A legal aid consultation session for ethnic minority communities. — Photo nhandan.vn

HÀ NỘI — Legal aid has acted as a humane necessity which concretalises policies, viewpoints and the vision of the State and the Party, ensuring citizens have equal access to justice.

Over nearly three decades of development, Việt Nam’s legal aid affairs have achieved numerous positive results, better meeting public demands and gaining recognition.

Legal aid policies have been increasingly improved, practically contributing to protecting citizens’ legitimate rights and interests, raising legal awareness and civic knowledge, promoting healthy social relations and strengthening public trust in the State and the law.

On November 9, 2022, the 13th Party Central Committee issued Resolution No. 27-NQ/TW on continuing to build and perfect the socialist rule-of-law State of Việt Nam in the new period.

Under this resolution, the legal aid sector has several key tasks, including building networks and enhancing the capacity of the legal aid system to make the law more accessible to citizens.

The sector has also been tasked with improving the role, professionalism and quality of legal aid, especially in judicial proceedings, modernising and strengthening IT application in the legal aid system and expanding beneficiaries of legal aid in line with national conditions.

To implement these tasks, the National Assembly has passed two important laws.

The Juvenile Justice Law, effective January 1, 2026, stipulates that individuals aged 16 to under 18 who are suspects, defendants, victims, witnesses or inmates under diversion measures are entitled to free legal aid.

The amended Law on Prevention and Combat of Human Trafficking, effective July 1, 2025, grants free legal aid to victims of human trafficking, those undergoing victim identification and minors accompanying victims.

The Party’s policy of 'expanding legal aid beneficiaries in accordance with national conditions' is gradually being institutionalised into law.

Digital transformation – an inevitable trend

The application of information technology and digital transformation is an inevitable global trend and an urgent requirement for Việt Nam today.

The National Law Portal (phapluat.gov.vn) was officially launched on May 31, 2025, with the mission of helping citizens and businesses quickly and comprehensively access policies and laws, while also enabling them to provide feedback and recommendations on policymaking in the digital environment.

One of the portal’s standout features is its ability to quickly connect with specialised databases, including the Legal Aid Management System operated by the Ministry of Justice.

This integration helps promptly meet legal aid needs for vulnerable groups.

Promoting IT application, digital transformation and online public services toward the goal of 'paperless legal aid' not only creates maximum convenience for citizens, especially those eligible for legal aid, in accessing justice, but also supports legal aid providers and State management agencies in performing their duties more effectively.

Across localities, State legal aid centres have been implementing practical activities to support ethnic minority communities in villages and communes with large ethnic populations.

They also coordinate closely with departments and local authorities to organise communication campaigns and legal dissemination programmes to raise awareness and promote law compliance within communities.

Bàn Thị Tình, a Dao ethnic woman from Khe Hùm Hamlet, Phúc Lợi Commune in northern Lào Cai Province, comes from a poor household with limited understanding of legal procedures.

In early 2025, her family wanted to convert their garden land into residential land but did not know the procedures.

Thanks to support from local officials and the provincial legal aid centre, she received home consultations and guidance to complete the paperwork quickly and correctly.

“With their help, we completed all procedures properly and without delay. We are very grateful to the authorities,” she told Nhân Dân (People) newspaper.

According to Bùi Văn Khương, chairman of Phúc Lợi Commune People’s Committee, one of the biggest challenges in providing legal aid locally is that many people, especially those from ethnic minorities, are unaware that they are entitled to free legal aid under the law. Thanks to strong coordination and communication on legal aid, residents are now able to access legal support services.

Legal aid has played an important role in improving legal awareness, reducing disputes and prolonged complaints, maintaining local order and security and laying a solid foundation for building new rural areas, he said.

At the State legal aid centre of Lạng Sơn Province, 29 people currently provide legal aid, nine official legal aid officers and 19 contracted lawyers.

According to the Law on Legal Aid, eligible individuals only need to provide proof of eligibility and submit a request to receive free legal services without paying any fees or remuneration.

From 2019 to 2024, the Lạng Sơn centre handled 3,326 cases, providing legal aid to 3,300 people, mostly from poor households, ethnic minorities in disadvantaged areas and children.

Among these were 151 legal consultations, 3,170 cases involving court representation and five non-litigation representations.

These services are provided free of charge and at a high professional standard by qualified legal aid officers and lawyers.

Entering a new stage of development, provincial and municipal legal aid systems will continue to affirm their role as a reliable legal support for citizens, with goals of improving the professionalism of legal aid providers, enhancing the quality and effectiveness of legal aid services, strengthening multimedia communication, promoting digital transformation in legal aid and reinforcing grassroots cooperation.

These efforts contribute to building a socialist rule-of-law State of the people, by the people and for the people where everyone enjoys equal access to justice.

The presence of legal aid organisations and volunteer lawyers has provided timely free legal consultation and representation, helping citizens understand their rights and obligations and empowering them to use the law to protect their legitimate interests, removing barriers to equal access to justice for all. VNS