November 28-December 4
China
China’s National People’s Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) is scheduled to review 16 draft laws and two draft decisions during its 24th session on December 22-27. The NPC Observer provides a thorough preview of the session.
The second draft of Criminal Law Amendment (XI), which was released for public comment from October 2 to November 19, and included changes to the age of criminal responsibility, juvenile protection, work safety rules, and more, elicited 8,491 comments from 2,530 people, according to the NPC’s website. China Law Translate provides an overview of the proposed changes, with links to analysis and discussion. On the crime of sexual assault against juveniles, Beijing Children’s Legal Aid And Research Center has released a report (in Chinese) offering suggestions to improve the draft amendment.
The Haidian District Court in Beijing held the first hearing in a sexual harassment lawsuit against a prominent state television host, Zhu Jun. The plaintiff, Xuanzi (弦子), accused Zhu of groping and forcibly kissing her when she was an intern in 2014. Xuanzi went public with her accusation and eventually filed her lawsuit after learning about the Harvey Weinstein cases in the United States. Sexual harassment is a relatively new concept in Chinese law, and few cases have made it to trial. About 100 people showed up outside of the court holding up #MeToo posters and expressing their support for Xuanzi. (in Chinese)
The Minister of Justice released on December 1 the new Administrative Measures for Legal Profession Qualification (《法律职业资格管理办法》) which will take effect on January 1, 2021. The regulation clarifies the responsibilities of judicial administrative organs, provides for three categories of professional certificates, enhances the level of digitalization, and improves support services. Check the explanatory statement released at the press conference for more details. (in Chinese)
A court in Hangzhou has ordered the Hangzhou Safari Park to compensate a plaintiff for unilaterally changing the terms of the plaintiff’s annual membership to require facial recognition for entry. The man bought an annual membership for himself and his wife in 2019 and agreed to use fingerprint recognition to enter the park. Subsequently, the park began requiring facial recognition. The lawsuit is being called China’s first facial recognition litigation. Despite finding the park liable for breach of contract, the court denied the plaintiff’s argument that requesting facial information was per se illegal. Caixin reported on the path towards personal information protection in China. (in Chinese, paywalled)
The Tianjin People’s Congress on December 1 passed city-level Social Credit Regulations that will take effect on January 1, 2021. In addition to clarifying the scope of social credit information, the regulations explicitly prohibit collecting, sorting, using, processing, and transferring credit information by any organizations or individuals. The regulations also provide remedial mechanisms to cure credit violations. (in Chinese)
The Ministry of Civil Affairs announced a new regulation to implement the “cooling-off period” prior to divorce that was introduced in China’s new Civil Code, which takes effect on January 1, 2021. (in Chinese) According to the rules, upon submitting a divorce application to the marriage registration organs, either party may unilaterally withdraw the application within 30 days. In addition, parties must pick up the divorce certificate together in person within 30 days; otherwise, the divorce application shall be deemed to be withdrawn. The new regulation has sparked heated online discussion, with many netizens saying it is unnecessary and will make it more difficult to get out of a broken marriage. An inspector from the ministry later explained that the rule does not apply to divorces triggered by domestic violence. (in Chinese)
Henan Province’s Departments of Public Security and Justice jointly announced a Regulation on Guaranteeing and Regulating Lawyers Meeting Suspects and Defendants at the Detention Center. The regulation has been well-received by the legal community for promoting the right of the accused to a lawyer. It includes measures to facilitate communication between lawyers and the accused, creates a “fast-track” meeting process, allows meetings on weekends, and provides guidance on meeting room design and equipment. (in Chinese)
The Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) released six typical cases involving self-defense in which non-custodial compulsory measures or non-prosecution were applied. (in Chinese) It is part of the SPP’s effort to clarify the legal scope of justifiable self-defense as set forth in a Guiding Opinion jointly issued by the Supreme People’s Court, SPP, and Ministry of Public Security in September.
Hong Kong
The Hong Kong Court of First Instance has extended local courts’ long-arm jurisdiction to hear claims stemming from torts suffered outside Hong Kong by following the majority opinion of the UK Supreme Court in the 2018 Brownlie case. In Fong Chak Kwan v Ascentic Ltd & Ors [2020], the court said that a Hong Kong permanent resident who was injured in an accident in Ningbo, mainland China, could seek damages in a Hong Kong court from those responsible for the accident provided that the plaintiff experienced pain, suffering and loss of amenities, received medical treatment, and incurred medical expenses in Hong Kong after the accident.
Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeals ruled that a prison requirement for male inmates to keep their hair short constitutes sex discrimination. Correctional Services has been given over a month to submit its responses on how to frame a new policy. One of the options reportedly being considered is to cut female inmates’ hair, which has sparked strong reactions from women prisoners.
Three pro-democracy activists, Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow, and Ivan Lam, have been sentenced to prison terms ranging from 13.5 months to 7 months for organizing and inciting an unlawful assembly near police headquarters last year during the height of the sometimes-violent demonstrations against the government over a now-shelved extradition bill.
Chief Magistrate Victor So on December 3 denied bail for Jimmy Lai (黎智英), the owner of the local best-selling tabloid, the Apple Daily. Lai was accused of fraud for allegedly using the newspaper's offices for purposes not permitted by the building's lease. Lai, 73, will have to stay incarcerated until his next scheduled court date in April 2021.
Japan
Osaka District Court has confirmed the unconstitutionality of a now-defunct eugenics law that prevented disabled people from having children, but rejected the request of plaintiffs in two separate cases for damages. Between 1948 and 1996, the eugenics law authorized the sterilization of people with intellectual disabilities, mental illnesses, or hereditary disorders, impacting about 25,000 people. In April of last year, the Diet enacted legislation to pay ¥3.2 million in state compensation to each person who underwent sterilization. The plaintiffs in the Osaka cases - in one case, an elderly couple and in the other, an elderly woman - were seeking a combined total of ¥55 million in damages.
More than 900 lawyers and legal scholars urged Tokyo prosecutors to investigate alleged violations of the Political Funds Control Law by former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo and others for covering the cost of a series of hotel parties attended by Abe supporters over a five-year period ending in 2019. Prosecutors have decided to build a case against Abe's state-paid secretary for allegedly not reporting part of the costs of the dinner parties and asked former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to appear for voluntary questioning.
A Covid-19 infected man has been arrested as a result of his July visit to a hot spring after he left the hospital ward where he was being treated. The man, who did not disclose his illness to spa operators, is accused of obstructing business because the operator was forced to disinfect the facility after his visit.
Koreas
South Korea has increased the punishment for persons convicted of trafficking minors for sex, purchasing sex from minors, or inducing them to engage in prostitution. The revised law, informally known as the “Cho Doo-soon Prevention Act,” also imposes mandatory reporting obligations on schools and other institutions working with children and requires publicizing detailed addresses of sex offenders' residences. The legislation comes days before the scheduled release of Cho Doo-soon, a notorious convicted child rapist, who is completing a 12-year prison term.
The Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee of the legislature passed a bill on December 2 that would ban anti-Pyongyang leaflet campaigns. Opposition party lawmakers walked out in protest as the bill was voted forward by legislators of the ruling Democratic Party. The bill now faces legal review by the parliament‘s legislation committee before going to a final vote. If passed, it would impose fines and imprisonment on persons who send leaflets critical of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his regime across the border. The opposition says the bill violates freedom of expression, and it plans to seek a Constitution Court ruling if the bill is passed.
An appeal courts upheld the conviction and six-month prison sentence of a school teacher who was convicted of lying about his job and whereabouts after testing positive for Covid-19, in violation of the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act. More than 60 people contracted the virus in chain transmissions traced to the teacher.
Taiwan
The Judicial Yuan announced that it has drafted legislation that would lift some of the current limits on transnational same-sex marriages in Taiwan. Taiwan legalized same-sex marriage in May 2019, but Taiwanese whose same-sex partner is foreign can register their marriage only if the foreign partner’s home country also allows same-sex marriage. The draft bill reportedly relaxes this requirement. When asked about the scope of the draft, Judicial Yuan official Lee Kuo-tseng said it still requires one member of the couple to be Taiwanese.
A committee of the Legislative Yuan has given preliminary approval to a proposed Civil Code amendment that would lower the age of legal adulthood to 18, from the current 20. Additionally, the amendment would make 18 the minimum age for marriage for both men and women. Under current law, men must be 18 and women 16 to marry. The revisions must still pass second and third readings by the full legislature to become law.
Taiwan’s brand new Human Rights Commission is once again at the center of controversy, this time over whether the Control Yuan, where the commission sits, is engaged in a power grab. The Control Yuan has submitted a draft bill to the legislature that would authorize the Human Rights Commission to petition the Judicial Yuan for a constitutional interpretation if it finds a major violations of human rights and relevant laws or regulations are in conflict with constitution. The Control Yuan said it may decide to withdraw and resubmit the proposal. The Human Rights Commission was established in August to investigate human rights violations and government misconduct, research human rights policies, and promote understanding of human rights. (in Chinese)
Vietnam
Police in Ho Chi Minh City announced Vietnam’s first criminal indictment of a Covid-19 patient accused of violating quarantine orders and contributing to the infection of other people. The patient, a flight attendant, was accused of “spreading dangerous infectious diseases to humans” in violation of Article 240 of the Penal Code. Quarantine violations in the past were punished with an administrative fine. (in Vietnamese) The flight attendant allegedly had direct contact with three people after leaving quarantine, one of whom later tested positive.
In a new report Amnesty International accused tech giants Facebook and YouTube of allowing themselves to become tools of the Vietnamese authorities’ censorship and harassment. The 78-page report called “Let us Breathe! Censorship and criminalization of online expression in Viet Nam,” documents widespread blocking of content and harassment of users. In the past, Vietnam has threatened to shut down Facebook in the country if it does not comply with the government’s request to remove content it considers anti-state. Amnesty says that of Vietnam’s 170 prisoners of conscience, 69 are behind bars solely for social media activity.