April 17-April 23
China
The Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) released data about nationwide prosecutorial work for the first quarter of 2022. The numbers suggested that the policy announced last year of “arresting fewer, prosecuting with caution, detaining with caution” (少捕慎诉慎押) is being implemented. The SPP reported a year-on-year drop in police applications to make formal arrests (逮捕), prosecutorial approval of such applications, and prosecutorial decisions to indict. Prosecutors declined to approve arrest in nearly 40% of cases brought by police and declined to prosecute in 20% of cases they evaluated during the quarter. The percentage of defendants held in pre-trial detention dropped to just under 40% from about 48% a year earlier. (in Chinese)
An intermediate court in Heilongjiang Province overturned the conviction of 13 defendants who had been found guilty of organized crime activities during a nationwide anti-crime campaign (in Chinese). The case was the first to be prosecuted in Heilongjiang’s Hehei City against an accused criminal gang under China’s Special Campaign to Crack Down on Organized Crime (扫黑除恶) launched in 2018. Eleven of the exonerees have applied for state compensation for their wrongful conviction and imprisonment.
The Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) released its thirty-sixth batch of guiding cases on how to exercise procuratorates’ supervision power in administrative proceedings. An SPP official explained the significance of the cases. (in Chinese)
The General Offices of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and the State Council issued an Opinion on Strengthening the Fight against Crimes of Wire Fraud. A State Council official held a press conference to brief reporters on the background, purpose, and major content of the document. (in Chinese)
The National People’s Congress Standing Committee has released drafts of the Sports Law, Black Soil Protection Law, and Law for the Protection of Women’s Rights and Interests for public comment. The deadline to submit comments is May 19, 2022.
Hong Kong
The Hong Kong government said it will introduce the Mainland Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters (Reciprocal Enforcement) Bill into the Legislative Council on May 4, 2022 in order to implement an agreement signed by the Hong Kong and mainland governments in 2019. The bill expressly includes judgments with respect to certain types of intellectual property disputes, making its scope wider than that of the Hague Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters - and wider than the mainland has with other jurisdictions.
Japan
Japan revised its current road traffic law to regulate next-generation vehicles including self-driving cars and electric scooters. The revisions include an updated licensing system, registration system, and safety requirements.
Koreas
North Korean judicial officials have ordered more lenient treatment of minors who violate the Law on Reactionary Thought and Culture. The law punishes “anti-socialist behavior” such as distributing illegal videos. Under the revised rules, ten 13-year-old middle school students who had been arrested for sharing South Korean music videos were freed from pre-trial detention.
South Korean Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo is proposing alternatives to a controversial bill submitted in the legislature by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea that would further reduce the investigative powers of prosecutors. The Democrats want to pass their bill before President-elect Yoon Suk-Yeol of the People Power Party takes office on May 10.
Taiwan
With the National Judges Act (國民法官法) due to take effect on January 1, 2023, local courts are recruiting about 120,000 eligible “lay judges” to participate in homicide cases. During the first implementation phase, a collegial bench composed of three professional judges and six lay judges will be required to preside over homicide cases. Citizens of Taiwan ages of 23 and older may serve as lay judges.
Lee Ming-che (李明哲), a Taiwanese activist who was arrested in mainland China and convicted of subversion of state power, was released and returned to Taiwan after five years of incarceration. Lee’s case received extensive publicity when he was arrested in 2017 because he worked for a non-profit organization and China had just introduced a law regulating the activities of foreign non-profits.