Are officials and public employees prohibited from registering for lawyer internship?

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According to the provisions of the Law on Lawyers 2006, a lawyer is a person who meets the standards and conditions for practicing law as stipulated by this Law and provides legal services at the request of individuals, agencies, organizations (collectively referred to as clients), including participating in litigation, legal consultancy, representation outside litigation for clients, and other legal services.

Also according to this Law, to become a Lawyer, one must meet the following standards:

- A Vietnamese citizen who is loyal to the Fatherland, abides by the Constitution and the law, and has good moral character;- Holds a bachelor’s degree in law;- Has undergone lawyer training;- Has completed the lawyer practice probation period;- Has health assurance for practicing as a lawyer.

It can be seen that to become a Lawyer, one of the important requirements is to register and undergo the probation period. However, under current regulations, not everyone can register for lawyer probation. Specifically, according to Clause 2, Article 3 of Circular 19/2013/TT-BTP, individuals falling into one of the following cases are not eligible to register for lawyer practice probation:

- Currently officials and public employees; officers, professional soldiers, and defense workers in agencies or units belonging to the People's Army; officers, non-commissioned officers, and workers in agencies or units belonging to the People's Public Security;- Currently prosecuted for criminal liability; convicted persons whose criminal records have not been expunged for crimes committed by negligence or less serious crimes committed intentionally; convicted persons for serious crimes committed intentionally, very serious crimes committed intentionally, particularly serious crimes committed intentionally, even if the criminal records have been expunged;- Currently subjected to administrative measures being sent to compulsory detoxification centers or compulsory education centers;- Loss of civil act capacity or have limited civil act capacity;- Officials and public employees; officers, professional soldiers, defense workers in agencies, units of the Army, or the Police who have been dismissed from service but have not yet completed the three-year period from the date the dismissal decision takes effect.

Thus, according to the above regulations, officials and public employees are not eligible to register for lawyer practice probation. In cases where officials and public employees are dismissed from service, they must wait three years before they can register for lawyer practice probation.

Nguyen Trinh

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