Circular No. 19/2011/TT-BTP amending and supplementing certain provisions on administrative procedures of Circular No. 5/2008/TT-BTP dated September 23, 2008, Circular No. 3/2008/TT-BTP dated August 25, 2008, and Circular No. 1/2010/TT-BTP dated February 9, 2010 of the Ministry of Justice.

CIRCULAR

Amending and supplementing certain provisions on administrative procedures of Circular number

05/2008/TT-BTP dated September 23, 2008, Circular No. 03/2008/TT-BTP

dated August 25, 2008 and Circular No. 01/2010/TT-BTP

dated February 9, 2010 of the Ministry of Justice

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;

Implementing Resolution No. 52/NQ-CP dated December 10, 2010 of the Government on simplifying administrative procedures within the scope of management functions of the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Justice amends and supplements certain provisions on administrative procedures of Circular No. 05/2008/TT-BTP, Circular No. 03/2008/TT-BTP and Circular No. 01/2010/TT-BTP as follows.

Article 1. Amending and supplementing certain provisions of Circular No. 05/2008/TT-BTP dated September 23, 2008 of the Ministry of Justice guiding legal aid services and state management of legal aid

1. Clause 1, Clause 2 Section I Part A shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"1. Checking requests for legal aid

When there is a request for legal aid, the person receiving legal aid must submit one set of documents to the organization providing legal aid. The documents include: Request form for legal aid, proof that the person making the request is eligible for legal aid, and any relevant papers or documents related to the case (if applicable).

Upon receipt of the case file requesting legal aid, the recipient must immediately review and inform the person requesting legal aid whether the file meets the conditions for acceptance or needs additional supporting documents.

A request for legal aid will only be accepted if it meets the following conditions:

a) The person requesting legal aid (hereinafter referred to as the requester) is eligible for legal aid as stipulated in Article 10 of the Legal Aid Law and detailed in Article 2 of Decree No. 07/2007/NĐ-CP dated January 12, 2007 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain articles of the Legal Aid Law (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 07/2007/NĐ-CP) or victims of human trafficking as provided for in laws on preventing and combating human trafficking.

b) The content of the legal aid case complies with the provisions of Article 5 of the Legal Aid Law;

c) The legal aid case falls within the scope of legal aid services as stipulated in Article 26 of the Legal Aid Law;

d) The legal aid case does not fall under the circumstances for refusal as provided for in Clause 1, Article 45 of the Legal Aid Law.

The person directly accepting the case must record it in the Case Tracking and Summary Book and proceed with legal aid or report to the leadership of the organization providing legal aid to assign someone to provide legal aid (Legal Aid Counselor, Legal Aid Volunteer, Lawyer, Legal Advisor). The Case Tracking and Summary Book is established according to Model No. 01-TP-TGPL issued together with Circular No. 05/2008/TT-BTP.

In cases where the requester still lacks documents proving eligibility for legal aid or relevant documents related to the legal aid case, the recipient must guide them to provide supplementary documents so that the case can be accepted. After receiving all supplementary documents or having sufficient grounds for verification, the acceptance procedure shall be carried out. In urgent or force majeure situations where it is impossible to provide complete documents or due to the legal aid case approaching its statute of limitations or other reasons requiring immediate action to avoid damage to the legitimate rights and interests of the person receiving legal aid, the recipient shall accept the case and guide the person receiving legal aid to provide necessary documents later.

The recipient of the request for legal aid is responsible for making a copy from the original or accepting a copy of the documents proving eligibility for legal aid to keep in the legal aid case file for checking and comparison when necessary. In cases where it is objectively impossible to make a copy from the original, the recipient must record the symbol, number, date, month, year of issuance, and issuing authority of the document at the bottom of the form and request the requester to send the copy later.

In cases of refusal to accept, the recipient must respond in writing and clearly state the reason for refusal to the requester. If the case falls under one of the circumstances for refusal or must be refused and cannot continue to provide legal aid as stipulated in Article 45 of the Legal Aid Law, the recipient of the application must notify the reason in writing to the requester. The notification of refusal or discontinuation of legal aid is established according to Model No. 20-TP-TGPL issued pursuant to Circular No. 05/2008/TT-BTP.

2. Request Form for Legal Aid

The organization providing legal aid provides free request forms for the requester (the Request Form for Legal Aid specified in the Appendix issued together with this Circular) or the requester may write their own request form with signature or fingerprint. In cases where the requester cannot come but has a representative or guardian to come on their behalf, the representative or guardian signs or fingerprints the form, except in cases where there is a conflict between the requester and the representative or guardian regarding legitimate rights and interests.

a) In cases where the requester has not written the request form, the recipient must guide them to fill out and sign the form. If they are unable to write the request form themselves, the recipient has the responsibility to fill in all necessary information on the form, have the requester read it or read it aloud to them, and ask them to sign or fingerprint the form.

b) In cases where the requester asks a close relative (grandparents, parents, spouse, adult children, adult siblings) or authorizes another person to submit the request form, in addition to the documents proving eligibility for legal aid, the person submitting on their behalf must present their Identity Card or a power of attorney signed by the requester. The person submitting the form on behalf of the requester must clearly record their name, ID card number, residential address, and sign the Case Tracking and Summary Book.

c) The application may be submitted directly at the office or workplace of the organization providing legal aid, or directly to the individual providing legal aid (in cases where legal aid is provided outside the office), or sent to the organization providing legal aid through postal services or other means.

2. Supplement Clause 6 to Section II Part A of the guidance on legal aid business as follows:

“6. Procedures for changing the person providing legal aid

In cases where the person receiving legal aid requests to change the person providing legal aid due to sufficient evidence proving that the person providing legal aid has violated laws on legal aid, or falls under one of the circumstances stipulated in Clause 2, Article 45 of the Legal Aid Law, or must be changed according to procedural laws, the person receiving legal aid must submit an application (stating clearly the reasons and grounds for requesting the change of the person providing legal aid) and any related documents concerning the request for change (if any), or directly visit the legal aid organization handling the legal aid case to present their request. This legal aid organization must record clearly the request for change from the person receiving legal aid for them to sign or affix their fingerprint.

In cases where it is necessary to change the person providing legal aid, within no more than three days from the date of receipt of a complete and valid application for changing the person providing legal aid, the Director of the Center, or the Head of Branch shall issue a decision to change the person providing legal aid and assign a qualified person to continue handling the legal aid case with quality. The decision to change the person providing legal aid must be sent to the person receiving legal aid, relevant agencies and organizations, and kept in the case file.

3. Repeal Point 3, Clause 3 of Section II Part A of the guidance on legal aid business.

Article 2. Amend and supplement Clause 4 of Circular No. 03/2008/TT-BTP dated August 25, 2008 of the Ministry of Justice guiding the implementation of certain provisions of Decree No. 79/2007/NĐ-CP dated May 18, 2007 of the Government on issuing certified copies from original books, certifying copies from originals, and certifying signatures as follows:

“4. Certification of fingerprints

According to the provisions of Decree No. 79/2007/NĐ-CP, individuals have the right to request competent authorities to certify their signature on documents and papers. In cases where the person requesting certification cannot sign due to disability or lack of knowledge of signing, the certification of signature will be replaced by the certification of fingerprint.

When the person requesting certification uses the right thumb to fingerprint; if unable to fingerprint with the right thumb, then use the left thumb; in cases where neither thumb can be used, use another finger and must clearly note which finger and hand was used for the fingerprint.

Certification of fingerprint shall not be performed in foreign language documents.”

Article 3. Amend and supplement some provisions of Circular No. 01/2010/TT-BTP dated February 9, 2010 of the Ministry of Justice detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of Decree No. 77/2008/NĐ-CP

1. Clause 3 of Article 5 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

“3. The dossier of the person proposed to be granted a Legal Counseling Card includes the following documents:

a) Application for issuance of a Legal Counseling Card;

b) Copy of the Bachelor's Degree in Law;

c) Certificate of legal work experience of the person proposed to be granted.”

2. Repeal Clause 5 of Article 5 on registration of activities of Legal Counseling Centers.

3. Clause 2, Clause 3 of Article 6 are amended and supplemented as follows:

“2. The dossier for registering the operation of Branches of Legal Counseling Centers prescribed in Clause 5, Article 14 of Decree No. 77/2008/NĐ-CP consists of one set of documents as follows:

a) Registration form (Model TP-TVPL-02 prescribed in Circular No. 01/2010/TT-BTP);

b) Certified copy of the Registration Certificate of the Legal Counseling Center establishing the branch in case of submission through the postal system, or a copy of the Registration Certificate of the Legal Counseling Center establishing the branch and presenting the original for verification in case of direct submission;

c) Decision of the managing organization regarding the establishment of the Branch;

d) Certified copy of the Lawyer's Card of the lawyer or Legal Counselor's Card of the person expected to be the Branch Manager in case of submission through the postal system, or a copy of the Lawyer's Card of the lawyer or Legal Counselor's Card of the person expected to be the Branch Manager in case of submission through the postal system and presenting the original for verification in case of direct submission;

3. Within five working days from the date of receipt of a complete and valid dossier, the Department of Justice where the Branch's office is located shall be responsible for issuing the Registration Certificate for the Branch; in case of refusal, the reason must be notified in writing to the applicant.

The Registration Certificate of the Branch shall be made in two copies; one copy issued to the Branch, one copy retained at the Department of Justice.”

Article 4. Effective date

This Circular takes effect from December 14, 2011.

Heads of units under the Ministry, Directors of Departments of Justice, and relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals are responsible for implementing this Circular.

During the implementation process, if there are difficulties, please promptly reflect them to the Ministry of Justice for research and resolution./.