The judge must carefully listen to the lawyer’s arguments during the trial proceedings. “Guarantee the completeness of lawyers’ statements.” The “Several Provisions on Fully Safeguarding Lawyers’ Practice Rights and Jointly Upholding Judicial Justice,” recently issued by the No. 4 Intermediate People’s Court of Beijing, clearly stipulates that lawyers enjoy rights such as access to case files, the right to express their opinions, and the right to conduct investigations and gather evidence when performing their duties in accordance with the law at the court.

     The reform of the legal profession system is an important component of the reform of the judicial system. The Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee decided to set forth objectives and tasks for deepening the reform of the legal profession system from four aspects, including improving the mechanism for safeguarding lawyers’ rights and practice. The Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee decided to integrate legal services and lawyers’ work into the overall strategy for fully advancing the rule of law. It also made important arrangements for strengthening the building of the lawyers’ team. These “two decisions” have charted the course for deepening reform of the lawyers’ system.

August 17 On [date], a responsible official from the Guidance Department for Lawyers’ Notarization Work of the Ministry of Justice, when interviewed by a reporter from the Legal Daily, said that over the past two-plus years, judicial administrative authorities at all levels, together with other political and legal organs, have worked closely in coordination to earnestly implement the central government’s reform directives and requirements. Drawing on beneficial practices from overseas in lawyers’ management, they have continuously reformed and improved the lawyers’ system, boosting the vitality of the legal profession and achieving significant progress. Currently, opinions on further deepening lawyers’ reform are being solicited for additional feedback.

     Guarantee professional rights and improve the redress mechanism.

     The “three longstanding difficulties”—difficulty in meeting with lawyers, difficulty in reviewing case files, and difficulty in conducting investigations and gathering evidence—have long been persistent challenges in criminal defense. It has hindered the progress of criminal proceedings and undermined judicial fairness. In the process of advancing reform of the lawyer system, calls to safeguard lawyers’ rights to practice and address the “three longstanding difficulties” have been incessant.

     Regarding the issues existing in the protection of lawyers’ practice rights, The Ministry of Justice and the All China Lawyers Association actively participate in and organize lawyers to take part in the revision of laws such as the Criminal Procedure Law and the Civil Procedure Law, thereby promoting the improvement of systems related to criminal defense and civil representation in these laws, and strengthening mechanisms for safeguarding lawyers’ professional rights and their enforcement.

January 2013 The new Criminal Procedure Law, effective from the 1st of the month, stipulates that, except for three categories of cases—including crimes endangering national security—lawyers seeking to meet with detained criminal suspects during the investigation phase must obtain permission from the investigative authority. In all other cases, however, lawyers can meet with their clients simply by presenting their lawyer’s practice certificate and the “three credentials.” Since then, the issue of difficulties in lawyers’ access to clients has been largely resolved.

     To thoroughly address the “Three Difficulties” issue, Moreover, addressing the “new three difficulties”—the challenges lawyers face in asking questions, presenting evidence, and making arguments—cannot be achieved without the concerted cooperation and joint efforts of political and legal authorities. Since the Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee, central political and legal organs have frequently issued statements to safeguard lawyers’ rights and interests in practice: The Supreme People’s Court’s “Fourth Five-Year Reform Outline” stipulates the implementation of lawyers’ procedural rights—including the right to ask questions, present evidence, and make arguments—in court trials; the Supreme People’s Procuratorate has specifically issued a document demanding solutions to the “old three difficulties” faced by lawyers; and the Ministry of Public Security’s Framework Opinions on Comprehensively Deepening Public Security Reform propose perfecting the working mechanism for soliciting the opinions of defense lawyers during the investigation stage.

     The All China Lawyers Association is strengthening communication and coordination with public security, prosecution, and judicial authorities. While promoting the implementation of lawyers’ rights granted by law, we have also formulated guidelines aimed at further strengthening and improving efforts to safeguard lawyers’ legitimate rights and interests. We have preliminarily established a “three-tier structure with comprehensive rights protection” working mechanism within the Bar Associations, ensuring that lawyers have clear channels to report any improper infringement on their professional rights and receive timely resolution.

     Meanwhile, Judicial administrative departments across various regions are actively exploring ways to safeguard lawyers’ rights in the practice of law. The Zhejiang Provincial Department of Justice, in collaboration with public security, procuratorial, and judicial authorities, has jointly formulated regulations to fully protect lawyers’ rights during criminal proceedings. Jiangsu Province has pioneered nationwide a system under which, when a lawyer is subjected to arrest or other coercive measures, the case must first be submitted to the provincial procuratorate for review and approval, and the judicial administrative authority must be notified accordingly.

     The head of the Guidance Department for Lawyer Notarization at the Ministry of Justice told reporters, Currently, the Ministry of Justice is working with the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of State Security to draft the "Regulations on Safeguarding Lawyers' Practice Rights in Accordance with the Law." These regulations will incorporate the provisions issued in recent years by central political and legal authorities regarding the protection of lawyers' practice rights and will further refine the mechanisms for providing redress for lawyers' rights.

     Standardize professional practice and discipline violations of laws and regulations.

     The official admitted frankly, Currently, the legal profession as a whole is in good shape; however, there are still a small number of lawyers who are not fully committed to their work and fail to provide diligent service, thereby harming the legitimate rights and interests of their clients. Moreover, a few individual lawyers engage in improper interactions with judicial personnel, handling cases based on personal connections or favoritism. These issues have severely damaged the image of the legal profession and must be addressed through deepened reform.

     To improve and refine the disciplinary system for lawyers’ illegal and non-compliant conduct, To improve the supervision system for lawyers’ professional conduct, the All China Lawyers Association is studying new situations and emerging issues in lawyers’ practice and has begun revising the “Code of Professional Conduct for Lawyers” and the “Rules on Disciplinary Actions for Violations by Members of the Lawyers Association (Trial Implementation)” to clarify the boundaries of professional conduct. In May last year, the All China Lawyers Association issued, for the first time, industry rules—the “Administrative Measures for Integrity Information of Lawyers and Law Firms”—to govern the integrity management of lawyers and law firms, providing guidance to local bar associations in perfecting their systems for disclosing integrity information and establishing mechanisms for integrity oversight.

     Judicial administrative authorities across various regions, in accordance with the requirement of the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee to “improve the mechanism for safeguarding lawyers’ practice rights and the system for disciplining illegal and non-compliant practice,” We will simultaneously focus on safeguarding lawyers’ rights to practice and regulating their professional conduct, and actively explore ways to improve and refine the systems for protecting lawyers’ rights and punishing illegal or non-compliant practice.

June 2014 In Shanghai, the Municipal Justice Bureau has launched a credit management information system for legal services, using data-driven assessments to assign credit ratings to lawyers and law firms and publicly disclosing these ratings. In Jiangsu Province, the Provincial Department of Justice has established a good conduct review system and a performance evaluation system for part-time lawyers, implemented “red lists” and “black lists” for lawyers’ integrity in practice, and publicly released information on lawyers with serious breaches of trust.

     In recent years, The Guangdong Provincial Department of Justice and the judicial bureaus of various cities have jointly issued nearly 40 documents regulating lawyers’ professional conduct. The provincial bar association has released more than 50 practice guidelines. A total of 83 lawyers have been subject to administrative penalties, and 201 lawyers have received disciplinary actions by the industry; among them, 16 lawyers have had their lawyer’s practice certificates revoked.

     The head of the Guidance Department for Lawyer Notarization Work at the Ministry of Justice stated, Currently, the Ministry of Justice is studying revisions to the “Administrative Measures for Lawyers’ Practice.” These measures will address the prominent issues that have emerged in the legal profession in recent years by further clarifying the code of conduct that lawyers must follow and defining more clearly the boundaries of professional practice. They will also further standardize lawyers’ conduct during meetings with clients and participation in court proceedings, regulate, in accordance with the law, interactions between lawyers and judicial personnel, and guide lawyers at large to strictly comply with laws, regulations, and industry norms.

     The judge must carefully listen to the lawyer’s arguments during the trial proceedings. “Guarantee the completeness of lawyers’ statements.” The “Several Provisions on Fully Safeguarding Lawyers’ Practice Rights and Jointly Upholding Judicial Justice,” recently issued by the No. 4 Intermediate People’s Court of Beijing, clearly stipulates that lawyers enjoy rights such as access to case files, the right to express their opinions, and the right to conduct investigations and gather evidence when performing their duties in accordance with the law at the court.

     The reform of the legal profession system is an important component of the reform of the judicial system. The Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee decided to set forth objectives and tasks for deepening the reform of the legal profession system from four aspects, including improving the mechanism for safeguarding lawyers’ rights and practice. The Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee decided to integrate legal services and lawyers’ work into the overall strategy for fully advancing the rule of law. It also made important arrangements for strengthening the building of the lawyers’ team. These “two decisions” have charted the course for deepening reform of the lawyers’ system.

August 17 On [date], a responsible official from the Guidance Department for Lawyers’ Notarization Work of the Ministry of Justice, when interviewed by a reporter from the Legal Daily, said that over the past two-plus years, judicial administrative authorities at all levels, together with other political and legal organs, have worked closely in coordination to earnestly implement the central government’s reform directives and requirements. Drawing on beneficial practices from overseas in lawyers’ management, they have continuously reformed and improved the lawyers’ system, boosting the vitality of the legal profession and achieving significant progress. Currently, opinions on further deepening lawyers’ reform are being solicited for additional feedback.

     Guarantee professional rights and improve the redress mechanism.

     The “three longstanding difficulties”—difficulty in meeting with lawyers, difficulty in reviewing case files, and difficulty in conducting investigations and gathering evidence—have long been persistent challenges in criminal defense. It has hindered the progress of criminal proceedings and undermined judicial fairness. In the process of advancing reform of the lawyer system, calls to safeguard lawyers’ rights to practice and address the “three longstanding difficulties” have been incessant.

     Regarding the issues existing in the protection of lawyers’ practice rights, The Ministry of Justice and the All China Lawyers Association actively participate in and organize lawyers to take part in the revision of laws such as the Criminal Procedure Law and the Civil Procedure Law, thereby promoting the improvement of systems related to criminal defense and civil representation in these laws, and strengthening mechanisms for safeguarding lawyers’ professional rights and their enforcement.

January 2013 The new Criminal Procedure Law, effective from the 1st of the month, stipulates that, except for three categories of cases—including crimes endangering national security—lawyers seeking to meet with detained criminal suspects during the investigation phase must obtain permission from the investigative authority. In all other cases, however, lawyers can meet with their clients simply by presenting their lawyer’s practice certificate and the “three credentials.” Since then, the issue of difficulties in lawyers’ access to clients has been largely resolved.

     To thoroughly address the “Three Difficulties” issue, Moreover, addressing the “new three difficulties”—the challenges lawyers face in asking questions, presenting evidence, and making arguments—cannot be achieved without the concerted cooperation and joint efforts of political and legal authorities. Since the Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee, central political and legal organs have frequently issued statements to safeguard lawyers’ rights and interests in practice: The Supreme People’s Court’s “Fourth Five-Year Reform Outline” stipulates the implementation of lawyers’ procedural rights—including the right to ask questions, present evidence, and make arguments—in court trials; the Supreme People’s Procuratorate has specifically issued a document demanding solutions to the “old three difficulties” faced by lawyers; and the Ministry of Public Security’s Framework Opinions on Comprehensively Deepening Public Security Reform propose perfecting the working mechanism for soliciting the opinions of defense lawyers during the investigation stage.

     The All China Lawyers Association is strengthening communication and coordination with public security, prosecution, and judicial authorities. While promoting the implementation of lawyers’ rights granted by law, we have also formulated guidelines aimed at further strengthening and improving efforts to safeguard lawyers’ legitimate rights and interests. We have preliminarily established a “three-tier structure with comprehensive rights protection” working mechanism within the Bar Associations, ensuring that lawyers have clear channels to report any improper infringement on their professional rights and receive timely resolution.

     Meanwhile, Judicial administrative departments across various regions are actively exploring ways to safeguard lawyers’ rights in the practice of law. The Zhejiang Provincial Department of Justice, in collaboration with public security, procuratorial, and judicial authorities, has jointly formulated regulations to fully protect lawyers’ rights during criminal proceedings. Jiangsu Province has pioneered nationwide a system under which, when a lawyer is subjected to arrest or other coercive measures, the case must first be submitted to the provincial procuratorate for review and approval, and the judicial administrative authority must be notified accordingly.

     The head of the Guidance Department for Lawyer Notarization at the Ministry of Justice told reporters, Currently, the Ministry of Justice is working with the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of State Security to draft the "Regulations on Safeguarding Lawyers' Practice Rights in Accordance with the Law." These regulations will incorporate the provisions issued in recent years by central political and legal authorities regarding the protection of lawyers' practice rights and will further refine the mechanisms for providing redress for lawyers' rights.

     Standardize professional practice and discipline violations of laws and regulations.

     The official admitted frankly, Currently, the legal profession as a whole is in good shape; however, there are still a small number of lawyers who are not fully committed to their work and fail to provide diligent service, thereby harming the legitimate rights and interests of their clients. Moreover, a few individual lawyers engage in improper interactions with judicial personnel, handling cases based on personal connections or favoritism. These issues have severely damaged the image of the legal profession and must be addressed through deepened reform.

     To improve and refine the disciplinary system for lawyers’ illegal and non-compliant conduct, To improve the supervision system for lawyers’ professional conduct, the All China Lawyers Association is studying new situations and emerging issues in lawyers’ practice and has begun revising the “Code of Professional Conduct for Lawyers” and the “Rules on Disciplinary Actions for Violations by Members of the Lawyers Association (Trial Implementation)” to clarify the boundaries of professional conduct. In May last year, the All China Lawyers Association issued, for the first time, industry rules—the “Administrative Measures for Integrity Information of Lawyers and Law Firms”—to govern the integrity management of lawyers and law firms, providing guidance to local bar associations in perfecting their systems for disclosing integrity information and establishing mechanisms for integrity oversight.

     Judicial administrative authorities across various regions, in accordance with the requirement of the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee to “improve the mechanism for safeguarding lawyers’ practice rights and the system for disciplining illegal and non-compliant practice,” We will simultaneously focus on safeguarding lawyers’ rights to practice and regulating their professional conduct, and actively explore ways to improve and refine the systems for protecting lawyers’ rights and punishing illegal or non-compliant practice.

June 2014 In Shanghai, the Municipal Justice Bureau has launched a credit management information system for legal services, using data-driven assessments to assign credit ratings to lawyers and law firms and publicly disclosing these ratings. In Jiangsu Province, the Provincial Department of Justice has established a good conduct review system and a performance evaluation system for part-time lawyers, implemented “red lists” and “black lists” for lawyers’ integrity in practice, and publicly released information on lawyers with serious breaches of trust.

     In recent years, The Guangdong Provincial Department of Justice and the judicial bureaus of various cities have jointly issued nearly 40 documents regulating lawyers’ professional conduct. The provincial bar association has released more than 50 practice guidelines. A total of 83 lawyers have been subject to administrative penalties, and 201 lawyers have received disciplinary actions by the industry; among them, 16 lawyers have had their lawyer’s practice certificates revoked.

     The head of the Guidance Department for Lawyer Notarization Work at the Ministry of Justice stated, Currently, the Ministry of Justice is studying revisions to the “Administrative Measures for Lawyers’ Practice.” These measures will address the prominent issues that have emerged in the legal profession in recent years by further clarifying the code of conduct that lawyers must follow and defining more clearly the boundaries of professional practice. They will also further standardize lawyers’ conduct during meetings with clients and participation in court proceedings, regulate, in accordance with the law, interactions between lawyers and judicial personnel, and guide lawyers at large to strictly comply with laws, regulations, and industry norms.

How other countries and regions discipline lawyers

     The lawyer disciplinary system applies when lawyers violate the Code of Professional Conduct, professional ethics, or legal provisions. A system under which lawyers are held accountable for their professional or administrative responsibilities in accordance with the legal norms governing attorney practice—a key component of attorney management.

     How do some countries and regions with rapidly developing legal systems discipline lawyers who violate professional ethics?

     Germany: Two agencies are responsible.

     In Germany, There are two institutions responsible for disciplining lawyers who violate laws or professional ethics: one is the Bar Association. The Bar Association can only impose sanctions—specifically, a reprimand—for minor violations of professional ethics committed by lawyers. If a lawyer disagrees with the sanction imposed by the Bar Association, they may file an appeal with the Complaints Committee established by the Bar Association. If they remain dissatisfied with the Complaints Committee’s reconsideration decision, they may further bring a lawsuit to the court.

     Second, the courts. According to the German Federal Lawyers Act, Lawyer disciplinary tribunals shall be established at the local courts, state courts, and federal courts. The seat of the lawyer disciplinary tribunals shall be located at the bar association. The judge panel of the lawyer disciplinary tribunal at the local court consists of three practicing lawyers; the lawyer disciplinary tribunal at the state court comprises three practicing lawyers and two professional judges; and the lawyer disciplinary tribunal at the Federal Supreme Court is composed entirely of professional judges.

     The types of penalties imposed by the Lawyers’ Disciplinary Tribunal on lawyers are: Warning; serious warning; a fine of up to €250,000; prohibition from engaging in a particular profession (such as advocacy) for a period of 1 to 5 years; revocation of lawyer’s qualification (after a review conducted 7 to 8 years following the revocation, a further hearing will be held to determine whether the qualification should be revoked permanently).

     France: Disciplinary outcomes disclosed

     In France, The Bar Association is responsible for disciplining lawyers, and its disciplinary authority derives from the Lawyers Law. The main disciplinary measures include: warning, serious warning, direct suspension of practice, and revocation of lawyer’s qualification. Additional penalties include: prohibiting an individual from becoming a member of a particular Bar Association for up to 10 years, and publicly disclosing the results of the disciplinary action.

     After receiving a complaint, the Bar Association’s investigation committee, Meet with a lawyer to discuss the situation and determine whether to initiate a case. If a decision is made to proceed with the case, prepare the relevant documents and evidence and submit them to the Lawyers’ Disciplinary Committee. The review process will be handled by the Lawyers’ Disciplinary Committee, which consists of five lawyers, including a chairperson who is a former president of the Bar Association. During the review, the lawyer against whom the complaint was filed may present a defense and may also hire another lawyer to represent him/her. The review process is generally not open to the public, unless the accused lawyer requests that it be made public. If the disciplined lawyer disagrees with the disciplinary action, he/she may file an appeal with the local Court of Appeal.

     Given that the bar association, which combines both the authority to investigate lawyers’ violations and the power to impose disciplinary sanctions, has many drawbacks, France is planning to separate the powers of lawyers to investigate and impose sanctions for violations. The investigative authority will remain with the Bar Association, while the disciplinary power will be transferred to the courts, transforming the current industry-based disciplinary measures into judicial sanctions.

     United Kingdom: Different bar associations are responsible.

In 1974, the UK Solicitors Act stipulated that, Disciplinary proceedings against lawyers are conducted by the Lawyers’ Disciplinary Tribunal, an organization composed of lawyers and non-professional members appointed by the Registrar of the High Court. The Lawyers’ Disciplinary Tribunal hears cases in accordance with statutory procedures and issues disciplinary orders against lawyers who have violated the rules of professional conduct.

     Corresponding to the distinction between barristers and solicitors, In the UK, the Bar Association is also divided into the Bar Council and the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Consequently, disciplinary actions against lawyers are handled by different associations: the Bar Council is responsible for disciplining barristers who appear in court, while the Solicitors Regulation Authority has the authority to investigate and discipline solicitors for breaches of law and professional ethics.

     However, Under certain circumstances, disciplinary actions against solicitors may be imposed by the Solicitors’ Disciplinary Tribunal. If a practicing solicitor is subject to disciplinary action, they may file an appeal with the Lord Chancellor, who will then appoint a judge as an “inspector” to investigate the appeal at the solicitor’s respective law society. When a solicitor is suspended from practice, they may appeal to the Registrar of the High Court; for other types of disciplinary sanctions, they may appeal directly to the High Court. In principle, decisions made by the High Court can also be appealed to the Court of Appeal or the House of Lords. The Solicitors’ Regulatory Authority receives approximately 210 complaint applications each year.

     Hong Kong: Imposing dual penalties

     In accordance with the relevant provisions of Hong Kong law, There are two main circumstances under which disciplinary measures may be applied to Hong Kong lawyers: first, committing a criminal offense; and second, engaging in conduct that violates the professional ethics of lawyers.

     The principle of double punishment shall be applied to lawyers who have already committed intentional crimes. That is, both criminal penalties and disciplinary sanctions should be applied concurrently. In addition to bearing criminal liability, lawyers should also be subject to disciplinary measures and are not bound by the judicial principle of "non-bis in idem." If a lawyer violates the mandatory provisions of Hong Kong's "Practising Lawyers Ordinance," he or she may be found guilty of a crime and shall also be subject to disciplinary action.

     For example, A solicitor, barrister, or notary public who does not hold the requisite practicing qualification may not act, directly or indirectly, in the capacity of a solicitor, barrister, or notary public; otherwise, such conduct constitutes a criminal offense. During a period of imprisonment, a solicitor may not initiate or defend any legal proceedings in his capacity as a solicitor. Once a solicitor has been struck off the roll or had his practicing qualification temporarily suspended, he may not be employed by another lawyer to practice law. If such a solicitor deliberately conceals the above-mentioned facts when seeking employment from or being hired by other lawyers to perform work related to his profession, this also constitutes a criminal offense.

In 2013, Hong Kong processed a total of 834. There were a total of 506 complaints, of which 439 were submitted or referred by members of the public and government agencies, while the remaining 67 were filed by lawyers.