The expansion of the legal profession has had a positive effect on legal awareness. Since 2002, 2,156 legal aid centres have been established, staffed by more than 7,000 full-time lawyers. According to the Ministry of Justice, this system will be further expanded because the “establishment of a legal aid system” is a priority of the Chinese government, as stated in the 10th Five-Year Plan (adopted in April 2002). According to article 129 of the Constitution, people`s procuratorates are “the State organs responsible for legal control”. Its functions are defined by the Organization Law of People`s Procuratorates (1983). With the Deng Xiaoping reforms that began in the late 1970s, there was a return to socialist legality. The judicial system has been restored and a relatively comprehensive legal system has been established through 30 years of legislative efforts, despite the traditional general impression of China in Western countries. The 1952-1976 practice with respect to the Court has been abandoned. China is currently trying to develop a new alternative dispute resolution (ADR) regime. Since the PRC`s accession to the World Trade Organization, the legal services sector has gradually opened up. A number of foreign law firms have entered the market, specializing primarily in cross-border business transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and copyright.

As in imperial times, dispute resolution in China relied heavily on community mediation rather than litigation within a formal court system. Although a large number of disputes in China are still resolved informally through community mediation, nowadays lawsuits are increasingly being brought by ordinary people to resolve their differences. Courts are overburdened in many parts of China (for example, judges of the Basic People`s Court of Chaoyang District and Haidian District in Beijing have an average number of cases of 300 to 400 per year). Traditionally, the emphasis has been on compromise, maintaining social harmony and establishing order. But unlike previous eras, especially in the first half of the communist era, there were mass show trials and public criticism to enforce the party line, establish party dominance and give examples of certain values of society. The book asks: what changes took place and what remained the same in the Chinese civil justice system from the Qing to the Republic? Civil justice is interpreted here not only as a codified right, but also as a real legal practice. Since the consequences of court proceedings often deviate from the intent of the Code, this book also addresses the question of how legal practice mediated between the Code and custom. It aims to trace the evolution of the history of the legal system and discover what it meant in the lives of the Chinese people.

Finally, lawyers increasingly need to develop business acumen combined with in-depth legal expertise that is essential to being a corporate lawyer in private practice or an in-house lawyer. Competition between companies, but also competition between law firms, will increase and, with it, the demand for high-level lawyers will increase exponentially. The other thing is that law firms and in-house counsel need to become more global. Chinese lawyers need to learn foreign cultures, systems and languages. As the digital world evolves, lawyers, both in-house and private, need to understand digital technology. Unlike common law courts, there is no strict precedent for case law and no principle of stare decisis. Moreover, there is no case or controversy requirement that would oblige the Supreme People`s Court to limit its decisions to actual cases, and the SCC issues general interpretations of the law. In practice, judges of the lower people`s courts endeavour to follow the interpretations of laws adopted by the Supreme People`s Court. In addition, unlike common law courts, superior courts have the power to monitor and deliberate, which means that they can reopen a case decided at a lower level themselves. In May 1996, the Law on Lawyers was promulgated by the NVK. He recognized the development needs of the legal profession. The definition of a lawyer was eventually changed from “legal employee of the state” to “a professional who legally obtains a lawyer`s certificate and provides legal services to the business.” The law shall determine the conditions required for the exercise of this right; describes the professional qualifications, rights and obligations of a lawyer; Rules for pro bono.

The law of the People`s Republic of China, officially called the Socialist Legal System of Chinese Characteristics, is the legal regime of China with the distinct legal traditions and systems of Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. David Wilkins: You`re in a unique position to think about the Chinese legal profession – particularly in-house lawyers – and how it has changed over the past 25 years. You were trained in China, did your JD in the United States, then became a partner in a U.S. law firm, and are now back in China after holding various leadership positions. With this in mind, what do you think have been the biggest changes and how do you see the profession evolving? Fengming Liu: In a way, I am unique and happy to have both witnessed and participated in China`s rightward development over the past 30 years. I was general counsel for Microsoft for many years and am now general counsel for GE for the Greater China region and responsible for government affairs. I have been involved in the whole gamut of things that a typical GC in the U.S. would face.

But I would say that the role of the GoC in China has always been different from that of the United States. In the U.S., the GC position has evolved into a management position that is involved in all company decisions – not just a business lawyer. He is involved in all major debates and strategic discussions of a company. The GCs of most Chinese companies, both private and state-owned, have not yet reached this level of corporate power. Obviously, it`s a little different with foreign multinationals like GE. In addition, the way Chinese companies develop as companies provides an opportunity to expand GC`s role. In the past, when the GC was not part of the leadership circle, it was partly because the whole system was not designed as a business process. In other words, companies didn`t need processes, rules, or frameworks to operate. These were essentially individuals whose own opinions became the rhythm of work. Of course, in this kind of system, the roles of lawyers have been marginalized. To some extent, this is still true because of China`s culture and legal system.

For example, the most important decisions are made by party organizations that are largely outside of a rules-based governance process for the general public and corporate citizens. For lawyers whose expertise is most dependent on the process, lawyers in this system tend to be disconnected from fundamental decision-making. As I mentioned earlier, my colleagues who work for Chinese private companies are subject to the personal wishes of the owners, as most are still led by their founders, while my colleagues in state-owned enterprises are subject to organizational and partisan politics, including their loyalty or loyalty to the Party. I have a slightly simpler environment where I can do my GC work for a foreign multinational. The Administrative Procedure Law of the People`s Republic of China (1989) allows legal entities to appeal administrative measures. The types of administrative measures that can be challenged must be “concrete measures”, including: administrative sanctions (such as detentions and fines), coercive administrative measures, interference with the business activities of enterprises, refusal to take action or perform an obligation, unlawful demands for performance of obligations, and violations of the person`s property rights or rights.