How many years of experience is required to be legal counselors providing legal aid in Vietnam?

How many years of experience is required to be legal counselors providing legal aid in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 17 of the Law on Legal Aid 2017 stipulates on legal aid-providing persons as follows:

1. Legal aid-providing persons include:

a) Legal aid assistants;

b) Lawyers providing legal aid services under contract with State legal aid center; lawyers providing legal aid services assigned by legal aid-participating organizations;

c) Legal counselors with at least 02 years of experiences in legal counseling service and working in legal aid-participating organizations;

d) Legal aid collaborators.

2. The Department of Justice shall announce a list of local legal aid-providing persons 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.

Article 12 of the Law on Legal Aid 2017 stipulates that legal aid-participating organizations are as follows:

1. Legal aid-participating organizations include organizations signing contracts to provide legal aid services and organizations registering for participation in legal aid services.

2. Organizations signing contracts to provide legal aid services include law-practicing organizations and legal counseling organizations signing contracts with the Department of Justice to provide legal aid services in accordance with this Law.

3. Organizations registering for participation in legal aid services include law-practicing organizations and legal counseling organizations registering for participation in legal aid services according to this Law.

Thus, for legal aid-providing persons who are legal counselors, they must have at least 02 years of experiences in legal counseling service and working in legal aid-participating organizations. The organization participating in legal aid can be a Law office, a law firm that signs a contract to provide legal aid or registers to participate in legal aid services in Vietnam.

Can I work as a legal aid assistant if I don't participate in a probation of legal profession in Vietnam?

According to Article 19 of the Law on Legal Aid 2017, conditions for legal aid assistants are as follows:

Vietnamese citizens who are public employees of legal aid centers and fully satisfy the following conditions may become legal aid assistants:

1. Good moral quality;

2. Possess a bachelor or higher degree in law;

3. Have been trained in legal profession or is not required to participate in training course of legal profession; have gone through the probation of legal profession or legal aid;

4. Being physically fit to provide legal aid;

5. Is not within the time of receiving disciplinary actions.

According to regulations in Vietnam, those who do not participate in the probation of legal profession are still entitled to work as legal aid assistants in case this person has enough time to participate in the legal aid probationary period.

What are cases of refusal to provide legal aid services in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 25 of the Law on Legal Aid 2017 stipulates cases of discontinuance or refusal to provide legal aid services as follows:

1. Legal aid-providing persons shall not continue to provide legal aid services in the following cases:

a) Commit prohibited acts defined in Clause 1 Article 6 hereof, except for cases where they have completely served their penalties and have the right to provide legal aid services under the provisions of this Law;

b) Be revoked legal aid assistant's card, legal aid collaborator’s card, law practicing certificate or legal counselor card;

c) Cases of inability to participate in proceedings as prescribed by law on proceedings.

2. Legal aid-providing person must refuse to provide legal aid services in the following cases:

a) Provided or is providing legal aid service to a legally-aided person that is a party with conflicting interests in the same case, unless otherwise agreed in legal consultancy, extrajudicial representation in civil matters by parties;

b) There are evidences to believe that he/she is possibly biased during the process of providing legal aid services;

c) There are reasons that show the legal aid service cannot be provided effectively, affecting the lawful rights and interests of legally-aided persons.

3. The legal aid-providing organization shall notify the reason in writing to the legally-aided person and appoint another person to provide legal aid in cases specified in Clause 1 and 2 of this Article.

Thus, legal aid-providing persons must refuse to provide legal aid in the cases specified above. When falling into one of the cases of refusal to provide legal aid services, the legal aid-providing organization must notify in writing and clearly state the reasons therefor to the legally-aided person and appoint another person to provide legal aid in Vietnam.

Best Regards!