Piloting the institution of public lawyers in 8 ministries, 10 provinces and cities from October 1st, 2026

Piloting the institution of public lawyers in 8 ministries and 10 localities

Politburo Member, Standing Secretary of the Secretariat Tran Cam Tu signed and issued Conclusion No. 23-KL/TW on the Project "Researching and building the institution of public lawyers in the socialist rule-of-law state of Vietnam today" (Conclusion No. 23-KL/TW).

According to the Conclusion, piloting the institution of public lawyers in 8 ministries (National Defense, Public Security, Construction, Finance, Justice, Industry and Trade, Foreign Affairs, Agriculture and Environment), People's Committees of 10 provinces and cities (Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Hai Phong, Can Tho, Quang Ninh, Lam Dong, Khanh Hoa, Dong Nai, Bac Ninh).

The pilot implementation period is from October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2028.

Public lawyers are cadres, civil servants, public employees, officers of the People's Police, officers of the People's Army, people working in state-owned enterprises who are certified as lawyers, performing legal activities to protect the legitimate rights and interests of state agencies, state-owned enterprises, agencies, and organizations under the Vietnamese political system. Public lawyers do not include public employees who are providing legal aid.

Public lawyers have rights and obligations according to the provisions of law on cadres, civil servants, public employees, officers of the people's police, officers of the people's army, state-owned enterprises and the rights and obligations of public lawyers, complying with the rules of ethics and professional conduct of lawyers according to the provisions of law.

Public lawyer standards: Public lawyers must meet the standards of cadres, civil servants, public employees, officers of the People's Police, officers of the People's Army, people working in state-owned enterprises and the standards of lawyers according to the provisions of the Law on Lawyers, and at the same time have at least 5 years of experience working in the field of law or experience in litigation, legal advice or resolving complex legal cases; have firm political ideology, pure and honest professional ethics.

Source to become a public lawyer

Cadres, civil servants, public employees, officers of the People's Police, officers of the People's Army, and people working in state-owned enterprises who meet the standards to become public lawyers according to regulations.

Experienced lawyers, experts, scientists, and jurists working in agencies, organizations, and units outside the public sector are accepted to work as cadres, civil servants, public employees, and officers of the armed forces according to current regulations in the Government's decrees regulating the recruitment, use and management of civil servants, regulations on policies to attract and value talented people to work in agencies, organizations, and units of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the State, the Vietnam Fatherland Front and socio-political organizations, and regulations on policies to attract and value talents for the Vietnam People's Army.

Scope of work of public lawyers

Consulting, representing state agencies, agencies, organizations in the political system at the Central and local levels, state-owned enterprises participating in litigation, resolving domestic and international lawsuits and disputes on investment, trade, international law, international justice, administrative, civil matters and participating in the civil and administrative judgment enforcement process in accordance with the law.

Legal advice for state agencies, agencies, organizations in the political system at the central and local levels, state-owned enterprises in the process of building and implementing socio-economic projects.

Consulting and participating in resolving complex and prolonged complaints and denunciations.

Other legal work at state agencies, agencies, organizations in the political system, and state-owned enterprises.

The scope of public lawyers' activities does not include legal aid activities and does not overlap with the legal affairs activities of agencies and units.

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