Issued on March 19, 2004 by Ministry of Justice and shall be put in force from May 1, 2004.
Article 1 In order to standardize to supervision and punishment to illegal actions of lawyers and law firms, protect the healthy development of lawyer industry, in accordance with <Administrative Punishment Law of PRC>, <Lawyer Law of PRC> and pertinent laws and regulations and other rules, enact this Measures.
Article 2 The justice administrative institute shall impose the administrative punishment to lawyers and law firms in accordance with the pertinent laws and regulations and <Rules on Punishment Procedure of Justice Administrative Institute>, and this Measures.
Article 3 The justice administrative institute shall impose the administrative punishment to lawyers and law firms following the principle of publicity and equity. To impose the administrative punishment should be based on the fact and correspond the fact, quality, situation and how harmful to the society.
Article 4 The justice administrative institute should exert the lawyer association's function when to check and dispose the illegal actions of lawyers and law firms.
Article 5 The kinds of administrative punishment to illegal actions of lawyers are as follows:
1. warning;
2. confiscating illegal income;
3. stopping professional action;
4. revoking license.
Article 6 The kings of administrative punishment to illegal actions of law firms:
1. warning;
2. confiscating illegal income;
3. stopping business and consolidating;
4. revoking license.
Regarding to confiscating illegal income, it maybe disposed more than 1 times but less than 5 times of fines simultaneously.
Article 7 Due to the illegal actions under the Article 44, item 1-10 and Article 45 of Lawyer Law, the justice administrative institute should impose the impose the relevant punishment in accordance with the Lawyer Law and this Measures.
Article 8 The following actions of lawyers shall be met the Article 44, item 11 of Lawyer Law which stipulates as "other actions which should be punished" and the justice administrative institute shall be impose the relevant punishment in accordance with the lawyer Law and this Measures:
1. conducting business at law firm and other legal service entity simultaneously;
2. in same case, simultaneously representing the consigner and the third party who has interest conflict with consigner or defending for them;
3. in tow or more than two cases which have interest conflict relationship, separately representing the consigners who have interest conflict each other or defending for them.
4. during the time of being legal consul, representing the counterpart or others who have interest conflict with the entity which are receiving the legal advices, or defending for them;
5. providing the illusive commitment to consigners in order to obtain the business;
6. promoting untruly and unsuitably through media, advertisement or other methods;
7. making up and spreading false information, blemishing and bespattering other lawyers, law firms' reputations;
8. using the relationship with justice institutes, administrative institutes and other governing organizations to compete unfairly;
9. after accepting the consignation, performing the duty carelessly so that make damages and loses to the consigner;
10. after accepting the consignation, not supplying the provided legal services without any rational reasons;
11. beyond the consignation limit, conducting the actions without connection to the consigned legal issues;
12. after accepting the consignation, deliberately damaging consigner's advantages or colluding with malice with counterpart or the third party to damage the consigner's advantages;
13. menacing and threatening consigners in order to prevent consigner from releasing the consignation or detaining the documents from consigner without rational reasons;
14. violating the rules of lawyer service charges or clauses on charges in contract to ask for charges or capitals or properties beyond the rules and contract;
15. conducing the legal services in name of non-lawyer when holding the license;
16. During the time of dealing the case, meeting with judges, prosecutors, arbitrators or other relevant stuff involved in the case in the non-working time, now working site, or violating regulations or rules to meet judges, prosecutors, arbitrators or other relevant stuff with one side;
17. lawyers who took the position of judges or prosecutors, within 2 years after leaving the positions, act as representors or defenders for litigation, or act as representors or defenders for cases which were dealt by them when they were on the said positions;
18. violating the rules to take non-lawyers to meet the suspects or defendant in prisons or violating the rules when meeting with the suspects or defendant in prisons;
19. supplying illusive material, keeping from important facts to justice administrative institute or lawyer association or other false actions ;
20. keeping on professional actions during the time of stopping professional action; or keeping on professional actions during the time of stopping business and consolidating or after revoking the license;
21. other illegal actions or actions of breaching the lawyer ethical, citizen ethic rules, damaging the lawyer professional figures severely.
Article 9 One of the following actions of law firms should be imposed warning, confiscating illegal income or stopping business and consolidating for more than 3 months but less than 1 year:
1. acting in the name of non-approved law firms or changing or borrowing the name of law firm without approval;
2. changing the name, articles of associations and persons in charge, partners, address, or partnership agreement, but non-filing the changes in the required time;
3. preventing partners, cooperators or lawyers from leaving the law firm with unfair method;
4. agreeing unqualified persons to be partners, cooperators or persons in charge of the law firms;
5. not following the rules to uniformly accept the consignation, sign written retainer agreement and payment agreement and receive all kinds of fees from consigners uniformly, or not following the rules to keep and use the format letters, financial bills and files special for lawyer services;
6. not issuing the legal bills of lawyer services to consigners, or not providing consigners the valid credence for the expenses of dealing the cases;
7. violating the rules of lawyer service fees or clauses of payment agreement , without agreement to enlarging the charge scope, improving the charge standard, or ask for other fees beyond the rules and agreements;
8. setting up office, reception out of the address without approval, or setting up branches without approval;
9. not following the rules to sign employment agreements with employed lawyers and other staffs and not to join the social insurances for employees;
10. evading in malice the debts of law firms and their branches;
11. promoting untruly and unsuitably on media, advertisement and other methods;
12. earning business in the way of paying introduction fees, providing commissions, or making advantage commitment, etc unfair methods
13. using the relationship with justice institutes, administrative institutes and other social governing organizations to compete unfairly;
14. making up and spreading false information, blemishing and bespattering other
lawyers, law firms' reputations;
15. authorizing the lawyers in the firm to represent both parties or clients who have interest conflict each other or defending for them in one case, but except that if both parties agreed and only one law firm in the town;
16. disclosing consigner's business secret and privacy;
17. supplying illusive material, keeping from important facts to justice administrative institute or lawyer association or other false actions;
18. allowing or tacit accepting the lawyers who was punished to stop the professional actions keeping work in the law firm;
19. supplying convenience for the non-licensed staff or other actions of lawyers in law firm through the method of giving or supplying the introduction letter of law firm, format letter and bills of lawyer services;
20. printing out lawyer name cards, logos or issuing other lawyers ID for non-licensed staff, or not stopping the said actions of staff in law firm even if knowing the situations;
21. allowing or tacit accepting the lawyers in the law firm to buy goods, providing travel expenses, reimbursing the expenses, decoration of houses, or supplying traffic and communication vehicles for judges, prosecutors, and arbitrators who are in charge of the cases;
22. not paying taxations according to laws and regulations;
23. other actions what should be punished.
Article 10 The following actions of law firms shall be punished to revoke the license, if there is illegal income, it should be confiscated the illegal income and make a fine simultaneously:
1. not to correct after receiving the punishment of stopping business and consolidating, or keeping business during the time of stopping business and consolidating;
2. bribing to the judges, prosecutors, arbitrators and other relevant staff;
3. imposed by criminal punishment;
4. other illegal actions to damage the lawyer professional figures severely.
Article 11 If lawyers and law firms have the illegal actions under the Lawyer Law and this Measures, the justice administrative institute should file a case and make investigation, examine the overall, subjective and equity facts, collect the evidences as soon as they find and receive any complaints. The investigated lawyers and law firms should state the fax to investigation institutes and supply the relevant materials.
Article 12 The justice administrative institute may authorize lawyer association to investigate the illegal actions of lawyers and law firms.
The authorized lawyer association may examine the overall, subjective and equity facts, collect the evidences and give suggestions on administrative punishment to justice administrative institutes.
Article 13 Before making administrative punishment to lawyers and law firms, the justice administrative institutes should notice the examined illegal fact, reason and basis of punishment, and notice the party owns his right according to laws and regulations. Oral notice should be recorded in written. Lawyers and law firms have right to make statement and appeal, and have rights to apply for hearing.
If the lawyers and law firms do not agree the administrative punishment, it has rights to apply for administrative reconsideration or administrative litigation.
Article 14 On process on investigating the anti-professional ethical and anti-professional discipline actions of lawyers and law firms, lawyer associations, if finding the situations which should be administrative punishment under lawyer Law and this Measures, should be delivered to the justice administrative institutes which have the jurisdiction.
Article 15 On process on investigating the illegal actions of lawyers and law firms, justice administrative institute and lawyer association, if thinking the actions which should belong to criminal actions, should be delivered to the relevant institute to impose criminal responsibility.
Article 16 This Measures shall be explained by the Ministry of Justice.
Article 17 This Measures shall be put in force from May 1, 2004. <The Punishment Measures on Illegal Actions of Lawyers> issued on Jan 31, 1997 by Ministry of Justice shall be abolished simultaneously.
