香港、澳门特别行政区律师事务所驻内地代表机构管理办法 Administration of Mainland Representative Offices of Law Firms from Hong

司法部令第70号

（Promulgated by the Ministry of Justice on 13 March 2002 and effective as of 1 April 2002.）

颁布日期：20020313 　实施日期：20020401 　颁布单位：司法部

　　PART ONE　GENERAL PROVISIONS

　　Article 1　These Procedures are formulated in accordance with the Administration of Representative Offices of Foreign Law Firms in China Regulations in order to regulate the establishment and legal services of mainland Representative Offices （the Representative Office（s）） of law firms from Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions （Law Firm（s） from Hong Kong and/or Macao） in China.

　　Article 2　These Regulations are applicable to Representative Offices established by Law Firms from Hong Kong and Macao engaged in legal services.

　　Article 3　Representative Offices and their representatives engaged in the provision of legal services in accordance with these Procedures are protected by the laws of the State.

　　Article 4　In the course of providing legal services， Representative Offices and their representatives shall abide by the laws， regulations and rules of the State， and shall observe the professional ethics and practice discipline of lawyers， and shall not do harm to national security or the public interest of the State.

　　Article 5　Law Firms from Hong Kong and Macao shall bear the civil obligations for legal services provided by their Representative Offices and representatives in China.

　　PART TWO　ESTABLISHMENT， CHANGE AND CANCELLATION OF REPRESENTATIVE OFFICES

　　Article 6　Law Firms from Hong Kong and Macao shall be approved by the judicial administrative department of the State Council （Ministry of Justice） for setting up Representative Offices and for the dispatch of representatives in China.

　　No Law Firms from Hong Kong and Macao， other institutions or individuals may engage in the provision of legal services in China in the name of a consulting company or under other names.

　　Article 7　If a Law Firm from Hong Kong or Macao applies to establish a Representative Office and to dispatch any representative in China， it shall meet the following requirements：

　　1. the law firm has practised law in Hong Kong or Macao Special Administrative Region and has not been disciplined for any violation of professional ethics or practice disciplines；

　　2. the representatives of the Representative Office must be lawyers and members of the bar associations of Hong Kong or Macao Special Administrative Region， and have practised law outside China for not less than two years and must not have been penalized for criminal offences or for violations of professional ethics or practice disciplines. The chief representative must further have practised law outside China for not less than three years and shall also be a partner of the law firm or hold an equivalent position； and

　　3. there shall be an actual need for setting up a Representative Office to provide legal services in China.

　　Article 8　If a Law Firm from Hong Kong or Macao wants to establish a Representative Office in China， it shall submit the following documents to the judicial office （bureau） of the province， autonomous region or municipality directly under the central government where the proposed Representative Office is to be established：

　　1. an application letter signed by the person principally in charge of the law firm to set up the Representative Office and to dispatch representatives. The proposed Representative Office shall be named “XX Law Firm （Chinese name） XX （name of Chinese city） Representative Office”；

　　2. documents evidencing that the law firm has been lawfully established in its own Special Administrative Region；

　　3. a partnership agreement or Articles of Association of the law firm and a list of responsible persons and partners；

　　4. authorizations from the law firm to each of the p

roposed representatives of the Representative Office and the Confirmation Letter indicating that the proposed chief representative is a partner of， or holds an equivalent position in， the law firm；

　　5. documents evidencing the qualifications of the proposed representatives to practise law， and evidencing that the proposed chief representative has practised law outside China for not less than three years and that the other proposed representatives have practised law outside China for not less than two years；

　　6. documents from the bar association in the Special Administrative Region where the law firm is established confirming the membership of each of the proposed representatives； and

　　7. documents from the judicial administrative institution in the Special Administrative Region of the law firm confirming that the law firm and the proposed representative（s） have not been penalized for criminal offences or violations of professional ethics or practice disciplines.

　　The documents listed above shall be notarized by an entrusted notary in Hong Kong or a notary organization in Macao.

　　The law firm shall submit the documents in triplicate and bind them into book form separately. If the document is written in a foreign language， the Chinese translation shall be attached.

　　Article 9　The judicial office （bureau） of a province， autonomous region or municipality directly under the central government shall， within three months from the receipt of application documents， complete the review and hand over the documents to the Ministry of Justice， together with their review opinions. The Ministry of Justice shall make a decision within six months. Where an application is approved， a practice licence shall be issued to the Representative Office and practising certificates shall be issued to its representatives. Where an application is not approved， reasons shall be given in writing.

　　Article 10　A Representative Office and its representatives shall take its practice licence and practising certificates to undergo the registration procedures with the judicial office （bureau） of the province， autonomous region or municipality directly under the central government where the Representative Office is located. A Representative Office cannot provide the legal services set out in these Procedures before the registration formalities are completed. Registration of Representative Offices and their representatives shall be renewed every year.

　　Judicial offices （bureaux） of provinces， autonomous regions or municipalities directly under the central government shall， within two days from the receipt of the application for registration， complete the formalities of the registration.

　　Article 11　Representative Offices shall undergo the relevant formalities with respect to taxation， banking， foreign exchange， etc. in accordance with the relevant laws and administrative regulations.

　　Article 12　If a Representative Office of a Law Firm from Hong Kong or Macao wants to change the name of the office or reduce the number of representatives it shall， prior to making such change， submit an application letter signed by the principal person in charge and the other relevant documents to the judicial office （bureau） of the province， autonomous region or municipality directly under the central government， which shall be forwarded to the Ministry of Justice for approval. Once approved， the practising certificates of the persons who are no longer representatives of the office shall be withdrawn.

　　Where a Representative Office is merged， split or a new representative is appointed， it shall go through the approval procedure in accordance with the stipulations of these Procedures on the procedure to set up a Representative Office.

　　Article 13　Where a representative of a Representative Office is in any of the following circumstances， the Ministry of Justice shall revoke his p

ractice permit and withdraw his practising certificate； and the judicial office （bureau） of the province， autonomous region or municipality directly under the central government shall cancel his practising registration accordingly：

　　1. his practising qualification provided in Item （5） of Article 8 hereof has become invalid；

　　2. his representative status is cancelled by the Law Firm from Hong Kong or Macao； or

　　3. his practising certificate or practice licence of the Representative Office is suspended according to law.

　　Article 14　Where a Representative Office is in any of the following circumstances， the Ministry of Justice shall revoke its practice permit and withdraw its practising licence； and the relevant judicial office （bureau） of the province， autonomous region or municipality directly under the central government shall cancel its practising registration accordingly：

　　1. the Law Firm from Hong Kong or Macao that it belongs to is dissolved or its registration is cancelled；

　　2. the Law Firm from Hong Kong or Macao that it belongs to applies to cancel the Representative Office；

　　3. the law firm that it belongs to no longer meets the requirements set out in Article 7 of these Procedures； or

　　4. the practice licence of the law firm that it belongs to is cancelled according to law.

　　A Representative Office that falls within the above conditions shall enter into liquidation procedures according to law； and before the procedures are completed， its property shall not be transferred out of China.

　　PART THREE　SCOPE AND RULES OF BUSINESS

　　*Article 15： A Representative Office and its representatives can only engage in the following business activities， excluding Chinese legal affairs：

　　1. to provide

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