中国律师自律性组织中华全国律师协会于10月20日发布《中华全国律师协会关于禁止违规炒作案件的规则（试行）》，禁止律师违规炒作案件。

《规则》共13条，对律师违规炒作案件的具体情形进行规定。例如律师不得“通过联署签名、发表公开信、组织网上聚集、声援等方式或借个案研讨之名，制造舆论压力”，不得本人或者煽动、教唆当事人或其他人员“通过媒体、自媒体等平台就案件进行歪曲、有误导性的宣传等”；律师也不得通过录音、摄像、文件、接受采访或撰写文章等方式披露案件信息。

此外，律师、律师事务所对党和国家重大决策部署、公共事件和涉法问题等发表评论时，不得“制造舆论，激化社会矛盾”，“发表与律师职业身份不符，严重损害律师职业形象的评论”。“律师、律师事务所在媒体、自媒体等平台，以文字、音视频等方式发表评论意见时，应核查信息真实性，确保意见专业合法，不得损害律师职业尊严和律师行业形象。”

《规则》最后明确，律师、律师事务所违反《规则》应根据行业规范给予纪律处分。

在此处查看《规则》全文。

China’s ACLA bans lawyers from “hyping cases”

The All-China Lawyers Association (ACLA), a national-level self-regulatory organization of Chinese lawyers, has issued a new guideline, banning its members from “hyping cases against rules”.

The guideline, containing thirteen articles, elaborates on the specific situations of case hyping and the possible penalties. It prohibits lawyers from “hyping the cases they are working on in ways including online petitions or online gatherings or supports,” and “themselves or inciting others to conduct distorted or misleading publicity or commentary through platforms such as the media and personal media.”

Besides, when it comes to “major decisions and policy arrangements by the Communist Party of China and the government, public events or any legal issues,” lawyers and law firms shall not “manufacture public opinion and incite dissatisfaction,” nor shall they “express commentary that does not comport with one's professional identity as a lawyer, seriously harming the image of the profession.”

Lawyers and law firms are also prohibited from expressing comments and opinions through text, a/v, or other means in media, personal media, or other platforms without “checking the veracity of the information, and ensuring that their opinions are professional, legal and are not harming the dignity and image of the profession.”

According to the guideline, violators shall be given administrative punishments.

Check the guideline in Chinese here.

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