News

In the realm of judicial practice, the determination of liability for asset transfers in offences of refusal to comply with court orders concerning tort claims has long been a challenging and contentious issue within the legal profession. Court enforcement, serving as the ‘final mile’ in ensuring judgments take effect, is of paramount importance. To delve deeper into this issue and enhance legal practitioners' expertise and practical capabilities in this domain, JAVY Law Firm successfully hosted the event ‘Tort-Related Offences of Refusing to Comply with Court Orders: “Time Anchors” and Practical Breakthroughs in Determining Liability for Asset Transfers’ on 15 January 2026.

Mr Xu Fadong, member of the Executive Committee and Senior Partner at Jiawei Law Firm, delivered the opening address. The event featured a keynote presentation by Mr Xia Jie, a former senior police superintendent with 30 years' service in public security organs, currently serving as a public-sector lawyer and holding a PhD in Financial Management from the University of San Antonio, Spain.

At the outset, Mr Xu extended a warm welcome to all attendees on behalf of JAVY Law Firm. He noted that since its inception, the JAVY Law Lecture Series had successfully hosted 14 distinguished events, attracting over 1,200 participating solicitors both online and offline. Not only open to fellow lawyers across Beijing for exchange, the series has garnered attention from legal professionals nationwide. Through its rich content and professional discussions, it has achieved remarkable results, earning widespread recognition and acclaim within the industry. Mr Xu encouraged all lawyers to actively participate in sharing insights, speak freely, and continuously drive innovation and development within the legal services sector.

During the thematic presentation segment, Attorney Xia Jie analysed the ‘timing anchor’ issue in determining liability for asset transfers within the context of refusal to execute judgments in tort cases, using the landmark ‘Xiao Yuze case’ as a case study. Attorney Xia highlighted that in the enforcement domain of tort damages disputes, the application of the crime of refusal to execute judgments and rulings has long faced the practical challenge of an ambiguous ‘timing anchor’.

Attorney Xia provided an in-depth explanation from both legal foundations and regulatory frameworks. He stated that the formation of liability in tort cases fundamentally differs from general creditor-debtor relationships, necessitating that the triggering point for ‘knowledge’ be advanced to the ‘time of case initiation.’ Regarding practical implementation, Attorney Xia proposed specific application rules for the ‘time of case initiation’ node, including recognition standards, elements of criminal liability, and distinctions from general creditor-debtor cases. Simultaneously, drawing upon the new Interpretation, he elaborated on the constituent elements of the offence of refusal to execute a court order in tort cases, encompassing the actus reus, mens rea, resultant harm, and causal link.

Addressing practical breakthroughs for solicitors handling such cases, Mr Xia shared a series of strategic approaches and techniques. He advised lawyers to secure evidence early on and promptly apply for asset preservation to freeze the perpetrator's assets. During the cross-examination phase of the trial, the focus should be on examining the correlation between the timing of asset transfers and the incident to construct a chain of evidence demonstrating the perpetrator's subjective intent. Furthermore, attention should be paid to the coordination techniques between criminal and civil proceedings, pursuing the maximum benefit for the client through either concurrent criminal and civil proceedings or a civil-first, criminal-later approach.

During the interactive session, attending solicitors posed questions regarding practical challenges and uncertainties encountered in their work, to which the speaker provided patient and detailed responses. The exchange sparked frequent intellectual sparks, fostering a lively yet relaxed atmosphere.

JAVY Law Firm remains committed to establishing platforms for solicitors to engage with distinguished law firms and industry luminaries. This initiative promotes individual professional development, deepens legal expertise and skills, and empowers solicitors in their career advancement.