Circular No. 03/2021/TT-BTP amends and supplements certain Articles of Circular No. 08/2017/TT-BTP dated November 15, 2017, issued by the Minister of Justice detailing certain provisions of the Legal Aid Law and guiding documents in legal aid activities; and Circular No. 12/2018/TT-BTP dated August 28, 2018, issued by the Minister of Justice guiding certain operational activities of legal aid and quality management of legal aid cases.

CIRCULAR

Amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 08/2017/TT-BTP dated November 15, 2017 of the Minister of Justice detailing some provisions of the Legal Aid Law and guiding documents in legal aid activities; Circular No. 12/2018/TT-BTP dated August 28, 2018 of the Minister of Justice guiding certain business activities and quality management of legal aid cases. 15 November 15, 2017 of the Minister of Justice detailing some provisions of the Legal Aid Law and guiding documents in legal aid activities; Circular No. 12/2018/TT-BTP dated August 28, 2018 of the Minister of Justice guiding certain business activities and quality management of legal aid cases. On the basis of the Legal Aid LawMinister of Justice

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Amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 08/2017/TT-BTP dated November 15, 2017 of the Minister of Justice detailing some provisions of the Legal Aid Law and guiding documents in legal aid activities; Circular No. 12/2018/TT-BTP dated August 28, 2018 of the Minister of Justice guiding certain business activities and quality management of legal aid cases. June 20 2017;

Pursuant to Decree No.96/2017/NĐ-CP dated August 16, 2017 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Justice;

At the proposal of the Director of the Legal Aid Department and the Director of the Civil Status, Nationality, and Notarization Department;

AND The Minister of Justice issues the Circular "7. A flexible power plant is a thermal power plant using reciprocating internal combustion engines (RICE) or aeroderivative gas turbines (Aero-GT) with fast start-up capabilities, designed in modular form to generate electricity for balancing capacity and maintaining power system stability."Amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 08/2017/TT-BTP dated November 15, 2017 of the Minister of Justice detailing some provisions of the Legal Aid Law and guiding documents in legal aid activities; Circular No. 12/2018/TT-BTP dated August 28, 2018 of the Minister of Justice guiding certain business activities and quality management of legal aid cases. 15 November 15, 2017 of the Minister of Justice detailing some provisions of the Legal Aid Law and guiding documents in legal aid activities; Circular No. 12/2018/TT-BTP dated August 28, 2018 of the Minister of Justice guiding certain business activities and quality management of legal aid cases. The Minister of Justice detailing some provisions of the Legal Aid Law and guiding documents in legal aid activities; Circular No. 12/2018/TT-BTP dated August 28, 2018 of the Minister of Justice guiding certain business activities and quality management of legal aid cases.

Article 1. Amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 08/2017/TT-BTP dated November 15, 2017 of the Minister of Justice detailing some provisions of the Legal Aid Law and guiding documents in legal aid activities.

3. Amending and supplementing Clause 5 of Article 4 as follows:

"2. The lawyer evaluation team shall be responsible for:

a) Building a notice for lawyer selection;

b) Evaluating the lawyer selection dossier and bearing responsibility for the evaluation results and the selection outcome."

2. Amending and supplementing Point d Clause 1 Article 5 as follows:

"1. The announcement of lawyer selection shall include the following contents:

d) Location and deadline for submitting the dossier. The submission deadline is specified in the announcement, with a minimum of 20 days and a maximum of 30 days from the date the announcement is published."

3. Amending and supplementing Clause 1, Clause 3 Article 6 as follows:

"1. The lawyer selection dossier includes:

a) A request to participate in the selection to sign a contract to implement legal aid, clearly stating compliance with the conditions stipulated in Clause 3 Article 14 of the Legal Aid Law and introducing the lawyer's practice history, litigation cases participated in; experience in providing legal aid (if any);

b) A copy of the lawyer's license card;

c) Other documents according to the notice for lawyer selection (if any).

3. Lawyers may submit the dossier directly or send it via postal service or email. In case of direct submission, the submission date is recorded on the receipt. If sent via postal service, the submission date is based on the arrival date indicated on the postal service stamp. If submitted via email, the submission time is when the dossier reaches the center's email. If the submission time via email is outside regular working hours, the submission time is calculated from the next working day and hour."

4. Amending and supplementing Clause 1, Clause 4 Article 7 as follows:

"1. Within ten days from the end of the dossier submission period, the lawyer evaluation team must complete the evaluation. In necessary cases, the evaluation period can be extended but not more than three working days.

4. The Center is responsible for notifying the selection results to lawyers who have submitted dossiers. Selected lawyers must have a final score of 50 points or higher and will be selected in descending order until the required number is reached. Within ten days from receiving the notification, selected lawyers must sign a contract with the Center, except in cases of legitimate reasons which can be extended but not more than fifteen days from the date of receiving the notification. If a selected lawyer does not sign the contract within this period, the Center will notify the next highest scoring lawyer (if available) to sign the contract. If the lawyer submitted the dossier via email, they must provide the full dossier as stipulated in Clause 1 Article 6 of this Circular when signing the contract with the Center."

5. Amending and supplementing Article 8 as follows:

"Article 8. Signing Contracts with Legal Aid Collaborators

Within thirty days from the issuance of the card, legal aid cooperators must sign a contract to perform legal aid at the Center, except in cases of legitimate reasons which can be extended but not more than thirty-five days from the date of issuance of the card."

6. Amending and supplementing Clause 1, Clause 3 Article 12 as follows:

"1. The organization selection dossier includes:

a) A request to participate in the selection to sign a contract to implement legal aid, clearly stating compliance with the conditions stipulated in Clause 2 Article 14 of the Legal Aid Law and introducing the organization, its activities, the number of lawyers and legal advisors working there, litigation cases participated in; experience in providing legal aid (if any);

b) A copy of the registration certificate for operation;

c) Other documents as required by the notice of organization selection (if any).

3. Organizations may submit the dossier directly or send it via postal service or email. In case of direct submission, the submission date is recorded on the receipt. If sent via postal service, the submission date is based on the arrival date indicated on the postal service stamp. If submitted via email, the submission time is when the dossier reaches the Department of Justice's email. If the submission time via email is outside regular working hours, the submission time is calculated from the next working day and hour."

7. Amending and supplementing Clause 2 Article 13 as follows:

"2. The Department of Justice is responsible for notifying the evaluation results to organizations that have submitted dossiers. Selected organizations must have a final score of 50 points or higher and will be selected in descending order until the required number is reached. Within ten days from receiving the notification, selected organizations must sign a contract with the Department of Justice, except in cases of legitimate reasons which can be extended but not more than fifteen days from the date of receiving the notification. If a selected organization does not sign the contract within this period, the Department of Justice will notify the next highest scoring organization (if available) to sign the contract. If the organization submitted the dossier via email, they must provide the full dossier as stipulated in Clause 1 Article 12 of this Circular when signing the contract with the Department of Justice."

8. Repealing Clause 2 Article 16.

9. Amending and supplementing Clause 3 to become Clause 2 Article 16 as follows:

"2. Organizations and individuals implementing legal aid cases in accordance with legal aid regulations, contract content; are responsible for ensuring the quality of legal aid cases in accordance with the law and the contract."

10. Amending and supplementing Clause 2, Clause 3 Article 17 as follows:

"2. When terminating the contract for providing legal aid in accordance with Clause 1 of this Article, the organization shall transfer the case file currently being handled to another organization implementing legal aid assigned by the Department of Justice to continue implementation in accordance with Clause 3 of Article 16 of the Legal Aid Law.

3. When terminating the contract for providing legal aid in accordance with Clause 1 of this Article, the individual shall transfer the case file currently being handled to the Center. The Center shall assign a person to provide legal aid to continue handling the legal aid case.

11. Add Article 25a after Article 25 as follows:

"Article 25a. Change of Internship Supervisor

1. The intern has the right to submit a written request to the head of the Center to change the internship supervisor when the supervisor falls under any of the following circumstances:

a) A mentor who violates the provisions of Clause 2 and Clause 3 of Article 7 of the Professional Code of Conduct for Legal Aid issued together with Circular No. 03/2020/TT-BTP dated April 28, 2020 of the Minister of Justice;

b) The internship supervisor transfers work, retires, resigns, is dismissed, dies, or due to health reasons or other reasons cannot continue to supervise the legal aid internship.

2. Within seven working days from the date of receipt of the document requesting a change of mentor, the head of the Center shall be responsible for reviewing and deciding.

12. Amend and supplement Point a of Clause 3 of Article 29 as follows:

"3. Forms of examination include written examination and practical examination.

a) Written examination: Examination of knowledge of laws in the fields of criminal, civil, administrative, and legal aid; skills in participating in litigation, representing outside litigation, and legal counseling. The duration of the written examination is 180 minutes."

13. Add Point e of Clause 1 of Article 33 as follows:

"1. Documents proving to be a person with meritorious service to the revolution include one of the following documents:

e) Commemorative medal for meritorious service to the revolution, Certificate of a person engaged in revolutionary activities before January 1, 1945, Certificate of a person engaged in revolutionary activities from January 1, 1945 to August 19, 1945, Order of Victory, Medal of Victory."

14. Repeal Clause 16 and Clause 17 of Article 34.

Article 2. Amend and supplement some articles of Circular No. 12/2018/TT-BTP dated August 28, 2018 of the Minister of Justice guiding certain business activities of legal aid and quality management of legal aid cases

1. Amend and supplement Point c of Clause 4 of Article 4 as follows:

"4. Legal aid officers falling under any of the following circumstances shall not be required to participate in mandatory training to enhance knowledge and skills in a given year:

c) Maternity leave; Female legal aid officers who are nursing children under 12 months old, and the cases stipulated in Clause 4 and Clause 6 of Article 34 of the Social Insurance Law."

2. Add Article 8a after Article 8 as follows:

"Article 8a. Implementation of legal aid cases at the request of central authorities on legal aid

The Center shall implement legal aid cases at the request of the Legal Aid Agency for cases that are not dependent on the place of residence of the person receiving legal aid or the location where the legal aid case occurred.

The acceptance of legal aid cases in such circumstances shall be carried out in accordance with Article 30 of the Legal Aid Law."

3. Add Article 11a after Article 11 as follows:

"Article 11a. Management, updating, and exploitation of electronic files on legal aid cases and data on organizations and personnel involved in legal aid on the Legal Aid Organization and Activity Management System

1. The Legal Aid Agency is responsible for:

a) Managing, guiding, exploiting, and inspecting electronic case files on legal aid cases and data on organizations and personnel providing legal aid nationwide;

b) Managing, issuing, and revoking accounts on the Legal Aid Organization and Activity Management System within its jurisdiction;

c) Carry out statistics and regular reports within the time limit prescribed in the Circular of the Minister of Justice on statistical activities of the Justice Sector and this Circular on the Legal Aid Organization and Activity Management System.

2. The Department of Justice shall be responsible for timely, accurate, and complete updating of data on organizations and personnel participating in legal aid; managing, exploiting, and securing data on the Legal Aid Organization and Activity Management System within its jurisdiction; implementing the provisions of Points b and c of Clause 1 of this Article.

3. The Center shall be responsible for timely, accurate, and complete updating of electronic files on legal aid cases and data on organizations and personnel of the Center on the Legal Aid Organization and Activity Management System; managing, exploiting, and securing data on the Legal Aid Organization and Activity Management System within its jurisdiction; implementing the provisions of Points b and c of Clause 1 of this Article.

4. Organizations participating in the provision of legal aid shall be responsible for managing, updating, exploiting, and securing electronic files on legal aid cases and shall bear responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of the data they update.

5. The person providing legal aid is responsible for:

a) Managing, updating, exploiting, and securing electronic case files on legal aid cases and bearing responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of the data they update;

b) Transfer the account back to the organization providing legal aid in the event of termination of the right and responsibility to update, manage, and exploit data on the Legal Aid Organization and Activity Management System."

4. Amending and supplementing Article 12 as follows:

"Article 12. Review of the time taken to handle legal aid cases

1. The leadership of the Department of Justice, the leadership of the Center, or the Head of Branch Office (if assigned) shall designate a person to review the reasonableness of the time and tasks performed for payment of remuneration and allowances for handling legal aid cases as prescribed.

2. The person designated to review shall base their review on the case file."

"Article 12a. Management, issuance, and reissuance of legal aid officer and legal aid volunteer card templates

The Legal Aid Agency shall uniformly manage, issue, and reissue legal aid officer and legal aid volunteer card templates nationwide.

Within seven working days from the date of receipt of a valid document requesting the issuance or reissuance of legal aid officer and legal aid volunteer card templates from the Department of Justice or the Center, the Legal Aid Agency shall carry out the issuance or reissuance of legal aid officer and legal aid volunteer card templates."

6. Amend and supplement Clause 12 of Article 13 regarding the semi-annual or annual report on legal aid work (Form No. 12-TP-TGPL).

7. Add Clause 13 of Article 13 as follows:

"13. Introduction letter for legal aid (Form No. 13-TP-TGPL)."

8. Amend and supplement the name of Chapter III as follows:QUALITY MANAGEMENT AND EFFECTIVENESS OF LEGAL AID CASES"

9. Amend and supplement Article 14 as follows:

"Article 14. Responsibilities for reviewing, assessing quality and effectiveness of legal aid cases

1. Organizations providing legal aid shall be responsible for organizing the quality assessment of legal aid cases; evaluating the effectiveness of litigation-related legal aid cases to determine successful legal aid cases participating in litigation. The quality assessment of legal aid cases and the evaluation of their effectiveness shall be conducted by the legal aid providers within their organizations with the aim of ensuring and improving the quality and effectiveness of legal aid cases. The quality assessment of legal aid cases shall be based on practical requirements and criteria stipulated in Article 16 of this Circular. The determination of successful litigation-related legal aid cases shall be based on the criteria set forth by the Ministry of Justice. The results of the quality assessment of legal aid cases and the determination of successful litigation-related legal aid cases shall be documented and filed in the legal aid case records.

2. The Department of Justice shall be responsible for managing and organizing the quality assessment of litigation-related cases, the quality of non-litigation representation cases, and the evaluation of the effectiveness of litigation-related legal aid cases to determine successful litigation-related legal aid cases provided by legal aid organizations within its jurisdiction. The quality and effectiveness assessments shall be based on one of the following grounds:

a) According to the program and plan for evaluating the quality and effectiveness of legal aid cases;

b) A legal aid case that has been assessed for quality and evaluated for effectiveness by the organization providing legal aid and subsequently reported or recommended to the Department of Justice due to concerns about the quality and effectiveness of the legal aid case.

c) Other cases to serve state management of legal aid at the local level.

3. The Legal Aid Agency under the Ministry of Justice shall be responsible for assisting the Minister of Justice in implementing management and organizing the quality assessment of litigation-related cases, non-litigation representation cases, and the effectiveness of litigation-related legal aid cases to determine successful litigation-related legal aid cases provided by legal aid organizations nationwide. The quality and effectiveness assessments shall be based on one of the following grounds:

a) According to the program and plan for evaluating the quality and effectiveness of legal aid cases;

b) Through the monitoring and inspection of the activities of local legal aid quality review and effectiveness evaluation;

c) Other cases to serve state management and specialized management of legal aid.

10. Supplement Clause 3 of Article 15 as follows:

"Article 15. Evaluation of Quality and Effectiveness of Legal Aid Cases

3. Based on the practical requirements of state management over legal aid, the Legal Aid Agency and the Departments of Justice shall develop plans to evaluate the effectiveness of litigation-related legal aid cases to determine successful litigation-related legal aid cases, including defining the scope; the ratio of cases; methods for conducting evaluations, determinations, and other necessary conditions (if any). The results of determining successful litigation-related cases shall be documented and expressed in writing."

11. Amend Article 16 as follows:

"Article 16. Criteria for assessing and evaluating the quality of legal aid cases

The review and evaluation of the quality of legal aid cases shall be based on the following criteria and point structure:

1. Criteria related to the professional responsibility of the legal aid provider (30 points)

a) Compliance with laws, honesty, respect for objective truth (10 points);

b) Timely explanation, guidance, and provision of information about the case to the beneficiary of legal aid (10 points);

c) Ensuring the time and progress of the case (10 points).

2. Criteria related to the implementation of legal aid (60 points)

a) Implementation of legal aid consistent with the requirements and scope assigned (05 points);

b) Collection of relevant information, documents, and evidence related to the case (10 points);

c) Research and full application of relevant legal provisions to ensure the content of legal aid is correct and consistent with the law (20 points);

d) Participation in litigation activities or non-litigation representative activities to promptly take measures to protect the legitimate rights and interests of the beneficiary of legal aid (20 points);

đ) The process of providing legal aid is fully reflected in the legal aid case file (05 points).

3. Satisfaction criteria of the person receiving legal aid based on feedback from the person receiving legal aid or their close relatives (10 points)."

12. Add Article 17a after Article 17 as follows:

"Article 17a. Responsibilities for informing and introducing legal aid of the Justice Office and People's Committees at the commune level

During the course of performing tasks related to citizens, the Justice Offices and People's Committees at the commune level shall be responsible for explaining the right to legal aid and referring individuals to the Center. In cases where persons eligible for legal aid are accused, victims, or parties involved in litigation residing within the administrative area, the People's Committee at the commune level shall refer them according to Model No. 13 issued together with this Circular".

Article 3. Effectiveness

This Circular takes effect from July 15, 2021.

Article 4. Responsibilities for Implementation

1. The Director of the Legal Aid Agency, Heads of units under the Ministry of Justice, Directors of Provincial Departments of Justice, Directors of State Legal Aid Centers in centrally governed cities and provinces, and relevant organizations and individuals shall be responsible for implementing and organizing the implementation of this Circular.

2. During the implementation process, if there are any difficulties, they should promptly report to the Ministry of Justice for study and resolution./.