BEIJING -- China's top procuratorate has pledged to step up procuratorial supervision to fully protect lawyers' right to practice.

The Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) on Friday published the first five typical cases of protecting lawyers' rights, including the right to know, to meet with a party to a case and to express opinions.

The move aims to address the predicaments defense lawyers face in practicing law, the SPP said on its website.

SPP statistics showed that last year, procuratorial organs across the country investigated and handled over 2,000 cases of infringements on lawyers' right to practice, with more than 1,600 settled.