Community program aims to provide faster, better-quality legal services

Authorities are appointing counsels to offer advice and clarify legislation to ensure rapid resolution of problems. Cao Yin reports.

Li Junying arrived at her residential community center in Beijing's Haidian district early on Tuesday morning to ensure she got a front-row seat at a lecture about the law relating to the allocation of family property.

The 56-year-old retired civilian worker for the military occasionally took notes during the 40-minute lecture. Afterward, she asked the keynote speaker, Ren Xuguang, an attorney with the Loyalty and Talent Law Firm in Beijing, for more advice.

"My family bought two apartments in the city, and one is registered under my name," Li told China Daily. "I went to the lecture because I need to know how the property will be allocated under Chinese law if I have a dispute with my family, and what I should know about property inheritance in the future."

She said the lecture had provided many answers and given her a better understanding of the law.

Holding such lectures and inviting lawyers to help solve disputes within communities is a major part of a project launched in May by the district's justice bureau, the Haidian Lawyers Association and several law firms. It aims to provide residents with easier access to legal services without needing to consult law firms.

About 82,000 households in the district's 57 communities, including the one in which Li lives, were the first to enjoy the project's services, while 30 attorneys were named as counsels to resolve legal problems within the communities.

The project is now also being used to implement a guideline issued by the central leadership and the State Council, China's Cabinet, last week. The document ordered government departments at all levels to improve adherence to the rule of law and to help solve disputes more effectively by accelerating the construction of platforms and systems to provide legal services.

The goal is to offer quick, convenient legal services nationwide by 2022, and also to ensure that a "community counsel" can be provided for every community or village as soon as possible.

"In addition to community counsels, we also hope every family will be covered by an attorney who will help solve their disputes," said Zheng Jinpeng, head of the office of justice in Haidian's Beixiaguan subdistrict.

Hu Guang, a judge at Haidian District People's Court, welcomed the use of more judicial resources to solve problems, especially in light of a rise in the number of domestic disputes in recent years. However, he was concerned about the selection process for community counsels and suggested the government should stringently review their performances to ensure they provide high-quality services.