Committee seeks legal aid reforms

17:14' 20/06/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge – The National Assembly (NA)'s Law Committee yesterday asked the NA Standing Committee to consider two government decrees that guide implementation of the Law on Legal Aid and the Ordinance for the Implementation of Civil Sentences. According to the Law Committee, Decree 7 issued by the Government on January 12, 2007, regarding the Law on Legal Aid outlines how to assign and dismiss legal aid staff; policies for legal aid staff; who should be given legal aid and how the Fund for Legal Aid will work. However, as several of these points contradict current legislation, lawmakers must resolve these issues to make sure there were no legal discrepancies or incorrect understanding of public employee laws, they said. For example, the Law on Legal Aid states that legal aid staff are State officials, but according to Decree 7, staff must be assigned by provincial People's Committee chairs. Regarding people who receive legal aid, according to Law on Legal Aid, they are: "Poor people; citizens who have contributed services to the revolution; elderly without family, the disabled and orphaned; and ethnic minorities who are permanent residents of regions with extremely-difficult socio-economic conditions." This regulation states that ethnic minorities who are not poor can still receive legal aid if they live in regions with extremely-difficult socio-economic conditions, but Decree 7 defines ethnic minorities that are eligible for legal aid as: "People who regularly live in regions with extremely-difficult socio-economic conditions." The Law Committee pointed out that the decree had replaced the term "permanent residents" with "who regularly live" and this had reduced the number of ethnic minorities who could receive legal aid. The Law Committee also asked the NA Standing Committee to consider Decree 50 issued by the Government on April 11,2005, related to the civil sentences ordinance. The decree regulates staff in justice executive offices that implement civil sentences can lawfully use punitive tools such as: rubber clubs; electric clubs; electric gloves; gas guns; gas sprayers and guns that shoot plastic or rubber bullets. Legislators said this section of the decree had no legal ground because the Ordinance for the Implementation of Civil Sentences issued in 2004 did not regulate that these staff can use these tools to carry out justice. Members of the Law Committee said the right to use these assistant tools was very important and it directly impacted people's lives, health and legal rights. These tools should be only used to control riots, they said. (Source: Viet Nam Net)