Research On The Duty Of Diligence Of Criminal Legal Aid Lawyers

Criminal legal aid lawyers are the defenders of the legitimate rights and interests of the aided parties,and should be diligent and responsible.As a professional ethical obligation,it is beneficial to safeguard the basic human rights of the aided parties,achieve a balance between prosecution and defense,and also contribute to the realization of the goal of legal aid,thereby achieving fairness and justice in the judiciary.China’s "Law on Legal Aid" and "Lawyers Law" have made corresponding provisions on the diligent and responsible obligations of criminal legal aid lawyers.The assisting lawyer should have professionalism,provide professional legal assistance,actively meet,review documents,investigate and collect evidence,and lay the foundation for substantive and effective court defense.On this basis,the assisting lawyer should also strictly keep professional secrets,actively review and avoid conflicts of interest,and avoid conflicts of interest.At the same time,criminal legal aid lawyers should also comply with relevant procedural norms and requirements,and should not delay or terminate legal aid without reason.They should inform the assisted person of the progress of the case in accordance with the regulations.One prominent issue in China’s criminal legal aid system is the lack of diligence and responsibility on the part of some lawyers.Some legal aid lawyers lack the necessary awareness of their duty to be diligent and responsible towards the assisted person,resulting in fewer meetings and document reviews,and a lack of sufficient understanding of the case,which makes it difficult to provide effective court defense.Some legal aid lawyers are not proactive in collecting evidence,fail to intervene in a timely manner during the pre-trial stage,and are unable to provide effective defense during the trial stage.Additionally,some legal aid lawyers neglect to review conflicts of interest,disregarding the protection of the assisted person’s rights and interests.Due to the multiple roles of legal aid lawyers,some fail to balance the interests of the judicial authorities and the assisted person,resulting in a lack of trust between the two parties.Furthermore,due to the low funding subsidies for legal aid cases,some lawyers are passive and neglect their duty to be diligent and responsible.The passivity of criminal legal aid lawyers violates their due diligence obligations,affects the legitimate rights and interests of the recipients,and makes it difficult to achieve the purpose of state legal aid.Therefore,adequate institutional protection should be given from the access system,professional ethics education,financial support,supervision and discipline,etc.First of all,the criminal legal aid admission system should be strictly enforced,the admission threshold of years of practice should be raised,the professional ethics education before admission should be strengthened,and the sense of diligence and responsibility of aid lawyers should be ensured.Secondly,establish a mechanism of mutual trust between the two sides.Sound conflict-of-interest review mechanism to avoid conflict of interest with the aided person.Advocate the endogenous legal aid model,guarantee the litigation rights of aid lawyers,give both aid parties the right to choose,and establish the foundation of trust between aid parties.Again,broaden the sources of legal aid funding,improve the level of criminal legal aid funding subsidies,ease the pressure of assistance and enhance the motivation of lawyers to assist.Finally,on the basis of the assistance lawyers’ awareness and motivation of diligence,the supervision of the assistance lawyers is strengthened,and the criminal legal aid lawyers are urged to assume their obligations through a combination of internal and external supervision.The responsibility of not fulfilling the obligation of diligence and due diligence is clearly defined to ensure that the obligation of diligence and due diligence of assistance lawyers is put into practice.