CO129-491 - Public Offices - 1925 — Page 134

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lu. A further suggestion, on which again immediate action might be practicable, is that in certain minor classes of caso such as breach of Chinese munisipal or police regulations purely Chinese courts might be allowed immediate- ly to assume jurisdiction over foreigners, and that the area of such jurisdiction might be gradually widened until it embraced the whole field. In considering any such suggestion it would of course be necessary to bear in mind the objections to allowing foreigners to become liable to detention in Chinese

prisons.

One

11. To sum up. Under this head the transfer of

jurisdiction to Chinese courte there are two methods by

which the powers, without endangering the interests of "heir

nationals, might conceivably co-operate with the Chinese to-

wards the gradual, abolition of jurisdictional privileges.

is the application of specially selected Chinese laws to

foreigners by their own authorities. The other is the applica-

tion of Chinese law to foreignors by Chinese and foreign judges

in special mixed tribunals. It will be for the Commission to

consider to what extent these methods are applicable, and in

what combinations at what successive stages.

12.

The complexity of the problem is increased by the

fact that no progressive application of these two methods,

whether simply or in combination, would be likely to be

acceptable to the powers, which would entail the transfer to

Chinese jurisdiction of foreign personal status cases before

criminal cases in which foreigners are involved had been so

transferred; or which would involve the transfer of such

criminal cases before civil cases in which foreigners are con-

cernod had been tranet erzed in each case with satisfactory

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results/

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