In the energy and mineral industry, criminal violations are frequent, damaging resource development and the environment, and threatening national economic security and social well-being. Illegal mining, resource theft and environmental pollution infringe on the dignity of the law and affect sustainable economic development and public health. At the same time, the criminal problems in the field of real estate construction projects are serious, affecting the quality of projects and public safety. In the current real estate recession, developers and executives may face criminal liability.
In this context, on July 24, 2024, the Dacheng Housing Construction and Energy Professional Committee, Dacheng Energy Natural Resources and Environment Industry Committee, Dacheng Criminal Professional Committee, Dacheng Real Estate Industry Committee, Dacheng Shanghai Office Housing Construction and Energy Professional Group, Dacheng Shanghai Office Engineering and Infrastructure Industry Group, Dacheng Shanghai Office Energy, Natural Resources and Environment Industry Group, Dacheng Shanghai Office Criminal Professional Group, and Dacheng Shanghai Office Real Estate Industry Group" The "Legal Compliance of the Energy and Mineral Housing Construction Industry from the Criminal Perspective" forum was successfully held, gathering lawyers and experts in the energy and mineral resources, criminal compliance, and real estate industries to discuss the use of legal means and project management strategies to prevent criminal risks in the energy and mineral and housing construction industries, discuss development opportunities, and promote the healthy and stable development of the industry through professional cross-cooperation.
Photo: Wang Shanshan, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Dentons China and Director of Dentons' Shanghai Office
Mr. Shanshan Wang, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Dentons China and Director of Dentons Shanghai Office, delivered an opening speech. Mr. Wang first expressed his sincere thanks and warm welcome to the corporate representatives, guests and fellow lawyers who participated in this event. In the current context of global economic integration and the deepening of the rule of law, Dentons has always been committed to bringing together industry elites who have accumulated rich practical experience in their respective fields to provide clients with professional, efficient and comprehensive legal solutions. Mr. Wang hopes that through this event, we will brainstorm and jointly explore new paths for the development of the industry, and contribute our professional strength to the criminal compliance of the energy, mining and real estate industries.
Photo/Zhai Jian, consultant of the Dacheng Criminal Special Committee
Lawyer Zhai Jian, consultant of Dacheng Criminal Committee, made an opening speech. Mr. Zhai thanked the guests for taking time out of their busy schedules to participate in the discussion of this event. As a lawyer who has been engaged in criminal defense for a long time, Mr. Zhai is well aware of the importance and necessity of corporate compliance in a society governed by the rule of law. Corporate compliance is not only a legal requirement, but also the cornerstone of the long-term and stable development of enterprises. In today's complex and volatile business environment, enterprises are faced with challenges and risks from all aspects, and compliance management is an important tool to help enterprises effectively deal with these challenges and risks, and enhance their social image and market competitiveness. Mr. Zhai hopes that through the sharing of best practices and experience in compliance management at this forum, the participants will jointly promote the sustainable development of enterprises on the track of the rule of law.
Photo/Yang Guisheng, leader of Dacheng Housing Construction and Energy Committee, and leader of Dacheng Energy's Natural Resources and Environment Committee
Lawyer Yang Guisheng, the leader of Dacheng Housing Construction and Energy Committee and the leader of Dacheng Energy's Natural Resources and Environment Committee, discussed the issue of mining-related crimes from the "two-dimensional perspective of professional and industry". Mr. Yang said that China's importance, as the world's largest consumer of mineral resources, is self-evident. Despite the fluctuations in investment in the mining market, the mining industry, as an important basic industry supporting the country's economic and social development, is still strong and is regarded as a "sunrise industry". As a senior lawyer in the mining field, Mr. Yang Guisheng has paid great attention to the revision of the Mineral Resources Law. The revision of this law is not only related to the regulation and development of the mining industry, but also directly affects the identification and handling of mining-related crimes. The revision of the Mineral Resources Law aims to improve the management system of mineral resources, protect the ecological environment and promote the sustainable development of the mining industry. Through in-depth research on the amendments to the Mineral Resources Law and his own practical experience, Mr. Yang has provided professional legal guidance to mining enterprises and investors.
Photo/Xu Ping, consultant of the Dacheng Criminal Committee
Lawyer Xu Ping, consultant of the Dacheng Criminal Committee, gave a speech on the topic of "Looking at the Argumentation Path of the Crime of Illegal Mining from a Case of Successful Defense on the Grounds of Lack of Awareness of the Possibility of Illegality". Mr. Xu takes a successful illegal mining case as a starting point to discuss the thinking paradigm of criminal defense lawyers, including the judgment of constitutive elements, illegal obstruction and liability. Lawyer Xu emphasized that an accurate grasp of the constituent elements is the premise of an effective defense, and the judgment of illegality and responsibility is also an important part of the defense process of criminal defense lawyers. In the case presented, although the alleged act met the constitutive elements of the crime of illegal mining, the evidence collected showed that the perpetrator could not have known that his act was illegal based on the objective circumstances presented to him, which had a deterrent of responsibility and therefore did not constitute a crime. This defense opinion was eventually adopted by the judicial organs. Mr. Xu concludes that the act of mining minerals without obtaining a mining license is very likely to constitute the crime of illegal mining once held responsible. However, through an accurate grasp of legal thinking, the formulation of a meticulous defense strategy and the collection of sufficient evidence, it is still possible for the lawyer to obtain an acquittal or mitigated punishment for the client, which requires the lawyer to always maintain a high degree of professionalism and keen insight in the defense process.
Photo/Liu Rongrong, co-leader of Dacheng Energy's Natural Resources and Environment Executive Committee, co-leader of Dacheng's Dispute Resolution Committee, and head of the dispute resolution professional group of Dentons' Shanghai office
Ms. Liu Rongrong, Co-Leader of Dentons' Energy Natural Resources and Environment Committee, Co-Leader of Dentons' Dispute Resolution Committee, and Head of Dentons' Shanghai Office Dispute Resolution Group, shared her views on the topic of "Preliminary Study on the Legal Risks of Hydrogen Energy". First of all, Mr. Liu sorted out the relevant laws and regulations of the hydrogen energy industry. The People's Republic of China Energy Law (Draft) clearly includes hydrogen energy in the energy category, providing a solid legal basis for the development of the hydrogen energy industry. The Medium and Long-term Plan for the Development of Hydrogen Energy Industry (2021-2035) compiled by the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration has determined the strategic positioning of hydrogen energy, and helped achieve the dual carbon goal by promoting the construction of hydrogen energy infrastructure and accelerating the improvement of hydrogen energy development policies and institutional guarantees. Then, Mr. Liu analyzed the strategies and regulations of major developed countries such as United States and Japan for the hydrogen energy industry, and explored the future development direction of hydrogen energy in mainland China from the perspective of comparative law. Finally, Mr. Liu focuses on the development of the hydrogen energy industry, especially the legal risks of the construction and operation of hydrogen refueling stations. Although hydrogen refueling stations have broad development prospects and enjoy certain policy support, there are compliance points worthy of attention at various stages such as project planning, land use approval, construction acceptance, business permit, and follow-up operation. Mr. Liu believes that from the technical level, a unified national technical standard and safety standard in the field of hydrogen energy should be issued as soon as possible. From the perspective of enterprises, project risk assessment and prevention and control should be strengthened, and safety management and supervision should be strengthened. With the continuous improvement of relevant laws and regulations and the continuous optimization of the policy environment, the hydrogen energy industry will usher in broader development prospects.
Photo/Wu Chenyao, Director of the Board of Directors of Dacheng China and Co-Leader of Dacheng Housing Construction and Energy Committee
Mr. Wu Chenyao, Director of the Board of Directors of Dentons China and Co-Leader of Dacheng Housing Construction and Energy Committee, gave a speech entitled "Perspective of Real Estate Construction Industry - Identification and Risk Diagnosis of 'Red Line' of Real Estate Enterprises". The real estate industry has experienced the stage of demographic dividend and financial dividend, and there have also been many hot events, which not only expose the risks of enterprises in fundraising, construction, sales, operation and other links, but also trigger the industry's deep reflection on risk control and compliance. Through the analysis of these hot events, Mr. Wu reveals the risk points that are easily ignored by real estate enterprises in the development process, including the legitimacy of the fundraising stage, the breakdown of the legal priority of construction funds, the regulatory risks of sales funds, the security assessment of data export and personal information protection risks in the operation stage, and the risks of policy changes. Mr. Wu pointed out that real estate enterprises should control a reasonable scale of liabilities according to their actual situation and market environment, avoid over-reliance on high-leverage operations, enhance their ability to resist risks, establish a correct business philosophy, do a good job in ESG construction, prevent moral hazard of executives and employees, and pursue steady and sustainable development.
Photo/Roundtable discussion (from left to right): Hu Jun, co-leader and director of Dacheng Criminal Committee, Li Yuejia, director of Dacheng Criminal Committee, Si Junyan, co-leader of Dacheng Housing Construction and Energy Committee, co-leader of Dacheng Energy's Natural Resources and Environment Committee, and head of Energy, Natural Resources and Environment Industry Group of Dacheng's Shanghai Office, Shi Ke, Secretary-General of the Securities Crime Research Center of Dacheng Criminal Committee, and Xu Yan, Deputy Secretary-General of Dacheng Energy's Natural Resources and Environment Committee
The first roundtable discussion was "Criminal and Energy Minerals", which was chaired by Mr. Si Junyan, co-leader of Dacheng Housing Construction and Energy Committee, co-leader of Dacheng Energy's Natural Resources and Environment Committee, and head of the Energy, Natural Resources and Environment Industry Group of Dacheng Shanghai Office. Ms. Xu Yan, Deputy Secretary-General of the Natural Resources and Environment Committee of Dentons, discussed the relationship between criminal and energy and minerals based on her own case review and practical experience, focusing on the key processes and practical points of criminal prosecution, criminal compliance and case management in the acquisition of enterprise projects, the characteristics and entry points of energy and mineral cases from the perspective of administrative department law, and the legal and regulatory system of China's dual carbon market. Promote sustainable economic development.
Photo/Roundtable discussion (from left to right): Liu Weixiang, Partner of Dentons, Sun Ying, Deputy Secretary-General of Dentons' Engineering and Infrastructure Committee, Zhao Qingyang, Director of Dentons' Criminal Committee, Yang Jun, Deputy Secretary-General of Dentons' Criminal Committee, Liu Jinpei, Co-Head of Dispute Resolution Group of Dentons' Shanghai Office, and Meng Tianshu, Director of Legal and Compliance of Fantasia Shanghai
The second roundtable discussion on the theme of "Criminal Law, Real Estate and Construction Projects" was moderated by Mr. Liu Weixiang, Partner of Dentons, and the dialogue guests were Ms. Sun Ying, Deputy Secretary-General of Dentons' Engineering and Infrastructure Committee, Ms. Zhao Qingyang, Director of Dentons' Criminal Committee, Mr. Yang Jun, Deputy Secretary-General of Dentons' Criminal Committee, Mr. Liu Jinpei, Co-Head of Dispute Resolution Group of Dentons Shanghai Office, and Meng Tianshu, Director of Legal and Compliance of Fantasia Shanghai. Starting from the practical problems faced by legal representatives in the real estate industry and dispute resolution, the paper conducts in-depth discussions on the litigation strategies and judgment enforcement of real estate cases, the regulatory policies of developers on pre-sale funds in various places, the criminal liability for misappropriation of funds at the sales port, and the criminal risks and compliance management in the performance of enterprise projects. The real estate and construction sectors are areas with a high incidence of criminal risks, and the legal relationships involved are complex and diverse. In order to reduce criminal risks, relevant enterprises and individuals should strictly abide by laws and regulations, strengthen internal compliance management, ensure project quality and capital safety, and maintain industry order and public interests.
Photo/Sun Qingnan, co-leader of Dacheng Housing Construction and Energy Committee, co-leader of Dacheng Energy's Natural Resources and Environment Committee, and head of Dacheng's Shanghai Office Housing Construction and Energy Professional Group
Mr. Sun Qingnan, co-leader of Dacheng Housing Construction and Energy Committee, co-leader of Dacheng Energy's Natural Resources and Environment Committee, and head of the Housing Construction and Energy Professional Group of Dacheng Shanghai Office, made a keynote summary of the event. Mr. Sun reviewed the core topics and discussion highlights of the event, emphasizing the professionalism and systematization of legal services. She pointed out that Dentons not only has a deep legal foundation in the fields of housing construction, energy and criminal law, but also has rich practical experience, which can provide clients with a full chain of legal services from risk prevention to dispute resolution. At the same time, Mr. Sun expressed his heartfelt thanks to all the guests and colleagues who participated in this event, and looked forward to working together with all of you in the future work to explore new paths for the development of the industry, and contribute Dacheng's professional strength to the criminal compliance of the energy, mining and real estate industries.
Photo/Chen Si, Deputy Secretary-General of Dacheng Housing Construction and Energy Committee
Photo/Zhu Haibin, co-head of the criminal professional group of Dentons Shanghai Office and executive deputy director of Dentons' Shanghai office
The event was presided over by Mr. Chen Si, Deputy Secretary-General of Dentons' Housing Construction and Energy Committee, and Mr. Zhu Haibin, Co-Head of the Criminal Practice Group of Dentons Shanghai Office and Executive Deputy Director of Dentons' Shanghai Office.
Picture/on-site photos (swipe left and right to view)
So far, the forum on "Legal Compliance in the Energy, Mineral and Housing Construction Industry from the Perspective of Criminal Law" has been successfully concluded. The forum conducted in-depth discussions on strengthening the rule of law supervision and compliance governance in the fields of energy, minerals and real estate construction projects, and attracted more than 5,000 people to actively interact online. In the future, Dentons will continue to provide strong legal support for enterprises in the energy, mineral and real estate industries, and through the joint efforts and continuous exploration of both parties, it will open up a compliance path to adapt to the development of the industry, and escort the steady progress of enterprises.