Top Chinese court’s archive failure ‘dents private-sector confidence’ in Beijing’s promises
- Chinese leaders have vowed to protect entrepreneurs but the loss of key documents in a high-profile case raises doubts about those commitments, insiders say
The mysterious loss of a mountain of legal documents in a decade-long contract battle in China’s top court will erode the beleaguered private sector’s confidence in Beijing’s promises to protect the interests of businesspeople, a lawyer and entrepreneur said.
Veteran Chinese criminal lawyer Zhou Ze said the failure of the Supreme People’s Court to safeguard the documents would have a “chilling effect on all private businesspeople”.
The papers detailed a contract dispute between private firm Kechley Energy Investment headed by businessman Zhao Faqi, and the state-owned Xian Institute of Geological and Mineral Exploration.
Zhao launched legal action over ownership of a mine in Shaanxi province in northwest China in 2006, eventually winning his case in the supreme court in 2017.
The ruling was made despite the papers disappearing from the office of judge Wang Linqing in 2016.
But without the paperwork, the court has been unable to implement the ruling.