Prohibited acts in legal aid services in Vietnam

 Prohibited acts in legal aid services in Vietnam (Internet image) 

1. Prohibited acts in legal aid services in Vietnam

- Legal aid-providing organizations and individuals may not commit the following acts:

+ Infringe upon the dignity, honor or legitimate rights and interests of legally-aided persons; discriminate against legally-aided persons;

+ Receive or demand any sum of money, economic benefits or other benefits from legally-aided persons; harass legally-aided persons;

+ Disclose information on legal aid-related cases or legally-aided persons unless it is agreed in writing by legally-aided persons or otherwise provided for by law.

+ Refuse or discontinue the provision of legal aid services, except for cases specified in this Law and regulations on procedures;

+ Abuse legal aid services for self-seeking activities, encroach on national security and defense, disturb social order and safety, cause adverse impacts on social ethics;

+ Incite, provoke legally-aided persons to declare and supply false information and documents or to make complaints or denunciations or initiate lawsuits in contravention of law.

- Legally-aided persons, agencies, organizations and individuals engaged in legal aid services may not commit the following acts:

+ Violate health, life, dignity, honor of legal aid-providing persons and the reputation of organizations providing legal aid services;

+ Deliberately provide false information and documents on legal aid-related cases;

+ Threaten, obstruct or illegally interfere in legal aid services; disturb, cause troubles and seriously violate regulations at legal aid-providing places.

(Article 6 of the Law on legal aid 2017)

2. Legally-aided persons in Vietnam

Legally-aided persons are defined in Article 7 of the Law on legal aid 2017, including:

- People with meritorious services to the revolution.

- People in poor households.

- Children.

- Ethnic minority people permanently residing in areas with exceptionally difficult socio-economic conditions.

- Accused persons from 16 years old to under 18 years old.

- Accused persons in near-poor households.

- People in one of the following cases having financial difficulties:

+ Blood parents, spouses and children of patriotic martyrs; persons having merits in nurturing young patriotic martyrs;

+ People infected with dioxin;

+ Elderly people;

+ Disabled people;

+ Victims in criminal prosecutions from 16 years old to under 18 years old;

+ Victims in family domestic violence cases;

+ Victims of human trafficking cases as specified in the Law on human trafficking prevention and combat;

+ HIV-positive people.

3. Rights of legally-aided persons in Vietnam

- Have the right to receive legal aid services without paying fees, economic benefits or other benefits.

- Request legal aid by themselves or via their relatives, agencies, competent procedural authorities or other agencies, organizations and individuals.

- Be informed about the right to receive legal aid services, order and procedures of legal aid when going to a legal aid-providing organization and concerned regulatory agencies.

- Request confidentiality of contents of legal aid-related cases.

- Select one local legal aid-providing organization and person on the list published; request for change of legal aid-providing person when he/she falls into one of the cases specified in Clause 1 and 2, Article 25 of this Law.

- Modify or withdraw legal aid requests.

- Be entitled to damages in accordance with law.

- Lodge complaints or denunciations about legal aid in accordance with this Law and other relevant Law.

(Article 8 of the Law on legal aid 2017)

4. Obligations of legally-aided persons

- Supply papers proving their eligibility for legal aid.

- Cooperate, provide sufficient, timely information, documents and evidences in respect of legal aid-related cases and be responsible for the accuracy of these information, documents and evidences.

- Respect legal aid-providing organizations, legal aid-providing persons and other agencies, organizations and individuals involved in legal aid-related cases.

- Do not request another legal aid-providing organization to provide legal aid for the case for which another legal aid-providing organization is providing legal aid.

- Comply with the Law on Legal aid and rules of places of legal aid provision.

(Article 9 of the Law on legal aid 2017)

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