Weiquan Lawyers

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Weiquan Lawyers (Chinese: 维权 律师), also known as "legal protection" lawyers, are a small but influential movement of lawyers, scholars and activists who help Chinese citizens exercise their constitutional rights , civil rights and / or public interests through legal proceedings and Assert legal activism. Weiquan lawyers represent many cases related to labor law , land law, official corruption , victims of torture and migrant law.

Since the 1980s, when China’s leadership became aware of the importance of the legal system and legal profession in promoting economic development, the number of attorney training courses has increased dramatically. While there were slightly more than 2,000 lawyers in 1983, the number had more than doubled in China from 1986 to 1992 (from 21,500 to 45,000), by 2008 there were already 143,000 and in 2013 there were over 230,000 lawyers.

However, Weiquan lawyers are few in relation to the total number of lawyers in China. The number of lawyers actively involved in civil rights issues was estimated at "only a few dozen" by law scholar Teng Biao . These lawyers face significant personal and professional hurdles, so Weiquan lawyers need a great deal of commitment to their cause. According to Fu and Cullen of the Social Science Research Network , Weiquan's attorneys “act primarily out of engagement, not out of any financial concern. They take on Weiquan cases to serve their cause and usually do not charge legal fees ”. Often threatened, harassed and even jailed for taking cases, lawyers are the target of repression before sensitive events.

Types of Weiquan Lawyers

Weiquan activists include professors who hold teaching positions at law universities, such as He Weifang , Xu Zhiyong, and Teng Biao, as well as professional attorneys and barefoot attorneys who trained through self-study and often have no formal legal training. Several well-known Weiquan lawyers fall into the latter category, including Guo Feixiong and Chen Guangcheng . Many barefoot lawyers are farmers who have taught themselves enough legal knowledge to file civil complaints, appear in legal disputes, and educate fellow citizens about their rights.

Because law firms are typically not hospitable to Weiquan attorneys and legal advisors work within the system of government, Weiquan attorneys in large cities tend to work single-handedly with other like-minded attorneys in partnership firms. The Global Law Firm Beijing and the law firm Yitong are examples of such organizations.

Rana Siu Inboden and William Inboden of the Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law point out that a disproportionate number of influential Weiquan lawyers belong to Christianity in China , including Gao Zhisheng , Chen Guangcheng , Zheng Enchong and Li Heping .

Different approaches

There are at least two distinct (and sometimes competing) approaches to Weiquan activism. Weiquan's lawyers include pragmatists (consequentialists) who tend to be respectful of the existing legal system and its institutions. They only pursue actions that are more likely to produce incremental and sequential improvements and reforms. These activists are more likely to reject approaches that are likely to result in official retaliation.

In contrast, the so-called “radical” Weiquan activists, who adopt a deontological approach , view the defense of rights as a moral obligation that must be followed, regardless of the consequences. Such lawyers, such as Gao Zhisheng, are more inclined to take on the "most sensitive" cases - like those of Falun Gong practitioners - simply because it is the "right thing", even though the chances of success are minimal. But even a pragmatist can easily be “radicalized” as soon as he exceeds the limits of a possible reform.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Marco Marazzi, Chen Youxi, A Tale of Two Cities - the Legal Profession in China , (中国 法律 职业 状况 研究 报告), International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) (国际 律师 协会 人權 研究所), 17 February 2013, accessed November 18, 2016
  2. ↑ China has more than 143,000 lawyers , People's Daily Online, April 16, 2008, accessed November 18, 2016
  3. ↑ Teng Biao, Chinese Human Rights Lawyers Under Assault , Washington Post, July 25, 2009, accessed November 18, 2016
  4. ↑ a b Fu Hualing, Richard Cullen, Weiquan (Rights Protection) lawyering in at Authoritarian State: Toward Critical lawyering , Social Science Research Network (SSRN), January 15th 2008, accessed on November 18, 2016
  5. ↑ Jonathan Kaiman, China cracks down on dissent ahead of Tiananmen anniversary , The Guardian, May 13, 2014, accessed November 18, 2016
  6. ↑ Melinda Liu, Barefoot lawyers , Newsweek, March 4, 2002, accessed November 18, 2016
  7. ^ Rana Siu Inboden and William Inboden, Faith and Law in China ( March 23, 2012 memento in the Internet Archive ), Far Eastern Economic Review, September 2009, accessed November 18, 2016
  8. ^ A b Eva Pils, Asking the Tiger for His Skin: Rights Activism in China , Fordham International Law Journal, Volume 30, Issue 4, 2006, accessed November 18, 2016