Who provides legal aid for ethnic minorities in Vietnam?

Who provides legal aid for ethnic minorities in Vietnam? (Internet image)

Regarding this issue, LawNet would like to answer as follows:

1. Which ethnic minorities are entitled to legal aid?

According to Clause 1, Article 2 of Joint Circular 01/2012/TTLT-BTP-UBDT, ethnic minorities are entitled to legal aid including:

(i) People who regularly live (registered permanent residence, registered temporary residence, or have confirmation from the Commune, Ward or Town Police) in areas with extremely difficult socio-economic conditions (communes, wards, towns in difficult areas, and communes, villages, and hamlets with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions) according to the provisions of law.

(i) People who do not fall into the cases specified in (i) but are eligible for other legal aid according to the provisions of law.

2. Who provides legal aid for ethnic minorities in Vietnam?

Specifically, people providing legal aid for ethnic minorities include:

- Legal assistant;

- Legal aid collaborator of the Center and Branch;

- Lawyers and legal consultants of organizations registered to participate in legal aid according to the provisions of law.

(Clause 3, Article 2 of Joint Circular 01/2012/TTLT-BTP-UBDT)

3. Requirements for providing legal aid to ethnic minorities in Vietnam

When providing legal aid to ethnic minorities, the following requirements must be met:

- Ensure that ethnic minorities receive legal aid in their ethnic language in case the subject requests or cannot speak Vietnamese.

- Simplify administrative procedures and appropriate ways to provide legal aid to create favorable conditions for ethnic minorities to access and benefit from legal aid.

- Create favorable conditions and proactively meet with the requesting person to provide legal aid according to the provisions of the legal aid law.

(Article 3 of Joint Circular 01/2012/TTLT-BTP-UBDT)

4. Prohibited acts in legal aid services in Vietnam

Specifically, Article 6 of the Law on Legal Aid 2017 stipulates prohibited acts in legal aid services as follows:

(1) 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.

(2)  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.

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