Research On China’s Request For Criminal Judicial Assistance From New Zealand

In recent years,New Zealand has become a major destination for fugitives from China,especially corrupt ones.In 2015,11 of the "100 wanted criminal with red notice" released by the "Sky Net" operation fled to New Zealand or used New Zealand as a transit point.In order to prevent criminals from fleeing to New Zealand,to chase back existing criminals who have fled to New Zealand as soon as possible,and to recover the Assets of crime involved in the case,it is necessary to conduct an in-depth study on China’s request for criminal judicial assistance to New Zealand.Using the methods of literature research,comparative research and empirical research,this thesis explores the existing problems in China’s request for criminal judicial assistance from New Zealand and puts forward suggestions for improvement.In addition to the introduction and conclusion,the thesis is divided into five parts,a total of 34,000 words.The first part is the basis of China’s request for criminal judicial assistance from New Zealand.The basis for China’s request for criminal judicial assistance from New Zealand includes the Beijing Declaration on anti-Corruption,the G20High-level Principles on Pursuing Fugitives and Asset Recovery and other advocacy macro-guiding documents,as well as the international conventions that China and New Zealand have acceded to,the China-New Zealand Treaty on Criminal judicial Assistance,China’s domestic law and New Zealand’s domestic law.Although China and New Zealand have not yet signed a bilateral extradition treaty,international conventions such as the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the United Nations Convention against Corruption provide legal basis for China and New Zealand to carry out extradition cooperation.The second part is the specific procedural provisions of China’s request for criminal judicial assistance from New Zealand.It includes requests for extradition,service of documents and investigation and collection of evidence,requests for arranging witnesses to testify or assist in investigation,requests for sealing,detaining and freezing the property involved,requests for confiscation and return of illegal gains and other property involved.Although New Zealand’s extradition law actually abandons the preemptive treaty doctrine,China’s extradition request will face the "double review" of New Zealand’s domestic administrative review and judicial review,and there are many obstacles.In matters other than extradition,special attention should be paid to the instrument and the format and content of the request should be strictly consistent with the legal provisions and New Zealand practice.The requirement of confiscation and return of illegal gains and other property involved in the case lacks the content of sharing criminal assets,which affects the efficiency of asset recovery in China.Being familiar with the basis and specific provisions of China’s request for criminal judicial assistance from New Zealand is conducive to a comprehensive understanding of the institutional problems existing in China-New Zealand mutual assistance in criminal judicial cooperation.The third part is the practical analysis of China’s request for criminal judicial assistance from New Zealand.From the cases of criminals who took New Zealand as their flight destination or transit station in "Skynet Operation" and the extradition case of "Jing Jin Ye",it can be seen that the main way of China’s pursuit of criminals from New Zealand is to persuade them to return,and there is a lack of extradition means.Through the recovery of assets of crime to promote the return of criminals to surrender.International police cooperation is the main way for China to request criminal judicial assistance.Some progress has been made in tracking down fugitives and recovering stolen assets,but the situation remains grim.There are big differences between China and New Zealand in political and legal systems.The case of "Kim Jingye" highlights the differences between China and New Zealand in their views on human rights and the death penalty.Political factors and the rule of law have become important factors affecting the further deepening of criminal judicial cooperation between China and New Zealand.The fourth part is the existing problems of China’s request for criminal judicial assistance from New Zealand.First of all,the criminal judicial cooperation between China and New Zealand has not established a complete criminal judicial assistance system,and the lack of extradition means makes it impossible for China to pursue fugitives through extradition,the most formal legal means of pursuing fugitives.China and New Zealand lack mutual recognition of each other’s criminal judgments,which makes it impossible for China to recover stolen money directly from New Zealand through the forfeiture procedure of illegal gains,which affects the efficiency of China’s asset recovery.China and New Zealand lack the treaty of transfer of criminal proceedings,which makes it impossible for China to punish crimes by means of transfer of criminal proceedings without means of extradition to New Zealand.Secondly,the lack of criminal asset sharing mechanism between China and New Zealand leads to the low enthusiasm of New Zealand when China requests to recover criminal assets,which restricts the efficiency of China’s asset recovery.Finally,influenced by the ideological differences between China and western countries and the stereotype of the imperfect criminal rule of law system in China in the past,as well as the lack of experience of Chinese investigators in the pursuit of fugitives and criminal assets,New Zealand lacks trust in China in criminal judicial cooperation.The fifth part,China to New Zealand for criminal judicial assistance to improve the suggestions.Based on the previous four parts,this part puts forward some suggestions on the improvement of China’s request for criminal judicial assistance from New Zealand.First of all,in order to prevent fugitives from taking New Zealand as a paradise,the criminal judicial assistance system between China and New Zealand should be improved.The key is to promote the signing of extradition treaty between China and New Zealand by building and making good use of the sentencing commitment system with Chinese characteristics and strengthening diplomatic publicity and consultation.Bilateral treaties on mutual recognition and enforcement of each other’s criminal judgments and transfer of criminal proceedings should also be signed as soon as possible.Secondly,China should establish a criminal asset sharing mechanism with New Zealand,which will promote the efficiency of China’s asset recovery and facilitate the fugitive recovery by carrying out asset recovery.Finally,when requesting criminal judicial assistance from New Zealand,China should respect New Zealand’s national sovereignty,pursue fugitives and recover assets in accordance with laws and regulations,fully honor its diplomatic commitments,make full use of the established international cooperation platform,and demonstrate a sound appearance of the rule of law through qualified and professional law enforcement teams,so as to enhance mutual trust and deepen practical cooperation with New Zealand in criminal justice.