Procedures for requesting foreign countries to provide civil legal assistance in Vietnam

Procedures for requesting foreign countries to provide civil legal assistance in Vietnam (Internet image)

1. Scope of civil legal assistance in Vietnam

Pursuant to Article 10 of the Law on Legal Assistance 2007, the scope of civil legal assistance between Vietnam and foreign countries covers:

- Service of papers, dossiers and documents related to civil legal assistance;

- Summon of witnesses and experts;

- Collection and supply of evidence;

- Other requests for civil legal assistance.

2. Civil legal mandate dossiers in Vietnam

Pursuant to Article 11 of the Law on Legal Assistance 2007, a civil legal mandate dossier comprises the following documents:

- A competent bodys written request for civil legal assistance;

- The written civil legal mandate specified in Article 12 of this Law;

- Other papers as requested by a competent body of the mandating country.

Note: A civil legal assistance dossier is made in three sets in accordance with this Law and the law of the mandating country. Language used in the dossiers complies with Article 5 of the Law on Legal Assistance 2007.

3. Civil legal assistance documents in Vietnam

According to Article 12 of the Law on Legal Assistance 2007, a civil legal assistance document must contain the following details:

- Date, month, year and place of making the document;

- The name and address of the legal mandator;

- The name and address of the legal mandatory;

- Full names and places of resident or working of individuals; full names and addresses or head offices of agencies or organizations directly involved in legal mandate;

- Jobs subject to civil legal mandate, indicating the mandate purpose, jobs and related circumstances, quotation of applicable legal provisions, measures to effect the mandate and the mandate performance duration.

4. Requesting foreign countries to provide civil legal assistance in Vietnam

Requesting foreign countries to provide civil legal assistance specified in Article 13 of the Law on Legal Assistance 2007 are as follows:

Vietnams competent bodies, while settling civil matters, may request foreign competent bodies to provide legal assistance in the following circumstances:

- Service of papers, dossiers, documents on persons who are staying in the requested countries;

- Summon of witnesses and experts who are staying in the requested countries;

- Collection and supply of evidence in the requested countries for settlement of civil matters in Vietnam;

- Other circumstances prescribed by Vietnamese law.

Note: Requests for civil legal assistance by foreign countries must be made in the form of civil legal mandate under the provisions of the Law on Legal Assistance 2007.

5. Procedures for requesting foreign countries to provide civil legal assistance in Vietnam

Article 14 of the Law on Legal Assistance 2007 stipulates the procedures for requesting foreign countries to provide civil legal assistance as follows:

Step 1: Vietnams competent bodies requesting foreign competent bodies to provide civil legal assistance shall make mandate dossiers under the provisions of Article 11 of this Law and send them to the Ministry of Justice.

Step 2: Within ten working days after the receipt of civil legal mandate dossiers, the Ministry of Justice shall record in the legal mandate book, examine the validity of the dossiers and send them to foreign competent bodies under the provisions of treaties to which Vietnam and those foreign countries are contracting parties or through the diplomatic channel. If the dossiers are invalid, the Ministry of Justice shall return them to the dossier-making agencies and clearly state the reasons therefor.

Step 3: Within five working days after the receipt of foreign competent bodies written notices on the performance of legal mandate, the Ministry of Justice shall transfer the notices to Vietnams competent bodies that have sent the civil legal mandate dossiers.

Ngoc Nhi

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