What are the conditions for acting as an agent in civil litigation?

The qualification of entrusted agent refers to the ability or qualification to accept the entrustment of the parties and legal representatives and conduct litigation activities according to law. So what kind of person has the ability or qualification to accept the entrustment of the parties or legal representatives and become agents ad litem? In this regard, the second paragraph of Article 58 of China's Civil Procedure Law clearly stipulates: (1) lawyers and grassroots legal service workers; (2) Close relatives or staff members of the parties concerned; (three) citizens recommended by the community, units and relevant social groups where the parties are located. A lawyer refers to a professional who has obtained a lawyer's professional certificate according to law, accepted entrustment or assignment, and can provide legal services to the parties as a lawyer. In China, lawyers can be divided into full-time lawyers and part-time lawyers, and can also be divided into ordinary lawyers and chartered lawyers according to their professional qualifications. China's civil procedure law stipulates that lawyers can be entrusted as litigation agents. Are they allowed to represent all cases and other legal affairs stipulated by law without restrictions? The answer is no, China lawyers (mainland lawyers) only practice in Chinese mainland and have no right to represent lawyers in Hong Kong and Macao. In addition, residents of China Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Macao Special Administrative Region can practice in mainland law firms only after they have obtained the professional qualification certificates of mainland lawyers, but their business scope is also strictly limited, that is, they are engaged in non-litigation legal affairs and agency activities in marriage inheritance cases involving Hong Kong and Macao in the Mainland. It can be seen that it is conditional for lawyers to engage in legal affairs or litigation agency business. Second, grass-roots legal service workers The so-called grass-roots legal service workers refer to those who meet the practice conditions stipulated in the Measures for the Administration of Grass-roots Legal Service Workers issued by the Ministry of Justice (Order No.60 of the Ministry of Justice on March 3, 20001day), have been approved for practice registration, obtained the practice certificate of legal service workers, practiced in grass-roots legal service offices, and provided legal services to the society. After receiving the Practice Certificate of Legal Service Workers, you can engage in grassroots legal services. The main business of grassroots legal service workers includes participating in civil, economic and administrative litigation activities as agents. However, the professional services of grassroots legal service workers are subject to more restrictions. The Ministry of Justice (No.200212) stipulates that grassroots legal service workers cannot represent civil economic and administrative litigation cases where any party is not in their jurisdiction. According to the fourth provision of Article 24 of the Detailed Rules for the Work of Township Legal Service Offices, it is one of the conditions that grass-roots legal service workers should have to represent civil, economic and administrative cases. It can be seen that grassroots legal service workers cannot represent civil, economic and administrative litigation cases in which any party is not in their jurisdiction. This is the main difference between grassroots legal service workers and lawyers representing litigation business. In addition, Article 13 of the Lawyers Law stipulates that a person who has not obtained a lawyer's practice certificate may not engage in legal services in the name of a lawyer; Unless otherwise provided by law, they shall not engage in litigation agency or defense business. It can be seen that grassroots legal service workers cannot act as defenders of criminal suspects and defendants. However, when the grassroots legal service workers meet the provisions of Article 32 of the Criminal Procedure Law, that is, the grassroots legal service workers are guardians, relatives and friends of criminal suspects and defendants, they can be entrusted to act as defenders in criminal proceedings, except in the investigation stage, because lawyers can only act as defenders in the investigation stage. Therefore, one of the essential conditions for grassroots legal service workers to represent civil, economic and administrative cases is whether there are parties in the jurisdiction they serve, otherwise they have no right to accept the entrustment of the parties and participate in the litigation activities of the cases. In criminal cases, according to the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Law, grassroots legal service workers can only be entrusted as defenders if they are guardians, relatives and friends of criminal suspects and defendants, except in the investigation stage. Iii. Close relatives of the parties or staff members 1. The so-called close relatives of the parties refer to people who have specific close kinship with natural persons. China's civil procedure law stipulates that close relatives or staff members of the parties may be entrusted as litigation agents. However, different laws in China have different provisions on the scope of close relatives. 1. Article 12 of the Opinions on General Principles of Civil Law stipulates that close relatives stipulated in the General Principles of Civil Law include spouses, parents, children, brothers and sisters, grandparents, grandchildren and grandchildren. Second, the close relatives stipulated in Article 24 of the Administrative Procedure Law include spouses, parents, children, brothers and sisters, grandparents, grandchildren, grandchildren and other relatives who have the relationship of support and maintenance. Third, Article 106 (6) of the Criminal Procedure Law stipulates that "near relatives" refer to husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, brothers and sisters. As can be seen from the above provisions, the three laws in China have different provisions on close relatives, with the criminal procedure law being the narrowest and the administrative procedure law the widest. Then, in the specific application, what should be the scope of determining close relatives? The author believes that although the legal relationship among the three laws is different in nature, as laws, the new law should be superior to the old law and use the same legal concepts. In addition, the scope of close relatives in the General Principles of Civil Law is determined by the judicial interpretation of the Supreme People's Court. Where its scope is inconsistent with the law, the provisions of the law shall apply. In addition, Article 32 of the Criminal Procedure Law stipulates that relatives and friends of the defendant may be entrusted as defenders in criminal proceedings. Generally speaking, relatives and friends include relatives and friends, which are much wider than close relatives. However, the revision of the Civil Procedure Law did not adopt the concept of relatives and friends, but still adopted the concept of close relatives. 2. Staff of the parties The staff of the parties refers to the parties as a unit, and their staff can be entrusted as agents ad litem. Because of the different nature of the employing units, different standards should be adopted when judging the staff of the parties concerned. If an enterprise is a legal person, its employees refer to people who have labor relations with the enterprise. The staff of public institutions include those who have business relations with public institutions and those who have labor relations with public institutions. Therefore, in practice, we should pay attention to using different standards to judge it. 4 citizens recommended by the community, units and relevant social organizations where the parties are located, and people recommended by the communities and units where the parties are located. Community refers to a certain area where people live together. Members of society in a fixed geographical area take the living environment as the main body, exercise social functions and create social norms, and are at the same level as administrative villages. It can be seen from this provision that the community can recommend agents ad litem for the parties living in the community, that is, residents or community workers in the community can be recommended as agents ad litem, and others can also be recommended as agents ad litem. The unit to which the party belongs may also recommend the staff of the unit or citizens outside the unit as litigation agents. That is to say, the community and unit where the parties are located can recommend people from their own communities and units as agents ad litem, or citizens outside their own communities and units as agents ad litem. This is a problem that should be paid attention to. 2. People recommended by relevant institutions. Social organizations refer to non-profit organizations registered and established according to law, with articles of association, name, a certain number of members, sources of funds, offices and offices.