Measures on the Administration of Lawyers' Practice

Ministry of Justice of the People's Republic of China Decree
第　134　号
《律师执业管理办法》已经司法部部务会议修订通过，现将修订后的《律师执业管理办法》公布，自2016年11月1日起施行。  
部　长　 吴爱英
2016年9月18日

Measures on the Administration of Lawyers' Practice

Ministry of Justice Order No. 112 released July 18, 2008; Revised by Ministry of Justice Order No. 112, September 18, 2016)

Chapter I: General Provisions

Article 1: These measures are formulated on the basis of the "Lawyers Law of the People's Republic of China" (Hereinafter "Lawyers Law") and other relevant laws and regulations, so as to standardize lawyers' practice licensing, to ensure lawyers' practice in accordance with law, and to strengthen oversight and management of lawyers' practice.

Article 2: Lawyers shall have supporting the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, and supporting the socialist rule of law as the basic requirement of practice.

Through practice activities, Lawyers shall protect the lawful rights and interests of clients, protect the correct implementation of the law, and protect social fairness and justice.

Article 3: Lawyers lawful practice receives the protection of law, and the lawful rights and interests of lawyers must not be violated by any organization or individual.

Judicial-administrative organs and lawyers associations shall safeguard the professional rights of lawyers according to law.

Article 4: Judicial-administrative organs conduct oversight and guidance of lawyers' practice in accordance with the "Lawyers Law" and these Measures.

Lawyers associations implement industry self-regulation of lawyers' practice, in accordance with the "Lawyers Law", the Association charter, and industry standards.

Article 5: Judicial-administrative organs and lawyers associations shall establish and complete systems for commending and rewarding lawyers, following relevant provisions to set up overall and specific commendation programs, commending and rewarding lawyers that make an outstanding contribution to preserving the public's lawful rights and interests, to promoting economic and social development, and the establishment of rule of law.

Section 2: Requirements for Practicing as a Lawyer.

Article 6: Those applying to practice as lawyers shall meet the following conditions:

(1) Uphold the Constitution of the People's Republic of China;

(2) Obtain a legal professionals qualification certificate through the national unified judicial examination;

(3) Intern in a law firm for a full year;

(4) Good moral character.

Lawyers credential certificates obtained before the implementation of the national unified judicial examination are as valid as legal professional credentials when applying to practice as a lawyer.

Where the requirements for registering to take the national unified judicial examination and the exam is passed and qualifies for preferential measures, the geographical restrictions on the legal professionals qualifications they obtain are handled in accordance with the relevant provisions.

Persons applying to practice as lawyers shall follow provisions to participate in a lawyers association organizations and internship activities.

Article 7: Applications to be a part-time lawyer, shall meet the following conditions, in addition to complying with the conditions specified in Article 6 of these regulations:

(1) Engage in legal education or research work in an institute of higher learning or a research institute;

(2) Have the consent of their unit.

Article 8: Applications for special-permits to practice as lawyers shall comply with there requirements of the "Lawyers Law" and relevant regulations of the State Council.

Article 9: Persons with any of the following circumstances are not to be issued lawyers' practice certificates:

(1) Persons lacking or having limited civil capacity;

（2）those who have received criminal punishment, excluding crimes of negligence;

(3) those who have been dismissed from public office or had their lawyers' practice certificate revoked.

Chapter III: Procedures for Lawyers Practice Permits

Article 10: Initial review of Lawyers practice licenses is performed by the judicial-administrative organs of districts of districted cities or directly governed municipalities (counties) that receive the application for practice, and they are then reported for review to the judicial-administrative organs of provinces, autonomous regions, or directly governed municipalities which will make a decision on whether to approve practice.

Article 11: Applications to practice as a lawyer shall submit the following materials to the judicial-administrative organs of districts of districted cities or directly governed municipalities (counties):

(1) The written application to practice;

(2) Legal Professionals Qualifications Certificate or Lawyers Qualification Certificate;

(3) Materials showing satisfactory performance review for the applicant's internship, issued by the lawyers association.

（4）The applicant's proof of identity；

(5) Proofs of willingness to accept the applicant issued by a law firm.

When an applying for practice licenses, the applicant shall truthfully complete the "Lawyers' Practice Application Registration Form".

Article 12: Applications to be a part-time lawyer, shall submit the following materials, in addition to submitting the materials in accordance with Article 11 of these regulations:

(1) Materials proving their work and experience in education or research at an institution of higher learning or research institution.

(2) Proofs of the applicant's units' consent to their part-time practice as a lawyer.

Article 13: The judicial-administrative organs of districts of districted cities or directly governed municipalities (counties) shall handle the applications to practice as a lawyer differently based on the following distinct circumstances:

(1) Where the application materials are complete and comply with the format prescribed by law, they shall be accepted.

(2) Where the application materials are not complete or not in the format prescribed by law, the applicant shall be informed one time, either at the scene or within 5 days of receiving the application materials, that they need to supplement and correct all of the materials. Where the applicant requests to supplement and correct the materials, they should be accepted, where information was not given in time, they are to be considered accepted on the date that application materials are received.

(3) Where application items clearly do not meet the legally prescribed requirements or the the applicant refuses to supplement and correct them or is unable to supplement, they are not to be accepted and the reasons are to be explained to the applicant in writing.

Article 14: Judicial-administrative organs accepting applications shall complete their review of application materials within 20 days of their decision to accept them.

During the review process, the opinions of the County Level judicial-administrative organs for the are that is being applied to practice in, may be solicited; where relevant circumstances must be investigated and verified, the applicant may be requested to provide relevant proofs and the County Level judicial-administrative organs may also be entrusted to conduct the verification.

Upon review, they shall issue a review opinion on whether the applicant meets the legally prescribed requirements and whether the materials submitted are true and complete, and send the review opinion and all application materials to the judicial-administrative organ of the province, autonomous region, or directly governed municipality.

Article 15: Provincial, autonomous region, or directly-governed municipality judicial-administrative organs shall review and verify the review opinion and complete application materials sent by provincial, autonomous region, or directly governed municipality judicial-administrative organs within 10 days of their receipt, and make a decision whether to approve practice.

Where practice is approved, the applicant shall be issued a lawyers practice certificate within 10 days of the decision.

Where practice is not approved, the reasons shall be explained to the applicant in writing.

Article 16: Follow the provisions of the State Council's relevant regulations to handle the required materials for applications for special permits to practice as a lawyer, and for procedures on their evaluation and approval.

Article 17: Where applicants have any of the circumstances provided for in Article 9 of these measures, they must not be approved for practice as a lawyer.

Article 18: Lawyers' practice certificates are the valid document for showing that lawyers have lawfully be approved to practice.

The Ministry of Justice is to determine the specifications for the content and production of lawyers' practice certificates, and the methods for their numbering system. Practice certificates are to be uniformly produced by the Ministry of Justice.

Article 19: in any of the following circumstances, the provincial, autonomous region, or directly governed municipality judicial-administrative organ that made a decision to approve an applicant's practice, is to revoke the original practice approval decision:

(1) The applicant obtained the practice approval decision through fraud, bribery, or other improper means;

(2) Where an applicant who did meet the legally prescribed requirements was approved, or a practice approval decision was made in violation of the legally prescribed procedures.

Article 20: Lawyers changing their practice organization shall submit the following materials to the judicial-administrative organs of districts of districted cities or directly governed municipalities (counties) for the region of the practice organization they are changing to:

(1) Proof issued by the County Level judicial-administrative organ for the original practice organization showing that the applicant doesn't have any of the circumstances provided for in article 21 of these Measures;

(2) Proof that the employment or partnership relationship with the original practice organization has ended, as well as of handover formalities such as transfer of business, files, and finances;

(3) Proof that the new practice organization they intend to change to has agreed to accept the applicant;

(4) Proofs of the applicant's practice experience.

The organization receiving an application for changes shall issue a review opinion on it and the materials submitted, and send the review opinion and all application materials to the judicial-administrative organ of the province, autonomous region, or directly governed municipality for review and verification. Where the changes are approved, the review and verification organ is to reissue a Lawyers' practice certificate to the applicant; where changes are not approved, the reasons shall be explained to the applicant in writing. Refer to articles 14 and 15 of these Measures in handling the procedures and time limits for review, verification, and reissue of credentials.

Where changes are approved, applicants shall turn over their original practice certificate to the organ that verified and issued it, before collecting their new practice certificates.

Where lawyers change of practice organization is across districted cities, provinces, autonomous regions, or directly governed municipalities, the judicial-administrative organs for the regions of the original practice organizations and the changed practice organization shall hand over the lawyers practice file.

Article 21: During the period where lawyers have been punished by needing to suspend practice, or where a complaint is currently being investigated and handled, they must not apply to change their practice organization; where law firms have not completed the period for a suspension of operations for rectification, the firm's responsible party, partners, and lawyers who are directly responsible for the punishment must not apply for a change of their practice organization; where law firms are terminated, but have not yet completed liquidation and deregistration formalities, the firm's responsible party, partners, and lawyers who are directly responsible for the license cancellation must not apply for a change of their practice organization.

Article 22: Where lawyers are assigned by law firms to practice in a branch of the firm, the reissue and management of their Lawyers' practice certificates is handled in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Ministry of Justice.

Article 23: Where lawyers have any of the following circumstances, the organ in their practice area that originally verified and issued their practice certificate is to recall and cancel their Lawyers' practice certificates:

Where lawyers have any of the following circumstances, the organ in their practice area that originally verified and issued their practice certificate is to recall and cancel their Lawyers' practice certificates;

(2) Where a previous decision to approve practice has been lawfully revoked;

(3) Where a person applies for cancellation because they will no longer practice as a lawyer;

(4) Where they have been released from their employment contract with their law firm or the law firm has been deregistered, and they have not been hired by another law firm within 6 months.

(5) Where lawyers' practice it is terminated for other reasons.

Where persons whose Lawyers' practice certificates were cancelled due to the circumstances provided in items (3),(4),or (5) of the preceding paragraph, newly apply to practice as a lawyer, follow the procedures provided in these Measures for applications to practice as a lawyer.

Lawyers' practice must obey the constitution and lawys, abide by lawyers' professional ethics and practice discipline, to achieve lawful, credible, and standardized practice.

Chapter IV: Lawyers' Practice Practice Standards

Article 24: Lawyers' practice must obey the constitution and laws, abide by lawyers' professional ethics and practice discipline, to achieve lawful, credible, and standardized practice.

Lawyers' Practice must be based on the facts, with the law as their measure.

Lawyers' practice shall accept supervision of the State, society, and parties.

Article 25: Lawyers may engage in the following activities:

(1) Accepting retention by natural persons, legal persons, or other organizations to serve as legal consultants;

(2) Accepting retention by parties in civil and administrative cases to serve as their representative and participate in litigation;

(3) Accepting retention by a criminal suspect or defendant or appointment in accordance with law by a legal aid institution in a criminal case, to serve as a defender, or accepting retention by a private prosecutor in a private prosecution, or the victim and their family in a public prosecution, to serve as their representation and participate in litigation;

(4) Accept retention for appellate representation in all kinds of cases;

(5) Accept representation to participate in mediation or arbitration activities;

(6) Accept retention to provide non-litigation legal services;

(7) Respond to inquiries regarding the law, write litigation documents and other documents related to legal affairs on behalf of others.

Article 26: Where lawyers take on business, law firms shall uniformly accept the representation and sign a retention agreement with the client, and comply with the law firm's conflict of interests review and its decision.

Article 27: Lawyers serving as a member of the standing committee of a people's congress at any level must not undertake a prosecution or defense matter during their period of service.

Where lawyers clearly know a party has already retained two agent ad litem or defenders, they must not accept retention to serve as an agent ad litem or defender.

Article 28: Lawyers must not undertake representation of clients on both sides of the same case or undertake legal services where they or their close relatives have a conflict of interests. After lawyers accept retention by a criminal suspect or defendant, they must not accept retention by another criminal suspect or defendant to serve as defender in the same case or in a case that isn't handled together but is about related criminal activity.

After lawyers who have previously served as judges or prosecutors leave the court or procuratorate, they must not act as a lawyer to serve as an agent ad litem or defender for two years; and they must not [ever] handle cases as an agent ad litem or defender in the people's court or people's procuratorate where they held office, except as as otherwise provided by law.

Lawyers must not serve as representatives in cases where their law firm's other lawyers serve as arbitrators. Lawyers who have previously served as arbitrators or who still serve as arbitrators must not take on legal matters that have a conflict of interest with cases in which they have handled as arbitrators.

Article 29: Where lawyers serve as legal consultants, they shall provide opinions on the relevant legal issues for the client, draft and review legal documents, represent them in participating in litigation, mediation or arbitration activities, and handle other legal matters of the representation, to preserve the client's lawful rights and interests.

Article 30: Where lawyers serve as legal representation in litigation or in non-litigation matters; they shall protect their clients' lawful rights and interests within the scope of the retention.

Article 31: Lawyers serving as defenders shall submit materials and opinions based on the facts that show that the suspect or defendant is not guilty or that his liability should be mitigated, commuted or excused; and to protect the procedural and other lawful rights and interests of the criminal suspect or defendant.

Where lawyers serve as defenders, their firm shall send a notification of accepting the retention to the case-handling organs within 3 days of accepting the retention, informing them of the matters for the representation and the contact method for the lawyer undertaking the case.

Article 32: Where lawyers issue legal opinions, they shall perform their duties strictly in accordance with law, strictly guaranteeing the veracity and lawfulness of their opinions.

Lawyers providing legal information or writing legal documents for others shall have facts as a basis and the law as their measure, and meet the requirements of the rules for legal inquiries and the style and format of legal documents.

Article 33: Lawyers taking on business shall inform their client of legal risks that might exist in handling the matter of the retention, and must not make improper promises, through either statements or hints, of the matter's outcome.

Lawyers taking on business shall promptly report progress in the matter for representation to their client; where it is necessary to modify the matters for representation or scope of authority, they shall obtain the client's consent and authorization.

After accepting retention, lawyers must not refuse to defend or represent without legitimate reason, but where the matters for representation are illegal or the client is exploiting the services provided by the lawyer to engage in illegal activities, or the client intentionally conceals important facts related to the case, the lawyer has the right to refuse the defense or representation.

Article 34: Lawyers taking on business shall preserve the parties' lawful rights and interests, and must not exploit the provision of legal services to facilitate taking the clients' rights and interests in the dispute or improper profit.

Article 35: Lawyers taking on business shall be honest an trustworthy, and must not accept assets or other benefits from the parties of the other side, must not maliciously collude with the parties of the other side or third parties, provide information or evidence against the interests of their client to the parties of the other side or third parties, or encroach the rights and interests of their client.

Article 36: The interactions between lawyers and judges, procurators, arbitrators, and other relevant staff shall comply with laws and relevant provisions, and lawyers must meet with judges, procurators, arbitrators, and other relevant staff in violation of the rules, or bribe them, promise to them with benefits, or make introductions for bribery; and must not direct or entice parties to give bribes; and must not make inquiries to judges, procurators, arbitrators or other staff about the internal case handling situation or undertake cases they introduce, and must not exploit special relationships with judges, procurators, arbitrators and other staff to influence case handling.

Article 37: Lawyers taking on business shall lead their clients to resolve their conflicts through lawful channels and means, and must not instigate, incite, and organize parties or other persons to go to judicial organs or other relevant State organs for sit-ins, raising protest signs, unfurling banners, shouting slogans, vocalizing support, looking on, or other methods that disrupt public order and endanger public safety, gathering crowds to make a disturbance, creating an impact and pressuring relevant departments.

Article 38: Lawyers shall perform their duties in accordance with law and must not use the following improper methods to influence the lawful handling of cases:

(1) Providing legal services, entering a case, or interfering with lawful case handling in one's capacity as a lawyer, without being retained by a party or appointed by a legal aid institution;

(2) Conduct distorting or misleading publicity and commentary on cases that they or other lawyers are currently handling, maliciously stirring up the case;

(3) Using methods such as aligning groups, collecting signatures, publishing open letters, organizing online gatherings or support, or, in the name of individual case discussion, creating pressure from public opinion, or attacking or disparaging judicial organs and the justice system;

(4) Violate provisions to disclose or distribute information or materials in case that are not tried in public, or important information and evidence obtained by oneself or other lawyers during the course of handling a case.

Article 39:Lawyers representation in litigation, arbitration or administrative handling shall comply with courtroom or arbitration forum discipline and rules of detention areas and administrative handling, and must not exhibit any of the following conduct that obstructs or disrupts the normal conduct of litigation, arbitration or administrative handling:

(1) When meeting with criminal suspects or defendants in custody, violating relevant provisions by bringing the criminal suspect or defendant' s close relatives or other interested persons to the meeting, providing communication tools to a criminal suspect or defendant in custody to use, or deliver goods and documents;

(2) Without legitimate reason, refusing to follow a people's court's notification to appear in court and participate in proceedings, or violating rules of court to leave the courtroom of one's own volition;

(3) Gathering crowds to make a ruckus or charge the courtroom; insulting, defaming, threatening, or hitting judicial personnel or litigation participants; denying the State's characterization of a designated cult organization; or other conduct that seriously disrupts courtroom order;

(4) Intentionally providing false evidence to a judicial organ, arbitration establishment, or administrative organ, or coercing or inducing other to provide false evidence, or obstructing the party of the other side from lawfully obtaining evidence;

(5) Other conduct provided for by law that obstructs or disrupts the normal conduct or litigation, arbitration or administrative handling.

Article 40: Lawyers' public comments on cases shall be lawful, objective, just, and prudent; and they must not disseminate speech denying the fundamental political system and basic principles established by the Constitution, or endanger national security; must not exploit the networks and media to provoke disatisfaction with the Party and government, provoke the establishment or participation in groups endanger national security, or support, participation, or carrying out of activities that endanger national security; and must not distort the truth in ways that clearly go against good social custom to express speech that maliciously defames others or to express speech that seriously disrupts courtroom order.

Article 41: Lawyers shall follow relevant provisions in accepting business, and must not coax or instigate parties to raise lawsuits, creating and expanding conflicts, and influencing social stability.

Article 42: Lawyers shall respect colleagues and compete fairly, and must not denigrate other law firms or lawyers, pay fees for referrals, or state or hint to clients that they have a special relationship with the case-handling organs, government departments or their personnel, or violate rules by establishing an office space, disseminating ads, putting up signs or using other improper means to grab business in the vicinity of a judicial organ or detention facility.

Article 43: Lawyers shall protect and guard state secrets and commercial secrets that they learn of through practice activities, and must not reveal personal information about parties or other persons.

Lawyers shall protect the confidentiality of clients' and other persons' relevant circumstances and information learned during representation, which they do not wish revealed. However, there is an exception for facts and information regarding a client or other person's preparation or current engagement in crimes that endanger national security or public safety, or seriously endanger the personal safety of others.

Article 44: Lawyers taking on business shall follow provisions to have the law firm uniformly accept lawyers fees and other case-handling fees from the client, and must not privately accept fees, and must not accept the client's assets or other interests.

Article 45: Lawyers shall follow relevant national provisions to perform their legal aid obligations, and provide legal services that comply with standards to the recipients, and protect the recipients' lawful rights and interests; they must not delay or be sluggish in their performance or stop performance of legal aid duties of their own accord, or transfer legal aid cases to other personnel without the consent of the law firm or the legal aid institution.

Article 46: Lawyers taking on business shall appropriately look after legal documents, evidentiary materials, business documents, and work records related to the matters undertaken. After the legal matter is concluded, follow relevant provisions on record keeping to turn them over to the law firm for storage.

Article 47:Lawyers can only practice in a single law firm.

Lawyers shall be full-time when in practice, except for part-time lawyers or as otherwise provided for by laws and administrative regulations.

Lawyers' practice shall comply with their firm's practice management system, accept guidance and supervision from their firm, and participate in annual lawyers practice performance reviews.

Article 48: Lawyers shall appropriately use and keep their Lawyers' practice certificates, and must not modify, mortgage, loan, or lease them. Where they are lost or damaged, this shall be promptly reported to the County Level judicial-administrative organs, and replaced or reissued upon the application of the judicial-administrative organs for a district of a districted city or a directly governed municipality (county) to the organ that originally verified and issued it. Where lawyers' practice certificates are lost, a declaration of the loss shall be placed in a provincial level or higher paper or on the website designated by the issuing organ.

Lawyers receiving a punishment stopping their practice shall give their lawyers' practice certificates to the County Level judicial-administrative organ for their practice organization from the date on which the punishment decision takes effect through to it's completion.

Article 49: Lawyers shall follow provisions to participate in professional training organized by the judicial-administrative organs and lawyers associations.

Chapter V: Judicial-administrative organs' oversight and management

Article 50: County Level judicial-administrative organs perform the following duties in conducting regular oversight and management of lawyers' practice activities in practice organizations in their administrative region.

(1) Inspect and supervise lawyers compliance with laws, regulations, rules, professional ethics, and practice discipline in practice activities;

(2) Accept reports and complaints about lawyers;

(3) Supervise lawyers' performance of administrative punishments and implementation of corrective action;

(4) Take hold of annual practice performance evaluation of lawyers in law firms;

(5) Other duties provided for by the Ministry of Justice and provincial, autonomous region, or directly governed municipality judicial-administrative organs.

Where, in the course of routine oversight and management, county-level judicial-administrative organs discover and confirm that lawyers have problems in practice activities, they shall alert them and speak with them, and conduct oversight of their rectifications; Where it is found that a lawyers' unlawful conduct should be given an administrative punishment in accordance with law, they shall make a punishment recommendation to the judicial-administrative organ at the level above; where it is felt that an industry penalty needs to be given, it is to be transferred to the lawyers association for handling.

Article 51: Judicial-administrative organs at the districted city level perform the following oversight and management duties:

(1) Take hold of the establishment and development of the lawyers corps in that administrative district, and formulate methods and measures for strengthening the lawyers corps.

(2) Guide and oversee the efforts of judicial-administrative organs at the level below in routine oversight and management of lawyers' practice, organize the implementation of special reviews or special performance reviews of lawyers practice, and guide the investigation and handling of major complaints against lawyers.

(3) Make commendations of lawyers.

(4) Carry out administrative punishment of lawyer's unlawful conduct in accordance with legally prescribed duties; and where lawyers' practice certificates should be revoked in accordance with law, make a punishment recommendation to the judicial-administrative organs at the level above.

(5) file for the record and supervise the results of law firms' annual performance evaluations of lawyers.

(6) Accept and review applications for lawyers' practice, change of practice organization, or deregistration of practice certificates.

(7) Establish lawyers' practice archives, responsible for disclosure of lawyers practice licenses, changes, and deregistration information.

(8) Other approaches stipulated by laws, regulations, and rules.

Judicial-administrative organs of districts (counties) of directly governed municipalities bear the relevant duties of the preceding paragraph.

Article 52: Provincial, autonomous region, or directly governed municipality judicial-administrative organs perform the following oversight and management duties:

(1) Take hold and assess the establishment of the lawyers corps in the administrative region and the overall level of practice; formulate a plan and relevant policies for developing the lawyers corps, and formulate normative documents for strengthening management of lawyers' practice;

(2) Oversee and guide the efforts of judicial-administrative organs at the level below in oversight and management of lawyers' practice; organize and guide special reviews of lawyers' practice or special performance evaluations;

(3) Organize activities to commend lawyers;

(4) Carry out punishments of cancellation of lawyers' practice certificates for serious unlawful conduct by lawyers; oversee and guide the judicial-administrative organs at the level below's administrative punishment work, and handle administrative reconsiderations and appeals cases.

(5) Handle approvals of lawyers practice, changes of practice organization, and deregistration of practice certificates;

(6) Responsible for disclosure of major information such as on the administrative region's lawyer corps, practice situation, and managment matters;

(7) other duties provided by laws, regulations, or rules.

Article 53:Where lawyers violate the relevant provisions of these Measures, follow the "Lawyers Law" and relevant provisions and rules to pursue legal responsibility.

Where lawyers violate articles 28, 41, or 42 of these Measures, the judicial-administrative organs shall give administrative punishments in accordance with the relevant provisions of article 47 of the "Lawyers Law"; where lawyers violate article 34, administrative punishment is in accordance with article 48 of the "Lawyers Law"; where lawyers violate articles 35-40, administrative punishment is in accordance with article 49 of the "Lawyers Law".

Article 54: All levels of judicial-administrative organs and their staffs carrying out oversight and management of lawyers practice must not obstruct lawyers lawful practice, must not violate lawyers lawful rights and interests, must not request or accept lawyers' assets, and must not seek other benefits.

Article 55: Judicial-administrative organs shall strengthen stratified oversight of lawyers practice licenses and routine oversight and management, establishing systems for statistics, requests for instructions, reports, and oversight handling, in accordance with provisions.

Judicial-administrative organs responsible for implementing lawyers' practice licenses, filing of annual performance reviews of lawyers' practice, or awards and punishments, shall promptly report relevant license decisions, filings, awards or punishments to the judicial-administrative organs at the level below and to the judicial-administrative organs at the level above.

Article 56:Judicial-administrative organs and lawyers associations shall establish information management systems for lawyers and law firms, and follow relevant provisions to publicly disclose basic information on lawyers and their annual performance evaluation results, awards, and punishments.

Article 57: Judicial-administrative organs shall strengthen guidance and oversight of lawyers associations, supporting lawyers associations in following the "Lawyers Law", association charters, and industry regulations, to carry out industry discipline of lawyers' practice activities, and establish and complete joint mechanisms for coordination and cooperation between administrative management and industry self-discipline.

Article 58: All levels of judicial-administrative organ shall periodically report statistics on the establishment of a lawyers corps, and practice activities, and the overall situation of annual management work in that administrative region, to the judicial-administrative organ at the level above.

Article 59: Where people's courts, people's procuratorates, public security organs, state security organs, or other relevant departments submit a punishment recommendation to judicial-administrative organs or lawyers associations on lawyers conduct in violation of laws or regulations, the judicial-administrative organs or lawyers associations shall inform the organ making the recommendation within 7 days of making a decision on the disposition.

Article 60: Where personnel of judicial-administrative organs abuse their office, use their influence for personnel gain, or neglect their duties in approving lawyers practice permits and carrying out supervision activities, and it constitutes a crime, their criminal liability shall be pursued according to law; where it does not constitute a crime, they shall be given administrative sanctions in accordance with law.

Chapter VI: Supplementary Provisions

Article 61: Management of military lawyers' practice is carried out in accordance with the relevant provisions of the State Council and Central Military Commission.

Article 62: These measures take effect on November 1, 2016. Where rules and normative documents previously drafted by the Ministry of Justice on the management of lawyers' practice are inconsistent with these measures, these measures are controlling.