Over 1 000 Beijing Lawyers Have Their Licenses Suspended
China’s Ministry of Justice abolished a widely criticized “annual registration” system for lawyers last year. But the Beijing Administration of Judicial Lawyers has devised a tactic to block lawyers who handle so-called “sensitive” cases from practicing. A large number of human rights lawyers have emerged in China in recent years. They take on “sensitive” cases prohibited by the communist regime such as Sanlu milk poisoning, HIV rights, and church-related cases. The Beijing Administration of Judicial Lawyers has suspended the licenses of over 1000 lawyers and around 90 law firms for failing to pass a concocted annual registration examination. All the lawyers who failed the exam have handled “sensitive” cases. [Zhang Jiankang, Human Rights Lawyer]: “Because they handle ’sensitive’ cases, more than 1000 lawyers have lost their legal careers. This is likely to provoke China’s human rights movement even more.” Shanghai human rights lawyer Ma Tianlin believes the suspension of licenses is retaliation by the Beijing Justice Bureau over the fact that many Beijing lawyers have demanded direct election of members to the Beijing Bar Association. [Albert Ho, Chairman, Hong Kong Democratic Party]: “The internal assessment system in China is not fair. Lawyers’ human rights are also damaged. It now appears that (assessment) will be used by the authorities to suppress lawyers who have different opinions. Of course, this should be noticed. I have already told our local Bar Association …