen sharply in the past several years, following the booming development of China's real estate industry, according to Zheng.

Also, courts in the province handled more than 23,000 intellectual property cases last year, up 47 percent year-on-year.

"Cases we have handled in recent years have become more complicated — from divorces and debt cases, to disputes involving distribution of property, shareholdings, succession rights and especially land acquisition and relocation," Zheng said.

The Guangdong court made 4,776 judicial proposals last year, of which 33.5 percent have been given responses by relevant government authorities.

"The government should attach more importance to sectors often involved in complicated social and economic contradictions," he said.

Contact the writer at qiuquanlin@chinadaily.com.cn