WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONS/WPDR/W/20
3 December 2002
(02-6676)
Working Party on Domestic Regulation Original:  English
COMMUNICATION FROM THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
Disciplines on Domestic Regulation for Professional Services
Results of Consultations with Professional Sectors
The following communication has been received from the delegation of The People's
Republic of China with the request that it be circulated to the Members of the Working Party onDomestic Regulation.
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I. INTRODUCTION
1. China has conducted domestic consultations with its government bodies and professional
services associations on the basis of a questionnaire regarding the relevance and applicability of the
Disciplines on Domestic Regulation in the Accountancy Sector to professional services sectors other
than accountancy.
2. Most Chinese professional bodies consulted to date responded “No Comments” and only one
communication with preliminary specific comments was received from the legal services sector.
These preliminary comments are listed in Part II of this paper.
3. As further consultations are still going on, China reserves the right to modify or complement
the contents contained in this paper in the future.
II. COMMENTS FROM LEGAL SERVICES SECTOR
4. Some of the provisions set out in the Disciplines on Domestic Regulations in the
Accountancy Sector are generally applicable. For example, paragraphs related to enhance
transparency and streamline licensing procedures.
5. The following specific elements of the Accountancy Disciplines have to be redefined or
strengthened to reflect the special characteristics of the legal services sector:
− There are no readily available “internationally recognized standards” as referred to in
Paragraph 26.
− Qualification requirements vary substantially from one country to another due to
different legal systems. For instance, one WTO member stipulates that onlypostgraduates are allowed to major in law. Another case in point is that one member
sets out mandatory apprenticeship of two years for lawyers to practice law. In China,
only one year is required. Therefore, it is imperative for competent departments of
WTO members to provide mutual assistance in the process of reviewingqualifications.
./.S/WPDR/W/20
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− In scheduling examination, the national characteristics of individual members should
be taken into full account and due flexibility should be granted to developingmembers in particular, in view of their constraints in capacity.
− The most striking feature of legal services lies in individuality. It is difficult to
evaluate such services by uniform technical standards or professional titles.
III. CONCLUSION
6. Most competent Chinese authorities and professional bodies consulted responded “No
Comments” to the relevance and applicability of the Disciplines on Domestic Regulation in the
Accountancy Sector to their own service sectors. This is mostly because they are uncertain of the
potential implications of horizontally transposing the Accountancy Disciplines to their own
professional services sectors.
7 The consultations also reveal that capacity-bu ilding is required to enable China as a latecomer
to participate in the work of the WPDR in a more active and efficient manner.
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