Regulations which aim to empower lawyers and enhance their ability to defend suspects were announced by the Chinese Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) on Monday.

According to the new rules, lawyers will now be able to visit their clients without first receiving permission from the related procuratorate authorities.

However, if the case involves serious corruption, lawyers must seek permission and the procuratorate authority has to make its decision about whether or not to allow the visit within three days.

During meetings between lawyers and their clients, the new rules stipulate that procuratorate representatives must not be present or monitor their conversation.

The regulations also aim to guarantee that lawyers are allowed to access case files. The authorities have to make case files available no later than three working days after they receive them.

Once case files are made available, defense lawyers can read and copy information from the case files.

The new rules added that evidence collected by lawyers must not be ignored. They state that procuratorate authorities must assess any evidence related to a case provided by lawyers at once.

If the procuratorate authorities decide that a piece of evidence is irrelevant to the case, they can reject the evidence but must explain the reason to the lawyer that provided it.

The rules also guarantee the right of lawyers to be informed about criminal cases they are involved in. They say that procuratorate authorities must inform lawyers if there are any new developments in their clients' cases.

Lawyers' opinions must now be taken into account, according to the rules.

Any written suggestions submitted by lawyers regarding cases - including their opinions on punishment and malpractice - must be taken seriously by procuratorate authorities and they must provide feedback to lawyers, the fresh regulations added. 

The new rules stress that procuratorate authorities must exercise their duty to protect lawyers' rights and must address any complaints lodged by lawyers.

Respecting and protecting lawyers' rights will not only prevent miscarriages of justice but will also increase judicial transparency, said Wan Chun, a senior SPP official in charge of legal policy research, Xinhua News Agency reported.


Newspaper headline: Supreme Procuratorate issues rules that aim to empower lawyers