Measures for Administration of Lawyers' Service Charges to Take Effect December 2006

The National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Justice recently promulgated the Measures for the Administration of Lawyers' Service Charges, which will take effect on 1 December 2006.

The new measures lay down strict standards for the fee-charging services and charging procedures. The rules also stipulate that law firms can only charge for legal services, fees paid for clients and travel expenses for out-of-town investigations, and may not charge fees in any other names.

In case of disputes over charges, law firms should negotiate for settlement with their clients. Should negotiations fail, the case may be referred to the departments concerned or to the people's court. If citizens, legal persons and other organisations think that a law firm or lawyer has breached the law in charging standards, they may report or complain to the price department, department of judicial administration and the lawyers associations.

It is understood that the Ministry of Justice has also asked the China Bar Association to draw up rules for the settlement of fee disputes to better address the problem of disputes over lawyer fees. The new rules will be promulgated at a later date.