Archive for International Law
02.14.10
Posted in Crime and Society, International Law, The Legal System at 6:56 pm by admin
Seven months after being arrested Stern Hu, an Australian business man with Rio Tinto, one of Australia’s largest mining companies, has been officially charged with criminal offences. He was born in China but became an Australian citizen in 1994.
On July 5, 2009 along with three other Chinese colleagues of Rio Tinto he was detained ( in prison) by the Chinese government for suspected bribery and espionage. All four now have been charged with bribery and stealing commercial secrets. Chinese law provides for a maximum penalty of seven years’ jail and a fine for stealing commercial secrets, and more than five years’ jail for bribery.
Australian consular officials have been allowed to visit him once a month, meeting Hu for up to an hour, albeit in the presence of Chinese officials. Under Chinese law he cannot see his wife, children or family. Months had passed before he received any legal advice.
The case highlights the very different legal system that operates in China, which is a socialist, inquisitorial system. No system is perfect and there are strengths and weaknesses in both approaches.
In chapter 9 of Legal Studies for Queensland the procedure of going to trial in Queensland is set out. This is very similar to what occurs in other common law countries. However, the system in the People’s Republic of China, as in some other civil law and socialist systems, is quite different. Some of these are listed below.
§ A person does not have to be brought before the court and charged ‘as soon as is reasonably practicable’ which in Queensland is usually within a 24 hour period. As in the Hu case, the pre-trial period without charge can be lengthy.
§ There is no presumption that a person will be given bail whilst awaiting trial. It is rarely granted.
§ There is a legal duty on defendants to answer questions.
§ Legal counsel is not mandatory but usually will be provided.
§ There are no jury trials. A panel of three judges oversees both the trial and the prior investigation by police and prosecutors. The lengthy supervised pre-trial period is to weed out weak cases.
§ This results in a very high conviction rate – around 98% of criminal cases that come to trial end in a guilty verdict.
§ As there are no juries the rules of evidence are different from Australia and confessional evidence is very important.
§ A defendant has only one opportunity to appeal a conviction or sentence ie limited right of review by a higher tribunal.
§ The state procurators, victims and their lawyers are also given the same right of one appeal even if the panel of judges has acquitted the accused.
§ China has retained the death penalty for a range of criminal offences, including economic, political, and environmental crimes as well as drug and offences against the person. The People’s Supreme Court reviews all death penalty cases before execution is carried out.
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12.02.09
Posted in Environent, International Law at 3:05 pm by admin
This week is the 50th anniversary of the Antarctic Treaty which originally had 12 countries agree that Antarctica (land and sea) should only be used for peaceful purposes and science. Since 1959 a further 35 countries have signed the treaty. It is seen as a success for International law showing that international co-operation is always possible when the cause is important. However, not all countries of the world are signatories.
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12.01.09
Posted in Crime and Society, International Law, Uncategorized at 8:03 pm by admin
White Ribbon Day this year was on November 25th. It is the day which the United Nations has set aside to condemn violence against women. Homicide – the most heinous of offences – all too frequently occurs in family settings. This includes homicides that involve partners, former partners and family members, including women and children.
In Australia, the Australian Institute of Criminology released research undertaken of domestic related and other homicides to correspond with this date. It is sobering reading.
http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/current%20series/rpp/100-120/rpp104.aspx
For information on White Ribbon day see; http://www.whiteribbonday.org.au/
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11.26.09
Posted in Crime and Society, International Law, Law in a Changing Society, Uncategorized at 3:15 pm by admin
At various times, advocates for the return of capital punishment gain traction in public debate and in the media. However, a bill introduced on 19th November 2009 in the federal parliament will when enacted prohibit Australian states and territories from ever re-introducing the death penalty. Crimes Legislation Amendment (Torture Prohibition and Death Penalty Abolition) Bill 2009 (Cth).
Whilst the death penalty will never again be an option for Australian states, it continues to operate in many countries particularly in Asia, the Middle East, and USA. 90% of the world’s execution occur in Asia where there is popular support, in particular in China, Indonesia, and Singapore for its retention
See Legal Studies for Queensland Vol One 10.5 p230 and Legal Studies for Queensland Vol Two, Capital Punishment..
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08.17.09
Posted in International Law at 8:25 am by admin
With the release of the movie Balibo attention is now focused on the events that occurred in Balibo, East Timor in 1975, when five journalists working for Australian News outlets were shot dead. At the time, Indoensia claimed the journalists were shot in crossfire but this version of events has been discredited by an Australian coronial inquest held in 2007. From the evidence, including eyewitness testimony given at the inquest, the coroner concluded the men were deliberately, not accidentially shot, by Indonesian forces.
One question now raised is whether these killings of journalists who are classified as ‘unarmed non-combatants’ amounted to a war crime. As outlined in Legal Studies for Queensland Vol 2 Chapter 38 this is to be determined by applying principles of international law.
The issues are discussed by Caroline Overington in The Australian, August 17. See:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/business/story/0,28124,25937457-17044,00.html
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