ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the situation of legal aid in China. It analyzes some basic features of the system, as well as different programs and relevant regulations. Modern legal practitioners and bar associations began appearing in the Republic of China in 1912. In 1949, the Communist Party of China seized state power and began to build a new legal order. The Ministry of Justice of the Central People’s Government ran a pilot scheme of ‘People’s Lawyers’ in some cities from July 1954 to July 1957. Legal aid in China is defined as a legal institution that requires legal service personnel such as attorneys, public notaries and basic legal workers to provide free or fee-reduced legal assistance to parties with economic difficulties. Many legal aid organizations have been set up by law students in universities or colleges such as Peking University, Fudan University, Wuhan University and the Middle South College of Political Science and Law.
