China agreed to develop judicial cooperation with Shanghai
Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states at supreme-court level in a
joint declaration signed on Friday.
The declaration, signed between China and five other SCO members
including Russia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and
Tajikistan, vows to further develop cooperation between the supreme
courts of member states on case trials, intermediation and verdict
implementation under the current international conventions.
A mechanism for regular meetings between the presidents of the
courts will be established and a department will be formed in each
supreme court to communicate specific issues.
The senior officials of the courts will conduct frequent
communications and visits. And judges will be selected to train in
the supreme courts of other member states.
The declaration also urges member states to consider a
convention on judicial cooperation.
It says that the cooperation will focus on cross-border crime
investigation, extradition, repatriation as well as freezing of
crime-related assets.
It pledges to consolidate earlier pacts including the 2001
Shanghai convention on fighting terrorism, separatism and
extremism, which first declared the organization's determination to
fight security threats in the region.
The joint declaration aims to bring sustainable peace and common
prosperity. It was signed on Friday by the supreme courts of the
member states before the closing of the first SCO Supreme Courts
Presidents Conference, which opened on Thursday.
"The conference marked a new development in the judicial
cooperation between member states," said Xiao Yang, president of China's Supreme
People's Court.
"And it is significant to the development of district
peace."
The Supreme Court of Russia Federation will hold the next SCO
Supreme Court Presidents Conference in Moscow.
(China Daily September 23, 2006)