2015年CRI New Regulation Aims to Safeguard Lawyers' Rights

 

The new judicial¹ guidelines put out by the Supreme² People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate and three relevant ministries³ are calling on the courts across the country to make it easier for defense⁴ lawyers to do their jobs.

Chen Weidong with Renmin University says, among other things, the new guidelines should make it easier for defense attorneys in the courtroom.

"Defense lawyers are often overlooked in court here in China. Prosecutors⁵ are normally allowed to go on, uninterrupted by the judge. Defense lawyers are usually told not to speak for too long, and are often cut-off by the judges. This leaves them unable to fulfill⁶ their duties."

Chen Weidong says the new guidelines also give defense lawyers greater access to their clients.

"Under the new regulations, authorities in-charge of lockups need to let the suspect's defense attorneys access to their clients. Under the new provisions, defense lawyers can't be blocked from meeting with their clients while they're awaiting trial."

Meetings between defense lawyers and their clients can't be electronically monitored.

Investigators⁷ also have to be out of the room when those meeting take place.

A 48-hour limit has been set by the Supreme People's Court for investigators to allow a suspect access to a defense lawyer.

The new guidelines also provide defense lawyers better access to investigation⁸ files, requiring prosecutors to provide all relevant information within 3-days.

Defense lawyers will be able to photocopy⁹, photograph or scan the files for their own use.

Wang Jinxi with the China University of Political Science and Law says all these steps are critical to making the judicial system fairer here in China.

"The new regulations ensure stricter enforcement of the Criminal Procedure Law and reflect the recognition of lawyers. Lawyers are an important part of the judicial system. We can never achieve the 'rule of law' without lawyers."

Under the new guidelines, trial judges are also being told to pay equal attention to the arguments of both the defense and the prosecutors.

Defense lawyers are also being given the ability to file appeals to higher-level courts.

Any perceived violations¹⁰ of the lawyers' legal rights can also be appealed.

Jian Shan with the All China Lawyers Association says they hope the new guidelines will give his organization a better opportunity to help their members.

"Our lawyer-assistance system hasn't really been working that well. But with these new guidelines, lawyers will be able to use us to fight instances where prosecutors or the courts have infringed¹¹ on their legal rights. To ensure this new system works smoothly¹², we're proposing a mechanism¹³ be set up to link our organization with judicial departments."

The new guidelines also include provisions to ensure lawyers are also held accountable for any actions which violate the laws.

There are currently around 270-thousand lawyers currently active in China among some 20-thousand law firms.

For CRI, I'm Qi Zhi.

1 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

2 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

3 ministries   

（政府的）部( ministry的名词复数 )； 神职； 牧师职位； 神职任期

参考例句：

• Local authorities must refer everything to the central ministries. 地方管理机构应请示中央主管部门。
• The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. 部委的数量已经减少了1/3。

4 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

5 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

6 fulfill   

vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意

参考例句：

• If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了，你就要履行你的诺言。
• This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。

7 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

9 photocopy   

n.影印本；v.影印

参考例句：

• The original reproduces clearly in a photocopy.原件复印得十分清晰。
• What's wrong with the photocopy machine?复印机出了什么问题？

10 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

11 infringed   

v.违反（规章等）( infringe的过去式和过去分词 )；侵犯（某人的权利）；侵害（某人的自由、权益等）

参考例句：

• Wherever the troops went, they never infringed on the people's interests. 大军过处，秋毫无犯。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He was arrested on a charge of having infringed the Election Law. 他因被指控触犯选举法而被拘捕。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

13 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。