Vietnam: Shortening the time limit for issuance of operation registration certificate of legal counseling center to 05 days

According to Article 4 of the Decree No. 05/2012/NĐ-CP of the Vietnam’s Government, amending Article 13 of the Decree No. 77/2008/NĐ-CP on establishment of legal consultancy centers:

- Legal counseling centers shall register their operation with provincial-level Justice Departments of the localities where they are headquartered. When registering its operation, a legal counseling center shall send directly or by post 1 dossier set to the provincial-level Justice Department.

- An operation registration dossier comprises:

+ A written operation registration;

+ The managing agency's decision to establish the legal counseling center and appoint its director;

+ The draft organization and operation regulation of the center to be issued by the managing agency;

+ A list of applicants for legal counselor's cards and lawyers working under labor contracts for the center, enclosed with their dossiers.

- Within 5 working days after receiving a complete and valid dossier, the provincial-level Justice Department shall grant an operation registration certificate to the legal counseling center. In case of refusal, it shall notify the reason in writing.

- When granting an operation registration certificate to a legal counseling center, the provincial-level Justice Department shall concurrently grant legal counselor's cards to those who meet the criteria specified in Clause 1, Article 19 of this Decree.

- The Ministry of Justice of Vietnam shall provide forms of operation registration certificate and legal counselor's card.

- A legal counseling center may commence operation after obtaining an operation registration certificate.

According to the Decree No. 77/2008/NĐ-CP, the written certification of the legal consultancy center's working office is required in the operation registration dossier, and the time limit for issuance of operation registration certificate is 7 working days. However, according to new provisions of the Decree No. 05/2012/NĐ-CP of the Vietnam’s Government, a written certification of the legal consultancy center's working office is not required and the time limit is shortened to 5 working days.

View more details at the Decree No. 05/2012/NĐ-CP of the Vietnam’s Government, effective from April 01, 2012.

Phuong Thanh

>> CLICK HERE TO READ THIS ARTICLE IN VIETNAMESE