Decree No. 144/2017/ND-CP detailing a number of articles of the Legal Aid Law

DECREE

Detailed provisions on certain articles of the Legal Aid Law

Pursuant to the Law on Government Organization dated June 19, 2015;

Pursuant to the Legal Aid Law dated June 20, 2017;

At the proposal of the Minister of Justice;

The Government issues this Decree to provide detailed provisions on certain articles of the Legal Aid Law.

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Decree provides detailed provisions on certain articles of the Legal Aid Law regarding financial difficulties of persons receiving legal aid; organization and operation of State Legal Aid Centers and Branches of State Legal Aid Centers; remuneration, policies for Legal Aid Officers and fees, allowances, and costs for implementing legal aid cases for those providing legal aid; procedures for settling legal aid cases; procedures for issuing, revoking, and reissuing cooperation cards for legal aid.

Article 2. Financial Difficulties of Persons Receiving Legal Aid

The financial difficulties of persons receiving legal aid as stipulated in Clause 7, Article 7 of the Legal Aid Law are individuals belonging to near-poor households or those receiving monthly social assistance according to the law.

Article 3. Organization and Operation of State Legal Aid Centers

1. The State Legal Aid Center (hereinafter referred to as the Center) has a Director, Deputy Directors, Legal Aid Officers, staff members, and other employees. The Director and Deputy Directors of the Center must be Legal Aid Officers.

2. The Director and Deputy Directors of the Center shall be appointed, dismissed, or removed from office by the Director of the Department of Justice. The Director of the Center is the head of the Center and the legal representative of the Center, responsible before the Director of the Department of Justice and the law for all activities of the Center. The Deputy Director of the Center shall be responsible for one or more areas of work assigned by the Director of the Center and shall be accountable to the Director of the Center for the results of the assigned work.

3. The Center may have specialized departments suitable to perform tasks and powers as prescribed by the Legal Aid Law and laws on public service units.

Article 4. Criteria for Appointment and Removal of the Center's Director

1. A Legal Aid Officer who meets the following criteria may be proposed for appointment as the Center's Director:

a) Having at least three years of experience as a Legal Aid Officer, judge, prosecutor, or intermediate-level investigator, or having five years of experience in state management of legal aid within the Justice sector;

b) Meeting the conditions and criteria for the head of a public service unit under the Department of Justice as prescribed by law.

2. The Center's Director shall be removed from office if they fall into one of the following situations:

a) Committing one of the acts prescribed in Clause 1, Article 6 of the Legal Aid Law;

b) Seriously violating professional ethics in legal aid;

c) Being disciplined with removal from office according to the law on cadres and civil servants.

Article 5. Branches of State Legal Aid Centers

1. Branches are subject to the management of the Center. Branches have seals for transactions and use in professional and vocational legal aid activities. The name of a Branch of the Center should be numbered in the order of establishment but must clearly indicate the name of the main Center.

2. The Branch Head, who is a Legal Aid Officer, shall be appointed, dismissed, or removed from office by the Center Director. The Branch Head is accountable to the Center Director for the Branch's operations.

3. Branches have the following rights and obligations:

a) Providing legal aid; assigning personnel to implement legal aid in the assigned area;

b) Requesting relevant agencies and organizations to cooperate and provide information and documents related to legal aid cases;

c) Implementing statistical and reporting systems on legal aid;

d) Performing other tasks related to legal aid as assigned by the Center Director.

Article 6. Conditions for Establishing a Branch

1. The establishment of a Branch must be based on the conditions stipulated in Clause 2 of Article 11 of the Legal Aid Law and according to the long-term legal aid needs of the people at the proposed location; it must have a legal aid officer working regularly, with material resources ensuring effective use of state budget funds.

2. Counties in areas with special economic and social difficulties as defined in Clause 2 of Article 11 of the Legal Aid Law are areas with special economic and social difficulties included in the list of investment incentives as prescribed by the Government.

A county with inconvenient transportation to the Center as defined in Clause 2 of Article 11 of the Legal Aid Law is a county located far from the Center and does not meet the transportation criteria according to the guidelines for implementing the criteria for a new rural model county issued by the competent authority.

Article 7. Procedures for Establishing a Branch

1. The Director of the Department of Justice prepares a dossier to submit to the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee for a decision on establishing a Branch of the Center. The dossier includes:

a) A proposal regarding the establishment of the Branch, clearly stating the fulfillment of the conditions for establishing the Branch;

b) A draft Decision on establishing the Branch;

c) The written opinion of the Department of Home Affairs on the establishment of the Branch.

2. Within thirty days from the date of receipt of the dossier, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee examines and decides on the establishment of the Branch based on ensuring the conditions for establishing the Branch.

3. Within seven days from the date of receipt of the decision to establish the Branch, the Director of the Center appoints the Head of the Branch.

4. The establishment of the Branch must be announced in local mass media with the following main contents:

a) Name, address, and telephone number of the Branch;

b) Date of the decision to establish and the start date of operation of the Branch;

c) Name of the Head of the Branch; list of persons providing legal aid;

d) Scope of legal aid provided by the Branch.

Article 8. Procedures for Dissolving a Branch

1. The Director of the Department of Justice prepares a dossier to submit to the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee for a decision on dissolving the Branch. The dissolution dossier includes: A proposal regarding the dissolution of the Branch and a draft Decision on dissolving the Branch.

2. Within thirty days from the date of receipt of the dossier, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee examines and decides on the dissolution of the Branch.

3. Within seven days from the date of receipt of the decision to dissolve the Branch, the Director of the Center removes the Head of the Branch.

4. The dissolution of the Branch must be announced in local mass media with the following main contents:

a) Name, address, and telephone number of the Branch;

b) Date of the decision to dissolve;

c) Date of cessation of operations of the Branch.

Article 9. Procedures for Merging Branches

1. The Director of the Department of Justice prepares a dossier to submit to the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee for a decision on merging Branches. The merger dossier includes: A proposal regarding the merger of Branches and a draft Decision on merging Branches.

2. Within thirty days from the date of receipt of the dossier, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee examines and decides on the merger of Branches.

3. The merger of Branches must be announced in local mass media with the following main contents:

a) Name, address, and telephone number of the merged Branch;

b) Date of the decision to merge and the start date of operation of the merged Branch;

c) Name of the Head of the merged Branch; list of persons providing legal aid;

d) Date of cessation of operations of the Branch being merged;

đ) Scope of legal aid provided by the merged Branch.

Article 10. The number of staff and material facilities of the Center

1. Based on the volume of work, nature, characteristics of professional activities, requirements for legal aid work at the local level, and the proposal of the Director of the Department of Justice, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee shall decide on the number of staff of the Center and ensure financial resources, material facilities, equipment, and appropriate working conditions for the Center.

2. Recruitment, utilization, and management of civil servants, public officials, and employees of the Center shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the law on recruitment, utilization, and management of civil servants, public officials, and employees in public service units.

3. The Center may use operational funds to serve the implementation of legal aid cases and other legal aid operational activities as prescribed by the Legal Aid Law.

Budget preparation, management, utilization, and settlement of the Center's operating expenses shall be implemented in accordance with the provisions of the state budget law.

Article 11. Regulations and policies for Legal Aid Officers

1. Legal Aid Officers have professional titles of public officials as prescribed by law.

2. Legal Aid Officers shall receive a responsibility allowance equal to 25% of their current salary plus leadership position allowance and over-quota allowance (if applicable).

3. Legal Aid Officers shall be provided with specific uniforms according to the following standards and terms:

a) Suit: issued every two years, the first time two sets are issued, thereafter one set each time;

b) Long-sleeved shirt: issued annually, the first time two shirts are issued, thereafter one shirt each time;

c) Spring and summer clothing: issued annually, the first time two sets are issued, thereafter one set each time;

d) Leather shoes: one pair per year;

đ) Backstrap sandals: one pair per year;

e) Belt: one each two years;

g) Tie: one each two years;

h) Socks: two pairs each time per year;

i) Document case: one each two years;

k) Nameplate: one (issued once).

The uniform model, management, issuance, and use shall be carried out in accordance with the guidelines of the Ministry of Justice.

Article 12. Time spent on legal aid as the basis for payment of remuneration for legal aid cases

1. Remuneration for legal aid shall be determined based on the actual working hours spent by the person providing legal aid directly on the legal aid case.

2. The time spent on legal aid includes: time meeting and contacting the person receiving legal aid or their relatives, time verifying the legal aid case, time working at agencies, organizations, and individuals related to the legal aid case; time studying the case file, preparing materials at the legal aid implementing organization, and reasonable time to directly address the legal aid case confirmed by relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals.

Article 13. Remuneration, allowances, and costs for implementing legal aid cases by legal aid providers

1. When implementing legal aid cases through participation in litigation, lawyers who sign contracts to provide legal aid with the Center shall receive remuneration based on working sessions (half a working day) at 0.38 times the base salary per session but not exceeding 30 working sessions per case or on a case-by-case basis with a minimum of three times the base salary per case and a maximum of ten times the base salary per case (based on the complexity, litigation requirements, and specific content of each case).

When applying remuneration based on working sessions, the time spent researching case files, meeting times, preparation of materials, defense arguments, and other reasonable tasks shall not exceed the number of sessions allocated for these tasks under the case-by-case basis.

2. When implementing legal aid cases through representation outside litigation, lawyers who sign contracts to provide legal aid with the Center shall receive remuneration at 0.31 times the base salary per working session but not exceeding 20 working sessions per case.

3. Legal Aid Officers who implement legal aid cases through participation in litigation shall receive an allowance equivalent to 40% of the remuneration applied to lawyers as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article, and an allowance equivalent to 20% of the remuneration applied to lawyers when implementing legal aid through representation outside litigation as stipulated in Clause 2 of this Article.

4. When implementing legal aid through legal consultation as assigned by the Center's leadership, lawyers and legal aid volunteers who sign contracts to provide legal aid with the Center shall receive remuneration from 0.08 to 0.15 times the base salary per legal consultation document depending on the complexity and content of the case.

5. In addition to the remuneration and allowances specified in Clauses 1, 2, and 3 of this Article, when implementing legal aid through participation in litigation or representation outside litigation, if there is a need for time to collect evidence or verify the case, the person providing legal aid shall also be reimbursed for actual costs incurred in implementing the legal aid case as follows:

a) Fees and administrative expenses required by law for fees and charges directly serving the implementation of legal aid;

The basis for determining reasonable costs is the receipt for fees and charges, financial invoices, or receipts from authorized agencies and organizations as prescribed by financial laws.

b) In cases where travel is required to serve the resolution of legal aid cases, the person providing legal aid shall be reimbursed according to the current regulations on travel expenses as for civil servants, public officials, and employees traveling on official business.

6. The nature, content of the case, the method of calculating sessions, and time spent as the basis for paying remuneration for legal aid cases based on actual working sessions or case-by-case basis shall be carried out in accordance with the guidelines of the Ministry of Justice.

Article 14. Remuneration and expenses for implementing legal aid cases of organizations signing contracts to provide legal aid

1. The Department of Justice shall pay remuneration and expenses for implementing legal aid cases to organizations that have signed contracts to provide legal aid.

2. The level of remuneration and expenses for implementing legal aid cases paid to organizations practicing law, legal consultation organizations that have signed contracts to provide legal aid shall be implemented correspondingly according to the payment levels for lawyers and legal aid assistants who have signed contracts to provide legal aid with the Center as stipulated in Article 13 of this Decree.

Article 15. Procedures for requesting payment of remuneration, allowances, and expenses for implementing legal aid cases

1. For the form of payment based on working hours, the person providing legal aid shall submit to the Center or Branch the following documents:

a) A list of actual time spent working, in the format issued by the Ministry of Justice, confirmed by the agency, organization, or individual where the person providing legal aid worked or met;

b) A list of expenses for providing legal aid accompanied by valid invoices and financial documents as prescribed.

2. For the form of payment based on case allocation, the person providing legal aid shall submit to the Center or Branch the following documents:

a) A list of completed tasks, in the format issued by the Ministry of Justice, confirmed by the agency, organization, or individual where the person providing legal aid worked or met;

b) A list of expenses for providing legal aid accompanied by valid invoices and financial documents as prescribed.

3. For requests for payment of legal advice cases, legal advisors and legal aid assistants shall submit to the Center or Branch the legal advice document.

4. Organizations signing contracts to provide legal aid when requesting payment for legal aid cases based on working hours or case allocation shall submit to the Department of Justice of the province or city where the contract was signed the following documents:

a) Documents specified in Clause 1 or Clause 2 of this Article;

b) A request for payment document.

5. Organizations signing contracts to provide legal aid when requesting payment for legal advice cases shall submit to the Department of Justice of the province or city where the contract was signed the following documents:

a) Legal advice document.

b) A request for payment document.

Article 16. Procedures for issuing legal aid assistant cards

1. Individuals meeting the criteria stipulated in Clause 2 of Article 24 of the Legal Aid Law, if they wish to become legal aid assistants (hereinafter referred to collectively as assistants) and agree with the main contents of the legal aid implementation contract as guided by the Ministry of Justice, shall submit one set of application documents to the Center in their place of residence. The application for becoming an assistant includes:

a) An application form for becoming an assistant in the prescribed format;

b) Documents proving retirement as prescribed;

c) Personal resume with confirmation from the People's Committee of the commune, ward, or town where the applicant resides, and two color passport-sized photographs measuring 2 cm x 3 cm.

2. The submission of applications for becoming an assistant shall be carried out as follows:

a) In the case of submitting directly at the Center's office, the applicant for becoming an assistant shall submit the documents specified in point a and point c of Clause 1 of this Article; present the original or submit a certified copy of the document proving retirement as prescribed;

b) In the case of sending the application through postal services, the applicant for becoming an assistant shall send the documents specified in point a and point c of Clause 1 of this Article, and a certified copy of the document proving retirement as prescribed;

c) In the case of sending via fax or electronic means, the applicant for becoming an assistant shall send the documents specified in Clause 1 of this Article to the Center.

3. Within four working days from the date of receiving the application, based on the legal aid needs of the people and the actual conditions in the locality, the Director of the Center shall select applications to submit to the Director of the Department of Justice for consideration to issue an assistant card. If the application is not valid, it shall be returned to the applicant and the reasons shall be clearly stated in writing.

4. Within three working days from the date of receiving the valid application submitted by the Center Director, the Director of the Department of Justice shall consider and decide to issue an assistant card in the format issued by the Ministry of Justice. The Ministry of Justice shall provide the assistant card template.

In the event of refusal, the reasons must be clearly stated in writing to the applicant. The applicant refused has the right to appeal against the refusal to issue an assistant card. The handling of appeals shall be carried out in accordance with the laws on appeals.

Article 17. Use of Legal Aid Collaborator Cards

1. When providing legal aid, collaborators must carry their collaborator cards and present them upon request of authorized agencies, organizations, or individuals when performing legal aid professional activities.

2. Collaborators are responsible for preserving their collaborator cards. It is strictly prohibited to use collaborator cards for personal gain or private purposes. Collaborators may not use collaborator cards instead of introduction letters, identity cards, or other personal documents; they may not lend their collaborator cards to others; if a collaborator card is lost, the collaborator must immediately report this in writing to the Director of the Center where the legal aid implementation contract was signed.

3. If collaborators violate regulations on the use of collaborator cards, depending on the nature and degree of violation, they will have their cards revoked, be subject to administrative penalties, or be criminally prosecuted according to the law.

Article 18. Revocation of Legal Aid Collaborator Cards

1. The Center Director proposes to the Department of Justice Director to revoke collaborator cards in the following cases:

a) A collaborator does not provide legal aid for a continuous period of two years, except for objective reasons;

b) A collaborator commits acts as stipulated in Clause 1 of Article 6 of the Legal Aid Law or has been administratively penalized for violations in legal aid activities but not to the extent of having their card revoked and continues to commit further violations;

c) The legal aid implementation contract is terminated or the collaborator does not sign a legal aid implementation contract with the Center within thirty days from the date of issuance of the card without justifiable reasons.

2. Within seven days from the date of receiving the proposal from the Center Director, the Department of Justice Director issues a decision to revoke the collaborator card. The revocation decision is sent to the collaborator. The collaborator card ceases to be valid from the effective date of the revocation decision.

A person whose collaborator card is revoked shall not continue to provide legal aid.

3. A person whose collaborator card is revoked has the right to appeal against the decision to revoke the card by the Department of Justice Director. Appeals and their resolution are carried out in accordance with the law on appeals.

Article 19. Reissue of Legal Aid Collaborator Cards

1. In case the collaborator card is lost or damaged and cannot be used, the collaborator submits a request for reissuance of the card (in the prescribed form) along with two color passport-sized photographs measuring 2 cm x 3 cm to the Center.

2. Within four working days from the date of receipt of the request for reissuance of the card, the Center Director checks the list of collaborators based on the card number issued to the collaborator and requests the Department of Justice Director to decide on reissuing the collaborator card to the applicant.

3. Within three working days from the date of receipt of the complete file submitted by the Center Director, the Department of Justice Director examines and decides on reissuing the collaborator card. The reissued collaborator card retains the original card number but the issuance date on the card is the date of reissuance.

4. In case of changing residence from one centrally governed province or city to another, the collaborator must terminate the legal aid implementation contract at the Center where they previously worked as a collaborator and return the issued collaborator card. If there is a desire to work as a collaborator, the collaborator should follow the procedures for issuing a collaborator card as stipulated in Article 16 of this Decree at the new place of residence Center.

Article 20. Effective Date

1. This Decree takes effect from January 1, 2018.

2. This Decree replaces Decree No. 07/2007/NĐ-CP dated January 12, 2007 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Legal Aid Law, Decree No. 14/2013/NĐ-CP dated February 5, 2013 of the Government amending and supplementing certain provisions of Decree No. 07/2007/NĐ-CP dated January 12, 2007 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Legal Aid Law, Decree No. 80/2015/NĐ-CP dated September 17, 2015 of the Government amending and supplementing certain provisions of Decree No. 14/2013/NĐ-CP dated February 5, 2013 of the Government amending and supplementing certain provisions of Decree No. 07/2007/NĐ-CP dated January 12, 2007 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Legal Aid Law, and abolishes Article 2 of Decree No. 05/2012/NĐ-CP dated February 2, 2012 of the Government amending and supplementing certain provisions of Decrees on registration of security transactions, legal aid, lawyers, and legal advice.

Article 21. Transitional Provisions

The conditions for appointing the Director of the Center prescribed in Clause 1 of Article 4 of this Decree shall not apply to individuals who are currently Directors of the Center appointed in accordance with Decree No. 07/2007/NĐ-CP dated January 12, 2007, of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Legal Aid Law, and Decree No. 14/2013/NĐ-CP dated February 5, 2013, of the Government amending and supplementing certain provisions of Decree No. 07/2007/NĐ-CP dated January 12, 2007, of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Legal Aid Law.

Article 22. Responsibility for enforcement

Ministers, Heads of equivalent ministries, Heads of government agencies, Chairpersons of provincial people's committees under central cities are responsible for implementing this Decree./.