On January 19, 2024, the Prime Minister issued Decision 87/QD-TTg approving a plan to reduce and simplify regulations related to business activities within the scope of management functions of the Ministry of Justice (“Decision 87”). Decision 87 has a number of notable contents for law-practicing organizations and law practitioners as follows:
1. Abolish the Health Certificate component for procedures for granting and reissuing Law Practicing Certificates
Procedures for granting and re-issuing a Law Practicing Certificate include:
- Issuing law practice certificates to those who pass the law practice probation test;
- Issuing law practice certificates to people who are exempt from law training and law practice internships;
- Re-issuance of the Law Practicing Certificate in case the Law Practicing Certificate is revoked according to the provisions of Article 18 of the Law on Lawyers;
- Re-issuing a Law Practicing Certificate in case it is lost, torn, burned or for other unintentional reasons to those who pass the law practice probation test.
According to the plan approved in Decision 87, for all these procedures, individuals do not have to submit a Health Certificate. The reason for the abolition is so that practicing individuals can ensure their own health when practicing.
2. Abolish the conditions on practice time in Vietnam for Branch Heads and Directors of foreign law firms
In order to create conditions for foreign law firms in Vietnam to select suitable personnel, the new plan introduces the abolition of regulations in Clauses 2 and 3, Article 68 of the Law on Lawyers stipulating the foreign law practice, specifically:
“Foreign law-practicing organizations that have been established and are legally practicing law abroad are permitted to practice in Vietnam according to the provisions of this Law when the following conditions are met:
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- Commit and ensure that at least two foreign lawyers, including the Branch Head and Director of the foreign law firm, are present and practice in Vietnam for 183 days or more in a continuous period of twelve months;
- Branch heads and directors of foreign law firms in Vietnam must have at least two years of continuous practice as a lawyer."
Accordingly, foreign law firms in Vietnam will have more initiative in selecting suitable and more effective personnel and the preparation of establishment documents will also become more convenient.
3. Abolish the regulations on the practice period of lawyers in the procedures for registering the operation of law-practicing organizations.
According to the provisions of Point a, Clause 3, Article 32 of the Law on Lawyers, law-practicing organizations must meet the following conditions: Lawyers establishing or participating in the establishment of law-practicing organizations must have at least two years of continuous practice. continue to work under a labor contract for a law-practicing organization or practice as an individual under a labor contract for an agency or organization according to the provisions of this Law.
According to the plan approved in Decision 87, in order to create conditions for individuals to establish and register practice organizations, the above practice period requirements for lawyers establishing or participating in the establishment Law practice organizations will be abolished.
Decision 87 sets out the implementation method by amending the 2006 Law on Lawyers (amended and supplemented in 2012) and the implementation roadmap for the period 2025 - 2026.
In addition, Decision 87 also proposes a plan to reduce and simplify regulations related to business activities in the field of notarization with the amendment of the 2014 Notary Law according to the roadmap for the period 2024-2025 and the bailiff sector with the amendment of Decree No. 08/2020/ND-CP according to the roadmap in 2024.
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