first
In order to regulate the establishment of representative offices of foreign law firms in China and their legal service activities, these Regulations are formulated in accordance with the provisions of the Lawyers Law of People's Republic of China (PRC).
second
These Regulations shall apply to the establishment of representative offices of foreign law firms in China to engage in legal services.
essay
When engaging in legal service activities, representative offices and their representatives shall abide by the laws, regulations and rules of China, the professional ethics and practice discipline of lawyers in China, and shall not harm the national security and social interests of China.
Article 4
Representative offices and their representatives engaged in legal service activities in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations are protected by the laws of China.
Article 5
Foreign law firms shall bear civil liability for the legal service activities of their representative offices and their representatives in China.
Chapter II Establishment, Change and Cancellation of Representative Offices
Article 6
The establishment of representative offices and accredited representatives of foreign law firms in China shall be approved by the judicial administrative department of the State Council.
Foreign law firms, other foreign organizations or individuals may not engage in legal services in China in the name of consulting companies or other names.
Article 7
A foreign law firm applying to establish a representative office or send a representative in China shall meet the following conditions:
(1) The foreign law firm has legally practiced in its own country and has not been punished for violating lawyers' professional ethics and practice discipline;
(2) The representative of the representative office shall be a practicing lawyer and a member of the Bar Association in the country where he has obtained the qualification to practice, have been practicing outside China for more than 2 years, and have not been subjected to criminal punishment or have been punished for violating the professional ethics and practice discipline of lawyers; Among them, the chief representative has been practicing outside China for not less than 3 years and is a partner of the foreign law firm or a person with the same position;
(3) There is a practical need to set up a representative office in China to provide legal services.
Article 8
When applying for establishing a representative office in China, a foreign law firm shall submit the following documents to the judicial administrative department of the people's government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government where the proposed representative office is located:
(1) An application for establishing a representative office and sending representatives signed by the principal responsible person of the foreign law firm. The name of the representative office to be established is "Representative Office of XXX Law Firm (Chinese translation of law firm) in XXX (city name of China)";
(2) documents certifying the legal establishment of the foreign law firm in its home country;
(3) the partnership agreement or articles of association of the foreign law firm and the list of responsible persons and partners;
(4) the letter of authorization of the foreign law firm to the proposed representative of the representative office, and the confirmation that the proposed chief representative is a partner of the law firm or a person with the same position;
(5) The lawyer qualification of the proposed representative of the representative office and the certification documents that the proposed chief representative has been practicing abroad for not less than 3 years and other proposed representatives have been practicing abroad for not less than 2 years;
(6) A certificate issued by the Bar Association of the country where the foreign law firm is located that the proposed representative of the representative office is a member of the Bar Association of that country;
(7) A certificate issued by the lawyer management agency of the country where the foreign law firm is located that the law firm and its proposed representative have not been subjected to criminal punishment and have not been punished for violating lawyers' professional ethics and practice discipline.
The documents and materials listed in the preceding paragraph shall be notarized by the applicant's domestic notary office or notary office, certified by the authorities authorized by diplomatic authorities or diplomatic authorities, and certified by the Chinese embassy (consulate) in that country.
Documents and materials submitted by foreign law firms shall be in triplicate, and foreign materials shall be accompanied by Chinese translations.
Article 9
The judicial administrative departments of the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall complete the examination within 3 months from the date of receiving the application documents and materials, and submit the examination opinions together with the documents and materials to the judicial administrative department of the State Council for examination. The judicial administrative department of the State Council shall make a decision within 6 months, issue a practice license to the approved representative office and issue a practice certificate to its representative; If the license is not granted, the reasons shall be informed in writing.
Article 10
A representative office and its representatives shall hold a practice license and a practice certificate, and go through the registration formalities with the judicial administrative department of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government where the representative office is located before they can carry out the legal service activities stipulated in these Regulations. Representative offices and their representatives shall be registered once a year.
The judicial administrative departments of the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall go through the registration formalities within 2 days from the date of receiving the application for registration.
Article 11
The representative office shall go through the relevant tax, banking and foreign exchange procedures in accordance with the provisions of relevant laws and administrative regulations.
Article 12
If a foreign law firm needs to change the name of its representative office or reduce the number of its representatives, it shall submit an application signed by its principal responsible person and relevant documents and materials to the judicial administrative department of the people's government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government where the representative office is located in advance, which shall be approved by the judicial administrative department of the State Council, and the practicing certificate of the person who no longer serves as a representative shall be withdrawn.
Where a representative office is merged, divided or newly added, the licensing procedures shall be handled in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations on the procedures for establishing representative offices.
Article 13
If a representative of a representative office is in any of the following circumstances, the judicial administrative department of the State Council shall revoke his practice license and withdraw his practice certificate, and the judicial administrative department of the people's government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government shall cancel his practice registration accordingly:
(1) The lawyer's practice license in his home country has expired;
(2) Being disqualified as a representative by the foreign law firm where he works;
(3) The practice certificate or license of its representative office has been revoked according to law.
Article 14
Under any of the following circumstances, the judicial administrative department of the State Council shall revoke its practice license and withdraw its practice license, and the judicial administrative department of the people's government of a province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government shall cancel its practice registration accordingly:
(1) The foreign law firm to which it belongs has been dissolved or revoked;
(2) The foreign law firm to which it belongs applies for cancellation;
(three) the loss of the conditions stipulated in article seventh of these regulations;
(4) The practice license is revoked according to law.
A representative office revoked in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph shall be liquidated according to law; Before the debt is paid off, its property may not be transferred outside China.
Chapter III Business Scope and Rules
Article 15
Representative offices and their representatives can only engage in the following activities except legal affairs in China:
(a) To provide opinions to all parties on the national laws, international treaties and international practices in which lawyers of the foreign law firm are allowed to practice as lawyers;
(two) to accept the entrustment of the parties or China law firm to handle legal affairs in the country where lawyers of foreign law firms are allowed to practice;
(3) Entrusted China Law Firm to handle legal affairs in China on behalf of foreign parties;
(4) Handling legal affairs through concluding contracts and maintaining a long-term entrusted relationship with China Law Firm;
(five) to provide information about the impact of the legal environment in China.
According to the agreement reached with China Law Firm, the representative office can directly request lawyers from China Law Firm.
Representative offices and their representatives shall not engage in other legal service activities or other profit-making activities other than those stipulated in the first and second paragraphs of this article.
Article 16
The representative office shall not employ a practicing lawyer in China; The auxiliary personnel employed shall not provide legal services to the parties.
Article 17
Representative offices and their representatives shall not commit any of the following acts in their practice activities:
(1) Providing false evidence, concealing facts or threatening or inducing others to provide false evidence, concealing facts, and obstructing the other party from obtaining evidence according to law;
(two) the use of legal services to accept the property or other interests of the parties;
(3) disclosing the business secrets or personal privacy of the parties concerned.
Article 18
Representatives of representative offices shall not serve as or concurrently serve as representatives in more than two representative offices at the same time.
Article 19
Representatives of representative offices shall stay in China for not less than 6 months every year; Those less than 6 months old will not be registered next year.
Article 20
Representative offices engaged in legal services as stipulated in these regulations may charge fees from the parties. Fees collected must be settled in China.
Chapter IV Supervision and Administration
Article 21
The judicial administrative departments of the State Council and the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall be responsible for the supervision and management of representative offices and their representatives in accordance with their duties.
Article 22
A representative office shall submit a copy of its practice license and representative's practice certificate and the following annual inspection materials to the judicial administrative department of the people's government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government where it resides before March 3 1 every year, and accept the annual inspection:
(a) to carry out legal service activities, including entrusting China Law Firm to handle legal affairs;
(two) the annual financial statements of the representative offices audited by accounting firms, and the settlement and tax payment certificates in China;
(three) the change of the representative office and the employment of auxiliary personnel in China;
(4) The domicile of the representative of China Representative Office;
(5) Registration of representative offices and their representatives;
(six) other circumstances to fulfill the obligations stipulated in these regulations.
The judicial administrative departments of the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall report the inspection opinions to the judicial administrative departments of the State Council for the record after the annual inspection of the representative offices located in their respective administrative areas.
Article 23
The judicial administrative departments of the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall, in accordance with the law, register representative offices and their representatives and collect fees for annual inspection of representative offices, and must strictly implement the same charging standards as those of China law firms and practicing lawyers approved by the competent price department of the State Council, and all the fees collected must be turned over to the state treasury.
The judicial administrative departments of the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall, in accordance with the provisions of relevant laws and administrative regulations, separate the decision on fines from the collection of fines; Fines collected according to law and confiscated illegal income must all be turned over to the state treasury.
Chapter V Legal Liability
Article 24
If a representative office or representative endangers China's national security, public security or social management order, criminal responsibility shall be investigated in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Law on crimes of endangering national security, endangering public security and disturbing social management order, and the judicial administrative department of the State Council shall revoke the practice license of the representative office or the practice certificate of the representative office; If it is not serious enough for criminal punishment, it shall be punished for public security administration according to law, and the judicial administrative department of the State Council shall revoke the practice license of the representative office or the practice certificate of the representative office.
Article 25
If a representative office or representative violates the provisions of Article 15 of these regulations and illegally engages in legal service activities or other profit-making activities, the judicial administrative department of the people's government of a province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government shall order it to suspend business within a time limit; If the circumstances are serious, the judicial administrative department of the State Council shall revoke the practice license of the representative office or the practice certificate of the representative.
If there are any illegal acts listed in the preceding paragraph, the judicial administrative departments of the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall confiscate the illegal income and impose a fine of not less than 50,000 yuan but not more than 200,000 yuan on the chief representative and other directly responsible representatives.
Article 26
In any of the following circumstances, the judicial administrative department of the people's government of a province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government shall give a warning and order it to make corrections within a time limit; If the circumstances are serious, the judicial administrative department of the people's government of a province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government shall order it to suspend business within a time limit; If no correction is made within the time limit, the judicial administrative department of the State Council shall revoke its practice license:
(a) to employ a practicing lawyer in China, or to employ auxiliary personnel to engage in legal services;
(two) the legal service fees have not been settled in China;
(3) Failing to submit the annual inspection materials on time for annual inspection, or failing to pass the annual inspection.
In case of any illegal act listed in Item (2) of the preceding paragraph, the judicial administrative department of the people's government of a province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government shall impose a fine of not less than 0 times but not more than 3 times the amount to be settled in China.
Article 27
In any of the following circumstances, the judicial administrative department of the people's government of a province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government shall give a warning and confiscate the illegal income; If the circumstances are serious, it shall be ordered to suspend business within a time limit, and a fine ranging from 20,000 yuan to 65,438+10,000 yuan shall be imposed:
(a) at the same time in two or more representative offices or as a representative;
(2) disclosing the business secrets or personal privacy of the parties concerned;
(3) accepting the property or other benefits of the parties by using legal services.
Article 28
If the representative office cancels and transfers the property outside China before the debt is paid off, the judicial administrative department of the people's government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government shall order the return of the transferred property to pay off the debt; If the interests of others are seriously harmed, the chief representative and other directly responsible personnel shall be investigated for criminal responsibility in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Law on the crime of concealing property; If the case is not serious enough for criminal punishment, the judicial administrative department of the people's government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government shall impose a fine of 50,000 yuan to 300,000 yuan on the representative office, and a fine of 20,000 yuan to 6,543.8+10,000 yuan on the chief representative and other directly responsible personnel.
Article 29
If a representative of a representative office provides false certificates, conceals facts or threatens or induces others to provide false certificates or conceal facts, he shall be investigated for criminal responsibility in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Law on the crime of obstructing testimony, and his practice certificate shall be revoked by the judicial administrative department of the State Council.
Article 30
Foreign law firms, foreign lawyers or other foreign organizations and individuals engage in legal service activities in China without permission, or representative offices or representatives whose practice licenses have been revoked continue to engage in legal service activities in China, and the judicial administrative departments of the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall ban them, confiscate their illegal income and impose a fine of not less than 50,000 yuan but not more than 300,000 yuan.
Article 31
If the practice license of a representative office is revoked according to law, the foreign law firm to which the representative office belongs shall not apply for establishing a representative office in China within 5 years; If the practice certificate of a representative office is revoked according to law, the representative shall not be the representative of the representative office in China for five years.
If a representative of a representative office is sentenced to punishment according to law for endangering China's national security, public safety or social management order, the law firm to which the representative office belongs shall not apply for establishing a representative office in China again, and the representative shall not be the representative of the representative office in China for life.
Article 32
If any staff member of the judicial administrative department commits any of the following illegal acts, the responsible person in charge and other directly responsible personnel shall be given administrative sanctions of demerit, gross demerit or demotion:
(1) Failing to examine the certification documents and materials of the proposed representative office and the proposed representative in accordance with the conditions stipulated in these Regulations;
(2) Failing to register or conduct annual inspection of representative offices in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations;
(three) not in accordance with the provisions of the state fees and charges.
Article 33
If a staff member of the judicial administrative department commits one of the following illegal acts, the responsible person in charge and other directly responsible personnel shall be given administrative sanctions of demotion, dismissal or dismissal according to law:
(1) Deciding to issue a practice license and a practice certificate to the proposed representative office or the proposed representative who does not meet the requirements stipulated in these Regulations;
(two) taking advantage of his position to accept property and seek personal gain;
(three) in violation of the provisions of this Ordinance, the practice license of the representative office or representative is revoked, the practice license and certificate are withdrawn, or the practice registration is not cancelled;
(4) Failing to issue a fine receipt or fill in the amount of the fine truthfully after collecting the fine according to law;
(5) Failing to implement the system of separation of fine collection and collection, or failing to turn over all the fees, fines and confiscated illegal income collected according to law to the state treasury;
(six) promptly investigate and deal with the acts of representative offices and their representatives in violation of the provisions of these regulations;
(seven) there are other acts of lax law enforcement or abuse of power, resulting in serious consequences.
Anyone who commits one of the illegal acts listed in the preceding paragraph, resulting in heavy losses to public property and the interests of the state and the people, shall be investigated for criminal responsibility according to the provisions of the Criminal Law on the crime of abuse of power, the crime of dereliction of duty and the crime of accepting bribes.
Chapter VI Supplementary Provisions
Article 34
Measures for the administration of the establishment of representative offices in the Mainland by law firms in separate customs zones in China shall be formulated separately by the judicial administrative department of the State Council according to the principles of these Regulations.
Article 35
These Regulations shall come into force as of June 6, 2002. Before the implementation of these Regulations, the institutions of foreign law firms in China and their representatives licensed by the judicial administrative department of the State Council for trial practice shall, within 90 days from the date of implementation of these Regulations, re-apply for examination and approval in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations.