Lawyers from the Shanghai Legal Aid Center are providing service for a woman who needs legal aid. Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn

SHANGHAI -- The city has adopted new measures to further push forward its free legal aid service in a bid to let more people in strained circumstances enjoy it.

Under the measures, the service will be extended from the people with per capita monthly income of 758 yuan to those who have per capita monthly income of 1,250 yuan, Cai Yongjian, deputy director of Shanghai Justice Bureau, said on Thursday.

The service will also be used to solve disputes in labor and employment, medical treatment and compensation for personal damage caused by poisonous and harmful food, Cai said.

"Doing so aims to let more people enjoy legal aid service in solving disputes they meet in daily life," he said.

These measures were made after a three-year survey, which has been approved by the municipal government, he said.

"Legal aid service is a judicial relief system the State has used to help people in strained circumstances to protect their lawful rights and interests," the deputy director said.

Shanghai led the country to set up its first legal aid center in Pudong in September 1995 and it listed legal aid service as one of its 10 practical projects for citizens in 2001.

It dealt with 12,273 legal aid cases in 2010, up 17.89 per cent over the previous year. Its legal aid institutions received 90,000 free legal consultations and legal workers answered questions from 160,000 persons by a hotline 12348 last year.

"These services have protected their legal rights and promoted the social stability," said Guan Mingquan, director of the Shanghai Legal Aid Center.

As the new measures are taken, the city is expected to see a 50 per cent increase of legal aid cases, said Guan, adding that it has enough lawyers to meet the growing demand.

Cai said more than 20 lawyers are providing the around-the-clock service daily by the hotline for those who need legal aid service, with about 600 phone calls daily.

"The service is a legal channel for people to know more legal knowledge which will be used to treat their daily disputes," said Cai.