Author
Prof Zhiyuan Guo
Organisation/Institution
China University of Political Science and Law (CUPL)
Country
CHINA
Panel
Criminal Law
Title
Jurisdiction for Cybercrimes: A Case Study of China
Abstract
Cybercrime represents one of the biggest security challenges of the twenty-first century for both developed and less developed countries. With the increasing occurrence of cybercrimes, China has enacted a series of legal documents regulating the procedural issues of cybercrime investigation, prosecution and trial. Among other things, jurisdictions of cybercrime have aroused great attention. This paper will discuss the legal regulation, practical problems and academic debates on jurisdictions of cybercrime in China. After providing a general picture of current legal regulation, the paper will focus on three issues, the principle of jurisdiction of cybercrime, solution to the conflicts of jurisdiction and amalgamated jurisdiction in cybercrime cases. The existing regulations have set a principle of minimum connection with territoriality for jurisdictions of cybercrime. However, due to the loose interpretation, any place that has connection with a cybercrime can exercise jurisdiction; multiple jurisdictions are commonplace in cybercrime cases, which easily lead to conflicts of jurisdiction. Where conflicts of jurisdiction occur, it’s resolved by designation by the higher agency rather than by consultation between the conflicting agencies. Designated jurisdiction is bureaucratic in its process; it lacks external supervision and remedy for the parties. In addition, some argued that investigative jurisdiction should not have determined adjudicative jurisdiction in cybercrime cases. All the abovementioned issues will be discussed in the paper. The author will also provide some preliminary solution to regulate the jurisdiction for cybercrimes.
Biography
Guo Zhiyuan is a Professor of Law at China University of Political Science and Law (CUPL) in Beijing, where she specializes in Criminal Procedure, Evidence, International Human Rights Law and Law and Society Studies. She is the Vice Dean of the College of Criminal Justice, CUPL, Adjunct Professor at Buffalo State College, US and Chinese University of Hong Kong, she is also a Non-resident Senior Research Fellow at US-Asia Law Institute, New York University School of Law. Prof. Guo was appointed as Guanghua Visiting Scholar at NYU School of Law from 2008-2009 and as Sohmen Visiting Scholar at Faculty of Law, Hong Kong University in 2011. She was appointed as a Fulbright Research Scholar and visited Stanford Law School for the 2015-2016 academic year. She was appointed as Academic Writing Fellow of Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center in February 2019. She was appointed as Asian Law Institute (ASLI) Visiting Fellow for spring, 2025. Prof. Guo has published extensively on academic journals in both Chinese and English languages. Her research interests include Exclusionary Rules of Evidence, Plea Bargaining, Lay Participation, Effective Counsel, Criminal Mental Health Law and Anti-Corruption Policies in China. Prof. Guo lectured across the world, including but not limited to New York University (U.S.), University of California at Davis (U.S.), University of Vienna (Austria), University of Zagreb (Croatia), University of Pompeu Fabra (Spain), G D Goenka University (India), FGV Direito SP (Brazil) and University of Bucharest (Romania).
