A few days ago, the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of Justice jointly issued the "Measures for the Implementation of the Legal Aid Law" (hereinafter referred to as the "Measures") to further strengthen the coordination and cooperation of the people's courts, people's procuratorates, public security organs, and judicial-administrative organs in the process of handling legal aid cases, and to truly protect the lawful rights and interests of aid recipients.
In order to better implement the Legal Aid Law of the People's Republic of China, ensure that parties obtain legal aid in accordance with law, and facilitate the work of legal aid personnel, the Measures further clarify the division of duties and responsibilities between the people's courts, people's procuratorates, public security organs, and judicial-administrative organs, improve coordination mechanisms, strengthen work cohesion, and provide institutional safeguards for the standardized, orderly, and efficient handling of legal aid cases.
There are 30 articles in the Measures, the main contents of which include:The first is to refine the responsibilities of each department. Clarify the work responsibilities of the people's courts, people's procuratorates, public security organs, and places of supervision in the handling of legal aid cases, and refine the duties of judicial-administrative organs and legal aid institutions. The second is to deepen cooperation in all links. During the process of requesting the handling of legal aid cases, the people's courts, people's procuratorates, public security organs, and places of supervision should perform their legally-prescribed duties, inform the relevant parties that they have the right to apply for legal aid in accordance with law, transfer the legal aid application to the legal aid institution, and provide relevant documents and materials. Standardize the procedures for appointing legal aid institutions and sending letters, and make special provisions on the connection between legal aid and judicial assistance. The third is to optimize the guarantee of multiple measures. It is clarified that the people's courts, people's procuratorates, and public security organs shall promptly inform legal aid institutions and legal aid personnel of important information such as changes to the date, compulsory measures, or places of detention, and standardize the delivery of relevant legal documents within the legally-prescribed time limit, to facilitate legal aid personnel's meetings, reading the case file, learning about the case, and so forth, to ensure that legal aid personnel perform their duties in accordance with law. Emphasis is placed on strengthening the construction of informatization to ensure the effective development of legal aid work. Fourth, strengthen all-round supervision. In the course of handling legal aid cases, the judicial-administrative organs are required to use a variety of methods to supervise the quality of legal aid services, and the people's courts, people's procuratorates, and public security organs are to do a good job of assisting and cooperating. In addition, it is clarified that the provisions of the Measures on public security organs shall apply to the handling of criminal cases by the first organs, military security departments, China Coast Guard Bureaus, and prisons.
Article** Ministry of Justice.