Nearly a million individuals and companies blacklisted for ignoring civil court rulings, including paying fines, have resolved their cases in the face of travel and business restrictions, the top court said on Feb 14.
Since mid-2013, the Supreme People's Court has been naming and shaming those who repeatedly fail to adhere to a verdict. It also has blocked purchases of flight or high speed rail tickets and applications for loans.
"The measures have played a big role in getting defaulters to carry out court rulings," Meng Xiang, director of enforcement for the Supreme People's Court, said at a news conference in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.
He said individuals and companies involved in 6.73 million cases nationwide had been added to the list, which initially involves the online disclosure of defaulters' information, including names and identity card numbers, as well as the facts of a case.
Since June 2014, the top court has been collaborating with government departments, especially rail and civil aviation authorities, to deny defaulters access to high speed rail and air transportation.
The system has rebuffed 6.15 million attempts to purchase flight tickets, along with 2.22 million attempts to buy seats on the high-speed rail network, according to data released by the top court.
The top court has also restricted defaulters from being granted bank loans or job promotions.
In addition, a network between 3,520 courts and more than 3,400 banks across the nation has been established that allows judges to determine which properties debtors have and how much money they can pay back through the system, the court said.
"In the past, it was a dream that a judge from Northwest China's Gansu province could search how much savings a litigant in Central China's Henan province had, but now it has come true," Meng said.
Based on the blacklist, 71,000 defaulters have been refused positions as executives or board members of enterprises, the statement said.
The restrictions have made life much more difficult for defaulters, Meng said. "Our goal is to make people who ignore rulings feel inconvenience in every aspect of their lives and to contribute to the establishment of a 'merit system' in society."
Nan Cunhui, head of the Zhejiang Federation of Industry and Commerce, applauded the achievements, suggesting the restrictions should be extended and be enforced.
He also called on the top court to solve the difficulties of verdict enforcement in various ways, adding that the federation can assist in mediating disputes.
Huang Lianxi, deputy director of the Zhejiang Lawyers Association, said it will harm public order if court rulings cannot be effectively implemented, suggesting that the court should explain more about laws to defaulters who might have little legal knowledge.
