(TibetanReview.net, Sep08’26) – China’s new rules for becoming a lawyer is a cautionary tale on how not to become one especially if one’s main interest is to become a human rights lawyer. The Party-state has made support for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership an explicit legal qualification for lawyers, said an organiser.org commentary Sep 3, citing an amendment to the country’s Lawyers Law, adopted by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on Aug 28 and enacted on Sep 1.
The amendment turned a political requirement previously imposed through Ministry of Justice regulations into a formal requirement of national law. The move effectively introduced a political loyalty test for lawyers before they can practise in China. The change gives the requirement of political loyalty to the CCP a stronger statutory foundation.
The amendment not only requires applicants to support China’s Constitution but also “the leadership of the Communist Party of China” and the country’s “socialist rule of law.” The previous previous requirements stated that prospective lawyers should support the Constitution, pass the national legal qualification examination, complete a one-year internship and demonstrate good character.
So, becoming a lawyer is no longer framed only around professional qualifications and legal competence but explicit political loyalty to the CCP leadership. This means that for rights activist lawyers and legal professionals handling politically sensitive cases, the change further narrows the space for independent legal practice.
The new requirements are pretty stringent. The amended law introduces a new Article 3, stating that lawyers must adhere to CCP leadership and implement the policies and decisions of the Party and the state. The provision places Communist leadership directly within the statutory framework governing legal practice in China, the commentary noted.
The rules have already required law firms with three or more CCP members to establish Communist Party organisations. Firms with fewer CCP members were required to conduct Party work through joint organisations or Party-building instructors. Law firms have been further required to create mechanisms to allow Party organisations to participate in decision-making and management, while providing space, personnel and funding for Party activities.
The Aug 28 amendment moves all these requirements into national legislation.
The law’s guarantees of protecting “lawyers’ lawful practice”, and the requirement for courts, prosecutors, police, state-security agencies and judicial-administration departments to establish systems protecting lawyers’ professional right are, therefore, subject to the overriding requirement of fealty to the governing CCP regime.
The changes in the rules and now the law followed the so-called “709 Crackdown” which began on Jul 9, 2015 under which more than 300 lawyers, legal assistants and rights advocates were detained, questioned or otherwise swept up.
Some lawyers were held incommunicado or subsequently prosecuted on national-security charges, while others lost their law licences. The pressure also extended to their families. Spouses and children reported surveillance, movement restrictions, pressure on landlords and interference with schooling, the commentary noted.
Wang Yu, a rights lawyer detained during the “709 Crackdown”, has described her assessment of China’s legal system in an interview in Jun 2018: “Now I believe there is no law in China.” She argued that the essence of the rule of law is limiting government power, while the CCP was using the rule of law to reinforce its own rule, the commentary said.