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A Legal Review and Reality Mapping of the Evolution of the Joint Court System in the Shanghai Concession-Comparative Reference of the Djibouti Base

Author(s)

Hengxu Liu

Affiliation(s)

School of Law, Xi’an Jiaotong University, No.28, Xianning West Road, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China

Abstract

This article focuses on the historical evolution of the Shanghai Concession Joint Court System from the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, explores its institutional characteristics and legal logic in the game of Chinese and foreign legal rights, and analyzes the similarities and differences and evolutionary trajectories of the two under the core proposition of "sovereignty transfer-judicial control" by comparing the judicial arrangements of China's overseas support base in Djibouti. The article first clarifies the legal distinction between extraterritoriality and consular jurisdiction, and reveals that the joint court is not only an important tool for the great powers to control the judiciary, but also reflects China's institutional attempt to maintain legal rights in a limited manner. Then, it systematically sorts out the historical path of institutional reform from its establishment in the late Qing Dynasty to the Beiyang and Nanjing periods, emphasizing the government's efforts to gradually regain judicial sovereignty. In analyzing the practice of the Municipal Council embedded in the judicial field through administrative mechanisms, it points out the gap between the name and reality of judicial sovereignty under its actual control. Finally, through the case of the Djibouti base, the sovereignty consultation and judicial arrangements in modern military bases are compared to demonstrate the warning and reference value of the modern joint court system for contemporary legal design. This article uses a historical comparative approach to outline the evolution of China's legal consciousness from passive response to active construction, highlighting the logic of sovereignty and the evolution of the legal order behind the institutional transformation.

Keywords

Joint Court; Extraterritoriality; judicial Sovereignty; Municipal Council; Djibouti Base

References

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