Study On Counsel's Fees System In China

Counsel's fees mean the fees paid to a counsel by a client in criminal litigation activities, which is an important subentry of the fees system on the legal service. The rationality of counsel's fees can be helpful on ensuring the law system to work regularly, protecting the social image of counsels and also affecting the implement correctly and legitimately of criminal litigation activities and the safeguard of human rights. The present counsel's fees system in China cannot meet the need of practice. On the one hand, the standard of counsel's fees is too low for the counsels to survive and to pay the costs and expense on the cases, so it brings the consequences that counsels for the defense get high risk but low income when dealing with criminal cases;on the other hand, counsels don't collect counsel's fees in accordance with the standard drafted by the government, and this causes complaining from common people and even causes the phenomenon that some parties cannot afford counsel's fees, which actually deprives the poor defendants the right of defense. There are strong conflicts in criminal cases, so the unreasonable counsel's fees have already destroyed the harmony of the society, and it really harms the fairness and justice, when the parties get different opportunities and services pursuant to the same legal system only because of different economic position. Therefore, both government and public have paid great attention to it.The aim of this dissertation is to change the old ideas of people about counsel's fees and lead them to get proper consideration by economic analysis and social analysis on the basis of counsel's fees. It analyzes the shortages of the present counsel's fees system, then with reference to the labor value theory and the cost-benefit theory, proposes the basic suggestions to reform the counsel's fees system according to the special particularity of the advocacy.The dissertation includes the preface, the body and the conclusion. The body includes three chapters. The first chapter elucidates the defense system and the counsel's fees system, analyzes the relations between them, and studies the theoretical foundation of counsel's fees and the targets established by the government policies. The second chapter objectively analyzes the problems of the present counsel's fees system and the reasons of the problems, and then discusses some important issues about counsel's fees system with some examples and investigation. The third chapter proposes the basic suggestions to reform the counsel's fees system from aspects of principlen standard> mode and other supplementary systems.Legal service has become an independent industry in the whole social industrial structure in China. The industrialization of legal service unavoidably leads to the commercialization of legal profession. Counsels are different from common commercial lawyers, so the value of the former includes not only economic benefits but also social values, which are evenmore important because of the aim of the defense system. The counsel's mission and social functions clearly stated in The Lawyer Law is legal safeguards to establish and keep the counsel's feeling of responsibility o The mission of counsels decides their social position and social function, and also makes the legal profession glorious and noble.Law - and - order is necessary in a harmonious social, and it is a kind of dynamic, rational balance and harmony, which can be achieved, in the prospected order established and guaranteed by the system. Regulating the counsel's fees system, upholding the legal rights of the suspect, the accused and the counsels and releasing the parties' burden are closely related to the realization of social justice and legal function. It is an important safeguard to carry on the scientific development idea and to establish a harmonious society.