Article 41 A lawyer who once served as a judge or prosecutor shall not act as agent ad litem or defender within two years after leaving his post in a people’s court or people’s prosecutorate.

Article 42 Lawyers and law firms shall, in accordance with State regulations, perform the obligation of legal aid, provide the recipients with standard legal services, and protect their lawful rights and interests.

Chapter V

Lawyers Associations

Article 43 A lawyers association is a public organization with the status of a legal person and the self-disciplined organization of lawyers.

The All-China Lawyers Association is established at the national level, while local lawyers associations are established in provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government. Where necessary, local lawyers associations may be established in cities divided into districts.

Article 44 The articles of association of the All-China Lawyers Association shall be formulated by the national congress of the members and submitted to the judicial administration department under the State Council for the record.

The articles of association of local lawyers associations shall be formulated by the local congresses of members and submitted for the record to the judicial administration departments at the corresponding level. The articles of association of local lawyers associations shall not contravene the articles of association of the All-China Lawyers Association.

Article 45 A lawyer or law firm shall join the local lawyers association where the lawyer or law firm is located. A lawyer or law firm that has joined a local lawyers association is, at the same time, a member of the All-China Lawyers Association.

Members of lawyers associations shall enjoy the rights and perform the obligations as prescribed by the articles of association of the lawyers associations.

Article 46 A lawyers association shall perform the following duties:

(1) ensuring the lawyers’ legal practice according to law and protecting lawyers’ lawful rights and interests;

(2) analyzing and exchanging lawyers’ experience in work;

(3) formulating professional regulations and rules of punishment;

(4) organizing professional training for lawyers, organizing education in lawyers’ professional ethics and practice discipline, and assessing the lawyers’ legal practice;

(5) organizing and managing internship activities for persons who apply for legal practice, and making appraisal of their performance;

(6) giving reward or punishment to a lawyer or a law firm;

(7) accepting complaints or reports against lawyers, mediating disputes arising in the course of a lawyer’s legal practice, and accepting appeals lodged by lawyers; and

(8) other duties prescribed by laws, administrative regulations, rules, and the articles of association of the lawyers association.

The professional regulations and rules of punishment formulated by lawyers associations shall not contravene relevant laws, administrative regulations or rules.

Chapter VI

Legal Liability

Article 47 Where a lawyer commits one of the following acts, the judicial administration department of the people’s government of a city divided into districts or of a district of a municipality directly under the Central Government shall given him a disciplinary warning and may impose on him a fine of not more than RMB 5,000 yuan; it shall confiscate the illegal gains, if any; and if the circumstances are serious, it shall have him suspend his legal practice for not more than three months by way of punishment:

(1) practising in two or more law firms simultaneously;

(2) soliciting business by illegitimate means;

(3) acting as agent for both parties involved in one and the same case, or acting as agent where there is a conflict of interests between himself or his close relatives and the legal affair he is handling;

(4) serving as agent ad litem or defender within two years after leaving his post in a people’s court or people’s prosecutorate; or

(5) refusing to perform the obligation of legal aid.

Article 48 Where a lawyer commits one of the following acts, the judicial administration department of the people’s government of a city divided into districts or of a district of a municipality directly under the Central Government shall give him a disciplinary warning and may impose on him a fine of not more than 10,000 yuan; it shall confiscate his illegal gains, if any; if the circumstances are serious, it shall have him suspend his legal practice for not less than three months but not more than six months by way of punishment:

(1) privately accepting authorization or collecting fees, or accepting money, things of value or other benefits offered by a client;

(2) after accepting an authorization, refusing to act as defender or agent or failing to appear in court on schedule to participate in litigation or arbitration without justifiable reasons;

(4) seeking the disputed rights and interests of a party by taking advantage of his provision of legal services; or

(5) divulging commercial secrets or private affairs.

Article 49 Where a lawyer commits one of the following acts, the judicial administration department of the people’s government of a city divided into districts or of a district of a municipality directly under the Central Government shall have him suspend his legal practice for not less than six months but not more than one year by way of punishment and may impose a fine of not more than 50,000 yuan; it shall confiscate his illegal gains, if any; if the circumstances are serious, the judicial administration department of the people’s government of a province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government shall revoke his lawyer’s practice certificate; and if a crime is constituted, he shall be investigated for criminal responsibility according to law:

(1) in violation of regulations, meeting with a judge, prosecutor, arbitrator or another staff member concerned, or, by other illegitimate means, attempting to influence their handling of a case according to law;

(2) giving bribes to a judge, prosecutor, arbitrator or another staff member concerned, introducing bribes to them, or instigating or inducing a party to resort to bribery;

(3) providing false materials to judicial administration departments or committing other frauds;

(4) intentionally providing false evidence, or intimidating or luring another person into providing false evidence, for the purpose of preventing the other party from obtaining evidence lawfully;

(5) accepting money, things of value or other benefits offered by the other party, and infringing the rights and interests of the client through ill-intentioned collusion with the other party or a third party;

(6) disrupting the order of a court or an arbitration tribunal, or interfering with the normal conduct of litigation or arbitration;

(7) instigating or inciting a party into settling disputes by disrupting public order, endangering public security or by other illegal means;

(8) presenting views to endanger State security, maliciously slander another person, or seriously disrupt court order; or

(9) divulging secrets of the State.

Where a lawyer receives criminal punishment for an intentional crime, his lawyer’s practice certificate shall be revoked by the judicial administration department of the people’s government of a province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government.