In order to thoroughly implement the strategy of comprehensively advancing the rule of law and give full play to the active role of lawyers in safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of parties and promoting judicial fairness, we must To protect the litigation rights of lawyers, in accordance with the "Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China", "Civil Procedure Law", "Administrative Procedure Law", "Lawyers Law" and "Supreme People's Court, Supreme People's Procuratorate, Ministry of Public Security, National Security "Regulations of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Justice on Protecting the Rights of Lawyers to Practice", the following regulations are formulated:
1. Lawyers have the right to know in accordance with the law. People's courts should continuously improve trial procedures, make public judgment documents, and implement the construction of "three platforms" to facilitate lawyers' timely access to litigation information. Lawyers should be informed in a timely manner of important matters and related progress such as litigation procedures, rights protection, mediation, and disclosure of judgment documents.
The second is to protect lawyers’ right to review papers in accordance with the law. If a lawyer applies for review, arrangements shall be made within a reasonable time. If the case file materials belong to other litigation subjects for review, the time for review by all parties shall be coordinated. Lawyers shall provide venues and convenient conditions for accessing, excerpting, and copying relevant case file materials or watching audio and video recordings of court hearings in accordance with the law. Courts with conditions can provide online file review services.
The third is to protect lawyers’ right to appear in court in accordance with the law. After the court date is determined, necessary preparation time should be reserved for the lawyer to appear in court. If the court date needs to be changed due to special circumstances, the lawyer must be notified three days in advance. If a lawyer requests to change the court date for legitimate reasons, the judge may grant it after consulting other parties. If a lawyer brings an assistant to court, he shall be allowed to do so.
4. Protect lawyers’ rights to debate and defend in accordance with the law. During the court hearing, the judge should reasonably allocate time for the litigants to ask questions, cross-examine, make statements, debate, and defense, and fully listen to the opinions of the lawyers. Unless the lawyer's speech is too repetitive, has nothing to do with the case, or the relevant issues have been agreed upon before the trial, the lawyer's speech should not be interrupted.
5. The right of lawyers to apply for the exclusion of illegal evidence shall be protected in accordance with the law. If a lawyer applies to exclude illegal evidence and provides relevant clues or materials, and if the judge has doubts about the legality of the collected evidence after review, he should convene a pre-trial conference or conduct a court investigation. If upon review, evidence is found to have been collected using illegal methods, it shall be excluded.
Sixth, the right of lawyers to apply for evidence is protected in accordance with the law. If a lawyer is unable to collect evidence on his own due to objective reasons, he may apply in writing to the People's Court to obtain evidence in accordance with the law. If a lawyer's application for obtaining evidence meets legal conditions, the judge shall grant it.
7. Protect the personal safety of lawyers in accordance with the law. If conflicts between the parties intensify during the trial of a case and may endanger the lawyer's personal safety, necessary measures shall be taken in a timely manner. Judges should promptly stop any behavior such as beating, threatening, insulting, or slandering lawyers in court and handle it in accordance with the law.
8. Protect the right of lawyers to represent you in appeals in accordance with the law. Complaint cases filed by lawyers on behalf of parties must be handled conscientiously in accordance with the law. If you believe that the original case was handled correctly, you must support the lawyer in explaining the law to the complainant and making appeals on his behalf.
9. Provide convenience for lawyers to perform their duties in accordance with the law. Further improve functions such as online case filing, payment, inquiry, grading, application for preservation, submission of representation, court date scheduling, document delivery, etc. Courts where conditions permit must provide resting places for lawyers participating in trials, equipped with tables, chairs, drinking water and other necessary facilities.
The tenth is to improve the protection and relief mechanism for lawyers’ litigation rights. Special agencies should be designated to handle lawyer complaints, contact information should be made public, and complaint channels should be open. Complaints must be investigated and handled in a timely manner in accordance with the law, and the lawyer shall be informed of the results in a timely manner. Judicial administrative agencies and lawyers associations must respond promptly to suggestions on safeguarding lawyers’ rights to practice law.