Borderland extraterritoriality: The Yunnan-Burma frontier meetings (1902–1949)

Abstract Britain exercised a distinctive form of extraterritorial jurisdiction around the Yunnan-Burma border before 1949. In 1902, Chinese and British officials established a joint trial system under the 1902 Manai Agreement. From then on, Chinese, British, and Burmese officials convened temporary frontier meetings each winter in border areas, including in Manai, Nawngma, and Sima. These meetings adjudicated disputes involving theft, injuries, and trans-frontier cultivation pursuant to tribal customary law. The frontier meetings normally issued four distinct types of judgments and awarded a uniform remedy in the form of damages. This system served the practical needs of border tribes by delivering swift justice to prevent blood feuds and maintain law and order. These meetings developed a case law for resolving borderland cases that diverged from the national laws of both China and Britain. This system was jointly administered by Chinese, British, and Burmese officials under ostensibly reciprocal terms, though Britain’s exercise of extraterritorial jurisdiction in China ultimately placed a heavier burden on the Chinese side. The joint trial system came to an end after Burma officially gained independence in 1948. British extraterritorial jurisdiction in China was not absolute but operated through distinct jurisdictional systems in the interior and in the borderlands.