司法部关于执行《外国律师事务所驻华代表机构管理条例》的规定 Implementing the 《Administration of Representative Offices of Foreign

　　（1） （duplicates of） its Practising Licence for Representative Offices of Foreign Law Firms in China；

　　（2） practising certificates of the representatives of the proposed representative office； and

　　（3） certificates evidencing the premises of the representative office that are notarized， including certificate of ownership， and a premises lease agreement （for a term of at least one year）。

　　If a representative office fails to go through the registration for commencement of its business within the time limit specified in Paragraph One of this article， the practising licence of the representative office and the practising certificate（s） of its representative（s） shall automatically become void.

　　Article 16　No legal service may be provided by a representative office prior to its completion of registration for commencement of business.

　　Article 17　To go through the annual inspection registration， in addition to the materials as provided in Article 22 of the Regulations， the following notarized or certified materials issued by the lawyer administrative institution of the countries where the representatives obtained their practising qualifications shall also be provided：

　　（1） documents evidencing that the representatives have not been subject to any criminal punishment or other punishment resulting from any breach of professional ethics or practising disciplines； and

　　（2） photocopies of the valid documents in relation to insurance against risks of practising liability of the representative offices and the representatives thereof.

　　Article 18　After a representative office and its representative（s） pass an annual inspection， the relevant office （bureau） of justice of the province， autonomous region or municipality directly under the central government shall carry out the annual registration of the representative office and the representative（s） thereof and collect the registration fee.

　　PART THREE　CHANGE AND CANCELLATION OF REPRESENTATIVE OFFICES

　　Article 19　If any of the following circumstances happens to a foreign law firm that has established

a representative office in China， the representative office shall report the matter to the office （bureau） of justice of the province， autonomous region or municipality directly under the central government where the representative office is located for the record：

　　（1） change of name， address of headquarters and principal person in charge of the law firm； or

　　（2） merger or division of the law firm.

　　Article 20　If a representative office wants to change its Chinese and/or English name， the foreign law firm shall submit an application and other related documents signed by the person in charge of the law firm to the office （bureau） of justice of the province， autonomous region or municipality directly under the central government where the representative office is located. The office （bureau） of justice shall report its examination opinion to the Ministry of Justice within 15 days from its receipt of the submission. The Ministry of Justice shall complete the verification procedures within 15 days from its receipt of the examination opinion.

　　The representative office shall， on the strength of the verification notification issued by the Ministry of Justice， go through the relevant procedures for changes with the office （bureau） of justice of the province， autonomous region or municipality directly under the central government where the representative office is located.

　　Article 21　If a foreign law firm applies to cancel a representative office， its shall submit an application signed by the principal person in charge of the law firm to the office （bureau） of justice of the province， autonomous region or municipality directly under the central government where the office is located.

　　The office （bureau） of justice shall report its examination opinion to the Ministry of Justice within 30 days from its receipt of the submission. The Ministry of Justice shall complete the verification procedures within 30 days from its receipt of the examination opinion.

　　Article 22　The representative office shall proceed with its liquidation in accordance with the law from its receipt of the verification of cancellation from the Ministry of Justice. None of its assets may be transferred prior to the close of repayment of debts.

　　The practising licence and the duplicates thereof of a cancelled representative office and the practising certificate（s） of the representative（s） thereof shall be taken back， and the office （bureau） of justice of the province， autonomous region or municipality directly under the central government where the office is located shall publish an announcement on the cancellation.

　　Article 23　After a representative office is cancelled， the creditor（s） of the representative office may pursue the foreign law firm for unpaid claims.

　　Article 24　If a representative office is found in any of the circumstances provided in Item （1） and （3） of Paragraph One of Article 14 of the Regulations， it shall， within three months from dissolution or cancellation of the law firm， report to the office （bureau） of justice of the province， autonomous region or municipality directly under the central government where the office is located and the relevant office （bureau） of justice shall submit a report to the Ministry of Justice to cancel its practising licence and shall complete the cancellation procedures in accordance with these Provisions.

　　Article 25　If， under some special circumstances， a representative office wants to suspend its business temporarily， the law firm that established the office shall submit an application signed by the principal person in charge of the law firm to the office （bureau） of justice of the province， autonomous region or municipality directly under the central government where the office is located. If the application is approved， the representative office may announce its suspension of business.

　　The suspension per

iod of the representative office shall not exceed one year. If the period exceeds one year， it is deemed to be cancellation of business.

　　Article 26　If a representative office of a foreign law firm applies to move its office to another city in China， it shall apply to the office （bureau） of justice of the province， autonomous region or municipality directly under the central government where it intends to move. After being examined， the application shall be forwarded to the Ministry of Justice for approval.

　　The representative office shall， with the approval notice， complete the relevant procedures of cancellation and registration in accordance with relevant provisions.

　　PART FOUR　DISPATCH AND CHANGE OF REPRESENTATIVES

　　Article 27　If a representative office wants to dispatch or change its chief representative or other representative（s）， it shall comply with Item （2） of Article 7 of the Regulations.

　　For the purposes of these Provisions， “members of the bar associations in the countries where they are obtained their practising qualifications” shall refer to the members of statutory national or regional bar associations or where there is no bar association [in the country]， the persons registered with the bar administrative authorities of the country where they obtained their practising qualifications.

　　For the purposes of these Provisions， “the time of practising outside China” shall refer to the time when they were registered as lawyers in the statutory registration authorities for lawyers after obtaining practice permits in the countries where they obtained their practising qualifications （including the time during which they work in a separate tariff zone of the PRC）。 The time of practising outside China may be calculated cumulatively.

　　For the purposes of these Provisions， “the persons who share the same position” shall refer to the lawyers admitted to practise who manage the office， share the profits or assume the risks and who share the same rights and obligations as partners.

　　Article 28　The following materials shall be submitted if a representative office of a foreign law firm wants to dispatch or change its chief representative or other representatives：

　　（1） An application signed by the principal person in charge of the law firm. The following shall be included in the application letter：

　　1. particulars of the chief representative or representative to be dispatched or changed；

　　2. the position（s） to be filled and the term（s） of office（s）；

　　3. an undertaking of compliance with Item （2） of Article 7 of the Regulations；

　　4. an undertaking concerning the truthfulness， completeness， accuracy of all the information and materials provided and the consistency between the original version and the Chinese translation thereof；

　　5. an undertaking to comply with the laws， regulations and　rules of China upon approval of the application； and

　　6. an undertaking to maintain insurance against practising risks for the representative（s） to be dispatched upon approval of the application.

　　（2） all materials as required by Items （4） to （7） of Article 8 of the Regulations；

　　（3） photocopy（ies） of the document（s） evidencing the insurance against the practising risks of the representative（s） to be dispatched； and

　　（4） identity certificate（s） of the representative（s） to be dispatched.

　　The materials set out in Item （2） and （3） above shall be notarized and certified.

　　The above application materials shall be submitted together with the Chinese translations in t

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