• Area of Law： Lawyers
• Level of Authority： Group Provisions
• Date issued：06-16-2016
• Effective Date：06-16-2016
• Status： Effective
• Issuing Authority： General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (General Office, CCCPC) General Office of the State Council

The General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council Issuing the Opinions on Promoting the Legal Adviser System and the Government Lawyer and Corporate Lawyer System
(June16, 2016)
For the purpose of implementing the spirit of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Plenary Sessions of the 18th CPC Central Committee, vigorously promoting legal adviser system and government lawyer and corporate lawyer system, and allowing legal advisers, government lawyers and corporate lawyers to fully play their role, the following opinions are hereby offered:
I. Guiding thought, basic principles, objectives and tasks
(1) Guiding thought. By conscientiously implementing the 18th CPC National Congress and the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Plenary Sessions of the 18th CPC Central Committee, guided by the Deng Xiaoping Theory, the important thoughts of “Three Represents” and the Scientific Outlook on Development, by studying and implementing in depth the spirit of a series of important speeches delivered by the General Secretary Xi Jinping, by unswervingly adhering to the legal path of the socialism with Chinese characteristics, based on China's actuality, by following the pattern of legal construction and the characteristics of legal advisers and lawyers' work, the legal adviser system and the government lawyer and corporate lawyer system shall be vigorously promoted so as to improve the ability in exercise of state power by law, administration of government by law, business by law and management by law, promote business handling according to the law and provide legal guarantee to the coordinated development of the strategic arrangement of “Four Comprehensives.”
(2) Basic principles. Adhering to correct political directions. The CPC leadership shall be adhered to, and professional law talents with high political quality, upholding CPC theories, path and policies shall be selected for the legal adviser, government lawyer and corporate lawyer teams.
Adhering to the implementation of categorized regulation. Based on the actuality, the legal adviser system and the government lawyer and corporate lawyer system shall be promoted by category in CPC and government departments, the people's groups, and state-owned enterprises and public institutions, the policy orientation and basic requirement shall be specified, and all regions, all departments and all entities shall be encouraged to, in comprehensive consideration of the need of institutions, personnel and work, choose organizational forms, work modes and management modes in conformity with actuality, and vigorously and steadily conduct the implementation.
Adhering to the overall arrangement, connection and advancement. By focusing on the overall development of the socialist legal affairs team, the connection between legal advisers and government lawyers as well as corporate lawyers shall be handled effectively, and the communication channel between government lawyers, corporate lawyers and private lawyers, judges, as well as public procurators shall remain unimpeded. The grandfather clause shall apply, and upon the implementation of the unified national legal profession qualification system, persons to act as legal advisers at CPC and government departments, the people's groups, and state-owned enterprises and institutions shall have legal profession qualification or lawyer qualification.
(3) Objectives and tasks. Prior to the end of 2017, all departments and commissions of the CPC Central Committee and the state authorities, and local CPC and government departments at and above the county levels shall universally establish positions of legal advisers and government lawyers, the township CPC committees and governments shall, based on their need, establish positions of legal advisers and government lawyers, state-owned enterprises shall advance in depth the legal adviser and corporate lawyer systems, and public institutions shall research and establish a legal adviser system, so that by 2020 the legal adviser, government lawyer and corporate lawyer systems with Chinese characteristics, suitable for the need of social and economic development and legal services shall be comprehensively established.
II. Establishing and improving the legal adviser and government lawyer systems of the CPC and government departments
(4) Vigorously promoting the legal adviser system in the CPC and government departments, and establishing a legal adviser team mainly consisting of personnel of CPC's regulations institutions and government legal institutions, and including law experts and lawyers.
Functionaries engaging in legal affairs within CPC and government departments, and law experts and lawyers externally employed by those departments, may act as legal advisers. The regulations affairs institutions within CPC and the government legal institutions shall play the role as legal advisers in the name of collectives.
(5) Where a person acts as a legal adviser at the CPC or government department, but has not obtained any legal profession qualification or lawyer qualification, he may continue performing the duties as a legal adviser. Upon the implementation of the unified national legal profession qualification system, persons planning to act as legal advisers at CPC and government departments shall have legal profession qualification or lawyer qualification.
(6) The local CPC committees and governments at or above the county level, and departments with relatively more legal affairs, shall assign full-time personnel suitable for work tasks to act as legal advisers; local CPC committees and government departments at or above the county level with relatively fewer legal affairs may assign part-time personnel to perform the duties of legal advisers. The township CPC committees and governments may, based on the need of their work, assign full-time or part-time personnel to perform the duties of legal advisers.
(7) The legal advisers of CPC and government departments shall perform the following duties:
i. offering legal opinions on significant decision making and significant administrative acts;
ii. participating in the drafting and argumentation of draft laws, regulations and rules, draft CPC regulations and regulatory documents to be submitted for review;
iii. participating in the negotiation of cooperation programs, and assisting in drafting or amending important legal instruments or significant contracts with any CPC or government department as one party;
iv. providing legal services for the handling of cases involving laws or lawsuits, public complaint cases and significant emergencies;
v. participating in the handling of administrative reconsideration, lawsuit, arbitration, and other legal affairs; and
vi. other duties prescribed by CPC and government departments the legal adviser work with.
(8) A recruited legal adviser shall meet the following conditions:
i. high political quality, upholding CPC theories, path and policies, and generally a CPC member;
ii. good professional ethics and sense of social responsibility;
iii. law expert with certain influence and experience in law teaching, law research, law practice and other fields he engages in, or lawyer with 5 years of law practice experience and relative better professional competence;
iv. strict observation of laws and disciplines, no record of criminal punishment, and, in the case of a lawyer to be employed as a legal adviser, no record of administrative punishment by the administrative department of justice or trade penalty by lawyers' association; and
v. other requirements prescribed by the employer.
(9) An externally employed legal adviser shall be selected by open, fair and impartial means. The employed legal adviser shall be granted a letter of appointment by the employer.
(10) An externally employed legal adviser shall, during his office, have the following rights:
i. offering legal opinions based on facts and laws;
ii. acquiring information, documents, files and other necessary working conditions relating to his performance of duties;
iii. acquiring job remuneration and benefits as agreed on; and
iv. other rights as agreed on with the employer.
(11) An externally employed legal adviser shall, during his office, undertake the following obligations:
i. observing confidentiality rules, no leakage of CPC and state secrets, work secrets, business secrets or other information which shall not be disclosed, and no disclosure of the job details he undertakes without authorization;
ii. no use of undisclosed information obtained during his office or convenient conditions for personal gain, or the gain of the entity he works with or others;
iii. no engagement in business activities with the identity as a legal adviser, or other activities irrelevant to the duties as a legal adviser;
iv. no handling of legal affairs conflicting with the interests of his employer by accepting the entrustment of any other party, and if a legal adviser has an interest relationship with the business he undertakes which may possibly affect his impartial performance of duties, he shall avoid being present; and
v. other obligations as agreed on with the employer.
(12) The municipal, county and township CPC committees and governments at the same level may jointly externally employ legal advisers to provide services to the CPC and government departments; the CPC committees and governments may respectively, uniformly and externally employ legal advisers to provide services to CPC committees and governments and their working departments.
(13) CPC and government departments at all levels may, under these Opinions, establish the positions of government lawyers. “Government lawyer” means a public officer of any CPC or government department who has obtained government lawyer license under the provisions of (25) and (26) of these Opinions.
(14) A government lawyer shall perform the duties assumed by the legal adviser of the CPC or government department, and may, as authorized by the entity he works with, represent the entity he works with to engage in lawyer's legal services. A government lawyer shall, during practicing law, have law practice rights in meeting, consulting case files, investigating and taking evidence, questioning, cross-examination, debate, and other aspects as provided by the Lawyers Law, etc. and other rights as provided by the Lawyers Law.
(15) No government lawyer shall engage in paid legal services, assume any concurrent job at law firms or other legal service institutions, or, as a lawyer, handle any litigation or non-litigation legal affairs irrelevant to the entity he works with.
(16) Where any legal adviser or government lawyer of a CPC or government department neglects his duty or engages in malpractice for personal benefits, he shall be handled in accordance with the law and disciplines; in the case of an externally employed legal adviser, he shall be dismissed, which shall be included into the legal adviser job archive and personal credit archive, which the lawyers' association and the entity he works with shall be notified, and he shall be held for accountability in accordance with the law.
III. Establishing and improving a national state-owned enterprise legal adviser and corporate lawyer system
(17) At the wholly state-owned or state-controlled enterprises (hereinafter referred to as “state-owned enterprises”) in industry, commerce, finance, culture, or other sectors, employees specially engaging in enterprise legal affairs and lawyers externally employed by such enterprises may act as legal advisers.
Any person who acts as a legal adviser at state-owned enterprises, but has not obtained any legal profession qualification or lawyer's qualification may continue performing the duties as a legal adviser. Upon the implementation of the unified national legal profession qualification system, employees or other externally employed persons planning to work as legal advisers at state-owned enterprises shall have legal profession qualification or lawyer qualification, except where acting legal advisers of other state-owned enterprises are employed. If it is difficult for the minority state-owned enterprises in isolated and remote areas to recruit legal advisers with legal profession qualification or lawyer qualification, the existing practice of recruiting legal advisers may remain in force.
Assistants to legal advisers is not required to have legal profession qualification or lawyer qualification.
State-owned enterprises shall externally employ legal advisers by reference to the provisions of (8), (9), (10) and (11) of these Opinions.
(18) State-owned enterprises may, based on the enterprise size and business need, establish legal affairs institutions or assign or employ a certain number of legal advisers.
Medium- and large-scale enterprises may establish the position of chief legal adviser and allow the chief legal adviser to play his controlling role in the legal review of business management, so as to advance the lawful operation and regulatory compliance management of enterprises.
(19) A legal adviser of a state-owned enterprise shall perform the following duties:
i. participating in the formulation of the articles of association, and the operation rules of the board of directors;
ii. legally reviewing the significant business decision making, rules and systems, and contracts of enterprises;
iii. offering legal opinions on the restructuring, merger and acquisition, listing, transfer of property right, bankruptcy and reorganization, reconciliation, liquidation, and other significant matters of enterprises;
iv. Organizing and conducting regulatory compliance management, risk management, intellectual property management, externally employed lawyer management, legal publicity, education and training, and legal consultation;
v. Organizing and handling lawsuits, and arbitration cases; and
vi. other duties prescribed by the enterprise the legal advisers work with.
(20) Legal advisers shall be responsible for the supervision of the legal and regulatory compliance of the business and management of enterprises, and shall offer opinions on the acts of enterprises in violations of laws and regulations, and urge enterprises to make rectification. If a legal adviser is aware of the act of the enterprise in violations of laws and regulations, but fails to give a warning or stop that act, he shall assume corresponding responsibility.
(21) State-owned enterprises shall establish the position of corporate lawyer based on need. “Corporate lawyer” means an employee who has concluded a labor contract with an enterprise, and has obtained corporate lawyer license under the provisions of (25) and (26) of these Opinions.
(22) A corporate lawyer shall perform the duties undertaken by the legal adviser of the state-owned enterprise, and may, as authorized by the entity he works with, represent the entity he works with to engage in lawyer's legal services. A corporate lawyer shall, during practicing law, have law practice rights in meeting, consulting case files, investigating and taking evidence, questioning, cross-examination, debate, and other aspects as provided by the Lawyers Law, etc. and other rights as provided by the Lawyers Law.
(23) No corporate lawyer shall engage in paid legal services, assume any concurrent job at law firms or other legal service institutions, or, as a lawyer, handle any litigation or non-litigation legal affairs irrelevant to the entity he works with.
IV. Improving administrative systems
(24) The CPC's regulations institutions, the government legal institutions and the legal affairs departments of state-owned enterprises shall respectively assume the duties of the general office of their legal advisers, and shall be responsible for the routine business management of their legal advisers, government lawyers or corporate lawyers, assist and organize human resources departments to select, recruit, train, appraise, and punish or reward legal advisers, government lawyers or corporate lawyers, and assess the employees or functionaries who have applied for a government lawyer or corporate lawyer license, etc.
(25) Where a person specially engages in legal affairs or acts as a legal adviser at a CPC or government department, or acts as a legal adviser of a state-owned enterprise, and has legal profession qualification or lawyer qualification, upon the consent of the entity he works with, he may apply to the administrative department of justice for the issuance of government lawyer or corporate lawyer license. If, upon assessment, the applicant is qualified for legal profession or to be a lawyer, the administrative department of justice shall grant him a government lawyer or corporate lawyer license.
(26) In respect of a person who has acted as a legal adviser prior to the implementation of the unified national legal profession qualification system but has not obtained legal profession qualification or lawyer qualification, if he meets the following conditions, and passes the appraisal of the administrative department of justice of the State Council, the administrative department of justice of the State Council shall grant him a government lawyer or corporate lawyer license:
i. acting as a legal adviser at a CPC or government department, or at a state-owned enterprise at least 15 years;
ii. possessing undergraduate education in law at universities or colleges with a bachelor's degree or above, or undergraduate education or above not in law at universities or colleges but with a degree of juris master , master of law, or any other correspondin degree; and
iii. a senior professional title or an equivalent professional title.
(27) If a government lawyer or a corporate lawyer leaves his former entity, he may apply to become a private lawyer, and his term as a government lawyer or a corporate lawyer shall be calculated as the term of practice as a private lawyer. If any person acts as a government lawyer or corporate lawyer according to (26) of these Opinions but applies to become a private lawyer, he shall conform to the relevant provisions of the unified national legal profession qualification system. If a government lawyer or corporate lawyer is selected as a judge or public procurator according to the relevant procedures, at the determination of his rank as a judge or a public procurator, consideration shall be given to the term and experience of his engagement in the work as a government lawyer or a corporate lawyer.
(28) The lawyers' association shall undertake the business exchange and guidance for government lawyers and corporate lawyers, protection of lawyers' rights and interests, self-regulation, and other work.
V. Strengthening organization and leadership
(29) The main persons in charge of CPC or government departments shall be the first responsible persons to advance legal construction, and shall conscientiously ensure the implementation of the legal adviser, government lawyer and corporate lawyer systems in their respective entities, departments or regions.
(30) The CPC and government departments shall give full play of the role of legal advisers and government lawyers according to the following requirements:
i. they shall, prior to the discussion and decision making on significant matters, hear the legal opinions of legal advisers or government lawyers;
ii. if they draft and argue about the relevant draft laws, regulations and rules, draft CPC regulations, and regulatory documents to be submitted for review, they shall request legal advisers or government lawyers to participate, or hear their legal opinions;
iii. in respect of a matter on which the opinions of legal advisers or government lawyers failed to be heard but should have been heard according to the relevant provisions, or which legal advisers or government lawyers deem not to be in conformity with laws and regulations, it shall not be submitted for discussion or no decision on it shall be made.
If a major loss or serious bad impact is caused by the fact that the opinions of legal advisers or government lawyers which should have been heard failed to be heard, that the request which should have been made for legal advisers or government lawyers to participate failed to be made, or that the opinions of legal advisers or government lawyers which should have been adopted failed to be adopted, the main persons in charge of the CPC or government departments, other responsible leaders, and relevant responsible persons shall be held accountable in accordance with the laws and regulations.
(31) State-owned enterprises shall give full play of the role of legal advisers and corporate lawyers according to the following requirements:
i. they shall, prior to the discussion and decision making on significant matters as to the business and management of enterprises, hear the legal opinions of legal advisers or government lawyers;
ii. they shall, when drafting articles of association, the operation rules of the board of directors, etc. request legal advisers or corporate lawyers to participate, or hear their legal opinions;
iii. in respect of a matter on which the opinions of legal advisers or corporate lawyers failed to be heard but should have been heard according to the relevant provisions, or which legal advisers or corporate lawyers deem not in conformity with laws and regulations, it shall not be submitted for discussion or no decision on it shall be made.
If a major loss or serious bad impact is caused by the fact that the opinions of legal advisers or corporate lawyers which should have been heard failed to be heard, that the request which should have been made for legal advisers or corporate lawyers to conduct legal review failed to be made, or that the opinions of legal advisers or corporate lawyers which should have been adopted failed to be adopted, the main persons in charge of state-owned enterprises, other responsible leaders, and relevant responsible persons shall be held accountable in accordance with the laws and regulations.
(32) The CPC and government departments at all levels shall include the work on legal advisers, government lawyers and corporate lawyers into the appraisal of the target-oriented responsibility system of CPC and government departments, and state-owned enterprises. The development of legal adviser, government lawyer and corporate lawyer teams shall be promoted, and the working mechanisms and the measures for the administration of routine management, business training, appraisal, punishment, reward, etc. shall be improved, so as to promote the rationality and standardization of the relevant work.
(33) The CPC and government departments shall include the funds with regard to legal advisers and government lawyers into financial budget, and by means of government procurement or financial subsidy, based on workload and work performance, reasonably determine the remuneration of recruited legal advisers, so as to provide necessary guarantee for legal advisers and government lawyers to conduct their work.
(34) The local CPC committees and the governments at and above the county levels and the administrative competent departments of education, health, etc. shall strengthen guidance, implement measures by category, make advancement with priorities, encourage research, and gradually advance the development of the legal adviser system at public institutions.
(35) The people's groups shall establish legal adviser and government lawyer systems by reference to these Opinions.
(36) All regions and all departments may, based on actuality, formulate specific measures according to these Opinions.