There’s a crisis in China’s legal profession. According to an investigation performed by the Mirror, over 90% of China’s lawyers are in violation of the All China Lawyers Association regulations that require a gown to be worn in court.
The Mirror found that only 7% of China’s lawyers habitually wear the prescribed gown and neckwear, with 57% objecting on the grounds that it causes too much trouble – additional ACLA regulations prohibit the gown from being worn outside of court, so lawyers have to carry their game gear with them.
China’s courts don’t have any particular requirements concerning attire beyond a general expectation of presentability. A judge from Beijing’s Xicheng district court said it was only when cases attracted the attention of the media that the court would notify lawyers to put on their gowns. The Mirror found that all of the lawyers surveyed would wear their uniform if the court requested it, 89.5% if the case was an important one, 74.4% if the media were following it, and 12.8% if they felt that the judges would be prejudiced against them if they did not.
The Xicheng judge also said that while having lawyers uniformly dressed in gowns might lend a more serious air to the proceedings, it would be unlikely to have any effect on the outcome. Other lawyers felt that enforcing the uniform regulation would symbolize progress in the legal system and would place all lawyers on even footing whether they bought tailored suits or not.
And a PhD from the law department at Renmin University pointed out that if China’s lawyers are unable to follow their own regulations, it doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in their respect for the law in general.
- Mirror (Chinese): Snubbing professional attire
- Image from Foshan Law Online