793.003/778
Memorandum by the Minister in China (Johnson)94
In the course of conversation today I asked Sir Miles Lampson, the British Minister, what he thought of introducing into the negotiations in regard to extraterritoriality a proposal that a foreign defendant be permitted to be accompanied by his lawyer in the course of trials before a procurator. I said that this question had occurred to me and I felt that it was very desirable that some such provision be introduced into the treaty, although I was not certain that we could obtain it in view of the fact that it would be quite contrary to Chinese law.
Sir Miles agreed that such a provision would be very useful. He said he had found that our new draft provided for some supervision over the activities of the procurator by the legal counselors which he thought very good and if we could obtain the right for a foreign defendant to have the advice of his lawyer during the procurator’s investigation of the case it would be an additional safeguard of great value.
- Copy transmitted to the Department by the Minister in his despatch No. 1162, September 3; received September 28.↩