Submission to the report on the protection of lawyers. The Rights Practice. December 2021 3. Please indicate if there are any legislative, administrative, or institutional barriers that have hindered the work of lawyers and the exercise of the legal profession in your country, and describe them. There are a number of legislative, administrative and institutional barriers that hinder the work of criminal and rights defence lawyers in China. Chinese lawyers do not have full access to meet their clients, read case files, collect evidence or take human rights-related cases without fear of harassment or detention. In recent years, Chinese authorities have introduced a succession of codes of conduct and regulations that have sought greater control over lawyers. In 2008, the Chinese Ministry of Justice adopted the ‘Measures on the Administration of Law Firms’ and the ‘Administrative Measures for the Practice of Law by Lawyers’.8 These were both amended in 2016, and the ‘Measures on the Administration of Law Firms’ was amended again in 2018. The regulations were amended to strengthen the role of the CCP over lawyers and law firms. This further limits the independence of lawyers and restricts their ability to carry out their duties, particularly in more politically sensitive cases. The regulations also restrict lawyers’ use of the Internet and social media to discuss cases, sign public letters and petitions, or offer “imprudent” judicial commentary. Lawyers fear that this restricts their freedom of expression. The amendments to the regulations came shortly after the Chinese authorities had initiated a wide-scale crackdown on Chinese lawyers in July 2015. The ‘709’ Crackdown, as it is known, targeted several high-profile rights lawyers and subjected them to incommunicado detention, torture and prison sentences.9 Since then many of the lawyers caught up in the crackdown have been unable to practice and continue to face harassment and surveillance. Since 2015, rights lawyers appear to have been increasingly intimidated, charged and sentenced for national security offences. Offences related to endangering national security are broadly defined. The Chinese National Security Law was introduced in 2015, and in 2016 a new Counter-terrorism Law was promulgated, as part of a wider set of laws and regulations covering national security. 10 The lack of clarity over what constitutes a national security offence has been used to target lawyers, as well as journalists, NGO workers and a wide range of other individuals. The crime of “subversion of State power”, Article 105, of the Chinese Criminal Law (2020) is Ministry of Justice of the People’s Republic of China. “Administrative Measures for the Practice of Law by Lawyers’” 2016. Chinese official: http://www.gov.cn/gongbao/content/2016/content_5109321.htm Unofficial English translation, China Law Translate, 27 October 2016, full access may be restricted due to paywall: https://www.chinalawtranslate.com/en/measures-on-the-administration-of-lawyers-practice/ Ministry of Justice of the People’s Republic of China. “Measures on the Administration of Law Firms”. 2016. Chinese official: http://www.gov.cn/gongbao/content/2016/content_5113014.htm Unofficial English translation, China Law Translate, 18 September 2018, full access may be restricted due to paywall: https://www.chinalawtranslate.com/en/moj-decision-onrevising-the-measures-on-the-administration-of-law-firms-comments-draft/ 9 Nicola Macbean, “Li Wenzu and the Resistance of the ‘709’ Wives”. The Rights Practice. 18 April 2019. https://www.rights-practice.org/blog/li-wenzu-and-the-resistance-of-the-709-wives 10 National Security Law of the People’s Republic of China. 2015. Official Chinese: http://www.gov.cn/zhengce/201507/01/content_2893902.htm; Unofficial English translation, China Law Translate, 1 July 2015, full access may be restricted due to paywall: https://www.chinalawtranslate.com/en/2015nsl/ 8 4