Improving legal assistance quality

12/05/2016
On May 9th, the Drafting Committee of Law on Legal Assistance (amended) held a meeting to get comments for the draft of the Law (amended). Vice director of the Drafting Committee and Deputy Minister of Justice Nguyen Khanh Ngoc chaired the meeting.
The idea about who provide the legal assistance was one of the content that need commenting. According to the Standing member of Editorial Team, the Renewal scheme proposed that after 2025, legal assistance will only be provided by lawyers. However, there are still 2 points of view about this matter. The first one is legal assistance will be provided by lawyers and Legal assistants. The second one is legal assistance will be provided only by lawyers after 2025.
The Standing member of Editorial Team said that the “life expectancy” of a Law is usually around 7 to 10 years, if lawyers can provide legal assistance by 2025, the Law can be amended again. He/She also said that it is reasonable to maintain the Legal assistant position with our social-economy status and the development of the legal assistance service.
Vice President of Vietnam Lawyers’s Association said that it is still necessary for legal consultants and jurists to continue providing legal assistance. She also confirm that through her analysis, the consult quality of a lawyer is not better than a consultant, a new lawyer is definitely not better than a retired Director of Judicial Department.
In conclusion, Deputy Minister Nguyen Khanh Ngoc required the Drafting Committee to review all relating matters, complete the Draft Law and ensure the progress of the Law Project. For the matter about who provide legal assistance, he affirmed that in all situations, the legal assistance provider must meet the same requirements and criterias.