In March 2019, after the 8th National Congress of the China Law Society, the society was supposed to undergo a leadership transition by March 2024, in accordance with the five-year term limit stipulated in the China Law Society Charter. However, due to certain reasons, the transition did not occur until January 11 of this year. The specific reasons remain unclear, but the revisions to the China Law Society Charter during this transition reveal significant changes in the society’s functions and tasks.

Overview of Revisions to the China Law Society Charter

Using WPS document comparison, it was found that the 2025 version of the China Law Society Charter has undergone approximately 8.85% changes compared to the 2019 version, with a total of 85 modifications. These include 22 deletions, 25 additions, and 38 revisions, most of which are minor word adjustments. The major changes are concentrated in Chapters 1 and 2, which account for 66 revisions, or 77.6% of the total. The remaining chapters (3 to 9) saw relatively minor changes.

Overall Positioning Remains Largely Unchanged

According to Article 1 of the 2025 Charter: “The China Law Society is a people’s organization under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, a national mass organization and academic society in the legal field, and an important component of the political and legal front. It serves as a bridge and bond between the Party, the government, and the broad community of legal professionals, and is a vital force in strengthening socialist democratic legal construction, advancing the comprehensive rule of law, and building a higher-level socialist rule-of-law country.” This article defines the nature of the Law Society as a people’s organization, a mass organization, and an academic society, while also being part of the political and legal front, alongside the courts, procuratorates, public security, state security, and judicial systems. In terms of administrative hierarchy, the Law Society itself is also structured at the ministerial level, similar to other institutions in the same system. In this revision, the only change to this article was the addition of the phrase “higher level” in the last sentence, aligning with the relevant expressions in the “Decision” of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee in 2024.

Changes in the Society’s Mission

Article 2 of the 2025 Charter has undergone significant revisions in political expressions, mainly to incorporate new political requirements from the past five years. One notable change in the society’s specific mission is the replacement of “legal services” with “legal publicity.” In the 2019 Charter, the society’s mission included “conducting legal research, legal exchanges, legal practice, and legal services,” while the 2025 version revised this to “conducting legal research, legal exchanges, legal publicity, and legal practice.”

In recent years, there has been considerable criticism within the Law Society system regarding the 2019 formulation, particularly the inclusion of “legal services,” which carries strong connotations of judicial administration. This was deemed unsuitable as a primary task for the Law Society. Within the Law Society’s organizational system, a significant proportion of members are judges, prosecutors, and other legal professionals, especially at the local level. Requiring them to participate in legal services could lead to role confusion and conflicts of interest, potentially undermining judicial impartiality. The revised “legal publicity” avoids these issues and provides a more accurate positioning.

Significant Changes in Tasks

The 2025 Charter introduces several new tasks for the Law Society.

1. New Task of Legal Thought Research. Article 6 now includes a new clause: “Leverage the functions of the Legal Thought Research Center to deepen the study and interpretation of legal thought, continuously advancing the study, research, and promotion of legal thought.” The establishment of this research center has been a core focus of the China Law Society over the past five years, and this revision further solidifies its role.
2. New Task of Researching Comprehensive Rule-of-Law Practices. Article 8 clarifies the society’s research direction, emphasizing the study of comprehensive rule-of-law practices. Previously, some of the society’s research may have been misaligned or unfocused.
3. New Task of Participating in Social Governance. A new Article 10 states: “Participate in social governance, uphold and develop the ‘Fengqiao Experience’ in the new era, leverage the Law Society’s grassroots service stations and legal expert consultations to enhance the legalization of conflict prevention, resolution, and petition work.” This aligns with the evolving demands of political and legal work, emphasizing that the Law Society, as part of the political and legal system, must move beyond theoretical discussions and actively engage in grassroots social governance.
4. New Task of Engaging in Foreign-Related Legal Work. Previously, the Law Society’s foreign-related legal work primarily involved international exchanges and cooperation, as well as participation in the consultation, argumentation, and drafting of international rules. The revised Charter raises the bar, adding the task of cultivating foreign-related legal talent and requiring the society to actively participate in international rule-making to enhance China’s influence in international legal practice and global governance.
5. New Task of Participating in Legal Education Reform. While the Law Society has traditionally been involved in compiling legal textbooks, the revised Charter further mandates the society to strengthen legal talent cultivation and participate in legal education reform and textbook development.
6. New Task of Building a Home for Legal Professionals. The revised Charter calls for the Law Society to establish a “home for legal professionals,” serving as a permanent venue for reflecting the opinions and demands of members and the legal community, and safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of members.

Other Changes

No Longer Mandatory to Establish Party Groups. Another point of contention in the 2019 Charter was Article 33, which stated: “Local Law Societies at all levels shall establish Party groups.” In practice, the establishment of Party groups is subject to strict requirements and cannot be done arbitrarily. Many local Law Society offices may have only one or two staff members, often without full-time personnel, making it impossible to even establish a Party branch, let alone a Party group. The revised Charter now specifies that “local Law Societies at all levels shall establish Party groups in accordance with the ‘Constitution of the Communist Party of China’ and the ‘Regulations on the Work of Party Groups.’” This corrects the previous approach, ensuring that Party groups are established only where conditions permit, avoiding impractical mandates.