BEIJING - China is working to ensure universal access to legal assistance for suspects and defendants in criminal proceedings to protect their human rights, Vice Minister of Justice Zhao Dacheng said on Thursday.

Improvements to legal aid are one of the ministry's top priorities, as the right to counsel is a core human-rights requirement and adheres to the constitutional principle of equality before the law, Zhao said at a press conference.

As well as legal assistance, the ministry is also reviewing the entire criminal procedure process including investigation, indictment and trial, he said.

The vice minister also stressed that the quality of pro bono legal services had not been compromised, as around 90 percent of arguments in civil and criminal cases had been accepted by judicial authorities.

Moreover, the official said, free legal assistance was available for anyone in China, including Chinese from territories outside the mainland, for non-contentious matters.

Legal assistance is also available for foreign defendants at Chinese courts.

On Monday an instruction pledged that China would provide free legal aid to more people. The directive on perfecting the legal assistance system, ordered government agencies to expand legal assistance to cover more cases and make the service available to more people.