Chinese authorities have asked lawyers to provide legal assistance to all suspects and defendants of criminal cases throughout the judicial process.
All criminal suspects and defendants are unconditionally eligible to legal assistance from a pool of lawyers designated to offer such services, according to a recent document jointly released by the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of State Security and the Ministry of Justice (MOJ).
The purpose of the new regulation is to guarantee the litigation rights of criminal suspects and defendants in an effort to promote judicial justice, said an MOJ spokesperson, adding that it is also a major task for the central government to deepen judicial system reforms.
The regulation rules that legal assistance agencies should select lawyers from the pool of candidates based on their political qualifications, ethical standards, and the duration of professional services.
Lists of lawyers providing legal assistance should be compiled and the assistance can be offered via phone or online for areas with a shortage of lawyers, according to the regulation.
It added that a mechanism could be established for governments at various levels to purchase legal assistance services from lawyers.
The justice and administrative departments, legal assistance agencies, and the lawyers' associations should supervise and manage the work of legal assistance lawyers, the regulation stated, noting that the lawyers' performance should be incorporated into their credit records.
It also ordered courts, public security departments, and detention centers to help facilitate legal assistance.
