In order to implement the spirit of the 18th CPC National Congress and the Third, Fourth and Fifth Plenary Sessions of the 18th CPC Central Committee, actively promote the system of legal counsel and the system of public lawyers and company lawyers, and give full play to the role of legal advisers, public lawyers and company lawyers, the following opinions are put forward.

I. Guiding ideology, basic principles, objectives and tasks

(1) Guiding ideology.  Follow the rule of law and the characteristics of the work of legal advisers and lawyers, actively promote the system of legal advisers and the system of public lawyers and company lawyers, improve the ability to govern, administer, operate and manage according to law, promote the handling of affairs according to law, and provide legal guarantee for the coordinated promotion of the "four Comprehensives" strategic layout.

(2) Basic principles. Adhere to the correct political direction. Adhere to the leadership of the Party, and select legal professionals with high political quality and support the Party's theories, lines, principles and policies to join the ranks of legal advisers, public lawyers and company lawyers.

Adhere to the implementation of classification norms. Based on the actual situation, we will introduce the system of legal counsel and the system of public lawyers and corporate lawyers in party and government organs, people's organizations, and state-owned enterprises and institutions, clarify the policy orientation and basic requirements, and encourage all regions and departments and units to take into account the organizational and personnel conditions and work needs, choose actual organizational forms, working models and management methods, and actively and steadily implement them.

We will make coordinated and coordinated progress. Focusing on the overall situation of building a socialist rule of law work team, we should properly handle the connection between legal advisers, public lawyers and company lawyers, and smooth the communication channels between public lawyers, company lawyers and social lawyers, judges and prosecutors. After the implementation of the old method for the elderly, the new method for the new, and the implementation of the national unified legal professional qualification system, party and government organs, people's organizations, state-owned enterprises and institutions to serve as legal advisers shall have legal professional qualifications or lawyer qualifications.

(3) Objectives and tasks. By the end of 2017, all ministries and commissions of the central and state organs and local party and government organs at and above the county level have generally established legal advisers and public lawyers; township party committees and governments have established legal advisers and public lawyers according to needs; state-owned enterprises have further promoted the system of legal advisers and company lawyers; and public institutions have explored the establishment of a legal adviser system. By 2020, a system of legal counsel, public lawyers, and corporate lawyers with Chinese characteristics will be in place to meet the needs of economic and social development and legal services.

Second, establish and improve the system of legal advisers and public lawyers for party and government organs

(4) Actively promote the system of legal advisers for Party and government organs, and establish a team of legal advisers whose main body is the personnel of the Party's regulatory work organs and government legal institutions, and which includes legal experts and lawyers.

The internal staff of the Party and government organs specializing in legal affairs and the legal experts and lawyers hired by the organs may serve as legal advisers. The Party's legislative affairs organs and the government's legal affairs organs play the role of legal advisers in the collective name.

(5) Persons who have served as legal advisers in Party and government organs but have not obtained legal professional qualifications or lawyer qualifications may continue to perform their duties as legal advisers. After the implementation of the national unified legal professional qualification system, the personnel who intend to serve as legal advisers in the Party and government organs shall have legal professional qualifications or lawyer qualifications.

(6) The local Party committees and governments at or above the county level and the working departments with more legal affairs shall be equipped with full-time personnel who are suitable for the work tasks as legal advisers; Local party committees and government departments above the county level with fewer legal affairs can have part-time staff to perform the duties of legal advisers. Township party committees and governments may, according to the needs of their work, appoint full-time or part-time personnel to perform the duties of legal advisers.

(7) Legal advisers of Party and government organs shall perform the following duties:

1. Provide legal advice for major decisions and major administrative actions;

2. Participate in the drafting and argumentation of draft laws, regulations, inner-party regulations and normative documents for review;

3. Participate in the negotiation of cooperation projects, assist in drafting and revising important legal documents or major contracts with party and government organs as a party;

4. Provide legal services for handling legal cases, petition cases and major emergencies;

5. Participate in handling administrative reconsideration, litigation, arbitration and other legal affairs;

6. Other duties prescribed by the party and government organs.

(8) External legal advisers shall meet the following requirements:

1. high political quality, support the party's theory and line principles and policies, generally should be a member of the Communist Party of China;

2. Have good professional ethics and social responsibility;

3. Legal experts with certain influence and experience in the fields of legal teaching, legal research and legal practice, or lawyers with more than 5 years of practicing experience and strong professional ability;

(4) Strictly abide by the law and discipline, have not received criminal punishment, hired as a legal adviser of the lawyer should also have not received administrative punishment by the judicial administrative department or the industry punishment of the lawyers association;

5. Other conditions stipulated by the appointing authority.

(9) External legal counsel shall be selected in an open, fair and impartial manner. If a person is hired as a legal adviser, the appointing authority shall issue a letter of appointment.

(10) The external legal adviser shall enjoy the following rights during the performance of his duties as legal adviser:

1. Provide legal advice based on facts and law;

2. To obtain information, documents and other necessary working conditions related to the performance of duties;

3. To obtain the agreed work remuneration and treatment;

4. Other rights agreed with the appointing authority.

(11) The external legal adviser shall undertake the following obligations during the performance of his duties as legal adviser:

1. Abide by the confidentiality system, shall not disclose Party and state secrets, work secrets, business secrets and other information that should not be disclosed, shall not disclose the work content undertaken by the public without authorization;

2. Shall not use the non-public information or convenient conditions obtained during the work period to seek benefits for myself, the unit I work for or others;

3. Not to engage in business activities as a legal adviser and activities unrelated to the duties of legal advisers;

(4) Shall not accept other parties entrusted to handle legal affairs that have conflicts of interest with the employing unit, and shall withdraw if the legal adviser has an interest in the business undertaken and may affect the impartial performance of his duties;

5. Other obligations agreed with the appointing authority.

(12) Party committees and governments at the city, county and township levels may jointly hire external legal advisers to provide services to Party and government organs; The Party committee and the government may separately employ external legal advisers to provide services to the Party committee, the government and their working departments.

(13) Party and government organs at all levels shall establish public lawyers in accordance with these Opinions. Public lawyers are public officials of Party and government organs who have obtained public lawyer certificates in accordance with the provisions of Articles 25 and 26 of these Opinions.

(14) Public lawyers perform the duties of legal advisers of Party and government organs, and may be entrusted by their units to engage in legal services on behalf of their units. In their practice activities, public lawyers shall enjoy the lawyers' practice rights in terms of meeting, reviewing papers, investigating and collecting evidence, asking questions, cross-examining and debating as stipulated in the Lawyers' Law, and other rights as stipulated in the Lawyers' Law.

(15) Public lawyers shall not engage in paid legal services, shall not work part-time in legal service institutions such as law firms, and shall not handle litigation or non-litigation legal affairs outside their units as lawyers.

(16) Legal advisers of party and government organs and public lawyers who neglect their duties or engage in malpractices for personal gains shall be dealt with according to law and discipline; If it is an external legal adviser, it shall be dismissed, recorded in the legal adviser's work file and personal integrity file, notified to the lawyers association or the unit to which it belongs, and investigated for responsibility according to law.

Third, establish and improve the system of legal advisers and company lawyers for state-owned enterprises

(17) In the case of enterprises wholly owned by the State or holding enterprises in industry and commerce, finance, culture and other industries (hereinafter referred to as state-owned enterprises), the internal staff specializing in enterprise legal affairs and the external lawyers employed by the enterprises may serve as legal advisers.

Persons who have served as legal advisers in state-owned enterprises but have not obtained legal professional qualifications or lawyer qualifications may continue to perform their duties as legal advisers. After the implementation of the unified national legal professional qualification system, the staff members of state-owned enterprises who intend to serve as legal advisers or other external personnel shall have legal professional qualifications or lawyer qualifications, except for the current legal advisers of other state-owned enterprises. Where it is difficult for a few remote local state-owned enterprises to hire legal advisers with legal professional qualifications or lawyer qualifications, the existing practice of appointing legal advisers can be followed.

The auxiliary staff of the legal adviser may not be qualified in the legal profession or as a lawyer.

The employment of external legal advisers by state-owned enterprises shall be handled in accordance with the provisions of Articles 8, 9, 10 and 11 of these Opinions.

(18) A state-owned enterprise may, according to its scale and business needs, set up a legal affairs office or appoint or employ a certain number of legal advisers.

Large and medium-sized state-owned enterprises may set up a general counsel to give full play to the role of the general counsel in legal review of operation and management activities, and promote the operation of enterprises in accordance with the law and compliance management.

(19) Legal advisers of state-owned enterprises shall perform the following duties:

1. Participate in the formulation of articles of association and operating rules of the board of directors;

2. Conduct legal review of important business decisions, rules and regulations, and contracts;

3. Provide legal advice on major matters such as enterprise restructuring, merger and listing, property rights transfer, bankruptcy reorganization, settlement and liquidation;

4. Organize compliance management, risk management, intellectual property management, external lawyer management, rule of law publicity, education and training, and legal consultation;

5. Organize the handling of litigation and arbitration cases;

6. Other responsibilities stipulated by the company.

(20) The legal counsel of state-owned enterprises shall be responsible for supervising the legal compliance of the operation and management of the enterprises, putting forward opinions on the illegal acts of the enterprises, and urging the rectification. Where the legal adviser knows full well that the enterprise has violations of laws and regulations and fails to warn or stop them, he shall bear corresponding liabilities.

(21) State-owned enterprises shall appoint company lawyers when necessary. A company lawyer is an employee who has signed a labor contract with an enterprise according to law and obtained a company lawyer certificate in accordance with Articles 25 and 26 of this Opinion.

(22) A company lawyer who performs the duties of a legal adviser of a state-owned enterprise may be entrusted by the unit to engage in legal services on behalf of the unit. In the practice activities, company lawyers shall enjoy the lawyers' practice rights in terms of meeting, reviewing papers, investigating and collecting evidence, asking questions, cross-examining and debating as stipulated in the Lawyers' Law, and other rights as stipulated in the Lawyers' Law.

(23) Company lawyers shall not engage in paid legal services, shall not work part-time in legal service institutions such as law firms, and shall not handle litigation or non-litigation legal affairs outside the unit where they work as lawyers.

Fourth, improve the management system

(24) The Party's regulatory work agency, the government's legal affairs agency and the legal affairs department of state-owned enterprises shall respectively assume the responsibilities of the legal counsel office of the unit, be responsible for the daily business management of the legal counsel, public lawyers and company lawyers of the unit, and assist the personnel department in the selection, appointment, training, assessment, reward and punishment of legal advisers, public lawyers and company lawyers of the unit. And the unit to apply for public lawyers, corporate lawyers certificate staff audit.

(25) Persons who specialize in legal affairs or serve as legal advisers in Party and government organs or in state-owned enterprises and have legal professional qualifications or lawyer qualifications may, with the consent of their units, apply to the judicial administrative department for the issuance of certificates of public lawyers or company lawyers. After examination, if the applicant has legal professional qualifications or lawyer qualifications, the judicial administrative department shall issue a certificate of public office lawyer or company lawyer to him.

(26) Persons who have served as legal advisers before the implementation of the national unified legal professional qualification system but have not obtained legal professional qualifications or lawyer qualifications meet the following conditions and pass the examination by the judicial administrative department of The State Council shall be issued a certificate of public lawyer or company lawyer by the judicial administrative department of The State Council:

1. At least 15 years as a legal consultant in party and government organs or state-owned enterprises;

2. A bachelor's degree in law from an institution of higher learning and a bachelor's degree or above, or a bachelor's degree or above in law from an institution of higher learning and a master's degree in law, a master's degree in law or above or other corresponding degrees;

3. Have a senior title or equivalent professional level.

(27) Public lawyers and company lawyers who leave their original units may apply to become social lawyers, and their experience as public lawyers and company lawyers is included in the practice years of social lawyers. In accordance with the provisions of article 26 of these Opinions as public lawyers, corporate lawyers, apply to be converted to social lawyers, shall comply with the relevant provisions of the national unified legal professional qualification system. Where a public lawyer or company lawyer is selected as a judge or prosecutor in accordance with the relevant procedures, the number of years and experience of working as a public lawyer or company lawyer shall be taken into account in determining the rank of the judge or prosecutor.

(28) The Lawyers Association shall undertake business exchange and guidance for public lawyers and company lawyers, protection of lawyers' rights and interests, and industry self-discipline.

Fifth, strengthen organizational leadership

(29) As the first person responsible for promoting the construction of the rule of law, the main responsible comrades of the Party and government organs should conscientiously implement the system of legal advisers, public lawyers and company lawyers in their respective departments and units.

(30) Party and government organs shall give full play to the role of legal advisers and public lawyers in accordance with the following requirements:

(1) Before discussing or deciding on major matters, legal advisers and public lawyers shall be consulted;

2. To draft and demonstrate relevant laws and regulations, inner-party regulations and normative documents for examination, legal advisers and public lawyers shall be invited to participate, or to listen to their legal opinions;

(3) Matters that should have heard the legal opinions of legal advisers and public lawyers in accordance with relevant provisions but have not been heard, or matters that legal advisers and public lawyers consider illegal and non-compliant shall not be submitted for discussion or decision.

Where the legal advice of legal advisers and public lawyers should be listened to and not listened to, legal advisers and public lawyers should be invited to participate and not implemented, legal advice of legal advisers and public lawyers should be adopted and not adopted, causing heavy losses or serious adverse effects, the main person in charge of the Party and government organs, other responsible leading personnel and relevant responsible personnel shall be investigated according to law and regulations.

(31) State-owned enterprises shall give full play to the role of legal advisers and company lawyers in accordance with the following requirements:

1. Before discussing and deciding on major matters of enterprise operation and management, legal counsel and company lawyers shall be consulted;

2. In drafting the articles of association of the enterprise and the operation rules of the Board of directors, legal advisers and company lawyers shall be invited to participate in the drafting or to listen to their legal opinions;

3. Matters that should have heard the legal advice of the legal adviser and the company's lawyer in accordance with the relevant provisions but have not been heard, or matters that the legal adviser and the company's lawyer consider illegal and non-compliant shall not be submitted for discussion and decision.

Where the legal opinions of legal advisers or company lawyers should be heard but are not heard, the legal opinions of legal advisers or company lawyers should be submitted to legal advisers or company lawyers for legal review but are not implemented, or the legal opinions of legal advisers or company lawyers should be adopted but are not adopted, resulting in heavy losses or serious adverse effects, To investigate the responsibilities of the principal responsible persons, other responsible leaders and relevant responsible personnel of state-owned enterprises in accordance with the law and regulations.

(32) Party and government organs at all levels shall incorporate the work of legal advisers, public lawyers, and company lawyers into the assessment of the target responsibility system of party and government organs and state-owned enterprises. We will promote the strengthening of legal advisers, public lawyers and corporate lawyers, improve the working mechanisms and management methods for daily management, professional training, evaluation, awards and punishments, and promote scientific and standardized work.

(33) The Party and government organs shall include the funds for legal advisers and public lawyers in the fiscal budget, adopt the form of government purchase or financial subsidies, and reasonably determine the remuneration of external legal advisers according to the workload and work performance, so as to provide necessary guarantees for legal advisers and public lawyers to carry out their work.

(34) Local Party committees and governments at or above the county level and administrative departments such as education and health should strengthen guidance, categorical policies, focus on promoting and encouraging exploration, and step by step promote the construction of the legal adviser system of public institutions.

(35) People's organizations shall establish a system of legal advisers and public lawyers with reference to these Opinions.

(36) All localities and departments may, in light of actual conditions, formulate specific measures in accordance with these Opinions.

Source (Xinhuanet)