Chinese lawyers petition State Council to recall rules ‘aimed at silencing critics’

A total of 168 lawyers signed a petition letter sent to the State Council on Saturday, demanding revocation of amended regulations on law firms seen as a further attempt to silence legal practitioners critical of the authorities.

The lawyers said the changes were “against the rights and freedoms of speech, of the press, peaceable assembly and protest enshrined by the constitution”.

When the new provision comes into force next month law firms will be punished if their lawyers write open letters, sign petitions or organise forums to put pressure on judicial authorities.

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The latest amended regulations on law firms by the Ministry of Justice, published in September, include items that hold firms responsible if their lawyers make “misleading and distorting comments” on cases, or “provoke discontent towards the Communist Party”.

The lawyers said the amendment was forced by Minister of Justice Wu Aiying through “black-box operations” without any form of public consultation, violating the country’s legislation law.

They also said the amendment would give judicial authorities unwarranted power that used to be held by police, a change that was also against the legislation law.

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“The amendment will not protect the national interest and the socialist legal system. Instead, it will lead to the decline and decay of the practise of law in China,” the petition letter reads. The amendment of regulations on law firms comes after Beijing carried out a crackdown on rights lawyers that began last July, and is seen as tightening their grip on the outspoken group.