Key changes to China's judicial system since 2012

Two new lawyers take an oath in Heihe, Heilongjiang province, on Nov 1, 2015 before starting their careers. [Photo/China Daily]

5 .Protecting lawyers' right to practice

China has made or revised laws and regulations to ensure lawyers' have the right to practice. In 2015, regulations were issued to clarify various measures to protect lawyers' right to practice, including the rights to know, to meet their clients and read case files.

In 2016, the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council issued opinions on advancing reform in the lawyer system, aiming to safeguard lawyers' litigation rights, improving the mechanism for governments to purchase legal services and improving social security policies for lawyers.

By March 2017, all 31 provincial-level lawyer associations had established lawyers' rights protection centers. In April, a circular was jointly issued by the Supreme People's Court, Supreme People's Procuratorate, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of State Security and Ministry of Justice to further clarify different departments' duties in safeguarding lawyers' right to practice.