Jurisdiction

Looking into allegations that counterfeit electronics made in Shenzhen have infiltrated the Pentagon's supply chain, investigators for a US senate committee tried to conduct unsupervised interviews in Shenzhen but were not granted visas by Beijing. A Chinese FM spokesman explained that "conducting a judicial investigation inside any country is the exclusive right of the judicial organisation of that country", and that China was willing to launch judicial co-operation with other countries.

Jurisdiction

After a Chinese national allegedly murdered a taxi driver in Auckland and was arrested in China, the Chinese authorities prepared for his trial in China under Chinese law. The New Zealand foreign ministry spokesman said that China had given formal written confirmation that the accused would not face the death penalty.

Jurisdiction

It is well-known that doing business in East Asian countries such as China requires the building up of guanxi which inevitably involves bribery and corruption. The US Government is stepping up enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in Asia, and China is "by far the single most involved country in FCPA matters". A number of US companies have been penalised since 2002 for pay bribes, financing travels or giving gifts to Chinese government officials. With over 500 of the more than 800 Chinese nationals accused of embezzling more than 70 billion yuan who had fled overseas still at large, China is also strengthening cooperation with foreign law enforcement agencies and international watchdogs.

Jurisdiction

A Hong Kong company sued the Hong Kong police in respect of a search at a Hong Kong company director's office by Italian prosecutors investigating a money laundering case involving Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. The company complained that Hong Kong police officers present at the search "followed the instructions of the Italians".

Hong Kong
Jurisdiction
Extradition

As the High Court of Guangdong continued to delay its judgment in the appeal by several defendants for allegedly committing the execution-style murder of businessman Harry Lam Hon-lit in Central's Luk Yu Tea House in 2002, Hong Kong and mainland China continued to stall on the conclusion of an agreement for the transfer of fugitive offenders between the two jurisdictions. The issue of death penalty reportedly remains the main sticking point.