Courts nationwide told to strengthen judicial protection of property rights

Courts across the country have been told to offer stronger legal support for entrepreneurs and give equal protection to all market players to minimize the influence of litigation on businesses and promote sustainable economic development.

Courts should resolutely correct wrongful convictions related to private entrepreneurs and prevent the unnecessary application of criminal punishments to resolve economic disputes, said Zhou Qiang, president of the Supreme People's Court.

"We'll try our best to help enterprises get back on track by effectively handling their disputes and prohibiting excessive seizure of properties," the top judge said at a meeting on strengthening judicial protection of property rights on Friday.

He said the aim is to improve "sustainable, orderly and healthy" development of enterprises, alleviate burdens on them, and better cope with downward economic pressure brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The meeting came after a keynote speech delivered by President Xi Jinping at a symposium with corporate leaders on July 21. At the symposium, Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, said more efforts should be made to create a market-oriented, law-based and internationalized business environment, noting that the legitimate rights of entrepreneurs must be safeguarded.

Equal protection must be offered to the property rights and independent operations of businesses, Xi said, calling for a better environment to inspire entrepreneurs to develop businesses by encouraging their creativity and tolerating their failures.

To offer market players a greater sense of security, Zhou urged courts nationwide to thoroughly review cases involving private entrepreneurs and correct wrongful convictions.

"If a case is found to be partially wrong, the wrong portions must be corrected," he said.

Since 2017, 409 people have been acquitted in enterprise-related cases and another 329 have had their names cleared after their original rulings were found to be in error and overturned, according to data released by the top court on Friday.

For example, since last year, the Liaoning High People's Court has taken up cases related to 10 major crimes, including fraud and illegal business operations, in its review of cases handled by lower courts. So far, the court has found 44 verdicts with possible errors, of which 26 have been corrected.

Judicial behavior targeted

To further regulate judicial behavior in the handling of disputes involving enterprises and better protect property rights, the top court jointly issued a guideline with the National Development and Reform Commission last month.

The 31-article legal document stipulates that people who use public power to infringe upon private property rights and those who illegally seize, seal up or freeze the property of private enterprises should be strictly dealt with.

It orders judges to be more prudent in the application of coercive measures, including detention and surveillance, when dealing with cases involving entrepreneurs.

Additionally, protections for new types of property, such as digital currencies and those registered in cyberspace, need to be strengthened, it added.

Li Ya, a lawyer from the Beijing Zhongwen Law Firm who specializes in commercial disputes, welcomed protections for such property.

"Online properties are inevitable in the internet and technology era," he said. "Better legal protections for them, I believe, will foster rapid growth in the industry."

Liu Junhai, a business law professor at Renmin University of China, lauded the series of moves in the judicial sector, saying "the intensified protection of property rights will bolster confidence of market players, especially private entrepreneurs, and encourage them in business innovation and wealth creation".

He said the advance of rule of law in terms of property rights protection will also contribute to building a safer and fairer business environment, promoting the country's high-quality and sustainable economic and social development.