The rights of lawyers to work free from harassment or threats have been bolstered by the establishment of a mechanism designed to provide rapid responses and solutions to complaints, according to Jiang Min, a spokesman for the All China Lawyers Association.

The system is a joint effort between the association at national and local levels, justice departments nationwide, courts and public security departments across the country.

China's legal professionals are increasingly busy as a result of the rising number of civil and criminal cases, but many defense lawyers have filed complaints about inequitable treatment by judicial department officers.

They claim that the lack of a complaints mechanism, allied to inadequate legislation, has allowed some judicial officers and prosecution lawyers to infringe their professional rights.

In response, the judicial authorities and the national association have established a platform to resolve problems "in a timely manner".

According to Jiang, lawyers' associations at every level will strengthen the exchange of information and cooperation with judicial authorities, and the two sides will hold regular meetings to discuss major concerns and seek solutions.

Moreover, the All China Lawyers Association will draft and circulate a notice to further define the roles of relevant departments in the protection of lawyers' rights, coordinate scrutiny of cross-regional cases of abuse, direct local branches to investigate incidents and tackle major infringements, he added.

Xiong Xuanguo, vice-minister of justice, said: "Lawyers play an essential role in protecting the legitimate rights of all parties involved in legal cases, and contribute greatly to the rule of law. We will introduce and strengthen policies to make it easier for them to do their jobs, and severely punish those who infringe their professional rights."

Joint efforts

In recent years, a growing number of legal professionals nationwide have reported violations of their professional rights. The allegations have attracted widespread public and media attention.