MOJ outlines development of China’s public legal service system for next five years

The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) has released a comprehensive plan for the development of China's public legal service system between 2021 and 2025. 

The plan lays out the system's long-range objectives through 2035 and main goals to be achieved during the period of the country's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) for National Economic and Social Development. 

It also sets forth specific goals for such tasks as accelerating balanced development of public legal services, constructing an extensive service network, improving people's legal literacy, safeguarding justice, forming a new pattern for primary-level social governance, serving high-quality economic development, and promoting the rule of law involving foreign parties. 

The plan makes clear that by 2025, among other goals, the total numbers of lawyers and notaries in China will reach 750,000 and 20,000, respectively; 10 cloud-based public legal service centers will be built across the country; the national public legal service hotline will be available at any time; data on legal services will be gathered and analyzed for better social governance; every 100,000 people in the country will receive legal services 110 times per year; and the construction of international commercial arbitration centers in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen will largely be accomplished.