Law amendment, if passed, would criminalize lawyers’ courtroom speech

(BOXUN) The “Criminal Law Amendment (IX) Draft” presently under consideration has become a hot social topic. And the Clause 36 draft amendment proposal to Penal Code section 309 has given rise to widespread opposition among jurisprudence experts and those in the legal profession.

The second draft of the proposed Penal Code section 309 amendment is: “Any of the following circumstances disturbing court order shall result in three years imprisonment, criminal detention, control or a fine: (iii) insult, libel, threatening judicial officers or participants in the legal proceedings, not obeying when the court says to stop, seriously disrupting the order of the court; and (iv) any other acts seriously disturbing the order or atmosphere of the court.”

Many legal profession insiders point out that these provisions, if adopted, present a great risk of abuse. The enviroment for practicing law is more and more difficult, and poses a threat to lawyers and the administration of justice. The Attorney Han Jiayi, Secretary-General of the Criminal Operations Committee of the All-China Lawyers Association, believes such provisions target lawyers. Legal scholar Xu Xun said that if the amendment could easily become a sword suspended over lawyers’ heads.
http://www.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2015/06/201506292158.shtml