Lawmakers yesterday adopted a legislation that would help
defense lawyers meet criminal suspects and obtain evidence from
June next year.
The amendment to the Law on Lawyers, passed during the 30th
session of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee,
includes three points:
Defense lawyers can meet clients after initial interrogation or
other mandatory sanctions ordered by judicial organs;
Conversations between attorneys and suspects will not be
monitored; and
Defense lawyers have the right to read all the files and
materials related to the case, and can collect evidence themselves
or apply to prosecuting organs and courts seeking evidence.
The existing Criminal Procedure Law does allow suspects to meet
their lawyers after police interrogation. But it does not provide
any detailed interpretation.
The Law on Lawyers has no relevant stipulation at all, and thus
prevents many suspects from meeting their lawyers because of police
objections.
Wang Rong, a Shanghai lawyer specializing in criminal defense,
said many lawyers are unwilling to handle criminal cases because
they often face difficulty in meeting clients, getting hold of case
materials and obtaining evidence.
The amendment changes the situation, said Yang Minglun, deputy
director of the legal affairs committee of the NPC Standing
Committee, by "safeguarding lawyers' rights, especially in criminal
defense".
The amendment specifies that defense lawyers' opinions and
remarks in court cannot lead to prosecution if they don't threaten
national security or are slanderous, he said.
"The amendment, to take effect from next June, will improve
lawyers' working conditions effectively," he said.
Legislators are considering amending the Criminal Procedure Law,
Yang said, to make the provisions coherent.
Yesterday's legislative session also accepted an amendment to
the World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of
Intellectual Property Rights to enhance access to medicines when
dealing with public health emergencies.
The session also adopted three other laws:
The amendment to the Civil Procedure Law - to address the
long-standing problem of civil court rulings that are not carried
out effectively;
The revised Energy Efficiency Law - stipulating that the ability
of local governments and their chief officials to meet
energy-efficiency goals should be a key factor when higher-level
governments examine their performance; and
The Law on Urban and Rural Planning - to curb rampant
urbanization and irrational land acquisition in rural areas.
(China Daily October 29, 2007)