Joint Circular No. 01/2012/TTLT-BTP-UBDT guiding the provision of legal aid to ethnic minority people

JOINT CIRCULAR

Guidelines on Legal Aid for Ethnic Minority People

Pursuant to the Legal Aid Law on June 29, 2006;

Pursuant to Decree No. 07/2007/NĐ-CP dated January 12, 2007, issued by the Government, detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Legal Aid Law;

Pursuant to Decree No. 05/2011/NĐ-CP dated January 14, 2011 of the Government on ethnic affairs;

Pursuant to Decree No. 93/2008/NĐ-CP dated August 22, 2008, promulgated by the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Justice;

Pursuant to Decree No. 60/2008/NĐ-CP dated May 9, 2008 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Committee for Ethnic Minorities;

The Ministry of Justice and the Committee for Ethnic Minorities hereby unify guidelines on providing legal aid for ethnic minority people as follows:

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

These joint circulars (hereinafter referred to as the Circular) provide guidance on implementing legal aid for ethnic minority people including requirements, implementation of legal aid for ethnic minority people, enhancing capacity in providing legal aid for ethnic minority people, coordination and responsibilities of agencies, organizations, and individuals in implementing legal aid for ethnic minority people.

Article 2. Applicability

1. Ethnic minority people eligible for legal aid include:

a) People who regularly reside (registered as permanent residents, temporary residents, or confirmed by the police station of the commune, ward, town) in areas with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions (communes, wards, towns in difficult areas and communes, villages, hamlets with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions) as prescribed by law.

b) People not falling under the cases specified in point a of Clause 1 of this Article but are eligible for other forms of legal aid as prescribed by law.

2. Organizations implementing legal aid include: State Legal Aid Center (hereinafter abbreviated as the Center), Branches of the Center (hereinafter abbreviated as Branch); Law firms, Law offices, Legal counseling centers belonging to political-social organizations, political-social-professional organizations, social-professional organizations registered to participate in legal aid.

3. Individuals implementing legal aid include: Legal aid officers, legal aid volunteers of the Center and Branch; Lawyers, Legal counselors of organizations registered to participate in legal aid according to the law.

4. Local ethnic affairs agencies include: Ethnic affairs agencies at provincial level and Ethnic Affairs Departments at district level.

5. State management agencies on legal aid, organizations and individuals related thereto as prescribed by law.

Article 3. Requirements for Implementing Legal Aid for Ethnic Minority People

1. Ensuring that ethnic minority people receive legal aid in their own language when the subject requests or cannot speak Vietnamese.

2. Simplifying administrative procedures and methods of implementing legal aid appropriately to facilitate ethnic minority people's access to and enjoyment of legal aid.

3. Creating favorable conditions and proactively meeting with those requesting legal aid to implement legal aid in accordance with the law on legal aid.

Chapter II

IMPLEMENTATION OF LEGAL AID FOR ETHNIC MINORITY PEOPLE

Article 4. Provision of Free Legal Services

Organizations implementing legal aid have the responsibility to provide free legal services for ethnic minority people to protect their rights and legitimate interests through the following forms:

1. Legal counseling.

2. Participation in litigation.

3. Representation outside litigation.

4. Other forms of legal aid as prescribed by law on legal aid.

Article 5. Simplifying Procedures for Requesting Legal Aid

1. When ethnic minorities request legal aid and encounter difficulties in presenting required documents as stipulated by law, the organization implementing legal aid must accept the request, coordinate with the People's Committee at the commune level or political-social organizations where the person resides, or the agency or organization where the person works to verify and provide legal aid in accordance with the law.

2. Ethnic minorities have the responsibility to provide information and materials and closely cooperate with those providing legal aid during the legal aid process.

Article 6. Legal Aid at the Grassroots Level

The Center and Branches shall implement legal aid activities at communes, wards, and towns in difficult areas and villages, hamlets, and ethnic minority groups with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions as follows:

1. Organizing club meetings on legal issues that ethnic minorities often face.

2. Organizing specialized legal seminars on issues directly related to the rights and obligations of ethnic minorities in the locality.

3. Implementing mobile legal aid services to provide free legal services to ethnic minorities. When conducting mobile legal aid, the recipient of legal aid presents their legal aid request directly, and the provider of legal aid has the responsibility to guide the recipient to fill out the application form and provide immediate counseling. Counseling results are reflected in the form of a Legal Aid Implementation Form or a legal counseling document. For cases that cannot be counseled immediately due to complex situations requiring further verification, the provider of legal aid writes a Counseling Appointment Form regarding the time for subsequent counseling or responds in writing within no more than ten working days.

4. Integrating grassroots legal aid activities with mobile court proceedings of the Court, activities of mass organizations, legal awareness campaigns, and traditional cultural festivals of ethnic minorities in the locality.

Article 7. Communication on Legal Aid

The Center and Branches shall carry out communication on legal aid to inform ethnic minorities about their right to legal aid through the following methods:

1. Compiling, printing, and distributing free pamphlets, legal guides, and other legal materials directly related to the rights and obligations of citizens in ethnic minority languages.

2. Drafting legal documents, recording, and broadcasting them in ethnic minority languages on radio, television, and community loudspeakers.

3. Establishing special sections and columns on legal aid tailored to the characteristics of ethnic minorities on radio, television, and central and local press.

4. Placing Information Boards and Information Boxes on legal aid in ethnic minority languages at community activity houses, communal cultural houses, People's Committee offices, health stations, border guard posts, and village cultural postal centers.

Chapter III

IMPROVING THE CAPACITY TO IMPLEMENT LEGAL AID

FOR ETHNIC MINORITY GROUPS

Article 8. Enhancing the capacity for legal aid implementers

State management agencies on legal aid and organizations implementing legal aid shall be responsible for carrying out the following activities to enhance the capacity for legal aid implementers:

1. Surveying and researching training and upgrading needs of legal aid implementers in areas with ethnic minority communities; developing appropriate content, forms, and methods of training and upgrading that suit the characteristics of these regions.

2. Organizing training and upgrading sessions on legal aid business to update knowledge of laws and legal aid skills for legal aid implementers and members of the Legal Aid Club Management Board at commune, ward, and town levels in difficult areas and communes, villages, and hamlets with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions.

3. Providing language training for ethnic minorities for legal aid implementers in communes, wards, and towns in difficult areas and communes, villages, and hamlets with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions.

Article 9. Developing a network of legal aid volunteers at the grassroots level

1. Organizations implementing legal aid shall be responsible for consolidating and developing a network of legal aid volunteers at commune, ward, and town levels in difficult areas and communes, villages, and hamlets with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions to provide legal aid to ethnic minorities. Emphasis should be placed on volunteers who are ethnic minorities or speak ethnic minority languages, people with prestige in the community (members of the Mediation Team, members of the Legal Aid Club Management Board, village elders, village chiefs, clan chiefs, representatives of political-social organizations, social-professional organizations at the grassroots level).

2. Ethnic affairs agencies at local levels shall be responsible for introducing at least one civil servant meeting the criteria and conditions stipulated by legal aid regulations to serve as a legal aid volunteer to provide legal advice to those receiving legal aid.

Article 10. Integration with Poverty Reduction Programs

Organizations implementing legal aid shall be responsible for integrating legal aid provision to ethnic minorities with the activities of poverty reduction programs and economic and social development programs for ethnic minority and mountainous regions to mobilize resources to improve the quality and effectiveness of legal aid activities.

Chapter IV

COOPERATION IN PROVIDING LEGAL AID

FOR ETHNIC MINORITY GROUPS

Article 11. Responsibilities of Centers and Branches

1. Hiring interpreters to provide legal aid to ethnic minorities when they request or cannot speak Vietnamese.

2. Providing the Ethnic Affairs Agency at the local level with:

a) Information sheet on legal aid (beneficiaries of legal aid; rights and obligations of beneficiaries of legal aid; procedures for requesting legal aid; contact address and phone number of the National Legal Aid Center, Branches of the Center);

b) Legal aid information box, legal aid application form, quick reference legal documents, and related legal documents on legal aid and disseminating legal aid regulations upon request.

3. Notifying the Ethnic Affairs Agency at the local level of the list of legal aid implementers from the Center and Branches within the local area along with their contact addresses and phone numbers for the Ethnic Affairs Agency to contact if necessary.

4. Providing full information on legal aid regulations in cases of amendments and supplements to the Ethnic Affairs Agency at the local level.

Article 12. Responsibilities of Ethnic Work Agencies at Local Levels

1. In the course of performing their functions and tasks, if Ethnic Work Agencies at local levels discover ethnic minority individuals who are eligible for legal aid and have a need for such aid, they shall guide them or their legally authorized representatives on the procedures to request legal aid, the addresses of organizations providing legal aid, and the list of legal aid providers in the locality to benefit from legal aid.

2. During the performance of their functions and tasks, if they detect any violations of the law by legal aid providers, the agencies or persons with authority within Ethnic Work Agencies at local levels shall recommend the competent authorities to handle the matter according to the law and inform the Centers, Branches, and other organizations providing legal aid.

3. Ethnic Work Agencies at local levels are required to cooperate responsibly:

a) Publicly post a notice board containing information about legal aid at the location where citizens are received at their agency's headquarters;

b) Place a Legal Aid Information Box to distribute free pamphlets on laws, sample forms for requesting legal aid, and related legal documents at citizen reception points within their agency so that citizens can access them when needed;

c) Proactively request cooperation from the Centers and Branches to jointly implement communication activities and guidance on legal aid.

Chapter V

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 13. Responsibility for Implementation

1. The Ministry of Justice and the National Ethnic Minorities Committee shall direct, guide, and inspect relevant units in implementing this Circular. Within their respective duties and powers, the Ministry of Justice shall take the lead and coordinate with the National Ethnic Minorities Committee in monitoring, urging, and inspecting; periodically summarizing and concluding the implementation of this Circular; guiding Provincial Departments of Justice and Ethnic Work Agencies to develop cooperation programs with specific contents suitable to the functions and tasks of both agencies and appropriate to the actual situation of the locality.

2. The Legal Aid Agency (Ministry of Justice) and the Legal Affairs Department (National Ethnic Minorities Committee) shall be the main agencies coordinating the implementation of legal aid for ethnic minorities; maintaining regular information exchange systems, coordinating inspections at the grassroots level, evaluating the implementation situation, drawing lessons, and proposing timely solutions to difficulties and issues arising during the implementation process to the leadership of both agencies.

3. Provincial Departments of Justice and Ethnic Work Agencies at provincial levels shall report periodically every six months and annually on the implementation of legal aid work for ethnic minorities as stipulated in this Circular to the Legal Aid Agency (Ministry of Justice) and the Legal Affairs Department (National Ethnic Minorities Committee) for consolidation.

Article 14. Implementation Costs

1. Funding for legal aid for ethnic minorities shall be allocated from the state budget, poverty reduction programs, the Vietnam Legal Aid Fund, international cooperation projects, and other lawful sources as prescribed by law.

2. Funding for legal aid for ethnic minorities shall be included in the annual state budget allocation for State Legal Aid Centers and Ethnic Work Agencies at provincial levels as provided for in the State Budget Law.

Article 15. Effective Date

1. This Joint Circular shall take effect from March 10, 2012.

2. During the implementation process, if there are difficulties, obstacles, or new issues arise, relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals shall have the responsibility to reflect these matters to the Ministry of Justice and the National Ethnic Minorities Committee for consideration, guidance on implementation, or amendment and supplementation as necessary.