Vietnam: Which organization performs legal aid? What are the conditions for concluding a contract for the implementation of legal aid?
Which organization performs legal aid in Vietnam?
Pursuant to Article 10 of the Vietnam Law on Legal Aid 2017, it provides as follows:
Article 10. Legal aid-providing organizations
1. Legal aid-providing organizations include state legal aid centers and legal aid-participating organizations.
2. The Department of Justice shall announce a list of qualified local legal aid-providing organizations and post them on the website of the Department of Justice and send them to the Ministry of Justice for aggregating and posting on the website of the Ministry of Justice.
Accordingly, organizations providing legal aid include: State legal aid centers and organizations participating in legal aid.
At the same time, based on Article 11 of the Vietnam Law on Legal Aid 2017 and Article 12 of the Vietnam Law on Legal Aid 2017, the concept of state legal aid centers and organizations participating in legal aid is as follows:
- State legal aid centers are non-business units affiliated to the Department of Justice established by provincial People’s Committees, have legal status, their own seals, head offices and accounts.
- Organizations signing contracts to provide legal aid services include Vietnam Law-practicing organizations and legal counseling organizations signing contracts with the Department of Justice to provide legal aid services in accordance with this Vietnam Law.
- Organizations registering for participation in legal aid services include Vietnam Law-practicing organizations and legal counseling organizations registering for participation in legal aid services according to this Vietnam Law.
Vietnam: Which organization performs legal aid? What are the conditions for concluding a contract for the implementation of legal aid?
How are the rights and obligations of the organization providing legal aid regulated in Vietnam?
Pursuant to Article 13 of the Vietnam Law on Legal Aid 2017, the rights and obligations of organizations providing legal aid are as follows:
For organizations providing legal aid have the right and obligation to:
- Providing legal aid;
- Request relevant agencies and organizations to coordinate and provide information and documents on legal aid cases;
- Compensation for damage caused by the fault of a person belonging to their organization while performing legal assistance;
- Implement the regime of statistics, reporting and communication on legal aid;
- Settle complaints as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 45 of the Vietnam Law on Legal Aid 2017
- Make recommendations to competent state agencies on issues related to the settlement of legal aid cases.
For the State Legal Aid Center, it has the right and obligation to:
- Rights and obligations as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 13 of the Vietnam Law on Legal Aid 2017
- Perform other tasks authorized or requested by competent state management agencies in charge of legal assistance.
For organizations contracted to provide legal aid, they have the right and obligation to:
- Rights and obligations as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 13 of the Vietnam Law on Legal Aid 2017
- Receive remuneration and expenses for performing legal aid cases in accordance with the Government's regulations;
- Other rights and obligations under the contract for the implementation of legal aid.
For organizations registering to participate in legal aid, they have the following rights and obligations:
- Rights and obligations as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 13 of the Vietnam Law on Legal Aid 2017
- Provide legal assistance according to the content of the registration.
What are the conditions for concluding a contract for the implementation of legal aid in Vietnam?
Pursuant to Article 14 of the Vietnam Law on Legal Aid 2017, the conditions for signing a contract for legal aid are as follows:
For aspirational organizations
The Department of Justice shall select and enter into a contract for the implementation of legal aid with a desired organization Based on the request for legal assistance and practice in the locality and meet the following conditions:
- Have a field of registration suitable for the field of legal aid
- A Vietnam Law practice organization; legal consulting organization with at least 01 legal consultant with 02 years or more of legal consulting experience or 01 Vietnam Lawyer working regularly at the organization;
- Having facilities suitable for legal aid activities;
- Not being in the process of implementing decisions on sanctioning administrative violations in the practice of Vietnam Law and legal advice.
For Legal Help Center
The State shall, based on the needs of legal assistance and resources for providing legal assistance in the locality, select and sign contracts for the implementation of legal assistance with Vietnam Lawyers who meet the following conditions:
- Not being in the process of implementing the decision to sanction administrative violations in the practice of Vietnam Law;
- Not to be banned from practicing or restricted from professional activities according to the decision of the competent authority;
- Not being held criminally responsible;
- Get the written consent of the Vietnam Law practice organization where the Vietnam Lawyer is working or the agency or organization with which the Vietnam Lawyer signs a labor contract.
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