SKILLS IN PROVIDING LEGAL AID FOR VULNERABLE GROUPS

SKILLS IN PROVIDING LEGAL AID FOR VULNERABLE GROUPS

1. Initial contact skills with people receiving TGPL

Whether or not there is time to prepare in advance, the person performing the TGPL still needs to prepare certain content for the first meeting with the person receiving the TGPL:

- The person performing the TGPL must have a polite, gentle, calm, modest, and appropriate attitude, demeanor, gestures, and speech right from the first contact with the person receiving the TGPL, as well as during the process of performing the TGPL.

- Discussion process and time limits: Help guide the meeting so it doesn't go into irrelevant issues and doesn't last too long.

 

- Main content of the case and scope of request of the person receiving legal aid.

- Provide the person receiving the TGPL with the rights and obligations of the person performing the TGPL and the person receiving the TGPL.

- Provide the person receiving legal aid with a list of legal documents regulating the case being handled and resolved so that the person receiving legal aid can refer to it.

- Provide the person receiving legal aid with preliminary options for resolving the case so that the person receiving legal aid can determine the scope of the request if the case has multiple options for resolution.

- Agree on working methods and communication methods for next times and set a time for the next time.

- Ensure the meeting location and dress code of the person receiving legal aid (especially for Legal Aid Workers).

- No commitment to the final outcome of the case.

a. Contact by phone or email

- TGPL implementer have to introduce themselves and their place of work even though people already know where they are calling from.

- You need to ask for information about the person you are talking to, to see if they are the requester and related to the requested work content. ( There are cases where the person talking to the person performing the legal aid is not the requester and is not related to the work. For example, a request for advice on a labor contract, but the person calling the State Legal Aid Center is not the employee, but the wife or child of that person asking for information ). Therefore, the person performing the legal aid must ask very clearly about the qualifications of the person talking to you, a summary of the work content and the person requesting you.

- Explain the right to legal aid.

- Ask questions to find out if they qualify for free TGPL

- Through preliminary questions, if it is possible to determine that they are eligible for legal assistance, the person performing legal assistance will estimate the time to study relevant legal documents to make a direct appointment with the requester, as well as ask for their phone number and methods of contacting them.

b. Direct contact

- Direct contact with the person receiving the TGPL in case of previous contact by phone or email with the person receiving the TGPL

 

- Direct contact with the person receiving the TGPL in case of no prior contact by phone or email with the person receiving the TGPL

Some notes:

✔ In the above cases, the person performing the TGPL does not have the conditions to prepare professionally in advance, it all depends on the ability and available knowledge of each person performing the TGPL.

✔ Through initial contacts, the person performing the TGPL must create an impression on the person receiving the TGPL of a mature, polite, friendly, open-minded, enthusiastic demeanor and solid knowledge.

✔ Because there is no information, the person performing the TGPL does not know which of the issues presented by the TGPL recipient is the main one. This is when the person performing the TGPL needs to apply his experience to judge the type of work requested by the TGPL recipient, thereby asking questions to guide the presentation of the TGPL recipient to be short, concise and to the point .

2. Case execution skills

2.1. Legal consulting skills

The legal aid practitioner advises the legal aid recipient by providing guidance, giving opinions, and helping to draft documents related to disputes, complaints, and legal problems; and guiding the parties to reconcile, negotiate, and agree on a solution to the case  .

Legal consulting activities include the following steps:

- Establish communication with the beneficiaries, creating a positive mindset for them.

- Listen to the person being assisted present their problem and request. Determine the legal issue.

- Research, collect and compare legal documents related to the issue.

- Evaluate the solutions (pros and cons).

- Provide solutions and guidance to beneficiaries.

Legal consulting skills:

2.1.1. Some general skills

a. Skills to build relationships and trust with people receiving TGPL.

It is necessary to create a good relationship between the person performing the TGPL and the person receiving the TGPL, respecting the interests of the community and compliance with the law. Skills to build relationships with the person receiving the TGPL include:

- Skills that show respect.

- Skills demonstrate honesty.

- Skills demonstrate dedication.

b. Research and information gathering skills in legal consulting

Collect information to understand the nature of the matter; understand the wishes and requirements of the person receiving legal aid, and understand the basis for solving the problem.

Information gathering skills in legal consulting include:

- Questioning skills : fully identify the question content; know how to use appropriate types of questions; know how to use language and non-verbal expressions when asking questions.

- Listening skills : know how to collect, analyze, and evaluate information; know how to record information; know how to observe carefully to understand customer psychology; know how to respond through behavior and language.

- Skills to mobilize information sources and documents related to consulting issues : know how to check and review documents related to the matter; know how to search for relevant legal documents as a basis for problem solving; know how to refer to supporting information.

c. Evaluate solutions

The person implementing the TGPL needs to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of each solution so that the person receiving the TGPL can choose the optimal solution or prevent and measure the risks that may occur when implementing the chosen solution.

After assessing the advantages and disadvantages of each solution, the TGPL practitioner will advise the TGPL beneficiary on the most appropriate legal solution from the TGPL practitioner's perspective.

When choosing a solution, the person performing legal aid also needs to analyze for the person receiving legal aid the legal status of the problem that the person receiving legal aid needs to resolve, the position of the person receiving legal aid in that legal relationship...

d. Skills in providing solutions in legal consulting

Help the person receiving legal advice understand the legal provisions on the issue, resolve legal issues and decide for themselves the best course of action. Skills in providing solutions in legal advice:

- Skills in describing, analyzing and evaluating information : knowing how to describe the entire incident; knowing how to state the legal basis used to resolve the incident; knowing how to present and analyze solutions; knowing how to give advice and opinions to customers; knowing how to guide the implementation of solutions.

- Language skills to convey information : knowing how to use language appropriate to the level and characteristics of each group of people receiving TGPL; knowing how to use language accurately; knowing how to use literary language; knowing how to use scientific language.

- Skills in using non-verbal expressions when presenting issues . Including: knowing how to use gestures to express information; knowing how to express eye contact; knowing how to express posture, gestures and movements appropriate to the content of the information.

The advisory document must ensure the following main contents:

o Summarize the main request and question of the person receiving the TGPL.

o The person receiving legal assistance must know how to express his/her own requests and questions, how to use his/her posture, gestures and movements appropriate to the content of the information; how to use scientific language; and how to guide the implementation of other solutions not listed in order to be able to seek other legal solutions.

o Analyzing the image, the question of the person being guided by the TGPL shows the eyes.

2.1.2. Some legal consulting skills for vulnerable groups

a. Some consulting skills for people with disabilities

- Grasp the legal regulations and policies for people with disabilities.

- Have communication skills with each type of customer disability (as mentioned above).

- Must proactively seek out PWDs: the person implementing TGPL goes to the place of residence (family, support center...) of the disabled person (for severely disabled people who cannot move) to help them complete the application, learn, and provide consultation.

- Collaborate with members of organizations, associations, and groups of people with disabilities.

- Have connections with state agencies and social organizations in providing free legal aid to people with disabilities.

b. Some legal consulting skills for ethnic minorities

- Grasp the psychology of ethnic minorities, especially women: both women and ethnic minorities.

- Consulting content must be simple, easy to understand, easy to remember; focused and key points; linked to daily life; customs and practices;

- Focus on using ethnic minority languages in cases where ethnic minorities cannot use the common language.

c. Some legal consulting skills for victims of domestic violence

- Classify groups of victims of violence to understand their psychology, perception, and characteristics in order to have appropriate approaches.

- Clearly identify barriers and psychological factors that affect victims of gender-based violence

- Understand why victims often continue to accept violence

- Identify and classify victims of domestic violence by age to find appropriate solutions: Minors; adults; the elderly.

2.2. Litigation skills 

Note : fully apply basic requirements when implementing TGPL for vulnerable groups such as: mastering human rights, understanding and sympathizing, taking TGPL beneficiaries as the center, ensuring confidentiality and information security, and demonstrating the image of TGPL implementers dedicated to their work.

Skills : Depending on the specific field (criminal, civil, administrative, etc.) in each specific case and in each different stage of the litigation, the skills of the person performing legal aid also have different points. For example, in a criminal case, specific skills are required in each different stage of the litigation, the stages of indictment, investigation, prosecution, and trial. For each type of crime, there are additional specific skills.

2.2.1. Some basic skills that a TGPL practitioner needs to have

- Skills to grasp the psychology of the accused, victim, or litigant in each criminal, civil, and administrative case.

- Communication skills with people receiving TGPL.

- Skills in collecting, examining and evaluating evidence.

- Skills to participate in some litigation activities of each case and work with the litigator.

- Profile research skills.

- Skills to prepare work before attending court.

- Skills in drafting defense and defense statements.

- Litigation skills in court.

- Skills to listen to verdicts and perform tasks after the end of the trial.

The following section will discuss in more depth the basic skills involved in criminal proceedings.

2.2.2 Some basic skills when participating in criminal proceedings

a. Note some provisions of criminal law and criminal procedure on the rights and responsibilities of vulnerable groups in criminal proceedings

- For people with disabilities

(i) Vietnamese criminal law stipulates that a person suffering from a mental illness or other disease that causes loss of cognitive ability or ability to control behavior is not considered a criminal and is not subject to criminal liability (Article 21 of the 2015 Penal Code).

(ii) A person suffering from mental illness or other illness that causes loss of cognitive ability or ability to control behavior and commits a crime is subject to compulsory medical treatment (Article 49 of the 2015 Penal Code).

(iii) The 2015 Penal Code stipulates that a person with a disability commits a crime as a mitigating circumstance of criminal liability, specifically in Article 51 of the Penal Code, which stipulates that "The mitigating circumstances of criminal liability are that the offender is a person with a severe disability or an especially severe disability" and "the offender is a person with a disease that limits his/her ability to perceive or control his/her behavior".

(iv) People with disabilities accused of committing a crime have the right to defense; in case they refuse the right to defense, the competent authority conducting the proceedings must still be responsible for appointing a defense attorney for them (Article 76 of the Criminal Procedure Code).

(v) During the litigation process, the competent litigation authority must assign an interpreter for the disabled person when they cannot use Vietnamese.

- For ethnic minorities:

(i) It is necessary to pay attention to the mitigating circumstances of criminal responsibility stipulated in Article 51 of the Penal Code such as: "Committing a crime due to backwardness"; "Committing a crime in a case of limited cognitive ability not caused by one's own fault"; "Committing a crime due to especially difficult circumstances not caused by oneself".

(ii) the right to use one's own ethnic language: Article 29 of the 2015 Criminal Procedure Code stipulates that "Participants in the proceedings have the right to use the spoken and written language of their own ethnic group. In this case, an interpreter must be present."

- For victims of domestic violence:

(i) In cases where the victim of domestic violence is a suspect or defendant in a case, attention should be paid to mitigating circumstances such as: committing a crime in a case exceeding the limits of legitimate defense; committing a crime in a case exceeding the requirements of an urgent situation; committing a crime in a case of being mentally provoked by the victim's illegal behavior...

(ii) The victim of domestic violence is the victim in the case, it is necessary to exploit the following provisions of criminal law:

+ Physical violence: Murder (Article 123), infanticide (Article 124), forced suicide (Article 130), threatening to kill (Article 133), intentionally causing injury or harm to the health of another person (Article 134), torturing another person (Article 140).

+ Sexual violence: rape (Article 141), rape of a person under 16 years old (Article 142), rape (Article 143), rape of a person from 13 years old to under 16 years old (Article 144), sexual intercourse or other sexual acts with a person from 13 years old to under 16 years old (Article 145), obscenity against a person under 16 years old (Article 146), using a person under 16 years old for obscene purposes (Article 147).

+ Mental violence: Crime of humiliating others (Article 155); Crime of forcing marriage, divorce or preventing voluntary, progressive marriage, preventing voluntary divorce (Article 181); Crime of organizing child marriage (Article 183); Crime of violating monogamy (Article 182), if causing the wife, husband or child of one of the two parties to commit suicide, it will be one of the aggravating circumstances of punishment; Crime of mistreating or torturing grandparents, parents, spouses, children, grandchildren or people who have raised you (Article 185); Crime of refusing or evading the obligation to provide support (Article 186).

+ Economic violence: Crime of extortion of property according to Article 170); crime of destruction of property (Article 178)

b. Contact with the person receiving the TGPL

Depending on the request of the person receiving legal aid (disabled, ethnic minority people, victims of domestic violence), the legal aid provider can start participating right from the stage of receiving a summons from the prosecution agency to verify the report, denounce the crime, and recommend prosecution. When exercising the right to defense, the right to protect the rights and legitimate interests of vulnerable groups, the legal aid provider needs to pay attention to the following skills:

Firstly, thoroughly understand the thoughts and wishes of the person receiving legal aid, listen to their presentation, review the initial documents (applications, related documents, personal papers, etc.), and at the same time clearly state the limits of responsibility of the person performing legal aid to the person receiving legal aid, responsibility before the law and resolutely not carry out illegal requests.

Second , the person performing the legal aid needs to clearly know his/her professional capacity when taking on a case. In criminal trial practice, there are cases where the person performing the legal aid has good professional capacity and experience in cases involving people with disabilities, etc., but may have little experience in handling cases involving victims of domestic violence, etc.

Third, clearly define the relationship between the person performing legal aid and the person receiving legal aid in criminal cases: the relationship within the scope of participation in defense during the stages of the proceedings; the relationship as a human being in social life.

Fourth , guide the person receiving legal aid to carry out the necessary procedures such as filling out the legal aid request form and other necessary documents. Depending on the nature of each case, the person performing legal aid can adjust, change, and supplement to suit the conditions, classify the registration forms for the accused, the accused's relatives, the victim, etc.

In summary, contact with vulnerable people may occur many times during the progress of criminal cases by the prosecution agencies. Therefore, people who provide legal aid must always pay attention to maintaining a dedicated, honest and legal attitude, working principles, and professional ethics in their exchanges and contacts with people who receive legal aid.

c. Procedures for registration of defense and protection of rights

Some points to note when carrying out the procedure for registering for defense according to the 2015 Criminal Procedure Code:

Firstly, “in all cases of participation in litigation, the defense attorney must register to defend” (Clause 1, Article 78 of the Criminal Procedure Code).

Second, the registration file for legal defense with legal aid officers/lawyers participating in legal aid has been clearly regulated by the Criminal Procedure Code:

+ In case of being required to defend: Point d, Clause 2, Article 78 stipulates The person performing legal aid must present the document appointing the person performing legal aid from the organization performing legal aid and the Legal Aid Officer Card or Lawyer Card with a certified copy.

+ In case of appointed defense : the legal aid officer/lawyer performing legal aid must present a Legal Aid Officer Card or Lawyer Card with a certified copy and a document appointing a person to perform legal aid from the State Legal Aid Center.

+ Time limit for defense registration : Within 24 hours from the date of receiving all required documents, the competent authority conducting the proceedings must check the documents and if it finds that there is no case of refusing to register for defense, it must enter the defense registration book, immediately send a written notice of the defense attorney to the person registering for defense, the detention facility and keep documents related to the defense registration in the case file; if it is found that the conditions are not met, it must refuse to register for defense and must clearly state the reasons in writing  .

+ In case of participating in defending many different defendants in the same case, the legal aid officer/lawyer performing legal aid must fully prepare the registration documents for defense procedures before carrying out this procedure with the agency or person with authority to conduct the proceedings.

Third, the right to choose a defense attorney: In order to ensure that the accused person being detained or imprisoned has the opportunity to access a defense attorney, the 2015 Criminal Procedure Code stipulates: the defense attorney is chosen by the accused person, their representative or their relatives. Relatives of the person participating in the proceedings include: wife, husband, biological father, biological mother, father-in-law, mother-in-law, father-in-law, mother-in-law, adoptive father, adoptive mother, biological child, adopted child; paternal grandfather, paternal grandmother, maternal grandfather, maternal grandmother, biological brother, biological sister, biological sibling; paternal great-grandfather, maternal great-grandfather, paternal uncle, paternal aunt ...

In case the accused person who is being detained has a written refusal to have a defense attorney chosen by relatives or family, the legal aid officer/lawyer performing the legal aid can handle this situation by requesting to meet directly with the investigator to confirm the refusal according to the provisions of Clause 2, Article 77 of the 2015 Criminal Procedure Code.

d. Some skills when communicating and meeting with people receiving TGPL is the person arrested, detained, accused, defendant, litigant

- Exchange and meet with the person receiving legal aid who is the suspect, defendant on bail, or litigant:

After the first meeting, the legal aid officer/lawyer performing the legal aid should periodically or suddenly inform the person receiving the legal aid of the progress and results of the work through the use of appropriate means of communication such as (telephone, fax, email, etc.). The legal aid officer should communicate regularly to gain the understanding and sympathy of the person receiving the legal aid in the face of difficulties and challenges when resolving the case.

The person performing the legal aid needs to predict and inform the person receiving the legal aid of the possibilities that may occur in the process of resolving the case, and guide them on the necessary details of recording the interrogation and testimony records. It is necessary to discuss with them the issues that the Investigator is expected to focus on clarifying and guide the person receiving the legal aid to answer honestly, in accordance with the nature of the case. In addition, it is necessary to have appropriate plans and steps to prove the non-compliance or reduction of criminal responsibility through the collected evidence and documents such as: Witness statements, time developments (action or inaction) at the time of the incident, other evidence and documents.

- Meeting and exchanging with the person receiving legal aid who is a defendant in a detention house or temporary detention camp:

+ Meeting and questioning between the defense attorney and the accused: It can be understood that this meeting is actively conducted by the defense attorney at any stage of the proceedings and there is no limit to the number of times or time of the meeting; the questions are asked and the accused is discussed completely privately under the supervision of the detention facility without the need for the presence of those conducting the proceedings.

- The interrogation and re-interrogation session is actively conducted by the Investigator or Prosecutor with the participation of the defense attorney: This meeting of the defense attorney depends on the pre-prepared plan to take statements from the arrested or detained person, when questioning the accused by the Investigator or Prosecutor. Therefore, in this meeting, the defense attorney may only question the arrested, detained or accused person when the competent person conducting the interrogation and testimony agrees. After each interrogation and testimony session by the competent person ends, the defense attorney may question the arrested, detained or accused person (Point b, Clause 1, Article 73). The defense attorney has the right to view the minutes of the proceedings in which he/she participated and the procedural decisions related to the person he/she defends (Point d and dd, Clause 1, Article 73).

Before conducting the interrogation of the accused, the Investigator must notify the Prosecutor and the defense counsel of the time and place of the interrogation  . In case the defense counsel or representative of the accused is present, the Investigator and the investigating officer must explain to these people their rights and obligations during the interrogation of the accused. The accused, the defense counsel and the representative must sign the interrogation record. In case the defense counsel is allowed to question the accused, the record must fully record the defense counsel's questions and the accused's answers. 

The first contact is very important both psychologically and cognitively, and has a significant impact on the litigation process of the person performing legal aid. Therefore, the person performing legal aid needs to carefully prepare the documents that have been studied, prepare some opinions to be ready to discuss, answer questions, orient the search, collect and evaluate evidence to exonerate, reduce criminal responsibility; ask more about unclear and contradictory events; learn about the thoughts, wishes and attitudes of the person receiving legal aid who is a disabled person, an ethnic minority, a victim of domestic violence, etc. The procedure for initial contact with the accused in the detention house or temporary detention camp in each locality is different, so the person performing legal aid should prepare documents in advance for comparison when necessary.

During the initial meeting, after listening to the statements of the suspect or defendant, the TGPL implementer needs to ask questions to learn more about the cause, context, nature of the behavior and the details that need to be clarified. In case the TGPL implementer discovers that the statements in the file contradict the information that the suspect or defendant directly discussed with him or her, he or she must clarify each point of contradiction and find out the reasons for those contradictions.

e. Participate in investigation activities

In order for the participation of Legal Aid Officers/lawyers performing legal aid in the interrogation sessions of Investigators with suspects to be effective and in compliance with the provisions of law, Legal Aid Officers/lawyers performing legal aid need to pay attention to the following contents and activities:

- There must be a document specifying the requirements, content and scope of the request to attend the sessions of taking statements and questioning suspects, and notifying the time and schedule that can be arranged to attend these questioning sessions;

- About the minutes of the meeting with the presence of the defense attorney;

- Do not bring or use telephones or other means of communication while working in detention centers or temporary detention camps. Do not create conditions for the accused to talk or contact their family; do not bring requested household items to give to the accused;

- The accused should not be under the illusion that the person performing the criminal investigation can resolve everything. The accused should not have an inappropriate attitude or disrespect towards the Investigator or Prosecutor;

- Absolutely do not give or receive letters from the accused and their families.

- After working with the accused in detention houses and temporary detention camps, their relatives often ask the person conducting the legal aid to inform them about their detention status, health and especially the questions the investigator has asked. The person conducting the legal aid should avoid answering questions that delve into the details of the case because these are investigative secrets that need to be respected. The person conducting the legal aid should only, through grasping the situation, plan to work with the family to carry out some contents that need to be investigated, verified, and provide documents and evidence to clarify the criminal responsibility of the accused.

- Collect, examine, use and evaluate evidence

In a criminal case, to best perform their role, the person performing legal aid needs to pay attention to evidence collection skills, because the more favorable evidence is found, the higher the possibility of exonerating, reducing the sentence or protecting the rights of the person receiving legal aid.

Regarding this issue, the 2015 Criminal Procedure Code recognizes three rights of the defense attorney, including:

(h) Collect, present evidence, documents, objects, requests;

(i) Examine, evaluate and present opinions on relevant evidence, documents and objects and request competent litigation authorities to examine and evaluate;

(k) Request competent authorities to conduct proceedings to collect evidence, conduct additional appraisals, re-appraisals, and re-evaluate assets.

To collect evidence, the defense attorney has the right to meet the person he/she is defending, the victim, witnesses and other people with knowledge of the case to ask questions and listen to their presentations on issues related to the case; request agencies, organizations and individuals to provide documents, objects and electronic data related to the defense. 

The person performing legal aid should not be passive, relying on documents and evidence photocopied from the prosecution agency to serve his research and evaluation, but should thoroughly utilize the rights granted by the law to collect and discover necessary elements and evidence to serve the defense of the client. Should collect and search for evidence that is beneficial to the person receiving legal aid. Because in addition to the obligation to clarify the objective details of the case, the responsibility of the person performing legal aid is first and foremost to protect the legitimate rights and interests of the person receiving legal aid. Thus, the evidence that the TGPL implementer can use must be evidence that is beneficial to the accused and does not worsen the accused's situation, for example, evidence proving the innocence of the accused if the accused is truly innocent, evidence proving that the accused's criminal behavior is not as dangerous as the documents in the file show, and mitigating circumstances of the accused's criminal responsibility that the investigation agency has not shown in the file.

Study the case file

To prepare for a thorough and convenient file research, the person performing the TGPL needs to pay attention to the following issues:

First, proactively contact the Prosecutor after being confirmed as a defense attorney to arrange a schedule and location to study the case file.

Second, regarding the method of submitting and studying documents, the person performing the legal aid needs to pay attention to issues related to the procedural matters shown in the documents.

Third, regarding the scope of the case study, the person conducting the TGPL needs to pay attention to the following specific issues:

- Check and compare the content between the indictment and the investigation conclusion, supplementary investigation conclusion; determine the crime, acts considered as crimes, penalty framework, etc.;

- Study the documents exchanged between the investigation agency and the prosecutor's office, with other agencies on the initial assessment of the defendant's behavior, the basis for the request for approval of temporary detention (in some cases, these initial assessments are not accurate, so the investigation agency must later change the decision to prosecute the defendant);

- Study the conclusions of the appraisal (property, finance - accounting, disability rate, cause of death or injury, etc.), records of crime scene investigation, identification, confrontation, and investigative experiments;

- Study the statements of the defendant he/she defends and other defendants, witnesses, persons with related rights and obligations, victims, civil plaintiffs, and civil defendants;

- Aggravating and mitigating circumstances of criminal responsibility; excerpt of criminal record.

Fourth, the person performing the legal aid must comply with the principles in information processing, including ensuring information about investigation confidentiality and methods of exchanging information and documents with the person receiving the legal aid.

Building an interrogation outline

The person performing the legal aid needs to pay attention to developing an interrogation plan at the trial. The focus of the interrogation plan is mainly related to the subjects who have a direct relationship, whose testimony affects the determination of the truth of the case, and the determination of criminal responsibility for the defendant being defended. In the case of protecting the legitimate rights and interests of the litigant, depending on the protection requirements, the interrogation subjects are determined, and information can be exploited to serve the request for compensation for damages, determination of criminal responsibility, etc.

Determining the content of the interrogation questions : Preparing the content of the interrogation questions is the most important step in the interrogation plan. It is necessary to focus on questions directly related to determining criminal responsibility, aggravating and mitigating circumstances, and civil responsibility of the defendant in the criminal case (if any). The questions must be concise and easy to understand, avoiding the possibility of being interpreted in many ways, causing confusion for the person being questioned, sometimes not achieving the effectiveness of the interrogation, and avoiding duplication when participating in the interrogation.

Prepare defense arguments, protect legitimate rights and interests

The argument must have the following main contents:

- Introduction : State the basis for accepting responsibility to defend the defendant, summarize the content of the indictment, emphasize the applicable provisions of the Penal Code, and the name of the crime.

For the document protecting the rights of the victim, summarize the actions that the defendant committed and the damages caused to the victim by the crime, identify the legal provisions that are the basis for handling the actions or the defendant's responsibility to compensate for damages. Especially for vulnerable groups (people with disabilities, ethnic minorities, victims of domestic violence), it is necessary to emphasize the damage that the group has to suffer.

- Evaluation of causes, context, and factors affecting the case resolution process : Evaluation of these factors allows the person performing legal aid to thoroughly and comprehensively see aspects and issues that may affect the assessment of the nature of the case, including:

+ Causes of the case (direct causes, objective and subjective causes),

+ Context and factors affecting the consideration and assessment of the nature of the case.

- Part of the assessment of evidence related to the determination of signs constituting a crime : This is the most important part of the document expressing the legal opinion of the person performing the legal aid. The structure of this part includes:

+ Closely follow the signs constituting a crime and the legal issues that must be satisfied when determining the criminal responsibility of the accused.

+ Use the methods of analysis, demonstration, comparison, contrast, interpretation, and induction to prove the groundlessness in prosecuting the defendant or in the case where the defendant pleads guilty, the mitigating circumstances that need to be taken into account when resolving the case, etc. and vice versa in the case of protecting the rights of the litigant.

+ In complicated cases, requiring comparison, based on the results of judicial appraisal (forensic, financial - accounting appraisal, etc.), the person performing legal assistance needs to have an opinion on the procedure for requesting and conducting appraisal, commenting on whether the appraisal method and conclusion are well-founded or not, and whether they have legal value or not.

- Conclusion and recommendations : The content of this section can summarize, briefly state the comments and conclusions from the content assessment section, affirm the legal grounds for proving that the defendant did not commit a crime or the circumstances and personal background of the defendant that can be used as a basis to reduce criminal responsibility. From there, propose appropriate legal recommendations such as proposing to declare the defendant not guilty, declare freedom at the trial, or apply the provisions of law to consider applying mitigating circumstances, determining circumstances applied under the penalty framework, applying the suspended sentence regime (non-custodial sentence), etc.

In cases of protecting the legitimate rights and interests of the parties, it is necessary to have conclusions and recommendations in requesting fair treatment of the defendant and requesting the defendant to compensate for damages to the victim or to fulfill civil responsibilities towards the parties they are protecting.

Litigation skills in court

- The content of the response must be new, including issues not mentioned in the defense.

- Analyze and detect contradictions in the prosecution's indictment and argument, point out unfounded and unconvincing points, thereby emphasizing the reasonableness and basis of his arguments;

- The content of the dialogue must be concise, with standard language, showing a cultured attitude and behavior, and must not have inappropriate attitudes that lead to offending the people conducting the proceedings and other participants in the proceedings.

The content of the dialogue section should include three main parts:

+ Analyze and evaluate new points that need to be noted in the re-argument of the Prosecutor, compare with the statements made in the impeachment;

+ Summarize the main arguments that the defender has stated in the defense, emphasizing important evidence to note in the response;

+ From there, analyze and clarify the details and evidence related to determining the level of violation, the scope of application of the Penal Code, mitigating circumstances of criminal responsibility and propose solutions and handling of the defendant.

2.3. Out-of-court representation skills

Legal aid officers and lawyers provide out-of-court representation for people receiving legal aid before competent state agencies  .

Some non-litigation representation skills :

- Research legal regulations and documents related to representative work.

- Analyze the representative request of the person receiving legal aid into each element with legal and reasonable basis.

- Collect relevant information and documents.

- Develop an implementation plan and agree with the beneficiary.

- Proceed to establish and perform authorized work, regularly report progress and propose new ideas (note: if there are any adjustments or additions to the authorization content, a new document must be made).

- Successfully complete the delegated work.

- The authorization must be made in writing. The appointment of a representative outside of litigation must be made in writing and sent to the person receiving legal aid.

- Actively perform work within the scope of authorization.

- Notify the third party of the time and scope of authorization;

- Perform the authorized work in the best possible way and regularly notify the authorized party. Preserve and maintain assigned documents, and keep confidential information learned from the authorized work;

- Compensation for damages if there is an error;

- Return the assets to the authorized party.