Are defense counsels of involved parties' legitimate rights and interests in civil proceedings required to be lawyers in Vietnam?

Are defense counsels of involved parties' legitimate rights and interests in civil proceedings required to be lawyers in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Clause 2, Article 75 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code, which stipulates on defense counsels of involved parties' legitimate rights and interests in civil procedures as follows:

2. The following persons can act as defense counsels of the involved parties legitimate rights and interests when they were asked by the involved parties and have been accepted by Courts to participate in the procedures to protect the involved parties’ legitimate rights and interests:

a) Lawyers who participate in the procedures under the provisions of the legislation on lawyers;

b) Legal aid officers or persons participating in legal aid under the law on legal aid;

c) Representatives of employee collective’s representative organizations who are defense counsels of employee’s legitimate rights and interests in labor cases according to legislation on labor and trade union;

d) Vietnamese citizens who have full civil act capacity, have clean criminal records or have been expunged convictions, who do not fall into the cases subject to the application of administrative handling measures; who are not cadres or civil servants in the Court or procuracy sector, officers or non-commissioned officers in the public security force.

Thus, according to the above provisions in Vietnam, it is not required that defense counsels of involved parties' legitimate rights and interests must be a lawyer but can be a legal assistant or a Vietnamese citizen with full civil act capacity, without criminal records, depending on each specific case.

When applying to carry out the registration procedure for defense counsels of involved parties’ legitimate rights and interests, what documents must applicant present in Vietnam?

In Clause 4 of Article 75 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code, when applying the Court to carry out the registration procedure for defense counsels of involved parties’ legitimate rights and interests, the applicant shall present the following papers:

a) The lawyers shall present papers according to regulations in the Law on lawyers;

b) Legal aid officers or persons participating in legal aid under the law on legal aid shall present the written appointment for legal aid issued by the organizations providing legal aid and the cards of legal aids or lawyer’s card;

c) Representatives of employee collective’s representative organization shall present the writing that such organizations have appointed them to defend the legitimate rights and interests of the employees/collective labor;

d) Vietnamese citizens satisfying conditions specified in point d clause 2 of this Article shall present the written petitions of the involved parties and their identity papers.

Best Regards!