The Beijing Municipal Bureau of Justice today rejected a request by lawyers Tang Jitian (唐吉田) and Liu Wei (刘巍) to postpone the administrative hearing on the revocation of their licenses, scheduled for April 22, 2010, on the grounds that the Judicial Bureau has not provided adequate factual and legal bases for the license revocation. The following are the lawyers’ request and the Beijing Judicial Bureau’s response, translated into English by Human Rights in China (HRIC).
Application by Tang Jitian and Liu Wei for Postponement of the April 22, 2010 Administrative Hearing at the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Justice
[Translation by Human Rights in China]
Application for Hearing Postponement
Applicants: Tang Jitian, Liu Wei
Application for:
Request to postpone convening of the hearing
Facts and Reasons:
The Beijing Municipal Bureau of Justice plans to suspend our lawyer’s licenses as punishment but so far has not informed us of the facts and reasons [for this punishment].This is in violation of the Administrative Punishment Law of the People’s Republic of China, Article 31, which states, “Before making the decision to impose administrative punishments, administrative organs shall notify the parties concerned of the facts, reasons and grounds on which the decision is made, as well as the rights that the parties concerned enjoy according to the law.” We have already made three requests that your bureau provide the facts and reasons for punishing us but received no results.
Therefore, your bureau should immediately rectify the violation of the Administrative Punishment Law, and inform us of the factual basis and reason for our punishment. In order to ensure a lawful and fair hearing, please postpone the time of the hearing.To:
Beijing Municipal Bureau of Justice
Applicants: Tang Jitian, Liu Wei
April 21, 2010
Facsimile of Response from the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Justice
[Translation by Human Rights in China]
Tang Jitian, Liu Wei:
After reviewing the application for postponement of administrative hearing that you submitted to the Bureau on April 21, 2010, the Bureau has determined that you have not provided valid reasons for your request. The hearing will be held as scheduled on April 22, 2010, at 9:30 a.m. We hope that you or the representatives you have retained will attend at the scheduled time. If you do not attend the hearing at the scheduled time, the Bureau will regard it as your giving up the hearing and will end the hearing. The Bureau will decide on the administrative punishment in accordance with the law.
April 21, 2010
For more information on Tang Jitian and Liu Wei, see:
- “Lawyers Facing License Revocation Detail Irregular Courtroom Activities Permitted by Judge,” April 20, 2010
- “Chinese Rights Defense Lawyers Under All-out Attack by the Authorities,” June 4, 2009
- Jerome A. Cohen, “The Struggle of Autonomy of Beijing’s Public Interest Lawyers,” China Rights Forum, 2009, no. 1
- “Lawyers Are Dismissed by Firms for Supporting Beijing Lawyers Association Direct Election, Law Firms Are Threatened,” October 31, 2008
- “Beijing Lawyers' Appeal for Direct Elections,” October 31, 2008