EU - China Guidelines for Applicants rules for applications European Union Delegation to China & Mongolia Beijing, Information Session 13 th November 2012 China-EU Access to Justice Programme

EU - China Programme background In China Access to Justice is widely considered as a fundamental right and since 2003 Legal aid is part of China's legal system. The National Legal Aid Centre (NLAC) is a government body separate from, but coming under the supervision of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). Economic growth in China has been accompanied by the increasing importance of resolving disputes but nowadays the capacity/quality to provide legal aid lags far behind a growing demand. Financing Agreement signed by EU and CHINA reflects shared interests and concerns that originated the China-EU Access to Justice Programme. Access to Justice programme will be implemented in Shanxi, Inner Mongolia and Henan.

Financing Agreement agrees on: Strategy: Policy dialogue and pilot projects, will ensure a systemic and far-reaching effect throughout the Chinese legal system Expected results: New policies and regulations inspired from EU best practices improve/standardise the quality and scope of legal aid; Enhanced EU-Ministry of Justice dialogue on Rule of Law and equal access to justice; Enhanced legal assistance provided by legal aid centres; Enhanced legal awareness among disadvantaged groups; Increased understanding by the government of the value of the legal aid work by private sector providers.

EU - China Call for Proposals in detail Global Objective : to support China's effort in strengthening access to justice to disadvantaged groups. Specific Objectives: enhance institutional capacity building to help the MoJ design and implement policies and actions in line with China's objectives with regard to legal aid improve the overall performance of legal aid delivery in China, through the governmental LACs and increased delivery by Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and public interest and local law firms; promote capacity building and transfer of EU knowledge through high level policy dialogue

THE ACTION contributes to reach the following outcomes New adopted policies and regulations improve and “standardise” the quality and scope of legal aid; China-EU policy dialogue on Rule of Law and equal access to justice is widening; Awareness on legal aid services and rule of law in general has been enhanced among disadvantaged groups; Government recognizes the private sector value in providing qualified services; Government increases its cooperation with the private sector.

HOW The Action will provide qualified inputs under two main set of activities called «components» TRAINING and DIALOGUE

EU - China Component 1 Training of government legal aid workers 1.Baseline assessment- identify technical and/or management needs; 2.Assessment of local needs and selection of local law firms and staff of Chinese judicial governmental institutions to be trained; 3.Creation of training curriculum; 4.Awareness campaigns through locally available channels; 5.Evaluation of quality and quantity of case handling.

Component 2 Policy Dialogue on Access to Justice HOW: –Seminars or conferences; –Study assignments to EU involving among others and when appropriate high level Chinese officials; –High-level policy dialogue with key EU and Chinese officials encompassing broad discussions on the Chinese legal system, Rule of Law and equal access to justice. EU - China

Policy Dialogue on Access to Justice WHY??? New policies and regulations help standardise and improve/expand the quality of legal aid; Open discussions and EU’s best practices and experiences are examples for China's legal reforms; Open discussions contribute to deepening the EU-China dialogue on Rule of Law, access to justice and human rights.

EU - China The spirit of the Action work hand in hand with the MoJ at the central level and with the appropriate provincial institutions fine tune and detail, in coordination with the MoJ, the role of civil society partners or private law firms

Target groups and beneficiaries The Ministry of Justice through the National Legal Aid Centre: implementing counterparts and beneficiaries. Direct Beneficiaries of the project: Provincial Legal Aid Centers. Indirect beneficiaries: Chinese population as a whole. Target groups: Provincial Legal Aid Centre, legal aid workers, senior officials and experts of the Ministry of Justice at central, provincial and local levels.

EU FUNDING Amount : minimum EUR maximum EUR Duration: 36 to 48 months Maximum percentage: 90% of the total eligible costs of the Action This means that: The balance (i.e. the difference between the total cost of the action and the amount requested from the Contracting Authority) must be financed from the applicant's or partners' own resources, or from sources other than the European Union budget

EU – China Create a strong partnerships The partnership should: Be composed of European & at least one organisation established in China. Have a comprehensive understanding of the Chinese challenges and requirements Facilitate access to the most appropriate European expertise

EU - China A Partnership Project That is expected to contribute to : 1. Standardise policies and regulations and expand their scope to improve the quality of legal aid; 2. Deepen the existing EU-China policy dialogue in the domain of the Rule of Law, access to justice and human rights; 3. Build a cost-effective, replicable and adaptable system for professional training; 4. Provide appropriate attention to the level of representation of female participants and ethnic groups in project activities; 5. Contribute to raise awareness on access legal aid, amongst disadvantaged groups and the public in general.

EU Visibility The applicant must comply with the objectives and priorities and guarantee the visibility of the EU- financing indicated at the following site: en.htm EU - China

EU – China Please check regularly the EuropeAid website for possible corrections to the Guidelines and answers to questions raised. Only information provided on the EuropeAid website is valid: > Click on call for proposals & procurement notices: > Search for EuropeAid/ /L/ACT/CN Please direct all questions in writing to the address indicated in the guidelines for applicants: Specify the number of the call! Thank you for your attention and for your interest

EU – China For reasons of fair and equal treatment the EU Delegation will not meet nor discuss with any potential applicants/partners regarding this project in the coming months. Deadline to ask questions to the mailbox 10 January 2013