New regulation aims to push guidelines on lawyers

A?provincial?guideline?on?lawyers?stirred?a controversy?in?regulating?lawyer's?behavior?when?working?on?major?cases.?

Northwest?China's?Shaanxi?Lawyers?Association?issued?a?guideline?to?regulate?lawyers'?behavior?on?major?cases?on?Tuesday,?requiring?lawyers?to report?to?the local?justice?department?or?lawyers?association?within?three?working?days?when?accepting a?major case.?

The?regulation?also?bans?lawyers from?publicizing?opinions?to?intervene?justice,?including?online messages and?manipulating?public?opinion.

The?guideline?raises?concerns?among?lawyers?who?see?it as?a?gag order for all lawyers.

It?also?bans?lawyers?who?are?not?involved?in?the?cases?to?publicize?opinions?on?major?and?sensitive?cases.?

Si?Weijiang,?a?lawyer?based?in?Shanghai,?said?the?gag?order?for?lawyers?who?are?not?involved?in?the?cases?violates?the right of?free?speech.?

But an anonymous lawyer says, "lawyers understand to work on cases according to the law. If attorneys break the law, they will be accused based on the law. The regulations issued by association are meaningless.

Some people misinterpret the regulation, saying it gags lawyers, however, to a certain point, the guidelines are necessary, which are able to instruct lawyers' behavior according to the law and ensure that lawyers respect professional ethnic code when deal with major and sensitive cases. "

An official who also chose to remain anonymous says, "some lawyers violate ethnic code or even commit crimes when deal with major and sensitive cases, including posting online messages disclose trial details and defendant and victim information, as well as stirring up group petition."

Cases?involving?lawyers?violate?regulations?happened?occasionally?in?recent?years.?

In?2014,?six?lawyers?involved?in?the?high-profiling?case?of?Li?Tianyi,?son?of?famous?military?singer?Li?Shuangjiang,?received?disciplinary?punishment.?

Li,?18,?was?sentenced?in?2013?to?10?years?for?gang?rape.?Before?the?trial,?Li's?lawyers?posted?online?message?claiming?that?Li?was?innocent?and?viewed?the?case?as?prostitution,?which?angered?the?complainant's?attorney.?The?two?sides?later??debated?online.?Many?details?about?the?defendants?and?the?victims?were?shown online,?and?some?specific?procedures?of?the?trial?were?also?released?by?the?lawyers.

China's?top?authorities?aim?at?improving?mechanism?on?lawyers'?practice?and?establishing?a?team?of?highly?trained?professional?lawyers?to?implement?law-based?governance.???

Cao?Yin?contributed?to?the?story.