Measures of Shanghai Municipality for Public Legal Services

(Promulgated by Decree No. 63 of Shanghai Municipal People's Government on January 30, 2022; amended in accordance with Decree No. 24 of Shanghai Municipal People's Government on December 29, 2025)

Chapter I General Principles

Article 1 (Purpose and Basis)

With a view to accelerating the construction of the public legal service system, improving the capacity and level of the public legal services, meeting the people's growing demand for the public legal services, enhancing the urban soft power, and promoting the modernization of the urban governance system and governance capacity, these Measures are formulated in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations, and in the light of the actual circumstances of this Municipality.

Article 2 (Scope of Application)

These Measures shall apply to the platform construction, service provision and promotion of the public legal services, as well as the relevant work of guarantee and supervision within the administrative areas of this Municipality.

The term "public legal services" in these Procedures means the public legal service facilities, service products, service activities and other relevant legal services provided to meet the legal service needs of various subjects in the field of social public life, mainly including the basic public legal services such as publicity and education on the rule of law, legal consultation, legal inquiry, legal aid, people's mediation and residence (village) legal counsel; diversified and professional public legal services such as lawyers, notarization, judicial expertise, arbitration and mediation.

Article 3 (Basic Principles)

Adhering to the leadership of the Party committee, the government predominance, departmental coordination and social participation, this Municipality shall establish a convenient, efficient, equal and inclusive, intelligent and accurate public legal service system covering both the urban and rural areas, integrate and optimize various legal service resources, innovate service contents, forms and supply modes, promote co-construction and sharing, and improve service efficiency.

Article 4 (Government Responsibilities)

The municipal and district people's governments shall incorporate the construction of the public legal service system into the plans of the national economic and social development and the construction plans of the law-based government, formulate policies and measures to promote the construction of the public legal service system, and improve the capacity and level of the public legal services.

Article 5 (Department Responsibilities)

The municipal judicial administration department shall be responsible for coordinating and promoting the construction of the municipal public legal service system, and guide, supervise and manage the work of the public legal services.

The district judicial administration departments shall be responsible for the provision of the basic public legal services within their jurisdictions, and guide, supervise and manage the work of the relevant public legal services.

The departments of development and reform, finance, human resources and social security, commerce, public security, market regulation, health, education, culture and tourism, agriculture and rural areas, civil affairs, veterans' affairs shall do a good job in the public legal services within their respective responsibilities.

Article 6 (Responsibilities of Sub-district and Township, Residence and Village)

The town/township people's governments and sub-district offices shall be responsible for providing the basic public legal services within their jurisdictions.

The residents' (villagers') committees shall assist in the work related to the public legal services under the guidance of the town/township people's governments and the sub-district offices.

Article 7 (Responsibilities of Mass Organization)

The trade unions, Communist Youth League, women's federations, disabled persons' federations, industrial and commercial federations and other mass organizations shall, according to their respective functions and duties, do a good job in the public legal services for their contact and service objects.

Article 8 (Responsibilities of Industry Association)

The legal service industry associations such as those of the lawyers, notarization, judicial expertise, arbitration and mediation shall give play to the role of industry self-discipline and organize, guide and supervise their own legal service institutions and legal service personnel to carry out public legal service activities.

Article 9 (Social Participation)

The legal service institutions and legal service personnel shall perform their social responsibilities according to law and provide public welfare legal services. The other professionals with legal expertise shall be encouraged and supported to provide public welfare legal services.

The radio, television, newspapers, websites and other media shall carry out public welfare publicity of the public legal services, introduce the contents, forms and access channels of the public legal services, improve the public's awareness of the public legal services, and create a good social atmosphere for the development of the public legal services.

Chapter II Construction of Public Legal Service Platform

Article 10 (Scope of Platform)

This Municipality shall establish entity platforms, network platforms and hotline platforms for the public legal services, and promote the integrated development of online and offline services to improve the quality and efficiency of the public legal services.

Article 11 (Entity Platform)

The public legal service entity platforms include the municipal and district public legal service centers, sub-district (town/township) public legal service workstations, residence (village) public legal service studios and other public legal service places.

On public legal service entity platforms, clear and eye-catching unified signs shall be set up to facilitate the public to obtain the public legal services.

Article 12 (Public Legal Service Center)

The municipal and district judicial administration departments shall be responsible for the construction of the public legal service centers at the same level. The public legal service centers shall provide the following public legal services:

1. publicity and education on the rule of law;

2. legal advisory services;

3. legal aid services;

4. information inquiry of legal service institutions and legal service personnel; and

5. other public legal services.

The qualified district public legal service centers may provide lawyer remote video interview services.

Article 13 (Public Legal Service Workstation and Studio)

The sub-district (town/township) public legal service workstations and residence (village) public legal service studios shall provide the following public legal services:

1. publicity and education on the rule of law related to the residents and villagers;

2. legal consulting services closely related to daily life, such as family affairs, infringement, debt, neighborhood relationship and property management;

3. people's mediation services; and

4. other public legal services.

The district judicial administration departments, town/township people's governments and sub-district offices may, in the light of the actual needs, set up public legal service places in buildings, parks and other areas to provide public legal services such as publicity and education on the rule of law, legal consultation and dispute mediation.

Article 14 (Network Platform)

The municipal judicial administration department shall be responsible for building this Municipality's public legal service network platform interfacing with the "Government Online-Offline Shanghai" platform and the mobile clients, and providing public legal services such as online legal consultation, legal inquiry, information inquiry of the legal service institutions and legal service personnel, legal aid application and notarization.

Article 15 (Hotline Platform)

The municipal judicial administration department shall be responsible for building this Municipality's "12348" public legal service hotline platform, strengthen the business connection with the "12345" public service hotline, and provide 24-hour legal advisory services.

Article 16 (Accessibility Service)

The public legal service entity platform shall be equipped with accessibility facilities in accordance with the relevant standards and specifications, provide necessary accessibility services for the disabled and the elderly, and give them priority for handling the relevant matters.

The public legal service network platform and hotline platform shall meet the relevant accessibility design standards and provide accessibility information dissemination and exchange services.

Chapter III Basic Public Legal Services

Article 17 (List of Matters)

The municipal judicial administration department shall be responsible for compiling the list of the basic public legal service matters of this Municipality, disclosing information such as the basic public legal service items, service recipients, service contents and access channels to the public, and promoting the standardization of the basic public legal services.

Article 18 (Publicity and Education on the Rule of Law)

The people's governments at all levels and their relevant departments shall implement the responsibility system for law popularization, carry out centralized publicity and education on the rule of law with the theme of the Constitution and civil code, strengthen the integration of law popularization with new media, and deepen the theme activities of law popularization.

The district judicial administration departments, town/township people's governments, and the sub-district offices shall build brand positions of socialist culture of the rule of law, cultivate brand activities, and promote comprehensive, effective, and equal coverage of public welfare law popularization in both urban and rural areas.

Article 19 (Legal Consultancy Service)

The judicial administration departments shall rely on the public legal service platform to provide legal consultancy services such as answers to the relevant legal questions, guidance on the legal services such as legal aid, lawyers, notarization and judicial expertise, and guidance on the legal channels for dispute resolution.

Article 20 (Legal Inquiry Service)

This Municipality shall establish an application system for the pandect of urban laws and rules to provide inquiry services for local laws and rules, Pudong New Area laws and rules, government regulations and other local legislation.

Article 21 (Information Inquiry of Legal Service Institution and Personnel)

The judicial administration departments shall provide the basic information of the legal service institutions and legal service personnel, as well as the inquiry service of practice, reward and punishment, business, social services, credit and other information.

Article 22 (Legal Aid Service)

The parties who meet the conditions prescribed by laws and rules may apply for legal aid from the legal aid institutions in accordance with law.

The economic difficulty standard for legal aid in this Municipality shall be implemented in accordance with the recognition standard for the economic status of households on the margins of the minimum living security in this Municipality.

This Municipality shall strengthen the connection between the legal aid work and notarization and judicial expertise, establish and improve the system of fee reduction and exemption for notarization and judicial expertise of legal aid cases.

Article 23 (People's Mediation)

The people's mediation organizations shall mediate the civil disputes involving family affairs, infringement, debt, neighborhood relations, property management and other civil disputes according to the application of the parties concerned. If a people's mediation organization is aware of the dispute, but the parties concerned have not applied for people's mediation, it may take the initiative to contact the parties concerned, inform and guide them to resolve the dispute via people's mediation.

Article 24 (Residence and Village Legal Counsel)

This Municipality shall improve the residence (village) legal counsel system, realize the full coverage of residence (village) legal counsels, provide public legal services such as legal publicity and education, legal consultation and dispute mediation for the residents and villagers in the neighborhood, and assist the resident (villager) committees to improve the legalization of both the urban and rural community governance.

Article 25 (Guarantee for Key Group)

The basic public legal services shall be given first to the special groups such as the disabled, the elderly, minors and low-income persons, as well as the entitled groups such as the servicemen, military dependents and veterans.

Chapter IV Diversified and Specialized Public Legal Services

Article 26 (Service Field)

The legal service institutions and legal service personnel including but not limited to lawyers, notaries, judicial expertise, arbitration and mediation shall be encouraged and supported to provide legal services for promoting high-quality economic development, optimizing the business environment, protecting the ecological environment, preventing and resolving major risks, etc.

Article 27 (Lawyers' Legal Services)

The lawyers shall be encouraged and supported to participate in the critical engineering and major projects, issue legal opinions, and provide legal services for creating a legal business environment.

The judicial administration departments shall, together with the federation of industry and commerce, the relevant industry associations and chambers of commerce, organize the lawyers and law firms to provide legal publicity and education, legal advice and other services to the private enterprises and individual businesses in need, so as to help them improve their governance structure, improve their management systems and prevent legal risks.

Article 28 (Notary Service)

The notarial institutions shall promote the standardization and scientization of notarial service methods, optimize the online handling procedures of notarial service. For the notarization matters with simple legal relationship, clear facts and no dispute, smooth, convenient, high-quality and efficient notarization services shall be provided for the parties concerned by means of list management of certification materials, notification and commitment, data sharing, online services and so on.

Article 29 (Judicial Expertise Service)

The judicial administration departments shall strengthen the capacity building of the judicial experts and judicial expertise institutions, organize and carry out professional training for the judicial experts, promote and increase the public welfare attribute of the judicial expertise institutions.

The judicial expertise institutions shall improve the facilitation level of judicial expertise via online services, convenient consultation and other means.

Article 30 (Arbitration Service)

The arbitration institutions in this Municipality shall be encouraged to develop online arbitration and intelligent arbitration, improve arbitration rules, optimize arbitration procedures and workflow, and use modern information technology to provide high-quality and efficient commercial dispute resolution services for the parties concerned.

The arbitration institutions in this Municipality shall be supported to resolve disputes by mediation, negotiation facilitation, expert evaluation, and other means that are connected with arbitration and agreed upon or requested by the parties concerned.

Article 31 (Grand Mediation Framework)

This Municipality shall establish a grand mediation framework wherein people's mediation, administrative mediation, industrial and professional mediation and judicial mediation complement each other's strengths, connect with each other seamlessly, and function in a coordinated and interactive manner, and shall guide the parties concerned to resolve disputes via mediation as a priority.

The judicial administration departments shall, together with the relevant industry competent departments, promote the development of industrial and professional mediation organizations and provide dispute mediation services in the fields of investment, finance, real estate, technology transfer, intellectual property, international trade, international commerce and so on.

The lawyers and lawyers' mediation organizations established according to law shall be encouraged to participate in the mediation activities and provide mediation services for the parties concerned.

Article 32 (Government Legal Adviser and Public Lawyer)

This Municipality shall perfect the system of government legal advisers and public lawyers, improve the working mechanism for the government legal advisers and public lawyers to participate in the legitimacy review of major decisions, normative documents and major administrative law enforcement decisions, and improve the ability of the administrative organs to perform their duties according to law.

Article 33 (Emergency Legal Service Guarantee)

The judicial administration departments shall establish an emergency guarantee mechanism for the public legal services. The lawyers, notaries, judicial expertise and other industry associations shall be encouraged to form professional teams and establish fast channels to provide timely and convenient public legal services for emergency disposal.

Chapter V High-level International Legal Services

Article 34 (Development of International Legal Service Center)

This Municipality shall promote the development of a legal service center with international influence. By building a Asia-Pacific arbitration center with global influence, Pudong New Area modern legal service leading area of high function level and Hongqiao international central legal affairs area, it shall promote the development of foreign-related legal services, and continuously improve the function level and standards of its legal services, so as to serve and ensure the construction of the international economic, financial, trade, shipping and scientific and technological innovation centers.

Article 35 (Development of Asia-Pacific Arbitration Center)

This Municipality shall promote the development of a Asia-Pacific arbitration center with global influence, cultivate domestic leading and internationally renowned arbitration institutions, optimize the function of the international dispute resolution platform, and enhance the international influence, credibility and competitiveness of Shanghai arbitration.

The arbitration institutions of this Municipality shall be encouraged to carry out foreign-related arbitration business and employ overseas arbitration professionals as their members, arbitrators, mediators and staff of the decision-making organs.

The overseas arbitration institutions shall be encouraged to set up business offices in the specific areas of this Municipality designated by the State, such as the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone and the Lin-gang Special Area, to carry out international investment, maritime affairs, commercial affairs and other foreign-related arbitration business.

Article 36 (Development of Pudong New Area Legal Service Leading Area)

This Municipality shall support and promote the development of Pudong New Area modern legal service leading area of high-function level, which gathers legal service resources such as lawyers, notarization, judicial expertise, arbitration and mediation, explores and innovates the relevant management measures, so as to serve and ensure the high-level reform and opening-up of Pudong New Area and the creation of a leading area for socialist modernization.

Article 37 (Development of Hongqiao International Central Legal Affairs Zone)

This Municipality shall support and promote the development of Hongqiao international central legal affairs zone which faces the Yangtze River Delta, radiates to the whole country and connects the world. It shall gather the legal service institutions in line with the business format of the regional industrial and economic development, construct a service-integrated, intelligent and accurate legal service function platform, so as to serve and ensure the construction of Hongqiao International opening hub and the development strategy of regional integration in the Yangtze River Delta.

Article 38 (Capacity Building of Foreign-related Legal Service)

This Municipality shall support and promote the development of foreign-related legal service industry, strengthen the construction of foreign-related legal service institutions and platforms, so as to improve the ability and level of foreign-related legal services.

The municipal judicial administration department shall promote the improvement of the cooperation mechanism between law firms in this Municipality and their foreign counterparts, and promote the pilot work of the municipal law firms employing foreign lawyers as foreign legal advisers and the pilot work of the joint venture of Chinese and foreign law firms in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone.

The law firms, arbitration institutions and other legal service institutions in this Municipality shall be encouraged and supported to develop overseas legal services, expand overseas legal service market and serve foreign-related economic and trade activities by setting up branches abroad.

Chapter VI Guarantee and Supervision

Article 39 (Fund Guarantee)

The people's governments at all levels shall incorporate the funds for basic public legal services such as publicity and education on the rule of law, legal advice, legal aid, people's mediation and residence (village) legal counsels into the financial budgets at the corresponding level, ensure the funds for the construction, operation and management of the public legal service platforms, and establish dynamic adjustment mechanisms for the guarantee standards of the basic public legal services.

Article 40 (Government Procurement of Service)

This Municipality shall support the legal service institutions and legal service personnel to participate in the provision of the basic public legal services via the government procurement of services. The specific scopes and contents of the basic public legal services purchased by the government shall be subject to the guiding catalogue management in accordance with the provisions and made public in accordance with the law.

Article 41 (Talent Guarantee)

The judicial administration departments shall coordinate with the relevant departments to ensure the posts and staffing of the basic public legal services, and optimize the structure of the public legal services.

The municipal judicial administration department shall, together with the education department, establish and improve the training mechanism for the public legal service talents and build an education and training base for the public legal service talents.

The municipal judicial administration department shall guide the relevant industry associations to train the foreign legal service talents, and establish and perfect the reserve pool of foreign legal service talents.

Article 42 (Support and Facilitation)

The qualified legal service institutions and legal service personnel shall enjoy corresponding support and facilitation policies in terms of talent introduction, social security and getting entry-exit certificates in accordance with the relevant provisions of the State and this Municipality.

The foreign arbitrators, mediators, parties concerned, agents and witnesses who come to this Municipality to participate in arbitration activities and commercial mediation may enjoy the facilitation for getting entry-exit certificates in accordance with the relevant provisions.

Article 43 (Information Sharing and Support)

The departments of public security, market regulation, civil affairs, planning and resources, housing management and other departments shall, relying on this Municipality's big data resource platform, share the relevant information such as population, legal person, marriage, adoption, real estate registration and housing transaction according to law, so as to provide support for the public legal services.

Article 44 (Yangtze River Delta Cooperation)

This Municipality shall promote policy consultation, mechanism co-construction, platform sharing and resource sharing of the public legal services in the Yangtze River Delta, simplify and optimize the administrative approval procedures for cross-regional practice of the legal service institutions and legal service personnel, and promote the construction of the cross-regional public legal service credit system.

Article 45 (Assessment and Evaluation)

This Municipality shall incorporate the public legal services into the performance evaluation framework for the rule of law. It shall regularly supervise, inspect and evaluate the progress, effectiveness and guarantee of the construction of the public legal service system. The relevant inspection and evaluation results shall serve as the reference basis for the comprehensive evaluation of the leading cadres.

Article 46 (Service Quality Evaluation)

The judicial administration departments shall, on their own or by entrusting the third parties, regularly assess and evaluate the service quality of the public legal service platforms and service personnel.

The judicial administration departments may invite the public and service objects to put forward opinions and suggestions on the service quality of the public legal service platforms and service personnel, which shall serve as a reference basis for the assessment and improvement of their service quality.

Article 47 (Supervision Mechanism)

This Municipality shall establish and improve a regulatory mechanism that combines the management of the public legal services with the industry self-discipline.

The judicial administration departments shall strengthen the supervision of the public legal services, strengthen the management of the legal service institutions and legal service personnel, intensify the investigation and punishment of illegal acts, and improve the credit supervision mechanism.

The legal service industry associations such as those of lawyers, notarization, judicial expertise, arbitration and mediation shall urge the legal service institutions and legal service personnel to abide by their professional norms and improve the disciplinary mechanism of the industry.

Article 48 (Handling of Violations)

The legal service institutions and legal service personnel violating their professional ethics or practice norms, seeking illegitimate interests, deceiving and misleading service objects, etc. in the process of providing legal services, shall be dealt with by the relevant departments or industry associations in accordance with laws, rules and industry norms, and such violations shall be announced to the public.

Article 49 (Administrative Responsibilities)

Where the relevant departments and their staff fail to perform the public legal services and the relevant management duties according to law, the people's governments at the same level or the competent departments at a higher level shall order them to make corrections. If the cases are serious, the competent authorities shall impose sanctions on the persons directly in charge and other persons directly responsible according to law.

Chapter VII Supplementary Provisions

Article 50 (Effective Date)

These Measures shall be effective as of March 1, 2022.