Research on Judicial Practice of Crime of Refusing to Pay Labor Remuneration: Case Study

Abstract

The crime of refusal to pay labour remuneration has been implemented in China for more than a decade, but its standard of conviction and effects in practice are yet to be further examined. By analysing the judicial cases, this article finds that some constitutive elements of this crime are quite obscure and controversial and there is a lack of uniformity in the scale of penalties, resulting in a mismatch between the severity of crime and punishment. In order to achieve the goal of combating the behavior of malicious non-payment of wages, it is recommended that the subject of this crime should be expanded, the subject intent of the criminal should be underscored, and the penalties shall be appropriate to the severity of the criminal’s behavior, so as to reach a balance between the combat of crimes and protect the legitimate interests of workers, as well as maintain the social economic order.