Editorial: Infringing on Lawyers’ Rights to Practice Must Stop

Recently, there have been an alarmingly frequent number of incidents in which lawyers have had their rights infringed upon. In August, a farce unfolded at Laibin Intermediate People’s Court in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, in which a trial concluded before the defendant’s lawyer could even show up. In September, at Suizhou County Court in Central China’s Hubei province, two lawyers were admonished in a detention room while reviewing and copying case materials. The aforementioned courts later acknowledged their actions were “inappropriate.” Lately, another lawyer reported being yelled at and insulted by a prosecutor during a trial. Such recurring infringements on lawyers’ rights to practice, carried out with apparent frivolity, have greatly concerned both legal professionals and the public.