In the afternoon of April 22, the National Assembly discussed in the hall about the draft Resolution of the National Assembly on piloting the institution of public lawyers.
Speaking to clarify the opinions of National Assembly deputies, Minister of Justice Hoang Thanh Tung said that the draft Resolution piloting the implementation of public lawyers is a new issue, unprecedented and complex.
Therefore, the drafting agency will closely coordinate with the Standing Committee of the Judicial Committee to study and fully absorb valid opinions; and at the same time explain the contents that need to be further clarified in order to complete the draft, submit it to the Government and report to the National Assembly Standing Committee before submitting it to the National Assembly for consideration and approval.
Regarding the scope of the pilot program, according to the Minister, the selection of ministries, sectors and localities has been carefully considered. The 8 selected ministries are all ministries managing in-depth specialized fields, with a wide scope, and many related cases arising. The selected localities have developed socio-economic conditions, high levels of urbanization and integration, and many transactions and disputes arising in civil, economic, socio-economic projects, etc.
This scope already includes 5/6 centrally-run cities, with very high representation" - the Minister said.
In the immediate future, the drafting agency proposes that the National Assembly allow implementation for 2 years. If necessary, the Government will report to competent authorities to consider the extension.
With the scope of implementation in 18 ministries, branches and localities, 2 years is enough time to have an initial basis for summarizing and evaluating policy effectiveness" - the Minister said.
Regarding the content on standards for public lawyers, the Minister said that for cases related to international disputes or participation in international arbitration bodies, representatives need to have widely recognized legal status.
Therefore, the contents on standards, ethical rules and conduct will be regulated in a generalized manner in the Resolution; and at the same time continue to be reviewed and improved in guiding documents to ensure compliance with the specific characteristics of public lawyers and not conflict with the current legal system.
Regarding the demarcation of work boundaries and responsibilities between public lawyers and civil servants and public employees when simultaneously playing two roles, the drafting agency will also study to submit to the Government for consideration, with specific regulations in guiding documents to ensure suitability with reality.
The Minister emphasized the view that it is not necessary to rigidly stipulate the time ratio for performing tasks (such as 50% for each role), because the workload depends on the specific characteristics of each agency and unit.
“Some places have a lot of work, so public lawyers must spend all their time on this field, some places have less, so they must balance between civil servant and public lawyer duties. The draft has stipulated that, in addition to the work of public lawyers, public lawyers perform the work of civil servants. Heads of agencies are responsible for arranging and assigning work to ensure that public lawyers complete their work according to regulations” - Minister Hoang Thanh Tung clarified.
Regarding the regime and policies of public lawyers, the Minister agreed with the opinions of National Assembly deputies that, with the workload of public lawyers, there needs to be appropriate regimes and policies to attract and retain this high-quality human resource force. Regarding the case-by-case training regime mentioned by the Delegates, the Minister said that the drafting agency will continue to study to have a suitable report.
