中华人民共和国律师法 THE LAW OF THE PEOPLES REPUBLIC OF CHINA ON LAWYERS

a legal adviser shall have the responsibility to give advice on legal questions to the client， draft and examine legal documents for it， represent it in litigation， mediation or arbitration， handle other legal affairs entrusted by the client and safeguard its lawful rights and interests.

　　Article 27 When acting as representatives in litigation and non litigious matters， lawyers shall have the responsibility to safeguard the lawful rights and interests of their clients within the scope of mandate.

　　Article 28 When acting as defenders in criminal cases， lawyers shall， on the basis of the facts and the law， advance materials and opinions proving the innocence of the criminal suspect or the defendant， the pettiness of his crime and the need for a mitigated punishment or exemption from criminal responsibility， thus safeguarding the lawful rights and interests of the criminal suspect or the defendant.

　　Article 29 The party giving the mandate may refuse to have his attorney at law continue to defend him or serve as his legal representative and may retain another lawyer as his defender or legal representative.

　　Without justifiable reasons， A lawyer having accepted a mandate shall not refuse to give defense or serve as representative， provided that the lawyer has right to refuse to serve as defenders or legal representatives if the entrusted matters are illegal， the party giving the mandate commits illegal acts by taking advantage of the legal assistance provided by lawyer， or the party giving the mandate hold back the facts.

　　Article 30 When participating in litigation， lawyers may， in accordance with the provisions of the procedure law， collect and consult materials relating to the current case， meet and correspond with persons in custody， attend to the court and participate in the proceedings and have other rights provided for by the procedure law.

　　The right to debate or defense of lawyers who act as agents ad litem or defenders in litigation shall be guaranteed according to law.

　　Article 31 With the consent of relevant units or persons， lawyers undertaking legal affairs may inquire matters of them.

　　Article 32

The personal rights of lawyers shall not be infringed when they carry out business.

　　Article 33 Lawyers shall keep confidential state secrets and trade secrets of their clients which they got to know in their business. They may not divulge matters of personal privacy of their clients.

　　Article 34 A lawyer may not serve as legal representatives for both parties to a case.

　　Article 35 When carrying out business， lawyers may not commit the following acts：

　　（1） Privately accept mandate and collect service fees or accept money or goods from clients；

　　（2） Take advantage of their business to seek interests under dispute of the parties or accept money or goods from the other party；

　　（3） Meet judges， public prosecutors or arbitrators in violation of relevant provisions；

　　（4） Give dinners， send gifts or offer bribes to judges， public prosecutors， arbitrators or other relevant persons， or instigate or induce their clients to resort to bribes；

　　（5） Give false evidence， hold back the facts or threaten or lure others by promise of gain to give false evidence， holdback the facts， or obstruct the other party lawfully obtaining evidence； or

　　（6） Disturb the court or arbitration orders and interfere with the normal process of litigation or arbitration.

　　Article 36 Within two years after leaving their posts from people's courts or people's procuratorates， lawyers who were judges or public procurators may not act as agents ad litem or defenders.

　　Chapter V Lawyers' Associations

　　Article 37 Lawyers' associations are social organizations with the status of a legal person. they are self-disciplinary organizations of lawyers.

　　A national lawyers' association by the name of All-China Lawyers' Association shall be established. Provinces， autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government shall have their local lawyers' associations. Districted cities may establish their local lawyers' associations if necessary.

　　Article 38 The Constitution of Lawyers' Associations shall be formulated by the national congress of members of lawyers' associations and submitted to the judicial administrative department of the State Council for filing.

　　Article 39 Lawyers must join the local lawyers' associations in the place of their residence. Lawyers who have joined local lawyers' associations are naturally members of All-China Lawyers' Association.

　　Members of lawyers' associations shall， in accordance with the Constitution of Lawyers' Associations， enjoy and perform the rights and duties provided for in the Constitution.

　　Article 40 Lawyers' associations shall have the following duties：

　　（1） Guarantee lawyers' carrying out business according to law and safeguard lawyers' legitimate rights and interests；

　　（2） Sum up and exchange lawyers' work experiences；

　　（3） Organize professional training for lawyers；

　　（4） Carry out education on and conduct inspection and supervision over lawyers' professional ethics and disciplines；

　　（5） Organize lawyers to develop foreign exchanges；

　　（6） Conduct mediation over disputes arising from lawyers' professional activities； and

　　（7） Other duties provided for by law.

　　Lawyers' associations may， in accordance with their Constitution， give their lawyers rewards or disciplinary sanctions.

　　Chapter VI Legal Aids

　　Article 41 Where any citizen needs legal assistance with regard to support， industrial injury， criminal action， claim for state indemnity and claim for paying pension according to law， and so on， he may， if he cannot afford to pay the service fee， obtain the legal aid in accordance with the state's provisions.

　　Article 42 Lawyers must， in accordance with the state's provisions， undertake the duties on legal aids， do their duties conscientiously and provide the reci

pient person with legal service.

　　Article 43 The concrete measures for legal aids shall be formulated by the judicial administrative department of the State Council and submitted to the State Council for approval.

　　Chapter VII Legal Responsibility

　　Article 44 If any lawyer commits any of the following acts， the judicial administrative department of the people's government of the province， autonomous region or municipality directly under the central government or districted city shall give him a warning， or a punishment of business suspension for a time period from three months to one year if the circumstances are serious， and confiscate his illegal earnings， if any：

　　（1） Serve as a practising lawyer with two or more law firms at the same time；

　　（2） Serve as legal representatives for both parties in a case；

　　（3） Canvass business by resorting to unjust tactics such as slandering other lawyers or paying introduction commission；

　　（4） Without justifiable reasons， refuse to give defense or serve as a representative after accepting the mandate；

　　（5） Without justifiable reasons， fail to appear at court for the proceedings or arbitration on time；

　　（6） Divulge trade secrets or matters of personal privacy of their clients；

　　（7） Privately accept mandate and collect fees from clients， ask for or accept money or goods from clients， take advantage of their business to seek interests under dispute of the parties， or accept money or goods from the other party；

　　（8） Meet judges， public prosecutors or arbitrators in violation of relevant provisions， or give dinners or send gifts to the judges， public prosecutors， arbitrators or other relevant persons；

　　（9） Obstruct the other party lawfully obtaining evidence；

　　（10） Disturb the court or arbitration orders and interfere with the normal process of the litigation or arbitration； and

　　（11） Other acts deserving to be punished.

　　Article 45 Lawyers committing any of the following acts shall be revoked of their lawyer's business licenses by the judicial administrative department of the people's government of province， autonomous region or municipality directly under the central government， or， if a crime is constituted， be investigated for criminal responsibility：

　　（1） Divulge the state's secrets；

　　（2） Offer bribes to judges， public prosecutors， arbitrators or other relevant persons， or instigate or induce their clients to resort to bribes； or

　　（3） Give false evidence， hold back important facts or threaten or lure others by promise of gain to give false evidence or hold back important facts.

　　Lawyers subjected to criminal punishment for intentional crimes shall be revoked of their lawyer's business licenses.

　　Article 46 If any person passes himself off as a lawyer and engages in legal service， the public security organ shall order him to halt the illegal business and confiscate his illegal earnings and may concurrently impose a fine of not exceeding 5，000 yuan and a detention for a period of not exceeding 15 days.

　　If any person， without a lawyer's business license， engages in the business of agents ad litem or defenders for the purpose of economic interests， the judicial administrative department of the county-level or higher local people's government in the place of the person's residence shall order him to halt the illegal business and confiscate his illegal earnings and may concurrently impose a fine from one to five times the illeg

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