Feb72017

Smuggled trash, coal targeted in customs crackdown

East Asia
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China’s customs authorities will launch a year-long smuggling crackdown prioritizing in imported garbage and natural products.

Industrial waste, electronic scrap and plastics will be in the cross hairs of the watchdogs, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) said on Tuesday.

Those convicted of smuggling could face a maximum penalty of the death sentence, according to China’s Criminal Law.

The counter-smuggling efforts will target gangs and well-organized operations acting illegally, GAC said.

Customs investigated 2,633 smuggling cases in 2016, up 17 percent year on year, according to the GAC.

In December 2016, Shanghai customs authorities seized 3.1 tonnes of pangolin scales in the biggest smuggling case of its kind to date.

The scales, worth over 10 million yuan (1.45 million U.S. dollars), were reportedly bought from Nigeria. The trade in pangolin is banned by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

Feb72017

News story: 20th International Chemical Weapons Demilitarisation Conference

HM Government
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The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) is hosting the two day event on 25 to 26 May 2017. Registration is now open.

The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) is hosting the 20th annual International Chemical Weapons Demilitarisation Conference. The two day event on 25 to 26 May 2017 is at the Park Plaza Hotel Victoria London along with an informal networking session at the hotel on the eve of the conference.

The International Chemical Weapons Demilitarisation (CWD) conference brings together the world’s largest gathering of professionals involved in the demilitarisation of chemical weapons. It provides the opportunity to showcase the global progress in chemical weapon destruction and enables delegates to develop their knowledge and understanding with a common goal of a safer, cleaner world. There will be representation from policy and decision makers across international organisations, UK government, the armed forces, industry, academia and research and development establishments worldwide.

The conference supports the global effort to eliminate chemical weapons and fosters co-operation through the exchange of information and ideas relating to the safe disposal.

Conference topics

The proposed topics for the conference are:

  • programme planning, technology selection, facility construction, operations, safe closure of CWD facilities and environmental remediation and health and safety
  • expedient destruction methods – how to reduce time and cost
  • disposal of chemical weapons precursors in commercial facilities
  • removal and destruction of chemical weapon precursors from Libya
  • exchange of best practice
  • chemical safety and security
  • waste management
  • explosive detonation technology
  • recovery of chemical weapons from seas and rivers/lakes
  • innovative technologies and services
  • laboratory and analytical techniques/instrumentation
  • analytical methods – environmental and biomedical

Register

To register please contact the CWD conference organiser. Registration closes at 11.59pm on Friday 12 May 2017. You do not have to submit an abstract to register for this event.

Submit an abstract

To submit an abstract to present your work at this year’s conference, please contact the CWD conference organiser. Abstracts should be submitted by 4.00pm Friday 31 March 2017.

Further information

For more information please contact the CWD conference organiser.

Read an article on last year’s conference.

Feb72017

Top court pledges non-interference in judges’ work

East Asia
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China’s top court promises to ensure judges properly exert their judicial power without interference.

The Supreme People’s Court on Tuesday published a document on improving the mechanism to protect judges and their associates in fulfilling their legal duties.

The measures stipulate that when handling cases, judges should not be subject to interference from other government organs, social organizations or individuals.

Judges have the right to refuse to follow any requests by any organization or individual that are without legal mandate or due process, the document said.

They are also entitled to refuse to comment on cases which are not in a judicial process or trials that they do not participate in, the document said.

Moreover, they are entitled to make complaints against nine types of action by governmental agencies or staff, including intervention in judicial process, obstruction of justice and restraint or suppression of the judges’ independent expression of opinion.

As cases of disturbance in courts and harassment of judges have increased, the document said all courts should have committees to protect judges’ safety, rights and interests.

Judges and their associates should also be provided with recording devices at their workplace.

The document pledged protection of personal information of judges and their families.

In January, Fu Mingsheng, who worked at a court of Luchuan County in Guangxi, was reportedly killed at his residence by suspect Long Jiancai, a defendant in a divorce case that Fu heard in 1994.