ECONOMIC ISSUES DOMINATE JIANGSU COURT, PROCURATORATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 SHANGHAI 000090 SENSITIVE SIPDIS TREASURY FOR OASIA/INA/CUSHMAN AND WINSHIP DEPT FOR EAP/CM, INR/B, DRL, EAP/PD E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM ECON EFIN KJUS KPAO SENV SOCI CH SUBJECT: ECONOMIC ISSUES DOMINATE JIANGSU COURT, PROCURATORATE WORKLOAD (U) This cable is sensitive but unclassified and for official use only. Not for distribution outside of USG channels or via the internet. Summary -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Supporting government efforts to maintain economic growth figures prominently among the tasks facing the Jiangsu Provincial High Court and Procuratorate. Contract disputes make up the largest portion of new cases before the Jiangsu High Court, according to the court's president. Nevertheless, the global economic downturn had had a limited impact so far on the judicial workload in Jiangsu. Communist Party organs do not have a significant role in the selection of judges at the grassroots level, the official asserted. Procuratorate officials suggested the departure of migrant laborers from Jiangsu due to the economic downturn could lead to a lower crime rate in the province. They also stressed their efforts in combating corruption would center on preventing misuse of government stimulus funds although prosecutions that could jeopardize the survival of key enterprises will be handled "carefully." High Court and Procuratorate officials both appeared to welcome further contact and cooperation with the Consulate General. End summary. Civil Disputes Dominate High Court Workload -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Jiangsu's 2008 caseload in the provincial courts increased 25 percent over the previous year, according to Jiangsu High Court President Gong Pixiang. Meeting with Congenoffs February 12, Gong said contract disputes made up the bulk of the High Court's workload. Particularly difficult or complicated cases -- notably those arising from the current global economic downturn -- have been relatively few. (Note: Gong has a significant reputation as a legal scholar -- he served as president and party secretary of Nanjing Normal University before his appointment to the court in 2002 -- and spent six months as a visiting scholar at the University of Maryland. Jiangsu media also have reported Gong heads a provincial task force responsible for expediting bankruptcy and other economic cases through the judicial system in an attempt to bolster government efforts to deal with the fallout of the worsening economy. End note.) ¶3. (SBU) Separately, Jiangsu High Court Vice President Zhang Yi told Congenoff the provincial court system is working to ensure that the economic downturn does not result in any backsliding on environmental protection regulations. Lake Tai, near Wuxi, a major source for drinking water, has had blue algae issues attributed to industrial waste, agricultural and residential pollution, causing the Jiangsu Provincial Government to adopt a series of stricter regulatory measures. Zhang claimed the court would accept charges 24 hours per day against polluting companies at a special claims court in Wuxi. ¶4. (SBU) Gong said Jiangsu's courts have an active program of interaction with foreign judicial authorities and cited a recent visit by a scholar from Yale University as particularly useful. The main benefit for local jurists of international contacts lies in comparing concrete case-handling procedures. Gong appeared open to the idea of possible proposals for relevant speakers or other programs sponsored by Congen Shanghai in the future but indicated knowing the specifics of any program would be important. ¶5. (SBU) Asked about the professional qualification of judges in Jiangsu, Gong said over 92 percent have a bachelors degree or higher and added the responsibility of the High Court in the training of judges is quite burdensome. The High Court has the primary role in recruiting and assigning judges in the province. Communist Party Policy and Law Commissions (zhengfawei) do not have a major role in this process, Gong stressed. Procuratorate: Weak Economy Has Bad and Good Effects -------------- -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Jiangsu People's Procuratorate Deputy SHANGHAI 00000090 002 OF 003 Procurator-General Chen Guixi indicated to Congenoffs February 13 the 2008 caseload of the provincial Procuratorate was almost the same as that of the previous year. The number of corruption cases had not increased, while criminal cases increased only slightly and the figure for civil cases remained unchanged. ¶7. (SBU) Chen claimed the slowing economy has not affected the work of the Procuratorate significantly. The Procuratorate's Law and Policy Research Office Director Yin Ji said crime rates in some developed districts of Jiangsu like Suzhou and Wuxi had even declined recently because most criminals in those jurisdictions were migrants who had subsequently returned to their home provinces as the economy worsened. According to Yin, the economic slowdown has not affected Jiangsu to the same extent as Guangdong and Zhejiang -- two of China's other major export centers -- because Jiangsu's reliance on foreign-invested, export-oriented firms is smaller than in those other jurisdictions. Luo Xiangshun, the Director of the Procuratorate's General Office, agreed with Yin and added that Jiangsu faces a less serious challenge than Guangdong where the economic slowdown has sharply reduced the demand for labor. (Note: Jiangsu academics reported a more bleak assessment of the province's current economic situation in a later meeting (see septel). Procuratorate contacts' analysis is based on the impact of the economic downturn on legal cases. End note.) ¶8. (SBU) Luo also stressed that the Jiangsu Provincial People's Procuratorate had made solid preparations to help the government deal with the new economic situation. Notably, the Jiangsu Procuratorate will help to safeguard the Chinese Government's RMB 4 trillion in investment spending from corrupt officials and carefully address "internal contradictions" within enterprises so as to avoid legal proceedings that might force the firm into bankruptcy. (Comment: Luo's last cryptically worded phrase suggests the Procuratorate may be less rigorous in its prosecution of corruption cases involving companies in order to ensure their continued operation and ability to provide employment. End comment.) Chen said food and drug safety is a very important issue and it relates to people's health closely and prosecutors will try their best to tackle this problem and bring offenders in that area to justice. ¶9. (SBU) Chen said the Procuratorate keeps close, regular contact with the Provincial Audit Office and Supervision Department and shares information if evidence emerges indicating possible incidents of official corruption. Yin added that, on the Central Government level, a cooperation agreement exists among the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Audit Office, the Supervision Ministry, and the Communist Party's Central Discipline Inspection Commission. Chen also noted that in 2007 Jiangsu had held its own conference to coordinate the work of the Procuratorate with the Provincial Audit Office and Supervision Department. He stressed the Provincial Procuratorate focuses on issues related to Jiangsu only. The Supreme People's Protectorate's upcoming report to the annual session of the National People's Congress contains very little of interest to the provincial authorities, Chen observed. More important to their work is the internal Prosecutors General Conference held prior to the National People's Congress. Future Cooperation with Consulate -------------- ¶10. (SBU) With respect to ways in which Congen Shanghai might cooperate with the Jiangsu Procuratorate, Yin asked whether the Consulate could provide information on the U.S. mechanism for excluding illegal evidence and on the United States' criminal trial system. Jiangsu Procuratorate Foreign Affairs Office Director Miao Xintao also expressed interest in the possibility of finding a candidate from his agency to participate in the State Department's International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP). Comment -------------- ¶11. (SBU) Despite the caution of our interlocutors at both the Jiangsu High Court and the Procuratorate, they, however, appeared to welcome further contact and cooperation with the SHANGHAI 00000090 003 OF 003 Consulate General. Our assessment is that a USG-sponsored speaker, legal reference assistance from Public Affairs' Information Resource Center, or nomination of a suitable candidate for post's IVLP would receive a welcome audience at the Jiangsu High Court and its training institutions, albeit with due attention to the topic. The obvious mobilization of Jiangsu's judicial institutions to support the government's efforts to stimulate the economy would make a program discussing the economic impact of legal systems and procedures particularly attractive. CAMP