English - CEDAW Southeast Asia

CEDAW and the Law:
As earlier mentioned there are new developments that need to be taken into account
and may warrant a regular review of these provisions, such as policies now encouraging men
to participate in the care and rearing of their children, women who are non-nursing (either due
to medical reasons or not), and the percentage of women replacing breast milk with milk substitutes
at a period earlier than 36 months, a continuous review of this legislation is needed.
Recommendation: A review of the provisions of Articles 80, 81, 89, 90, 98 and 99
of the Ordinance on Administrative Violations must be initiated regularly in relation to
the period of nursing that warrants exemption, temporary suspension and postponement
of the execution of the decisions on administrative handling measures.
Indicator 11
Is there a guarantee of legal aid for cases of gender discrimination
Is there a guarantee of legal aid for women
Legal aid is guaranteed under Article 132 of the Constitution, which provides that an
organization of barristers will be set up to help the defendant and other parties in a case to
defend their rights and interests.
Article 10 of the Law on Legal Aid (No. 69/2006/QH11 of June 29, 2006) (Law on Legal
Aid) provides a list of legal aid beneficiaries. Women are not explicitly included in the list of
legal aid beneficiaries: (a) poor people; (b) people with meritorious services to the revolution;
(c) lonely elderly people, disabled people and helpless children, and (d) ethnic minority people
permanently residing in areas with exceptionally difficult socio-economic conditions. This
is supplemented by Article 2 of the Decree No. 07/2007/Nd-Cp Of January 12, 2007, Detailing
And Guiding The Implementation Of A Number Of Articles Of The Law On Legal Aid (Decree
on Legal Aid Law).
96
However, there are several legal aid offices providing services for women, such as the
five legal aid offices under the National Legal Aid Agency of the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and
a legal counselling office under the Viet Nam Women’s Union. 189 The latter was a result of a
cooperation agreement on legal information and education and legal aid for women between
MOJ and Viet Nam Women’s Union. From 2000 to 2002, ethnic minorities and women
accounted for 23.0 percent and 42.9 percent of the beneficiaries of legal assistance respectively.
190 The Law on Legal Aid and its decree do not explicitly state that legal aid is available for
cases of discrimination. In fact, they do not provide for any preferred or priority area of attention.
Article 5 of the Law on Legal Aid only states: “Legal aid cases must be related to legitimate
rights and interest of legal aid beneficiaries and must not fall into business or commercial
domains.” The Decree on Legal Aid Law provides for domains of legal aid, and has a comprehensive
listing of laws including: (a) penal and criminal laws; (b) civil laws; (c) Family and
Marriage Law; (d) Ordinance on Administrative Violations and Law on Complaints and
Denunciations; (e) Law on Land (No. 13-2003-QH11 of November 26, 2003) (Land Law); (f)
laws on labour and insurance; (g) laws on preferential treatment or social preferences; (h) laws
related to national target programs on hunger eradication, poverty alleviation or directly relat-
189
Combined Fifth and Sixth Periodic Report, p. 7
190
Ibid.
Review of key legal documents and compliance with CEDAW