Procedures for requesting payment of remunerations, training and costs for participating in legal aid-related cases in Vietnam

Procedures for requesting payment of remunerations, training and costs for participating in legal aid-related cases in Vietnam (Internet image)

1. Procedures for requesting payment of remunerations, training and costs for participating in legal aid-related cases in Vietnam

Procedures for requesting payment of remunerations, training and costs for participating in legal aid-related cases in Vietnam according to Article 15 of Decree 144/2017/ND-CP are as follows:

- For payment based on working sessions, the legal aid provider must send the Center or Branch the following documents:

+ A timesheet detailing the actual time performed according to the form issued by the Ministry of Justice, with confirmation from the agency, organization, or individual where the legal aid provider works or meets;

+ A detailed cost sheet for performing legal aid work, accompanied by valid invoices and vouchers as per current financial regulations.

- For lump-sum payment per case, the legal aid provider must send the Center or Branch the following documents:

+ A detailed work sheet according to the form issued by the Ministry of Justice, with confirmation from the agency, organization, or individual where the legal aid provider works or meets;

+ A detailed cost sheet for performing legal aid work, accompanied by valid invoices and vouchers as per current financial regulations.

- For payment requests in legal consulting cases, lawyers, and legal aid collaborators must send the Center or Branch a legal consulting document.

- Organizations contracting to provide legal aid services for payment per working session or lump-sum case payment must send the Department of Justice of the province or city where the contract is signed the following documents:

+ The documents specified in clauses 1 or 2 of Article 15 of Decree 144/2017/ND-CP;

+ A payment request document.

- Organizations contracting to provide legal aid services for payment in legal consulting cases must send the Department of Justice of the province or city where the contract is signed the following documents:

+ A legal consulting document;

+ A payment request document.

2. Remunerations, training and costs for participating in legal aid-related cases for legal aid-providing individuals in Vietnam

Remunerations, training and costs for participating in legal aid-related cases for legal aid-providing individuals in Vietnam according to Article 13 of Decree 144/2017/ND-CP are as follows:

- For legal aid cases involving participation in proceedings, lawyers contracted to provide legal aid services with the Center are entitled to a fee per working session (half a day) of 0.38 statutory pay rate/session but not exceeding 30 sessions/case or a lump-sum per case with a minimum rate of 03 statutory pay rate/case and a maximum of 10 statutory pay rate/case (based on the complexity, litigation requirements, and specifics of each case).

When applying the session-based fee payment, the time for reviewing case files, meeting time, preparation of documents, defense arguments, and other reasonable tasks must not exceed the payable number of sessions, applied according to the lump-sum basis for each task.

- For legal aid cases involving representation outside of litigation, lawyers contracted to provide legal aid services with the Center are entitled to a fee of 0.31 statutory pay rate/session but not exceeding 20 sessions/case.

- Legal aid providers participating in legal proceedings are entitled to an allowance equal to 40% of the fee rate for lawyers specified in clause 1 of Article 13 of Decree 144/2017/ND-CP, and 20% of the fee rate for lawyers when representing outside of litigation as per clause 2 of Article 13 of Decree 144/2017/ND-CP.

- For legal aid by legal consulting according to the assignment of the Center's leadership, lawyers, and legal aid collaborators contracted to provide legal aid services with the Center are entitled to a fee of 0.08-0.15 statutory pay rate/legal consulting document depending on the complexity and content of the case.

- In addition to the case-related fees and allowances specified in clauses 1, 2, and 3 of Article 13 of Decree 144/2017/ND-CP, for cases requiring participation in litigation or representation outside of litigation that involves gathering evidence or verifying facts, legal aid providers are also entitled to compensation for expenses incurred while handling the case as follows:

+ Fees payable according to the regulations on fees, charges, and other administrative expenses directly serving legal aid tasks;

The basis for determining reasonable expenses includes fee receipts, financial invoices, or receipts from the authorized agency or organization as stipulated by financial laws.

+ In case of business trips for resolving legal aid cases, legal aid providers are entitled to compensation according to the current regulations on business trip policies for officials and public employees.

- The nature, content, session calculation, and time utilized for determining fees for legal aid providers based on actual working sessions or lump-sum fees per case are guided by the Ministry of Justice.

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