Legal consultants can ensure governments abide by the law

A gavel in a court. [Photo/IC]

THE CENTRAL LEADERSHIP RECENTLY ISSUED A DOCUMENT that requires ministries, as well as local Party and governmental agencies, to hire legal consultants and lawyers. This is a good move for better governance, says Southern Metropolis Daily:

It is necessary for Party and governmental departments to have legal consultants, so as to prevent illegal activities in their governance. Actually, President Xi Jinping said in a speech that leading officials need to observe the law in making decisions, and consult legal experts if needed.

That's a clear signal that the government is required to abide by the Constitution and the law, which is the starting point for modern governance.

Some local governments have already been pioneering the use of legal consultants. For example the government in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong province, has long hired legal consultants because of its interactions with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Shenzhen's legal consultants have done their jobs well.

However, there are bad examples, too. When some cities copied Shenzhen, they simply hired legal consultants but failed to let them play their due role.

The recent guiding document aims to end this practice. It has two clear requirements: First, legal consultants should be consulted before any major decision is made, and when they do not think any proposal is legal, it should not be submitted for decision-making discussion. Second, the leading officials will be held answerable if they ignore the objection of the legal consultants.

The above two points will ensure that legal consultants will not be ignored.

Local governments nationwide should also learn from the Shenzhen municipal government, which has precious experience of legal consultants participating in the whole decision-making process.