Provisions of Shanghai Municipality on Legal Aid

· Area of Law： Legislative Affairs

· Level of Authority： Provincial Local Regulations

· Date issued：04-26-2006

· Effective Date：07-01-2006

· Status： Effective

· Issuing Authority： Shanghai Municipality

Provisions of Shanghai Municipality on Legal Aid
(Adopted at the 27th Session of the 12th Standing Committee of Shanghai Municipal People's Congress on April 26, 2006)
Article 1 With a view to ensuring necessary legal services for citizens in economic difficulties, promoting and normalizing the work of legal aid in this Municipality, these Provisions are formulated on the basis of the "Regulations on Legal Aid" and in the light of the actual situation of this Municipality.
Article 2 The legal aid organ mentioned in these Provisions refer to the specialized agency determined according to law by the judicial administrative departments of the municipal or district/county people's governments to organize and carry out the work of legal aid.
Article 3 The judicial administrative departments of the municipal and district/county people's governments shall supervise and administer the work of legal aid within their own administrative areas.
The legal organ is specifically responsible for the organization and implementation of the legal aid activities in its own locality.
Article 4 The municipal and district/county people's governments shall list the funds for legal aid in the governmental finance budget, and provide funds security for various items of legal aid that conform to the provisions. The specific measures for funds security shall be determined by the municipal judicial administrative department jointly with the municipal finance department.
The funds for legal aid shall be used for the specified purpose only and accept the supervision by the finance and audit departments.
Article 5 In addition to the legal aid items provided in the Clause 1 of Article 10 in the "Regulations on Legal Aid", citizens in economic difficulties may also apply for legal aid in regard to the following matters:
（1）Those who get harmed in the course of signing, performing, altering, dissolving and terminating labor contracts and claim rights;
（2）Those who suffer injuries on the job in traffic accidents, or medical accidents, and claim rights;
（3）Those whose legitimate rights and interests get damaged owning to causes of family violence, abuse, and abandonment, and claim rights;
（4）Other items for which legal aid should be provided as prescribed by laws, regulations and rules.
Article 6 This Municipality shall, in accordance with the state of the economic and social development as well as the demand of the legal aid undertakings, expand step by step the scope of legal aid, so as to safeguard the basic rights and interests of the poverty-stricken masses.
The standard of the legal aid object in economic difficulties shall be higher than the amount for the minimum living security standard in this Municipality. The specific standard shall be separately provided by the municipal people's government.
The standard of the legal aid object in economic difficulties shall be made public to the society.
The sub-district office and town/township people's governments in the locality of the registered permanent residence of the applicant for legal aid or his/her place of residence shall issue the certificates of economic difficulties. The certificate of economic difficulties shall have the contents such as the working capacity and employment status of the person himself/herself as well as his/her family members, household income per capita per month/year, and family property.
Article 7 Where a citizen is in need of legal aid for litigation or arbitration resulting from his/her bold act for a just cause, the legal aid organ shall, without the need to examine his/her economic conditions, provide legal aid.
The identification of a bold act for a just cause shall be excuted in accordance with relevant provisions of the State and this Municipality.
Article 8 Any citizen applying for legal aid shall make an application to the district/county legal aid organ in the locality of the obligor or the claimant; where the case of applying for legal aid comes within the jurisdiction of this Municipality's high or intermediate people's court, the applications shall be submitted to the municipal level legal aid organ.
Where over two legal aid organs accept the application according to the provision of the preceding paragraph, the applicant shall submit the application to one of those legal aid organs. If the applicant makes an application to more than two legal aid organs, the legal aid organ that first receives the application shall accept the case.
The legal aid organ shall, within 10 working days upon the receipt of the legal aid application from a citizen, make a decision on whether or not to provide legal aid, and shall inform the applicant in writing.
The social organizations in this Municipality, including law offices as well as mass organizations, enterprises and institutions may provide assistance for citizens applying for legal aid.
Article 9 Where the statutory limitation on litigation or arbitration comes close to expiration, and the party concerned needs to apply for legal aid, the legal aid organ may provide legal aid in advance.
Where the legal aid organ provides legal aid, timely examination shall be made, so as to determine whether the conditions for legal aid are met.
Article 10 The legal aid items accepted by the municipal legal aid organ may entrust the district/county legal aid organ for handling. The legal aid items accepted by the district/county legal aid organ may, for special reasons, also be referred to the municipal legal aid organ.
In case of any dispute arising over the acceptance among legal aid organs, the municipal judicial administrative departments shall assign the acceptance.
Article 11 The recipient of aid shall, truthfully state the facts of the case to the legal aid organ and the person(s) handling the legal aid case, and assist the said person(s) in making investigation and obtaining evidence.
Article 12 Where the recipient of aid makes a demand that does not conform to the legal rules or actual situation, and holds to it in spite of explanation, thus rendering it difficult for the activities of legal aid to proceed, this item of legal aid may be suspended upon the examination and agreement by the legal aid organ that has accepted the application.
Where the recipient of aid adopts deceptive means, such as false statement to obtain legal aid, upon the examination and verification by the legal aid organ that has accepted the application, that item of legal aid shall be terminated, and the legal service fee chargeable to him/her shall be recovered, depending on actual circumstances, except for the circumstances provided in Article 23 of the "Regulations on Legal Aid ".
Article 13 The working personnel in the legal aid organ and the person(s) handling the legal aid case shall, strictly in accordance with the related norms for handling the legal aid case, keep the recipient of aid informed on the progress of the legal aid case and protect the lawful rights and interests of the recipient of aid. Where the recipient of aid is harmed through the faults of the person(s) handling the legal aid case, compensation shall be made in accordance with the provisions of relevant laws and regulations.
Article 14 The working personnel of the legal aid organ and the person(s) handling the legal aid case, when undertaking the matters of legal aid, shall, on the strength of the certificate of the legal aid organ, make investigation and collect evidence as well as consult, transfer and duplicate relevant materials according to law; relevant departments and units in this Municipality shall give assistance, and exempt or reduce the related fees.
Article 15 The recipient of aid may list in the claims in litigation or arbitration the necessary expenditure including expenses for traveling, printing, transport and communication, fact-investigation and translation, which has been borne by the legal aid organ for its person(s) handling the legal aid case in the course of handling such case.
Article 16 The subsidy standard for the handling of legal aid cases shall be verified and fixed by the municipal judicial administrative department jointly with the municipal finance department, and may be adjusted according to needs.
Article 17 This Municipality encourages labor unions, women federations, youth leagues, colleges and universities as well as other social organizations and institutions to utilize their own resources to provide legal aid for those citizens in economic difficulties.
This Municipality encourages the society to make donations for legal aid activities.
Article 18 Where the legal aid organ and its working personnel and person(s) handling the legal aid case violate relevant provisions on legal aid, the judicial administrative department shall impose administrative punishment or administrative penalty; if the wrongful act constitutes a crime, the wrongdoer shall be prosecuted for criminal liability as provided by law.
Article 19 These Provisions shall become effective as of July 1, 2006.