This Week in Asian Law

June 5-11


China

  • The National People’s Congress Standing Committee gave final approval to the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law, which takes effect immediately. The law states that China has the right to take countermeasures against foreign sanctions and authorizes departments of the State Council to take actions against individuals and organizations involved in drafting, passing, and enforcing foreign discriminatory and restrictive measures, as well as their relatives and affiliated persons or organizations. European companies have expressed concerns over the law, and the president of EU Chamber of Commerce in China said the measures “are not conductive to attract investment.” At the same meeting, the NPC Standing Committee passed the Data Security Law, Law on the Status and Protection of Rights and Interests of Military Personnel, Hainan Free Trade Port Law, Stamp Duty Law, and two other laws (in Chinese).

  • The NPC Standing Committee released the second-reading draft of the Legal Aid Law (in Chinese) for public comment through July 9. According to an explanatory document (in Chinese) released by the NPC’s Constitution and Law Committee, the second draft expands the scope of acknowledged legal aid service providers from government legal aid agencies to include other social organizations. The draft also deletes language referring to “legal aid agency lawyers,” raises the minimum years of practice required for lawyers defending death and life imprisonment cases to three years, and broadens the coverage of legal aid services in civil and administrative law cases. The draft also makes changes with regard to funding, lawyer compensation, and supervision and quality control of legal aid lawyers. Three other draft laws/revisions have also been released for public comment.

  • The Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) announced that procuratorates and judicial administrative bodies nationwide have taken “special rectification actions” against retired judges and prosecutors who have served as lawyers, defenders, and legal representatives less than two years after retirement, in violation of the Judges Law or Prosecutors Law and code of conduct. The restrictions on former judges and prosecutors working as lawyers stems from concern about corruption. The rectification measures are part of the nationwide “Education and Rectification Campaign” in the political-legal system announced last summer. The SPP, Supreme People’s Court (SPC), and Ministry of Justice are drawing up regulations to further restrict the careers of former judges and prosecutors. (in Chinese)

  • The SPC, SPP, and five other departments jointly issued the minutes of a meeting called to discuss the establishment of a system of punitive damages in public interest litigation related to food safety. The participating departments decided that punitive damages in civil cases would have a strong deterrent effect. They encouraged localities to place punitive damage payments into a public welfare fund to be used for consumer rights protection. The director of the Eighth Prosecution Department of the SPP answered questions related to the meeting minutes. (in Chinese)

  • A group under the State Council issued an opinion on strengthening the protection of minors. It came just days after the revised Law on the Protection of Minors and revised Law on the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency took effect. Gao Xiaobing, the deputy minister of civil affairs, explained the opinion at a press conference. He listed 25 major tasks related to implementing the Law on the Protection of Minors, including expanding compulsory education to after-school services and developing an industry code of conduct to protect minors on the internet.

  • The SPP released a 2020 white paper on the prosecution of minors that reported a significant decline in juvenile arrests and prosecutions and increased use of the plea-for- leniency procedure in cases involving minors. The white paper also mentioned a rape case in which an intellectually disabled victim was awarded damages for emotional harm in a civil lawsuit collateral to the criminal proceedings. It was the first time a court supported a claim for emotional damages in such proceedings, and came after the SPC 2021 interpretation of the Criminal Procedure Law “left the door half open” to seeking emotional damages in civil proceedings collateral to criminal cases. (in Chinese)

  • China’s judicial system has long embraced digitalization and animation as a way of modernizing the judiciary. The Jamestown Foundation’s China Brief published a report about the development of digital and smart courts in China, drawing on the 2020 Report on the Informatization of Chinese Courts published by the Legal Studies Research Center of the state-affiliated Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (in Chinese, paywalled).

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