Lawyers' rights must be protected, experts say

Lawyers' behavior should be regulated and their rights protected as China progresses with judicial reforms put forward in 2013, members of the legal profession said on Thursday.

A total of 270,000 lawyers across the country play an important role in the process of justice and improving judicial credibility, according to the Supreme People's Court.

The top court required in a guideline it issued this year that all courts must respect attorneys and listen to their defense opinions carefully.

The guideline also stipulates that lawyers' rights, including making inquiries and debating a case in a hearing, must be fully protected, and courts cannot make discriminatory security checks on them.

Huang Rongnan, a senior member of the Shanghai Bar Association, said the ongoing legal reform is working to protect lawyers' rights and provide easier procedures for attorneys to file a lawsuit. Now, Shanghai courts have opened an online platform for filing a case.

"This means we can log onto a court website to seek materials about our case via a password the court gives us and then we can follow which stage of the process the case has reached at any time," Huang said.

Meanwhile, lawyers with cases in Shanghai's courts can be sent a text message if they call a judge responsible for their case but do not get a reply, he said.

"Judges are busy and often absent from their office when we call, which has not been good for communication between judges and attorneys in the past," he added.

"But thanks to the new call service, we can be informed within 72 hours via a message if we call a judge and don't get a reply."

Yu Weifeng, director of the association, said that better legal services for litigants and lawyers, such as those outlined in the guidelines, will help to improve judicial credibility.

In addition, a measure that courts can recruit judges from lawyers deserves praise, Yu said, as it widens and enriches the available sources of China's judges.

"A lawyer is a necessity in a case, whether it is criminal, administrative, civil or commercial. If we don't attach importance to the lawyer's role, the legal community will not be balanced," said Sheng Leiming, director of the All China Lawyers Association.

He compared the lawyer, prosecutor and judge to a triangle, saying it will keep stable and firm only when each role is improved to the same level.

Sheng suggested that similar legal reforms should be conducted in the legal profession.

For example, a person can represent a case one year after qualifying as a lawyer, but then works alongside more experienced judges and prosecutors with at least five yearson the job.

"Under this system, the legal communication may not be balanced because of the gap in experience between the professionals," he said.

To ensure quality and strengthen the legal community, a better way would be to set new rules about when a lawyer can independently deal with a case, he said.

Tian Wenchang, a lawyer from King and Capital Law Firm, also said the top court should design rules to regulate every legal professional in a hearing.

"Only in this way can a trial be more fair and the legal position of lawyers be protected," he said.

caoyin@chinadaily.com.cn