Lawyers urged to do more to help public
Print Edition
CHINESE lawyers are encouraged to help resolve public complaints voiced outside legal channels in order to “play a bigger role in maintaining social harmony and stability,” the Party’s top legal department said yesterday.
Attorneys’ participation is key to helping establish a legal and legitimate complaint system, the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the Communist Party of China Central Committee said in a statement.
Lawyers can play a positive role in dissolving disputes and safeguarding people’s rights, it said, adding that judicial authorities and industry associations should create conditions for attorneys to effectively deal with complaints.
In China, members of the public, especially those from underprivileged backgrounds, often complain to government bodies instead of filing lawsuits. Others file complaints if they feel they have been treated unfairly in a legal case.
Such grievances are known as “letters and visits,” and are handled by government bureaus at different levels. They often take a long time to resolve, with people required to lodge multiple complaints before seeing a result. This puts huge pressure on the families involved and is widely considered a waste of judicial resources.
The practice dates back to feudal times when, in absence of proper law enforcement, people would kneel before the emperor or an official to air their grievances.
The statement said lawyers’ associations should designate attorneys to provide legal assistance to those people who are unsatisfied with the results of judicial hearings.
“Lawyers should help them correctly understand judicial adjudicative documents, and protect their rights and interests in line with the law,” it said, adding that the services should be provided on a pro bono basis to anyone who needs them.
Lawyers should assess cases using their knowledge and experience, and channel public sentiment, so that complaints are handled in a “legal and fair way,” it said.
At the same time, the bureaus in charge of letters and visits should provide places for lawyers to meet clients and ensure their personal safety, it said.
The government also should offer support by inspecting legal documents, carefully considering lawyers’ suggestions and providing feedback, it said.
The statement said lawyers should abide by the law and follow professional ethics and work principles. They should not disclose information relating to the cases, and must not hype up “sensitive and complex” cases, it said.
They also should not “support, incite and organize” others to cause trouble, it said.
“Lawyers violating discipline will lose the qualification of complaints handling and be punished according to laws and regulations,” the statement said.
Nine lawyers from the Beijing Fengrui law firm were put under “coercive measures” earlier this year after being accused of disrupting the public order and seeking profits by illegally hiring protesters and swaying court decisions in the name of “defending justice and public interests.”
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