The amended law makes support for Communist Party leadership an explicit qualification for lawyers.
China has made support for Chinese Communist Party leadership an explicit legal qualification for lawyers, elevating a political requirement already imposed through Chinese Ministry of Justice regulations into the national law governing the profession.
The amendment to the Lawyers Law, adopted by the National People’s Congress Standing Committee on Aug. 28 and enacted on Sept. 1, requires lawyers to support China’s Constitution, “the leadership of the Communist Party of China,” and the country’s “socialist rule of law.”
The previous law required applicants to support the Constitution, pass the national legal qualification examination, complete a one-year internship, and have good character. It did not separately list support for CCP leadership as a statutory qualification.
The amendment also adds a new Article 3 stating that lawyers’ work must adhere to CCP leadership and implement party and state policies and decisions.
It requires CCP organizations to be established in law firms under party rules and says firms must provide the necessary conditions for party activities.
The amendment retains existing language stating that “lawyers’ lawful practice is protected” and adds a requirement for courts, prosecutors, police, state-security agencies, and judicial-administration departments to “establish systems to protect lawyers’ professional rights.”
Political Requirements Predate Amendment
Tying lawyers’ work to the CCP did not begin with the new law.
Chinese Ministry of Justice rules governing law firms already made support for CCP leadership and China’s socialist legal system a basic requirement for legal practice.
The rules, issued in December 2018 and enacted in January 2019, required firms with three or more CCP members to establish party organizations.
Firms with fewer members were to conduct party work through joint organizations or party-building instructors.
The ministry also required law firms to establish mechanisms for party organizations to participate in decision-making and management and to provide space, personnel, and funding for party work.
The Aug. 28 amendment moves those requirements into national legislation and, for the first time in the Lawyers Law itself, makes support for CCP leadership a separately stated qualification for becoming a lawyer.
Rights Lawyers Under Pressure
The change followed a yearslong tightening of controls over lawyers who take cases that the regime deems politically sensitive.
Many legal professionals in China remain under severe restrictions after more than 300 lawyers, legal assistants, and rights advocates were detained, questioned, or otherwise swept up in the 709 Crackdown that started on July 9, 2015.
China tightens political control over lawyers, embeds CCP loyalty in national law
