Challenges in Legal Aid for the People

Because of the aforementioned reasons, the year 2006 saw the promulgation of the Law on Legal Aid. This law provides free legal services to those entitled to legal aid under the regulations, helping them protect their rights and legitimate interests, enhancing legal knowledge, and promoting respect and compliance with the law. It contributes to the dissemination and education of the law, protection of justice, ensuring social fairness, and preventing and reducing disputes and legal violations.

However, the practical enforcement of the Law on Legal Aid in recent years has encountered several shortcomings as follows:

- The organizational structure in some localities remains quite cumbersome. Many branches and facilities have been established but lack resources for operation or operate inefficiently. The legal aid activities do not ensure independence and objectivity but are heavily reliant on funding and staffing from state agencies;

- The provisions of the Law on Legal Aid have not adequately reflected the nature of legal aid services as social assistance, with the State bearing responsibility and ensuring support. There is sometimes confusion in understanding between legal aid as defined in the Law on Lawyers and the Law on Legal Aid, leading to the ineffective operation of these service types. Besides the entities stipulated in the Law on Legal Aid, there are in practice other organizations using the term "legal aid" to provide free legal services to various societal groups, such as career organizations of the Vietnam Lawyers Association, Vietnam Bar Federation, Vietnam Association for the Protection of Legal Rights for the Poor, and Vietnam Veterans Association, among others;

- The subjects eligible for legal aid under the Law do not fully encompass those unable to afford legal assistance, such as individuals from near-poor households or incompatibly with those who can afford such assistance, like victims of trafficking under the 2011 Law on Prevention and Combat of Human Trafficking or the elderly under the 2009 Law on the Elderly.

- There is a discrepancy in standards, conditions, and professional qualifications between Legal Aid Officers and Lawyers in participating in litigation and other forms of legal aid. The quality of Legal Aid Officers remains limited compared to the requirements of legal aid work;

- Encouraging and mobilizing legal practice organizations and Legal Consultancy Centers to participate in legal aid is not feasible due to the lack of financial support mechanisms for participating organizations and specific, practical measures.

Arising from these limitations, the Ministry of Justice has proposed to draft an amended Law on Legal Aid to create a uniform and convenient legal basis for legal aid activities.

Recently, on June 8, 2016, the Ministry of Justice officially announced the Draft Law on Legal Aid. The draft will be widely consulted until July 27, 2016, and is expected to be passed at the 14th National Assembly - 3rd Session.

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