Legal provisions: "Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China"
Article 33 A criminal suspect shall have The right to appoint a defender. During the investigation, only lawyers can be entrusted as defenders. The defendant has the right to entrust a defender at any time.
When interrogating a criminal suspect or taking compulsory measures against him for the first time, the investigative agency shall inform him of the right to entrust a defender. The People's Procuratorate shall, within three days from the date of receipt of case materials transferred for review and prosecution, inform the criminal suspect of the right to entrust a defender. The people's court shall, within three days from the date of accepting the case, notify the defendant of the right to entrust a defender. If criminal suspects or defendants request to entrust a defender while in custody, the people's court, people's procuratorate and public security organs shall promptly convey the request.
If a criminal suspect or defendant is in custody, his or her guardian or close relative may also entrust a defender.
After accepting the entrustment of a criminal suspect or defendant, the defender shall promptly notify the case handling agency.
Article 106
The following terms in this Law have the following meanings:
(1) "Investigation" refers to the investigation by the public security organs and the People's Procuratorate Special investigations and related compulsory measures carried out in the process of handling cases in accordance with the law;
(2) "Parties" refers to victims, private prosecutors, criminal suspects, defendants, plaintiffs and defendants in attached civil litigation ;
(3) "Legal representative" refers to the client's parents, adoptive parents, guardians, and representatives of agencies and groups responsible for protection;
(4) "Litigation participation "Person" refers to the parties, legal representatives, agents ad litem, defenders, witnesses, appraisers and translators;
(5) "Agents ad litem" refers to the victims of public prosecution cases and their legal representatives or close relatives, persons entrusted by private prosecutors and their legal representatives to participate in litigation on their behalf in private prosecution cases, persons entrusted by parties in incidental civil litigation and their legal representatives to participate in litigation on their behalf;
(6) "Recent "Relatives" means husband, wife, father, mother, son, daughter, brother or sister.