July 7-13
China
The Supreme People's Court (SPC) issued its first batch of typical cases illustrating the application of foreign laws by Chinese courts since the SPC issued a judicial interpretation on the Application of Laws to Foreign-Related Civil Relations (涉外民事关系法律适用法) in December 2023. The five new typical cases involve common types of civil and commercial disputes related to investments and contracts involving the application of laws from the US, the UK, Mexico, Mexico, Tajikistan, and Hong Kong.
Chinese police repatriated an American fugitive wanted by the US government on suspicion of sexual crimes against children. Chinese authorities handed the suspect over to US officials at a Shanghai airport. In June, the US sent back to China two fugitives suspected of serious criminal offenses.
Hong Kong
The Court of Appeal allowed Tam Tak-chi, a former radio presenter and vice chair of the now-disbanded People Power party, to raise three legal questions relating to his past sedition conviction in an appeal to the Court of Final Appeal. Tam is serving 40 months in prison after being convicted on 11 charges in 2022 in connection with his role in public assemblies and processions in 2020. In March, the Court of Appeal upheld his convictions, holding that prosecutors did not need to prove he intended to incite violence or that his speech or actions led to violence. Tam faces additional prison time since pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit subversion for his role in the 2020 unauthorized primary elections.
The Legislative Council’s transportation panel discussed a government proposal to regulate online car-hailing platforms through licensing and raise the penalties on illegal ride services. Legislators urged the government to increase the number of permits for car-hailing services to foster competition. It is currently illegal for drivers of private vehicles to charge for rides without a permit.
Japan
The Hiroshima High Court approved the legal gender change of a transgender woman even though she did not undergo gender confirmation surgery as currently required by law. The court said that forcing all persons to undergo gender confirmation surgery may violate the Japanese Constitution, and that in this case, the claimant became sufficiently feminine through hormone treatment to make surgery unnecessary. The woman in the case won a landmark Supreme Court decision in October 2023 that the law requiring sterilization to obtain a legal gender change was unconstitutional, but that court sent her back to the High Court for a decision on whether gender-affirming surgery could be avoided.
A former female soldier who was sexually assaulted while serving in the military reached a civil settlement with three former soldiers who were convicted of sexual assault in December. The settlement includes an apology and monetary payment, the size of which was not disclosed. The claimant, Rina Gonoi, previously reached a civil settlement with a fourth attacker, and continues to seek compensation from the government and other individuals. Gonoi said she endured physical and verbal sexual abuse on a daily basis for more than a year while serving in the military, which she left in 2022.
In its first ruling in a case involving the Unification Church’s controversial methods of soliciting donations, the Supreme Court ruled that a document in which an elderly church follower promised not to sue for the return of donations was invalid. The Tokyo High Court had dismissed the ¥65 million (US$411,466) damages lawsuit filed by the church follower and her daughter because of the document. The Supreme Court sent the case back to the High Court to determine if the church’s solicitation methods were legal.
Koreas
The South Korea Supreme Court confirmed the exoneration of an 82-year-old man who was convicted in 1969 of spying for North Korea and spent seven years in prison. The wrongfully convicted man, identified only as Mr. Kim, was exonerated in February by the Seoul High Court but the prosecution appealed to the Supreme Court. The courts agreed that Kim’s confession in 1969 was forced by torture.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government hosted the first Seoul Forum on North Korean Human Rights 2024 to highlight human rights violations in North Korea and encourage cooperation among UN member states - include China and Russia - to improve the situation. The forum also sought to explore avenues to enhance the resettlement of North Korean defectors in South Korean society.
The Seoul High Court turned down an application from 69 professors and students at Myongji University to block the school from closing its program teaching the strategy board game known as “go.” Myongji, the only university in the country to teach go, said it would stop enrolling go students from 2025 due to financial struggles and a decline in the game’s popularity.
Taiwan
The Constitutional Court announced that it will delay its ruling on the constitutionality of capital punishment. The court heard oral arguments on April 23 and was expected to issue its decision on July 23. Under the Constitutional Court Procedure Act, the court must issue a decision before September 22. The challenge was brought by death row inmates. Relatedly, the opposition Kuomintang or Nationalist Party has proposed imposing a requirement that Constitutional Court decisions be approved by a majority of all 15 judges, which could curb judicial activism.
The Kuomintang (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) pushed forward amendments to the Public Officials Election and Recall Act that would make it harder to recall a public official. They want to increase the number of signatures needed to initiate a recall, require persons signing a recall petition to present their national IDs, and require the total number of recall votes to outnumber the votes the official originally received when elected to office.
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) announced a nationwide crackdown on organized crime and corruption following the murder of Lin Shih-chien (林士傑), chairman of the Tainan City Fishermen’s Association. Lin was recently cleared by a court of charges of intimidating a local Tainan City councilor to change his vote in an election, but prosecutors had appealed. A gunman ambushed and shot him at close range in front of his home.
After twice releasing him on bail, the Taoyuan District Court ordered the detention of Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦), former head of the Straits Exchange Foundation, former vice premier, and former Taoyuan mayor, while he is investigated on corruption charges. Prosecutors are investigating a land zoning deal that took place while Cheng was mayor from 2014 to 2022. The Democratic Progressive Party’s Anti-corruption Committee said that Cheng’s party membership would be suspended for three years.