MOJ holds symposium on legal aid for minors

On May 30, the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) held a symposium on legal aid for minors to advance a campaign on protecting the group through legal aid and strengthen the protection of their rights and interests. Vice-Minister of Justice Hu Weilie attended and addressed the symposium.

Hu emphasized the need to thoroughly study and implement the important instructions made by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, on the protection of minors. The vice-minister highlighted the importance of promoting legal aid for minors under the new circumstances.

Efforts should be made to actively integrate legal aid into the national framework for the protection of minors and adhere to the principle of prioritizing their best interests. Special attention should be given to groups such as left-behind children, key cases involving minors should be handled effectively, and targeted support should be provided to remote areas in the country's central and western regions, Hu said, noting that efforts should also be made to actively provide minors with all-encompassing legal aid services with the whole process optimized.

In 2023, legal aid institutions nationwide handled 180,000 legal aid cases involving minors, and provided legal counseling services to 150,000 minors, effectively safeguarding their legitimate rights and interests. The MOJ recently issued a notice on carrying out the campaign on protecting minors through legal aid, proposing 10 concrete measures, including establishing dedicated hotlines, carrying out special services, building professional legal aid teams, and lowering the threshold for legal aid. The notice also requires all regions to continuously improve legal aid systems and mechanisms, explore new service modes, and provide legal aid services of higher quality and efficiency to minors.

Leading officials from relevant departments and bureaus of the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Education, and the MOJ, the Justice Bureau of Beijing, as well as relevant experts also attended the symposium and delivered speeches.