Book contents
- The Role of Lawyers in Access to Justice
- The Role of Lawyers in Access to Justice
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Appendices
- Contributors
- Foreword
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- 1 Understanding and Comparing Access to Justice
- Part I Access to Justice in Asia
- 2 Pro Bono, Legal Aid, and the Struggle for Justice in China
- 3 Access to Justice in India: Managing Multiple Mechanisms in a Restrictive Practice Environment
- 4 Access to Justice in Indonesia: Searching for Meaning
- 5 Access to Justice and Lawyer Independence in Japan
- 6 Improving Access to Justice in Malaysia: Introspection, Purpose, and Dynamism
- 7 Political Lawyers and the Legal Occupation in Myanmar
- 8 Alternative Lawyering versus Pro Bono in the Philippines: From Challenging an Authoritarian Government to Working with the State
- 9 Access to Justice in Singapore: A Government and Lawyer Dynamic
- 10 Public Interest Lawyering in South Korea: Standing on the Shoulders of Giants
- 11 A Hub, a Knot, and a Powerhouse: The Legal Aid Foundation and Access to Justice in Taiwan
- 12 Lawyers and Democratic Centralism in Vietnam
- Part II Comparative Perspectives on Access to Justice
- Index
2 - Pro Bono, Legal Aid, and the Struggle for Justice in China
from Part I - Access to Justice in Asia
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 29 September 2022
- The Role of Lawyers in Access to Justice
- The Role of Lawyers in Access to Justice
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Appendices
- Contributors
- Foreword
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- 1 Understanding and Comparing Access to Justice
- Part I Access to Justice in Asia
- 2 Pro Bono, Legal Aid, and the Struggle for Justice in China
- 3 Access to Justice in India: Managing Multiple Mechanisms in a Restrictive Practice Environment
- 4 Access to Justice in Indonesia: Searching for Meaning
- 5 Access to Justice and Lawyer Independence in Japan
- 6 Improving Access to Justice in Malaysia: Introspection, Purpose, and Dynamism
- 7 Political Lawyers and the Legal Occupation in Myanmar
- 8 Alternative Lawyering versus Pro Bono in the Philippines: From Challenging an Authoritarian Government to Working with the State
- 9 Access to Justice in Singapore: A Government and Lawyer Dynamic
- 10 Public Interest Lawyering in South Korea: Standing on the Shoulders of Giants
- 11 A Hub, a Knot, and a Powerhouse: The Legal Aid Foundation and Access to Justice in Taiwan
- 12 Lawyers and Democratic Centralism in Vietnam
- Part II Comparative Perspectives on Access to Justice
- Index
Summary
This chapter examines the role of lawyers in providing legal services to indigent persons and facilitating access to justice in China. The chapter explores the degree to which access to justice in China is different from other countries, and addresses whether those differences are related to China’s political and legal system or China’s status as a middle-income country with a low level of GDP per capita. Under current Chinese law, the provision of legal services to the poor is both a government responsibility and a duty of practising lawyers. The principal argument of the chapter is that legal aid has reduced the scope of non-professional representation, and that increased legal aid funding has commercialized legal aid in China and hollowed out public interest among lawyers in general. However, as the legal profession grows, a public interest spirit has started to develop outside the official legal aid system, with some lawyers volunteering their services to assist those in legal need and promote public interest.
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- The Role of Lawyers in Access to JusticeAsian and Comparative Perspectives, pp. 19 - 38Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022