Circular No. 313/TT-LS guiding the implementation of the Rules on Bar Associations

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for Implementing the Rules on Bar Associations

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Pursuant to Article 2 of Decree No. 15-HĐBT dated February 21, 1989 of the Council of Ministers promulgating the Rules on Bar Associations, the Minister of Justice issues this Circular to guide the implementation of the Rules on Bar Associations as follows:

I - PROCEDURES FOR ESTABLISHING BAR ASSOCIATIONS

The necessary preparatory actions for establishing a bar association include:

1. The Department of Justice shall consult with the Provincial People's Committee's United Front Organization (hereinafter referred to as the province) regarding the content of the Legal Order on the organization of lawyers and the Rules on Bar Associations. The United Front Organization of the province shall issue a notice on the preparation for establishing a bar association in the locality, specifying the conditions for joining the bar association, the contents of the application dossier, the submission deadline and location, and the United Front Organization of the province shall receive applications and dossiers from individuals wishing to join the bar association, review them, and officially introduce those who meet the criteria to become lawyers to the provincial People's Committee.

2. The Department of Justice shall assist the provincial People's Committee in reviewing and examining the list to report to the Minister of Justice.

After receiving the unified opinion of the Minister of Justice, the provincial People's Committee shall issue a decision to establish a bar association in the locality, recognizing the lawyers, probationary lawyers, and appointing the Provisional Board of Directors.

3. Within a specified period, not exceeding six months, the Provisional Board of Directors of the bar association shall prepare draft internal regulations of the association; prepare necessary material bases for the activities of lawyers; manage the operations of the bar association; organize the first general meeting to elect the Board of Directors, the Inspection Board, and adopt the internal regulations of the bar association.

4. The announcement of the decision to establish a bar association may be conducted directly by the Standing Committee of the provincial People's Committee or delegated to the Director of the Department of Justice.

II - ON THE ORGANIZATION OF BAR ASSOCIATIONS AND LAWYERS

1. In each province, a bar association shall be established. For provinces with a wide area and a large number of lawyers, additional branch offices may be set up; each branch must have at least two lawyers. The Board of Directors of the bar association shall appoint a person in charge of the branch. All activities of the branch shall be subject to the unified leadership of the Board of Directors.

2. The conditions for joining a bar association are stipulated in Article 11 of the Legal Order on the organization of lawyers and Article 6 of the Rules on Bar Associations, specifically as follows:

a) Being a citizen of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;

b) Having good political qualities, moral integrity; being honest, impartial, and courageous in fighting to reveal the truth;

c) Graduating from a law university or having equivalent legal qualifications.

Those who graduate from a law university include: graduates from long-term, part-time, and self-study programs within the country and law universities in socialist countries.

For those who graduated from law universities outside the socialist system or hold a bachelor's degree in law from the previous regime in our country, if they wish to join a bar association, they must have worked in legal positions in state agencies for five years or more, or completed a one-year or longer course on socialist legal training.

Those considered to have equivalent qualifications to a law university graduate are those who have worked in legal positions for five years or more and have undergone one year or more of legal training.

In addition to the above conditions, individuals joining a bar association must have sufficient health to fulfill the duties of a lawyer.

Individuals specializing in legal research at scientific research institutions, those teaching law at schools, and those who have held positions such as judges, investigators, prosecutors, inspectors, arbitrators (economic arbitration), legal officers in sectoral legal departments, now retired, if they meet the conditions, can join a bar association.

Individuals currently working in courts, prosecution offices, police, justice, state inspection, economic arbitration, customs, and other internal party organs; those holding positions such as principals, deputy principals, department heads, and deputy department heads at universities, vocational high schools, and training institutes; directors, deputy directors, department heads, and deputy department heads of legal research institutes under the aforementioned organs cannot join a bar association.

3. Articles 10, 11, 12, and 13 of the Rules on Bar Associations regulate probationary lawyers and the probationary period. At the end of the probationary period, probationary lawyers must pass a knowledge and practice examination, and if they meet the requirements, they will be recognized as lawyers. Those exempted from the probationary period as stipulated in Clause 2 of Article 10 of the Rules on Bar Associations must also pass the aforementioned examination. Those recognized as lawyers by the provincial People's Committee upon establishment of the association do not need to take the examination.

4. The lawyer card shall be issued by the Board of Directors of the bar association to lawyers, and the provincial People's Committee shall issue cards to the first batch of lawyers of the association.

The lawyer card may only be used when performing tasks assigned by the Board of Directors of the bar association and during association activities, and it may not be used for other purposes. The lawyer card shall be uniformly issued and managed by the Ministry of Justice.

5. The seal of the bar association is prescribed in Article 2 of the Rules on Bar Associations. The seal has a circular shape with a diameter of 30mm, with two concentric circles; the outer ring at the top has the words "Socialist Republic of Vietnam"; the outer ring at the bottom has the name of the locality (province, city, central special administrative region); in the middle (inner circle) is the phrase "Bar Association." When using the seal, red ink shall be used.

6. The fee for lawyers as stipulated in Articles 32, 33, 34, and 35 of the Bar Association Regulation. The Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Finance will issue a joint Circular to specify the fee levels and other expenses. In the meantime, based on the complexity of each case, the time required for lawyers to prepare and participate in court sessions, the Department of Justice shall coordinate with the Department of Finance, the Department of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs to prepare and submit to the Provincial People's Committee a temporary regulation on lawyer fees applicable at the local level. For cases where lawyers are invited by the local People's Court, the court attendance allowance system shall be applied according to Circular No. 44-TTLĐ dated October 30, 1984, and Circular No. 122-TC/HCVX dated January 28, 1989, issued by the Ministry of Finance regarding the increase in court attendance allowances for People's Assessors and staff.

III- GUIDANCE AND SUPERVISION OF THE ORGANIZATION AND OPERATIONS OF BAR ASSOCIATIONS

1. The Ministry of Justice shall implement guidance and supervision of the organization and operations of bar associations in accordance with Article 5 of the Lawyer Organization Ordinance and Article 45 of the Bar Association Regulation. To effectively carry out these tasks, the Minister of Justice authorizes the Director of the Department of Justice to undertake the following actions:

- Guide the procedures for establishing bar associations in compliance with the provisions of the Lawyer Organization Ordinance, the Bar Association Regulation, and this Circular;

- Monitor the activities of bar associations and inspect the implementation of the Bar Association Regulation at the local level to report to the Minister of Justice and the provincial-level People's Committee;

- Implement measures to ensure that lawyers can exercise their rights in litigation activities;

- Coordinate with local functional agencies to advise the provincial People's Committee to create favorable conditions for material support to bar associations and to implement policies for lawyers;

- Collect and provide necessary materials (such as legal regulations, professional documents, etc.) for bar associations and lawyers; assist the Ministry in preparing some political and professional training programs for lawyers.

While carrying out the tasks authorized by the Minister, if there are differing opinions between the Department of Justice and the Provincial People's Front Committee, they must promptly report to the Minister of Justice.

Apart from the tasks mentioned above, all other contents related to the guidance and supervision of the organization and operations of bar associations shall be directly carried out by the Ministry of Justice.

2. According to Article 21 of the Bar Association Regulation, bar associations have the responsibility to periodically report their activities to the Ministry of Justice, the People's Committee, and the Provincial People's Front Committee. For matters delegated by the Minister to the Director of the Department of Justice, when bar associations submit reports to the aforementioned authorities, they should also send copies to the Director of the Department of Justice for monitoring.

3. To promptly serve the implementation of the Criminal Procedure Code, localities need to urgently and strictly guide the preparation for establishing bar associations in accordance with the provisions of the Lawyer Organization Ordinance, the Bar Association Regulation, and the guidance of this Circular. When the Provincial People's Committee issues a decision to establish a bar association, it shall simultaneously issue a decision to dissolve the existing People's Defense Counsel Association established according to Circular No. 691/QLTPK dated October 31, 1983, of the Ministry of Justice.