Shanxi issues 5-year action plan to advance foreign-related legal services

Recently, the justice department of North China's Shanxi province issued a five-year action plan on accelerating the advancement of foreign-related legal services for 2024-2028.

The plan addresses the shortcomings in the province's foreign-related legal services in terms of teams, institutions, talents, quality, expertise, and market development. It proposes 10 measures to advance foreign-related rule of law and improve foreign-related legal services in a bid to enhance the practical capabilities of foreign-related legal service teams and support the province's high-quality development and high-level opening-up.

The plan aims, through five years of exploration, to foster a group of high-quality legal professionals with expertise in foreign-related legal practice, a good knowledge of international rules, and a global vision.

During the same period, it also seeks to develop a number of foreign-related legal service institutions featuring large scale, high professional level and high-quality services to meet the diverse needs of market entities and the public.

The plan outlines six key tasks for advancing the province's foreign-related legal services.

It calls for identifying the supply and demand gaps based on in-depth research, establishing a talent pool for foreign-related legal services, and adopting multiple measures to cultivate talents in that area.

Efforts should also be made to implement collaborative projects between provincial justice department and municipal justice bureaus, strengthen collaboration to build a platform for exchange and cooperation in foreign-related legal services, and compile and issue relevant guidelines in different categories.

Additionally, the plan specifies different work priorities and measures for improving quality and efficiency in four foreign-related legal services of lawyers, notarization, arbitration and mediation, based on their respective characteristics and practical realities.

The plan, focusing on six key tasks and four types of foreign-related legal services, is an effort to facilitate establishment of an integrated mechanism framework including a promotion mechanism and a talent cultivation mechanism for foreign-related legal services, a mechanism for sharing legal theories, a market cultivation mechanism and a risk prevention mechanism for foreign-related legal services.