Weekend Long Read: The Challenges of Mounting a Legal Defense in China

Impediments preventing lawyers from adequately defending their clients have become alarmingly common, undermining public trust in the judicial system

Increasing instances of judicial authorities impeding defense lawyers from carrying out their work has raised questions about procedural justice in China.

In recent years, Chinese public security and judicial organs infringing upon lawyers’ rights to defend their clients has become alarmingly frequent.

This has manifested in a myriad of ways, from throwing up barriers in their meetings with clients, making it difficult for lawyers to review case files, and creating challenges in evidence collection.

Added to these have been a trifecta of new hurdles: making it difficult for lawyers to question and cross-examine people in court, and presenting their arguments.

Lawyers who believe they have been hindered in their lawful exercise of litigation rights by the police, prosecutors, courts and their staff have become an increasing cause for concern.

A recent case in a Guangxi Provincial Intermediate Court highlighted some of these concerns. The court subjected lawyers to lengthy security checks, prohibited them from bringing computers into the courtroom, and in one perplexing instance, concluded a court session even before the lawyer had a chance to enter the room.

This case had the general public questioning procedural justice and underscored the significant limitations and infringements on a defense attorney’s rights to do their job. It should also prompt deeper reflection on the overarching challenges, implications and potential solutions facing defense lawyers in China.