China encourages lawyers to participate in pro bono legal service

BEIJING -- China's Ministry of Justice on Oct 23 released a document to boost lawyers' participation in pro bono legal services.

The document encourages lawyers to address the need for legal support of special social groups including migrant workers, people with disabilities, elderly people, women and juveniles while providing pro bono legal services, said Zhou Yuansheng, an official with the ministry, at a press conference Wednesday.

Lawyers are also expected to provide pro bono legal service in various forms, including serving as community-level legal consultants, taking part in legal knowledge promotion and working in border regions or underdeveloped areas, Zhou said.

The document calls for an improved incentive mechanism to encourage broader participation of lawyers in pro bono legal services and efforts to enable wider access to such legal services online.

To ensure the quality of pro bono legal service, the document vowed to ensure that such services meet the need of the public and are conducted by qualified lawyers in a well-regulated manner, said Zhou.

Lawyers' associations in the country will take up responsibilities of organizing lawyers and taking the lead in promoting pro bono legal services, said Li Haiwei, deputy secretary general of the All China Lawyers Association, at the press conference.

China's pro bono legal services have seen improvements in recent years, with more people benefited, new measures adopted and more lawyers actively participating, according to Zhou.