893.05/200: Telegram
The Chargé in China (Perkins) to the Secretary of State
1122. Following from Jacobs and Bucknell at Nanking, dated December 9, 3 p.m.:
“At a meeting this morning opened by C. T. Wang, but later presided over by Hsu Mo, the Chinese delegation proposed the following draft agreement for the establishment of a judicial system in the International Settlement in Shanghai: [Page 723]
- Article Number 1. From the date of the signing of the present agreement, all the former rules, agreements, exchanges of notes, et cetera, relating to the judicial system in the International Settlement at Shanghai shall be abolished.
- Article Number 2. The Chinese Government shall establish on the premises of the court now in existence in the International Settlement at Shanghai a court to be designated as the District Court for the Special District of Shanghai, which shall, in accordance with Chinese laws and rules of procedure, exercise jurisdiction over all civil and criminal cases as well as police offenses in the International Settlement at Shanghai. The organization of the aforesaid court and the procedure for appeal shall be governed by Chinese laws and regulations.
- Article Number 3. The former practice of consular deputies or any consular officials appearing in the court to watch the proceedings or sit jointly with the judge shall be abolished.
- Article Number 4. All criminal cases and cases involving police offenses arising in the International Settlement shall, within 24 hours after the arrest of the offender, be directly handed over in writing by the Municipal Council to the District Court for the Special District of Shanghai for adjudication.
- Article Number 5. All summonses, warrants and orders issued by the District Court for the Special District of Shanghai and [are?] valid after they have been signed by a judge or a procurator of the court, and shall be executed by the process servers or judicial police [of the?] court. Whenever necessary, the Municipal Council shall render all the assistance within its power.
- Article Number 6. All prisons and detention houses now situated in the International Settlement at Shanghai shall be taken over by the District Court for the Special District of Shanghai, which shall take chargé of them in accordance with Chinese laws and regulations.
- Article Number 7. The present agreement shall enter into force from the date of its signature.
At a subsequent meeting of the foreign delegates it was agreed that the Chinese proposal was an attack upon the integrity of the Settlement, and could not be considered in its present form. It was decided that at tomorrow’s meeting the following procedure would be [apparent omission] for a Chinese-controlled area, it is evidently unworkable for the International Settlement in Shanghai, and will be requested to modify their proposed draft so as to ensure the necessary safeguards for the orderly and peaceful administration of the Settlement.
2. In the event of a refusal, it will be proposed: (a) That we discuss a modification of the present agreement with some form of consular representation in the court; or (b) that we discuss the organization of a purely Chinese court in the Settlement in which foreign judicial personnel on the bench are employed by the Chinese Government.”
- Telegram in three sections.↩