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

Greater professionalism

Under the project, attorneys named as counsels by a district's justice department must visit their assigned communities to give a free lecture and answer residents' queries at least once a month.

"These legal services can resolve domestic disputes, such as marital conflict, child custody and property inheritance, at the very start," said Zou Yamei, director of Li's community committee. "The earlier we get help from legal specialists, the better for the effective resolution of disputes."

Du Ying, Zou's colleague, attended Ren's lecture along with more than 50 residents. She also made notes as the lawyer analyzed various cases and explained a number of laws.

"Working as a community official means it is important for me to learn about the law," she said. "If residents argue and ask me to intervene, that knowledge will help me to avoid poor mediation and not mislead them."

Having been a community committee official for 10 years, Du has extensive experience of handling disputes. Despite that, "new government policies and updated laws mean I never stop learning", she said.

Zheng, from the Beixiaguan subdistrict justice department, agreed with Du, saying he regards the project as an opportunity for community officials to improve their ability to govern in accordance with the law.

He recalled a case several years ago in which a community committee was taken to court by a family after "a lack of familiarity with the law resulted in the committee providing an inaccurate custodianship document in a real estate allocation dispute".

"Now, community officials can ask the counsel's advice if they encounter issues they're not sure about. That should be encouraged and it will contribute to regulating their behavior in terms of governance," he said.