BEIJING, Sept. 28 -- By the end of next year, all criminal detention centers and courts in China will be staffed with duty lawyers to provide legal consultations, according to a Ministry of Justice official.

Bai Ping, head of the ministry's legal assistance department, made the remarks at a press conference Thursday.

The duty lawyers will also provide other procedural services for suspects and defendants, the ministry said in a statement.

Legal assistance stations have been set up in about 88 percent of criminal detention centers and 51.7 percent of courts. This year, legal assistance lawyers have been consulted by suspects or defendants 167,000 times.