Directive No. 35/2006/CT-TTg on the Implementation of the Legal Aid Law

DIRECTIVE

On the implementation of the Legal Aid Law

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The Legal Aid Law was passed at the ninth session of the Eleventh National Assembly on June 29, 2006, and took effect from January 1, 2007. This is an important legal document that institutionalizes the viewpoints and policies of the Party and State, reflects the traditional moral values of the nation, and demonstrates the responsibility of the State and society towards the poor and those entitled to preferential legal aid policies. It helps these individuals have the conditions to access and utilize laws to protect their legitimate rights and interests, contributing to enhancing the public's understanding of the law, respect for and compliance with the law, and implementing democracy at the grassroots level.

In order to focus on preparing some tasks for the implementation of the Legal Aid Law, the Prime Minister instructs relevant ministries, sectors, and provincial and municipal people's committees directly under the central government:

I. Organizing the review of current legal documents on legal aid, while urgently promulgating new documents to guide the implementation of the Legal Aid Law

1. The Ministry of Justice shall take the lead and coordinate with relevant ministries, sectors, and provincial and municipal people's committees directly under the central government to organize the review of current legal provisions on legal aid to amend, supplement, or abolish legal documents that are no longer in line with the Legal Aid Law within their respective authorities, or propose to competent authorities to amend, supplement, or abolish them to ensure the consistency and synchronization of the legal document system. The review of the above legal documents must be completed before December 31, 2006.

2. From now until the Legal Aid Law takes effect, it is necessary to urgently implement the construction of the following documents:

a) The Ministry of Justice shall take the lead and coordinate with the Government Office, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, the Committee for Ethnic Minorities, and the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee to draft the Decree detailing and guiding the implementation of certain articles of the Legal Aid Law in a comprehensive, specific, and thorough manner to ensure the effective implementation of the Law in practice. Normative legal documents guiding the Decree shall only be issued within the authority when truly necessary for issues that cannot be included in the Government's Decree.

The Ministry of Justice is responsible for submitting the draft Decree to the Government for approval in October 2006;

b) The Ministry of Justice shall draft the Project on Planning the Network of Legal Aid Centers and Branches of Legal Aid Centers for the period 2007-2010; and draft the Strategy for Improving and Developing Legal Aid Activities until 2020 to be submitted to the Prime Minister for issuance;

c) The Ministry of Home Affairs shall take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Finance to issue guidelines on the organization, staffing, and material infrastructure of Legal Aid Centers and Branches of Legal Aid Centers, and guidelines on salary policies and allowances for Legal Aid Officers to implement the Government's Decree detailing and guiding the implementation of certain articles of the Legal Aid Law;

d) The Ministry of Home Affairs shall issue job classification codes and professional standards for Legal Aid Officers after reaching consensus with the Ministry of Justice;

đ) The Minister of Justice shall issue the Regulation on the Organization and Operation of the Legal Aid Fund after reaching consensus with the Minister of Finance;

e) The Ministry of Finance shall coordinate with the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Home Affairs to issue guidelines on monthly allowances for Legal Aid Volunteers.

3. To unify the guidance on the implementation of the Legal Aid Law concerning legal aid related to litigation activities, the Ministry of Justice shall take the lead and coordinate with the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuracy, and the Ministry of Public Security to issue guidelines on legal aid in litigation activities, creating favorable conditions for lawyers and Legal Aid Officers to participate in litigation to protect the legitimate rights and interests of those receiving legal aid when the Law takes effect. It is requested that the Supreme People's Procuracy and the Supreme People's Court closely cooperate in drafting and implementing this document.

II. Strengthening the organizational structure and machinery directly engaged in legal aid work

Strengthening the organizational structure, machinery, and personnel directly engaged in legal aid work to ensure the implementation of the Legal Aid Law is a decisive issue. Therefore, this work needs to be carried out promptly and synchronously from the central to local levels in 2006 and the first six months of 2007 so that these organizations can truly possess the necessary capacity and play a core role in directly implementing legal aid tasks.

1. The Minister of Justice is responsible for:

a) Strengthening the organizational structure, personnel, material infrastructure, and enhancing the capacity of the Legal Aid Department to enable the Department to effectively perform its advisory, guidance, information dissemination, training, and development functions for Legal Aid Officers and Legal Aid Volunteers nationwide; inspecting the quality of legal aid cases and assisting the Minister of Justice in performing state management tasks related to legal aid;

b) Promptly directing and guiding localities to implement tasks related to strengthening and consolidating Legal Aid Centers, establishing Branches of Legal Aid Centers, appointing and issuing identification cards for Legal Aid Officers, ensuring the stability of legal aid business operations, and fully preparing all conditions for the Law to enter into force when it becomes effective. At the same time, strengthening inspection and supervision to ensure that the state budget allocated for legal aid reaches the intended beneficiaries.

2. The Chairperson of the Provincial and Municipal People's Committees directly under the central government is responsible for directing specialized agencies at the local level to implement the following tasks:

a) Completing the review, consolidation, and strengthening of the organizational structure, personnel, ensuring staffing, funding, material infrastructure, and working equipment, and enhancing the capacity of Legal Aid Centers and Branches of Legal Aid Centers.

b) Based on the need for legal aid and the actual conditions of the locality, establish branches of the State Legal Aid Center to promptly and locally meet the legal aid needs of citizens in districts, counties, towns, cities under provinces, and remote communes, wards, and towns far from the Center;

c) Review organizations participating in legal aid at the local level to ensure that these organizations operate in accordance with the Legal Aid Law.

III. Communication Activities Regarding the Legal Aid Law

1. The Government's Steering Committee for Popularizing and Educating the Law and relevant agencies and organizations at the central level, People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities shall direct and organize the widespread dissemination of the Legal Aid Law among cadres and the public, particularly focusing on remote areas, mountainous regions, border areas, using practical and effective methods.

2. The Ministry of Justice shall compile materials, develop appropriate plans, and guide and direct the organization of specialized training sessions for those directly involved in legal aid work at the State Legal Aid Center and its branches, legal advisors, lawyers of law firms, and legal consultants of registered legal advisory organizations to ensure uniform application of the Legal Aid Law.

3. The Ministry of Culture and Information shall cooperate with the Central Propaganda and Culture Board and the Ministry of Justice to guide mass media outlets, news agencies, and press organizations to disseminate information about legal aid, organize free legal consultation programs, and coordinate and support the resolution of legal aid cases.

4. The People's Newspaper, Voice of Vietnam Radio, Vietnam Television, Vietnam News Agency, and other mass media outlets at the central and local levels shall intensify the introduction of the contents of the Legal Aid Law and implementing regulations, prioritizing regular communication programs on legal aid and coordinating to support the resolution of legal aid cases.

5. It is requested that the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee and its member organizations actively cooperate in preparing for the implementation of the Legal Aid Law; encourage and introduce individuals within their organizations who meet the criteria and conditions to participate as legal aid advisors; and encourage their legal counseling centers to register to participate in legal aid according to the provisions of the Legal Aid Law.

IV. Implementation Organization

1. The Ministry of Finance, in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice, shall guide and balance the budget to ensure sufficient funding for the implementation of the Legal Aid Law and support the effective operation of the Legal Aid Fund.

2. The Minister of Justice shall cooperate with the Chairman of the Government Office to monitor, inspect, urge, and report to the Prime Minister in December 2006 on the results of preparing certain tasks for the implementation of the Legal Aid Law; annually inspect and summarize the implementation of laws on legal aid and report to the Prime Minister.

3. Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, and provincial and centrally-administered city People's Committee Chairmen shall be responsible for implementing this Directive.

This Directive shall take effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette./.