Laws of The People's Republic of China - Legal Profession

Legal Profession

The Ministry of Justice of PRC governs the prison and Laogai, and it mainly focuses on regulation of the legal profession. Historically the legal profession has been insignificant in the PRC. In the late 1970s, there were no more than a couple of hundred practicing lawyers. Since the 1980s, as China’s leadership became cognizant of the importance of the legal system and legal profession to advance economic development, training for lawyers dramatically increased. From 1986 to 1992, the number of lawyers in the country more than doubled from 21,500 to 45,000, and by 2008 had reached 143,000.

The foundation was laid by the Provisional Law on Lawyering in the PRC in 1980. In its early stages, law offices were called "legal counseling services" (法律顾问处 fǎlǜ gùwèn chǔ) and lawyers were regarded as "state legal workers". In 1986, the Chinese National Lawyer's Association was established in Beijing, followed by similar organizations around the rest of China. In the same year, the Ministry of Justice administered a unified national qualification exam for lawyers. This exam was superseded by the State Judicial Exam (SJE) in 2002. Various structures have been experimented within the establishment of law offices.

In May 1996, the Lawyers Law was enacted by the NPC. It acknowledged the developmental needs of the legal profession. The definition of a lawyer was finally changed from "state legal worker" to "a professional who legally obtains a Lawyer's Certificate and who provides the society with legal services". The law sets forth qualifications for practicing law; outlines a lawyer's professional capacity, rights and duties; rules for pro bono.

At present, there are more than 11,000 law firms in China, staffed by more than 118,000 lawyers. The practice of law has also gradually progressed into new areas such as finance, real estate, and to a lesser extent, human rights. Overall however, the size of the Chinese legal profession is still too small to meet the demands of growth and modernization. Moreover, in sensitive cases, lawyers still cannot play important roles and defend clients in a free way. Some of them were even tried on accusation of perjury as punishment.

Since the PRC's entry into the World Trade Organization, there has been progressive opening up of the legal service sector. A number of foreign law firms have entered the market, mostly specializing in cross-border business transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and copyright law.

As of 2012 an oath pledging loyalty to the leading role of the Communist Party of China is required of new and re-licensed Chinese lawyers:

I swear to faithfully fulfill the sacred mission of legal workers in socialism with Chinese characteristics. I swear my loyalty to the motherland, to the people, to uphold the leadership of the Communist Party of China and the socialist system, and to protect the dignity of the Constitution and laws.