Comparative Research Of The Legal Aid System Between The Mainland Of China And Hong Kong

Legal aid is a system of legal remedy taken by legal aid agent founded by the government, organizing legal aid personnel such as solicitors, greffiers, grass-roots legal workers, to provide free or low-cost legal aid to those who have difficulty or in special cases to ensure their legal rights. It is a system carrying out the principle:"All shall be equal before the law", and it is a dispensable component of the social security system. The legal aid system has been operated for hundreds of years in developed countries. With more than ten years exploration, the mainland of china has established a relatively complete system since 1994. Legal aid works have been involved in the routine works of governments at all levels. But affected by factors like the uneven economic and cultural development, the unsound enough of rule of law and the flimsy legal awareness of the peasantry and so on, the legal aid system of the mainland of china is still at its beginning stage and has a long and tough way to go. Through years of development and the test of time, legal aid system of Hong Kong becomes matured and distinctive, and the spirits of legal aid system have been deeply embedded in people's mind. This paper offers comparison of such system between the mainland and Hong Kong, including the legislation system, organization, financial source, range and procedure of legal aid system. Then this paper probes the inadequacy of legal aid system in the mainland. In the end, with the inspiration of the matured experience in Hong Kong, this paper presents some suggestions in the hope of making some contribution in perfecting the legal aid system of the mainland.