The drafting committee discusses and gives opinions on the draft amended Law on Legal Aid. — Photo nhandan.vn

HÀ NỘI — The Department of Law Dissemination, Education and Legal Aid under the Ministry of Justice on November 13 reviewed and gave opinions on the draft amended Law on Legal Aid.

According to the draft submission, the development of the amended Law on Legal Aid aims to overcome some limitations and inadequacies of the 2017 law.

It will amend and supplement certain provisions to better ensure the right to access legal aid for the people in line with the country’s socio-economic conditions.

It will also enhance the professionalism and effectiveness of legal aid work, ensure synchronisation and consistency of the legal system and meet the requirements of judicial reform, administrative reform as well as the current two-tier local government model.

The draft law supplements the categories of people entitled to legal aid to maximise their right to access the law and legal aid, especially vulnerable groups, in accordance with international practices and international treaties to which Việt Nam is a member.

Specifically, it amends and supplements the categories of people entitled to legal aid according to the Law on Prevention and Combat of Human Trafficking and the Juvenile Justice Law to ensure consistency in the legal system.

The draft law also adds categories of 'foreigners entitled to legal aid according to international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Việt Nam is a member' to comply with international treaties that Việt Nam has signed and will participate in.

In addition, it adds 'other objects as prescribed by law' to cover all subjects eligible for legal aid according to the law.

The phrase 'victims in domestic violence cases' is amended to 'persons subjected to domestic violence in cases related to domestic violence' to comply with the Law on Prevention and Control of Domestic Violence, and the phrase 'persons with disabilities who have financial difficulties' is amended to 'persons with disabilities.'

The expansion of persons with disabilities entitled to legal aid — without financial difficulty conditions — is appropriate and helps to legislate commitments under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The category of 'foreigners entitled to legal aid as prescribed in international treaties that the Socialist Republic of Việt Nam is a member of' is added to implement such treaties that Việt Nam has signed and will participate in.

Besides, the law has the phrase 'other objects as prescribed by law' to cover all subjects entitled to legal aid.

To attract qualified individuals to participate in legal aid and expand the network of legal aid providers, the draft law broadens the scope of persons eligible to become legal aid collaborators as follows: Vietnamese citizens with good moral qualities; holding at least a bachelor’s degree in law; possessing the health to provide legal aid; not subject to disciplinary action, criminal prosecution or convictions not yet expunged may become legal aid collaborators.

Thus, the draft law does not limit this only to certain groups currently, including legal aid workers, judges and court examiners, prosecutors and inspectors, investigators, enforcement officers, civil judgment examiners and specialists working in legal affairs at state agencies who have retired.

The draft law also adds provisions allowing legal aid collaborators to handle legal aid cases and participate in litigation and out-of-court representation as prescribed by law.

Currently, with increasing demand for legal aid, allowing collaborators to engage in litigation and out-of-court representation will help expand human resources, attract and promote qualified individuals capable of providing legal aid and facilitate timely access to legal services for the people, especially amid the context of many localities merging with larger populations and territories.

The draft law stipulates that each province and city must have at least one State Legal Aid Centre, with the provincial People’s Committee deciding the number of centres based on local needs and conditions.

The draft removes the condition that branches of the centre are only established in districts with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions and inconvenient traffic, where no legal practice organisations or legal counselling organisations participate in legal aid (Article 11 of the 2017 Legal Aid Law), to adapt to the two-tier local government model after provincial and commune mergers.

Lê Vệ Quốc, Director of the Department of Law Dissemination, Education and Legal Aid, said the amendment to the 2017 Legal Aid Law would focus on revising and supplementing provisions to resolve difficulties arising in practice.

It will institutionalise the Party’s policy on decentralisation and delegation in the two-tier local government model, ensure smooth, effective and timely task implementation, maximise administrative reform, reduce costs and provide the greatest convenience to the people. — VNS