New treaties on judicial affairs OK'd

Agreements will aid with processing of cases, allow transfers of prisoners

China has expanded its international legal cooperation by approving new judicial treaties with two countries to jointly handle criminal affairs.

The two treaties - one with Barbados about judicial assistance on criminal cases and the other with Azerbaijan about transferring prisoners - were both passed on Tuesday at the closing ceremony of the bimonthly session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the top legislative body, after deliberations.

Under Chinese law, a treaty takes effect only after it is reviewed and adopted by the country's top legislators.

So far, China has signed 161 judicial treaties with 77 countries in various aspects, including extradition, judicial assistance and asset return and sharing. Of those, 131 have taken effect, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"The treaties offer legal support when China develops law enforcement cooperation overseas. They are also a legal basis for pursuing fugitives and recovering stolen assets around the world in our anti-corruption fight," the ministry said.

In another treaty adopted on Tuesday, China and Azerbaijan agreed to transfer inmates to fulfill their prison terms. Chinese citizens penalized in Azerbaijan can be moved to China to serve out their sentences, while people from Azerbaijan who receive criminal punishments in China can be transferred to their own country, under the treaty.

The transfers will take place only if inmates agree, and are designed to help them better correct mistakes and return to society after returning to a cultural environment and language with which they are familiar, the ministry said.

"In recent years, trade communications and travel between China and Azerbaijan have been increasing, and such exchanges have also been rising in legal aspects," said Fu Zhenghua, head of the ministry.

"The treaty will not only help the two countries develop a stable, regulated and long-term inmate transfer arrangement but will also improve relations between us."

China has signed bilateral treaties on inmate transfers with 15 countries, including Russia, Spain, Australia, South Korea and Thailand, the ministry said.

On Tuesday, the NPC Standing Committee also passed amendments to laws governing judges and prosecutors, tightening supervision over them, as well as giving them more responsibilities, such as keeping business secrets and personal information confidential when dealing with cases.

The legislature incorporated the judicial reforms forwarded by the central leadership in 2013 into the revisions at the same time to improve the quality and efficiency of case handling.