The 1842 Treaty of Nanking not only ceded Hong Kong Island to Britain but also allowed Britain to establish consular courts in the new treaty ports in China. In his new book, Gunboat Justice, Doug Clark tells the story of extraterritoriality, focusing in particular on the British Supreme Court for China and Japan and the United States Court for China.
Foreign gunboats forced China, Japan and Korea to open to the outside world in the mid-19th century under treaties which required all three countries to exempt foreign nationals from local laws. This led to the establishment of British and American court systems which operated in China for over 100 years and in Japan for almost half a century. This system of Extraterritoriality has had a huge impact on how China and Japan view the world and impacts to this day on their mutual relationship.
Gunboat Justice, published in three volumes by Earnshaw Books, is a full history of the era of extraterritoriality and the British and American courts that administered Western justice over their nationals in the Far East. Gunboats were often called in to quell local opposition to the courts’ authority. This book presents a fascinating cast of characters both on and before the bench and the many challenging issues the courts faced including war, riots, rebellion, corruption, murder, infidelity, and even a failed hanging in a British jail in Shanghai.
The European Chamber and Jones Day is delighted to have Mr. Clark as he discuss and explores a turbulent century of the courts though the personal accounts from a cast of fascinating characters both on and before the bench, the courts and the cases, judges and lawyers, criminals and victims, and offers thoughts on how it changed the history of East Asia.
AGENDA
8:30 to 9:00 Registration
9:00 to 9:10 Welcome Remarks
9:10 to 9:55 Gunboat Justice by Douglas Clark, Barrister and Author
9:55 to 10:20 Q&A Session
10:20 to 10:30 Closing remarks
10.30 to 12.00 Optional walking tour of the Bund
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