711.933/183
The Chinese Minister (C. C. Wu) to the
Assistant Secretary of State (Johnson)
Washington, December 3, 1929.
Dear Mr. Johnson: Herewith the memorandum you
wanted yesterday which I have been able to prepare with the present
available material.
Will you let me know when you will be ready for the next Conference?
I thank you for your promptness in sending me copy of the American
Government’s communication last evening.29
Yours very sincerely,
[Enclosure]
The Chinese Legation
to the Department of State
Memorandum
In November 1928, Mr. Chao-Chu Wu submitted a memorandum on the
Present Administration of Justice in China to the State
Department.30
The present memorandum is supplementary to it and brings it up to
date.
During the last twelve months or so, the following principal points
of progress may be noted.
- 1.
- Besides the revised Criminal Code promulgated on March 10,
1928, and effective on September 1, 1928, a Code of Criminal
Procedure
[Page 633]
has been
promulgated, which went into effect on September 1, 1928. These
two codes, as far as their technique is concerned, compare
favorably with the best modern codes of the world, and their
workability has been sufficiently proved by more than one year
of judicial application. As a consequence, the administration of
criminal justice in China has been brought to a higher plane
than at any time since the establishment of the Republic.
- 2.
- Definite and remarkable progress has been made in the
difficult and important task of making the Civil Code.
- (A)
- A portion, the most important portion of the Civil
Code, was promulgated on May 23, 1929, and came into
force on October 10, 1929. This is Book I of the Code,
containing the General Provisions and consisting of 7
chapters and 152 articles.
- (B)
- The Legislative Principles for the portion or Book of
the Code dealing with Obligations have been determined.
Its completion and promulgation may be expected in the
very near future.
- (C)
- It has been decided that there will be no separate
Commercial Code, but that the Civil Code will comprise
the Commercial Code as well, while separate laws will be
devoted to such subjects as Companies, Negotiable
Instruments, Insurance, etc. This decision has been
dictated by the example of Anglo-Saxon countries and by
the trend of modern thought.
- 3.
- A new Law of Nationality was promulgated on February 5,
1929.
- 4.
- Before a new law is framed or an old Law amended, the
legislators have been adopting the practice of determining
certain guiding principles in advance. When such “Legislative
Principles”, as they are called, have been laid down, subsequent
effort is naturally much facilitated and the work is soon
completed. Legislative Principles have been determined and
announced inter alia for the following
pieces of legislation of interest to aliens:
- (A)
- Book of Obligations of the Civil Code, mentioned
above.
- (B)
- Land Law.
- (C)
- Factory Law.
- 5.
- A general plan for establishing new courts and increasing the
number of judges and procurators in the existing courts has been
worked. For instance, the Supreme Court had originally two
Divisions for civil cases and two Divisions for criminal cases.
Recently two Divisions for civil cases and one Division for
criminal cases were added and the number of judges and
procurators were increased accordingly. More district courts and
high courts are being established in accordance with a fixed
scheme. Judicial power is being taken from the local magistrates
and placed in the hands of those specially trained for
performing judicial duties.
