ASSISTANCE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF VIETNAM’S LEGAL SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY TO 2010

APPR Annual Project Progress Report COA Country Office Administrative Cost CPIAC Central Party Internal Affairs Committee DANIDA Danish International Development Agency GACA Government A

“ASSISTANCE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF VIETNAM’S LEGAL SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT

STRATEGY TO 2010”

FINAL PROJECT REPORT

December 2009

Programme Title: VIE/02/015 “Assistance of Vietnam’s Legal System Development Strategy”

Project Award ID: 00015601

Parties to the Project Agreement: The Government of Vietnam, UNDP, SIDA, DANIDA, Norway and Ireland

Executing Agency: Ministry of Justice (MOJ)

Co-implementing Agencies: Relevant legal and judicial institutions in Viet Nam

Project Start Date: Originally Planned: September, 2003

Project Completion Date:

a Originally planned: September, 2007

b Actual: October 31, 2009

Total Allocated Budget: USD 5,278,486

Total Disbursed Amount: USD 5.108,764 USD

TABLE OF CONTENTS

BACKGROUND 7

PART A: PROJECT PERFORMANCE RELATING TO ITS PROJECT OUTCOMES AND ITS CONTRIBUTION TO THE COUNTRY PROGRAMME OUTCOMES 10

PROJECT OUTCOMES 10

10.1 Outcome One: Positive change: “Finalized Draft LSDS for approval by the competent State authorities” 10

10.2 Outcome Two: Positive change: “Co-ordinated management of the implementation of LSDS” 10

10.3 Outcome Three: Positive change: “A number of high-priority components of the Project and emerging needs implemented through the Legal System Development Facility (LSDF).” 11

Country Programme Outcomes: Positive Change 11

PROJECT OUTPUTS 12

PART B: PROJECT PERFORMANCE – IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES 16

ACTUAL ACHIEVEMENTS AND IMPACTS 16

PART C: LESSONS LEARNED 19

SUBSTANTIVE MATTERS 19

WORK PLANNING AND OPERATIONAL MATTERS 22

PROJECT MANAGEMENT 23

ANNEX A: PROJECT DOCUMENT OBJECTIVE, OUTPUTS AND ACTIVITIES 24

ANNEX B: PROJECT RESULTS AND RESOURCES FRAMEWORK FOR 2007 - 2008 26

ANNEX C: ANNUAL OUTPUT ACHIEVEMENTS 30

ANNEX D: REPORT ON IN-COUNTRY TRAINING ACTIVITIES 90

ANNEX E - CONSULTANTS 129

ANNEX E - CONSULTANTS 129

ANNEX F: LIST OF PRODUCTS AND PUBLICATIONS 179

ANNEX G: FINAL FINANCIAL REPORT 200

ANNEX H: OTHER REPORTS 201

- Inception Report (2003)

- Mid-term report (2006)

- Final evaluation report (2008)

- Reports of Legal Partnership Forum from 2004 to 2009

ANNEX I: LIST OF NON-EXPENDABLE SUPPLIES AND EQUIPMENT

APPR Annual Project Progress Report

COA Country Office Administrative Cost

CPIAC Central Party Internal Affairs Committee

DANIDA Danish International Development Agency

GACA Government Aid Co-ordinating Agencies

IAWC Inter-Agency Working Committee

ICD International Co-operation Department

LNA Legal Needs Assessment

LSDF Legal System Development Facility

LSDS Legal System Development Strategy

MPS Ministry of Public Security

NASC National Assembly Standing Committee

NPD National Project Director

NSC National Steering Committee

PISC Project Implementation Steering Committee

RTA/STA Resident Technical Advisor

Sida Swedish International Development Agency

UNDP United Nations Development Programme

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1 In 2001, the Government of Vietnam approved a proposal by the Ministry of Justice to conduct a comprehensive legal needs assessment to help develop a ten year strategy for strengthening the legal system The Government did this in order to meet its socio- economic objectives, which it recognized as directly related to the development of its legal system Realizing that this effort could only be effective with the cooperation of all significant law-related agencies, the Government established, for the first time in its history, an Inter-Agency Steering Committee (IASC) headed by the Minister of Justice The IASC, assisted by international experts from a number of different countries, assessed the status of Vietnam’s legal system from 1986 to 2001, and made recommendations to address identified weaknesses in the legal system through a comprehensive legal needs assessment (LNA)

2 The LNA, completed in 2002, was the foundation for creating long-term co-operation and partnership between various Vietnamese law-related agencies and ministries and the international donor community The LNA also provided the basis for a program of international assistance to contribute to the Legal System Development Strategy to 2010 (LSDS)

3 The original Project Document for Project VIE/02/015 “Support for Implementation of Vietnam's Legal System Development Strategy to 2010” between the Government of Vietnam and UNDP - Sweden - Denmark - Norway - Ireland, was signed in September,

2003 The Project followed on the successful Legal Needs Assessment (LNA) conducted

by the Vietnamese government with the support of the international community during 2001-2002 The three major outcome targets of the Project were:

A A finalized draft of a Legal System Development Strategy that would be issued by an authoritative source within the Vietnamese hierarchy The issuance of such a Strategy by a highly placed authority would assure that law related activities would receive high level support and attention necessary for the law to be effective;

B Enhancing the capacity of the Government and other relevant agencies, including a multi agency Steering Committee, similar to the Steering

Committee that had led the LNA its a successful result to coordinate and manage implementation of the LSDS ; and

C Implementation of a number of high priority components through a "Legal System Development Facility” that would offer a coordinated means of continued support to the LSDS.

4 The Outputs, Outcomes and Activities for the Project as described in the Project Document are set forth in Annex A.

5 Issues that faced the Project during its implementation have included:

A A change in personnel at Government, Project and UNDP levels, including the departure of the former Project Advisor in April, 2006;

B Issues of national project execution through a single ministry, which is dealing with a number of other ministries and agencies (SPC, SPP, ONA and MPS, as well as local level Departments of Justice) The substantive coordination of the Project by the PMU, located in the MOJ, was successful in engaging the first major law development effort with a broad participation by key law-related ministries and agencies Requiring the PMU to coordinate all financial aspects as well, however, resulted in both administrative complexities and a certain reduction in ownership by participating ministries and agencies (See Paragraphs 48-50 of this report).

6 An independent mid term review of the Project was conducted in June, 2006, and recommended extension of the Project and the establishing of a clear work plan for the remainder of the Project;

7 Because of the slow pace of implementation of certain Project activities, all of the stakeholders in the project had attempted in good faith to resolve any differences and make progress based on a stakeholder workshop organized in November 2006 This workshop had produced a draft resources and results framework (RRF) for 2007-08 and a draft annual work plan for 2007, along with a joint donor statement for that workshop;

8 A revised set of project outcomes and outputs was developed in 2007 and reoriented certain of the objectives of the project towards strengthening consistency of legal regulations and a greater focus on access to justice and enforcement of law The RRF also drew in more partners (SPP and SPC as part of making a link to the Judicial reform

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Strategy “JRS”) and sought to strengthen government and donor collaboration and information sharing.

9 The final Work Plan for the Project was established and agreed to by all relevant parties following the international consultancy referred to in Paragraph 7 above A copy

of the RRF and final Plan is attached as Annex B From mid-2007 to its completion, the Project completed every activity listed in the Work Plan, with the exception of two sub component activities [The National Agency for Legal Aid and the Vietnam Lawyers’ Association] that the designated agency decided to cancel, and one activity that had been rendered unnecessary because of duplicative activities supported by another project.

PART A: PROJECT PERFORMANCE RELATING TO ITS PROJECT OUTCOMES AND ITS CONTRIBUTION TO THE COUNTRY PROGRAMME OUTCOMES

10 The Project had major accomplishments with each of its three original targeted outcomes:(i) legal and judicial development strategies have been adopted at the highest policy levels; (ii) a series of high priority activities were carried out, and (iii) the Project’s PMU has been able to demonstrate the coordination of planned action by law-related agencies, and how the international community can assist this action.

10.1 Outcome One: Positive change: “Finalized Draft LSDS for approval by the competent State authorities ”

While the issuance of the LSDS was delayed until 2005, the Project very effectively assisted the development of that strategy, which emerged as Politburo Resolutions No 48-NQ/TW (Legal System Development Strategy) and 49 (Judicial Reform Strategy) Elements of the LSDS are also to be found in the general action plan issued by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly as Directive 900 in 2006 These three documents contain much of the substance of the ideas and activities suggested in the original LNA report, and are evidence of the support of Vietnam’s highest authorities to legal/judicial reform.

Therefore, Outcome One was achieved in full

10.2 Outcome Two: Positive change: “Co-ordinated management of the implementation of LSDS”

In 2005, the Project established the Legal Sector Development Facility (LSDF), a funding mechanism under the Project for “emerging needs” in the field of legal reform Since its establishment, the Project has implemented activities by 22 sub-components, i.e small- scale projects financed under the LSDF1 This has required the Project’s PMU to engage

1Subcomponents included:

1 Party Central Internal Affairs Committee (Legal Department); 2 Ministry of Pubic Security (LegalDepartment); 3 Government Inspectorate; 4 Ministry of Foreign Affairs; 5 Vietnamese Lawyers’Association; 6 Supreme People’s Procuracy; 7 Supreme People’s Court; 8 Legal Aid Agency - MOJ; 9

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both substantively and as a matter of administration and financial supervision/management, a number of law-related agencies and ministries, e.g Internal Affairs of the Central Committee of the Party, Ministry of Public Security, Vietnam Lawyers' Association, Office of the National Assembly, Government Inspectorate, Supreme Peoples Procuracy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and local departments of justice During the course of the Project, the PMU was in frequent contact with staff of all of these agencies, and was able at least to some degree to encourage a coordinated approach

to the LSDS.

Outcome Two was achieved, but the placing of financial management on the PMU may have reduced the ownership of activity results by certain of the Project subcomponents (See Paragraphs 47-49 of this report).

10.3 Outcome Three: Positive change: “A number of high-priority components of the Project and emerging needs implemented through the Legal System Development Facility (LSDF).”

The Project completed over one hundred separate activities by its 22 subcomponents See Paragraph 12 These activities dealt directly with important aspects of Vietnam’s legal and judicial development strategies, and did so with a broader cross section of law-related agencies and ministries than had ever been attempted.

Outcome Three was achieved

Country Programme Outcomes: Positive Change

11 A key Programme Outcome set forth in the UNDP Country Programme for Viet Nam (2006-2010) is: "A system of governance based on the key principles of accountability, transparency, participation, equity, and consistent with the rule of law and democracy” Specifically, the Results and Resources Framework of the Country Programme Action Plan 2006-2010 (CPAP) identifies "Formulation and effective implementation of comprehensive strategies to support the reforms of legal/judicial systems, including the ongoing programme to support the implementation of the “Legal System Development

Legal Normative Documents post-checking Agency – MOJ; 10 Dep’t of Administrative and CriminalLaws – MOJ; 11 Legal Dissemination and Education Dep’t – MOJ; 12 Civil and Economic Dep’t – MOJ;

13 Personnel Dep’t – MOJ; 14 Institute of Law Research – MOJ; 15 Department of Quasi-JudicialAffairs (DQJ) – MOJ: 16 Department of International Cooperation 17 Department of Justice of Hai PhongCity; 18 Department of Justice of Quang Binh Province; 19 Department of Justice of Khanh HoaProvince; 20 Department of Justice of Da Nang City; 21 Department of Justice of Tien Giang Province;

Strategy” (LSDS) and the Judicial Reform Strategy (JRS)" as key outputs of UNDP's and relevant donors' assistance In order to achieve those outputs, the Project focused on the following key groups of actions:

 Strengthening planning, steering and overall management of the LSDS and the JRS, including: (a) enhancing policy dialogue on legal and judicial reforms; (b) improving horizontal coordination; (c) facilitating resource planning; (d) developing strategic management systems; and, (e) institutionalizing tools for learning from and replication of best practices.

 Implementing key components of the LSDS and JRS, including use of the Legal System Development Facility (LSDF), to (a) strengthen legal drafting, research, review and appraisal capacities, with priority being given to legislation on the organization and operation of institutions within the national political system, legislation on rights of citizens to freedom and democracy, legislation on civil, economic and commercial activity, and legislation on international integration; (b) advancing criminal justice and judicial procedures reform; and (c) enhancing law implementation and enforcement capacities.

 Strengthening capacities for promoting the rule of law and access to justice at local levels by: (a) strengthening alternative dispute resolution mechanisms at local levels; (b) enhancing legal education and dissemination; (c) promoting alternative mechanisms for legal aid; and, (d) improving law enforcement capacities.

 Strengthening central and local capacities to implement international human rights treaties ratified by Viet Nam by: (a) raising general awareness on ratified human rights treaties and the associated reporting obligations; (b) assessing the status of implementation of ratified human rights treaties into national legislation; and (c) addressing capacity development needs related to reporting obligations to treaty bodies

decrees implementing that law; its support to discussions on expanding the participation

of civil society in the law-making process; its role in assuring more effective use of regulatory impact assessments in the law making process; and its support to research for revising the criminal procedure code and laws affecting criminal prosecution.

13 Among the priority activities completed by the Project were several discussed in the

2007 Project Results and Resources Framework and Work Plan (See Annex B), which were divided into three components:

 Strengthening access to justice by improving the quality, consistency and coherence of formal legal documents;

 Enhancing the policy framework and capacity for access to justice and protection

of rights through strengthened legal implementation and enforcement; and

 Strengthening domestic and international communication and policy dialogue on legal and judicial reform, access to justice, and protection of rights.

Strengthening Access to Justice by Improving the Quality, Consistency and Coherence of Legal Documents

14 The project played a significant role in strengthening formal legal documents, by: (1) Providing tools for legal drafters that help with consistency and coherence; (2) Initiating new work on regulatory impact assessment of legal documents; (3) Seeking ways to improve public participation in the lawmaking process; (4) Providing training in law drafting for local and central officials; and (5) Participating in drafting of key laws and other legal documents that directly related to access to justice and protection of rights.

15 The first area, providing tools for legal drafters the help provide consistency and coherence in the law drafting process, included a drafting handbook, a manual and

toolkit on review of legal documents for conflicts and consistency, and drafting guidelines on the supporting documents that must accompany drafts of new laws (such as implementing regulations and decrees)

16 The second area, initiating new work on regulatory impact assessment of legal documents, arose out of concerns expressed by the Government, Ministry and other

actors – that the emergence of new legal documents causes ripple effects in the regulatory

this area the project researched and drafted a procedure and manual for measuring the regulatory impact of draft legal documents, so that the Government and relevant ministries could then adapt the drafts or manage the regulatory impact This involved comparative research by national and international consultants, and a workshop on comparative regulatory impact assessment which contributed to the procedure and manual drafting process.

17 The third area, seeking ways to improve public participation in the lawmaking process, was recognized as especially important and the Project supported international

consultants to assist in providing information on participatory methods overseas, case studies were drafted (including one on the Law on Associations), and workshops held, all to further the broader participation of society in the law-drafting process

18 The fourth area, providing training in law drafting for local and central officials, was

a core priority of Resolution 48, and the Project supported both training infrastructure (i.e materials and modules) and local training for more than 1000 officials in Hai Phong, Quang Binh, Da Nang, Khanh Hoa, Lam Dong and Tien Giang

19 The fifth area, participating in drafting of key laws and other legal documents that directly related to access to justice and protection of rights, included (1) working to

provide recommendations to the Government on amending and supplementing existing legal documents or adopting new documents to comply with Vietnam’s existing and new obligations under human rights treaties, and (2) working to redraft, utilizing foreign expertise, key laws relating to access to justice that included the laws on administrative offenses, state compensation for harms done to citizens, organization of the procuracy, and the criminal procedure code

Enhancing the Policy Framework and Capacity for Access to Justice and Protection

of Rights through Strengthened Legal Implementation and Enforcement

20 Another group of Project activities supporting a key priority for Vietnam were those that emphasized implementation and enforcement of law This priority area included four important elements: (1) revising and modernizing criminal law and procedure; (2) strengthening the capacity of legal consultants in associations, mass organizations and other groups to help citizens to protect their rights; (3) strengthening the capacity of local justice officials, conciliators and the policy to respond to citizen claim and strengthen access to justice; and (4) strengthening legal dissemination and information systems.

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21 The first area, revising and modernizing criminal law and procedure, enabled the

Government, Ministry, and Supreme People’s Procuracy to study, survey and propose changes to current criminal law and procedure as expressed through the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code.2

22 The second area, strengthening the capacity of legal consultants in associations, mass organizations and other groups to help citizens to protect their rights In this work

the Ministry trained legal consultants both from existing legal consultancy offices in associations and mass organizations Along with support beyond this project for legal aid, support to these legal consultancy services and their strengthening and improvement was a key area for work on access to justice and rights protection in Vietnam

23 The third area, strengthening the capacity of local justice officials, conciliators and the police to respond to citizen claim and strengthen access to justice, continued the

training activities for local justice officials, conciliators, and police officers in legal implementation and enforcement Also, the Project supported development for drafting training materials and professional manuals for conciliators, legal consultancy, officials at political system at grassroots level, and officials in the police force, and supported their use in more than 10 training courses in several provinces

24 The fourth area, strengthening legal dissemination and information systems, was an

effort to strengthen the capacity of legal consultants in associations and similar groups to help citizens protect their rights In addition to training, important research work was also done by a comprehensive national legal information study as well as a worldwide study

of comparative methods

Strengthening Domestic and International Communication and Policy Dialogue on Legal and Judicial reform, Access to Justice, and Protection of Rights

25 Communication and policy dialogue through the Project played a crucial role not only

in the legal and judicial reform process itself but also in bringing Vietnam and the donors together in understanding and support The Project completed several activities in this area: (1) translating and posting on the web many documents relating to legal reform; (2) conducting policy research on strategic issues in legal and judicial reform; (3) organizing

2 Activities with the Supreme People’s Court were also originally planned, but cancelled at the request of the Court because of conflicting schedules and the availability of resources of other international

the regular government-donor policy dialogues on legal and judicial reform; and (4) organizing annual donor coordination meetings on legal and judicial reform

ISSUES

Actual achievements and impacts

26 Project VIE/02/015 was effective because it covered a broad range of legal actors that helped lead to the LSDS being issued at the highest level of authority.

The Project is one of the few, if not the only, Project that undertook the difficult job of coordinating activities by every significant agency in the legal/judicial field as well as several local level law agencies This rich mixture of partners assisted the Project in breaking free from the tendency to treat law as a formal science instead of a functional service In addition to the MOJ, ONA, SPC and SPP, the Project added the Ministry of Public Security as a subcomponent For the first time, the Police, which in many cases represent the only aspect of the legal system that the ordinary citizen encounters, cooperated with other law-related agencies and began at least to some degree to regard itself as part of an integrated legal system instead of as a totally separate and autonomous actor

27 The significance of this multi-agency, integrated approach to legal/judicial development should be clearly understood and, ideally, treated as a foundation for future work that will more clearly establish the appropriate relationship of Police and Prosecutor and the Courts However, the Project’s management design, especially with respect to financial management, would require change to increase effectiveness (See Paragraphs 47-49).

28 The Project was an essential link from the Legal Needs Assessment to both Resolutions 48 and 49.

Resolutions 48 and 49 should be read together, as expressing a unified strategy of legal and judicial reform The Project’s support, which had its origins in the LNA, has contributed to several elements of both resolutions, and presents an opening to cooperation with the international community and many law-related ministries and agencies The Project’s support to “access to justice” is especially relevant to the strategy

of the two resolutions as follows:

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A Under the heading “Directions” in Resolution 48, an opening is provided to address the “bottom up” or “demand driven” approach to law development (See Paragraph 35):

“To develop and improve the law on judicial support (e.g., lawyers, the public notary, judicial expertise, judicial police, and such like) so as to meet, incrementally and without disruption, the diverse legal assistance needs of the people and businesses”

B Resolution 49 also stresses the need to develop an adversarial system, mentioning this concept at three separate places:

1 Under the heading “Tasks of Judicial Reform”

“Renovating the method for conducting trials in the courtroom by defining more clearly the status, powers, and responsibilities of litigators and other parties involved in litigation

so as to ensure transparency, democracy, and discipline; improving the quality of adversarial litigation in all trials and hearings, which might be seen as a breakthrough

in judicial activity.”

2 Under the heading “Improving judicial support institutions”

“Training and developing a corps of lawyers with good political and ethical qualities and high professional competence Improving the mechanism for enabling lawyers to perform effective adversarial litigation during trials and hearings, while clearly defining lawyers' responsibilities.”

3 Under “Implementation”

“ Improvement of the quality of performance of judicial organs and the quality of

adversarial litigation in all courts This should be regarded as a breakthrough in judicial

operations….”

29 The Project assisted the SPP in its workshop on the potential reorganization of the Procuracy, and the topic of the adversary system was hotly debated at this workshop Certain participants went as far as saying that Resolution 49 was “mistaken”, which position shows a potential (and need) for further action on this subject as a means of implementing both Resolution 48 and 49.

30 The strongest and weakest features of the Project.

The strongest features of the Project have been (i) its serving as support and background for certain of the most important concepts contained in Resolutions 48, 49 and Directive

900 and (ii) its support to a number of high priority activities at the central and grass roots levels; its weakest has been the inability to secure the government’s creation of a coordinated and detailed action plan for legal/judicial reform that could be easily understood and accessed by the international community in order to proceed with reform efforts This was at least partially addressed by the Project during its “Mapping” activity that was the subject of the Project’s final Legal Partnership Forum in October, 2008

31 The significance of Directive 900’s instruction to the various agencies to develop separate plans.

The lack of a detailed government action plan, referred to in Paragraph 30 above, may, in fact, not represent a weakness at all Directive 900 instructs all relevant agencies to prepare their own separate plans on how to achieve the goals of the strategy set forth in Resolutions 48, 49 and Directive 900 (presumably all of the law-related agencies such as the SPC, SPP, ONA and the MPS are included and are therefore required to have their own reform plans) Accordingly, as these plans are made accessible to the international community, any interested member of that community would be able to proceed with reform projects with the assurance that it has the attention of the highest Vietnamese authorities, as well as being an activity that is considered integral to the agenda of the individual agency concerned This will only be the case, however, if detailed individual agency plans, in addition to the donor activities in the Mapping activity, are made publicly available.

32 The value of the local subcomponents.

The Project worked with several local level subcomponents, including the Departments

of Justice in Hai Phong, Quang Binh, Da Nang, Khanh Hoa, Tien Giang and Lam Dong The activities of these subcomponents may be considered to be very close to being “user” related That is, the activities encouraged direct use of the law by citizens Examples of local department activities in Khanh Hoa Province are: review of local administrative regulations and LNDs, 14 training courses conducted for mediators and legal representatives of organizations in newer laws, such as Family Law, Civil Code, Land Law, and the Penal Code

33 Positive effects of local subcomponent activities.

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Among the positive effects of Project activities reported by the Department of Justice in Khanh Hoa are the following:

 In 2005, 22 administrative LNDs were found to be inconsistent with other laws and regulations; in 2006, there were only 8 In 2005 only 23 LNDs were sent to the Department for their review, but in 2006, 120 were sent in.

 Success for conciliation at the grass roots level has increased: After training in the new Civil Code, in 2006, 90% of the conflicts were successfully resolved; in

2007, the rate was 95% and that rate is continuing

 Outreach TV and radio programs were effective in explaining citizens rights under the law

These activities are especially important because they are evidence of actual use of the

legal system (See Paragraph 35 of this report).

34 Potential for increased involved of private lawyers with local subcomponent activities.

The Da Nang Department of Justice has conducted training for local officials, but has also at least invited private lawyers to attend, to improve access to justice.( Inclusion of more opportunities for private lawyers in future projects would be positive.)

PART C: LESSONS LEARNED

Substantive Matters

35 Moving from future project activities that focus on the “Supply” of law and legal institutions to those that focus on “Demand” and greater use of the legal system by ordinary citizens would increase the effectiveness of law development efforts.

From 1992 to date, most legal/judicial sector projects assisted by the international community have focused on assisting the law-oriented state agencies to increase the quality of the “supply” of law That is, improvements were desired in the quality of legal normative documents, the capacity of legal institutions, and the availability of LNDs Another major focus was to encourage wider recognition of the importance of law by the highest authorities This focus has produced significant gains, and projects that continue

to assist the suppliers of law continue to be necessary and desirable However, the experience of the Project shows that there now may be a greater need to focus more on

the demand for law, on encouraging broader use of the law by citizens This new focus

can not play a role in monitoring and evaluating progress in the legal/judicial sectors, but

it will also assure that progress can continue to the next level Law is functional, and is a tool for a society to maintain stability, achieve economic progress and social, environmental, health and other goals But it is only capable of serving as such a tool to the extent it is in frequent use The relative low number of private lawyers, and the common lack of representation of citizens in civil or criminal trials, may be an indication that including a few activities that focus on the use of the legal/judicial system in future projects would prove to be an effective law development method Legal/judicial development projects in the future should encourage greater “use” of the legal/judicial system, and projects should move from a focus on the “supply” of law to “demand” for law by the citizens (who are the users of law.) Such a shift is fully consistent with the concepts of Outcome Four of the “One Plan”, and can build on the achievements of Project VIE/02/015 and other UNDP projects as well as those of other donors.

36 Future projects should move toward a “bottom up” or “grass roots” approach by supporting the following principle:

“The People can help the State implement the laws”

37 The meaning of this principle is that the State has adopted a legal framework, and has, with the assistance of several efforts such as the Project, strengthened the capacity of its law-related agencies during the past two decades Now, the State might reasonably turn to the citizens and encourage and assist them to implement the laws by providing them with practical assistance to use those laws:

Example: If the land law provides for a certain method of acquiring land use rights, and

a citizen complies with this provision, if the citizen is able to use the land law to explain

in a court of law why he, and not some other private citizen or official, has a valid land use right, then one can see that the land law is implemented.

Example: If the family law provides a married woman with certain rights to property upon divorce, to encourage her to go to a court of law or a conciliation service to enforce the provision of the law is to implement the family law

38 If future projects were designed to help the State provide support to legal representatives to advocate and assist the persons to go before the courts, such support could be understood as a “bottom up” or “grass roots” approach to implementing laws.

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39 At present, workshops and research supported by the Project indicate that the existing system of legal aid, even including that of the MOJ, does not go all the way to law implementation, because the persons or offices that provide legal aid do not go to the court as advocates, but simply tell the citizen about his or her rights and refer them to private lawyers, and there are an insufficient number of private lawyers able or willing to help implement the laws on this bottom up basis The experience of the Project has shown that it is important to address this lack of meaningful legal representation in courts

of law.

40 Moving to a “bottom up” approach, including greater direct representation of citizens

in courts, would be consistent with the references to the “adversarial” system, expressly supported in the Resolutions and Directives (See Paragraph 28) It would, however, require very strong support by the relevant agencies to be effective.

41 While there is continuing need for support to capacity building at the institutional

level, assuring that a component of each new project addresses the “bottom up” approach might be an effective way to implement the Resolutions and Directives.

42 There are several Project activities that come the closest to the “bottom up” approach, and may offer guidance for expansion in the future Such activities include the work of the local Departments of Justice with legal consultants, work with conciliation process, and the legal information (Concetti) survey, insofar as it is an effort to determine grass roots use of legal information.

43 With respect to commercial/economic law, there is not as great a need to focus on

“bottom up” assistance, because large, well-financed international and domestic economic actors are already in the process of using the new laws and institutions to carry

on their businesses In this case, retaining a focus on the “top down” approach continues

to make good sense.

44 A more participatory approach in 2007 and 2008 work planning would have been useful to better respond to actual needs in the legal life of the country A Report on Regulatory Impact Assessment for the Law on Promulgation of LNDs, for example, is a valuable product contributing to new and modern techniques in the law making process, which was submitted to, and highly appreciated by, Members of the National Assembly

in 2008

Work Planning and Operational matters

45 Design of multi-donor and multi-beneficiary programs/projects should be revisited.

All parties may have different interests toward “access to justice” and protection of rights but a consensus must be reached in project planning and operation

46 The current intervention should be carried out by a program, rather than project,

approach which may require a change in the project management guide Increasing procedural requirements cannot go together with timely and effective disbursements of funds Decentralization of project management should be considered for a multi- beneficiary project such as Project VIE/ 02/015.

47 Any such future project should move away from the very logistically difficult

"multi-agency" single project to a series of separately executed, but integrated, projects with several opportunities for sharing resources for common activities The Project (VIE/02/015) has had the very difficult task of pushing forward the strategies at the highest levels, and at the same time carrying out a series of activities that are consistent with the priorities of those strategies This has been logistically and bureaucratically difficult because the PMU, based at the MOJ, was required to work with a number of groups over which it has no real control It has, however, produced some successes and has demonstrated how moving forward with a multi-agency approach can work In effect, the Project moved away from the formalistic approach of many law development projects and dealt with law development in a manner that was conceptually similar to the "4 Pillar" or integrated approach that was suggested in the Legal Needs Assessment.

48 Rather than having a PMU responsible for managing the allocation of resources to

other agencies, however, each law-related agency in future legal cooperation efforts could be made responsible and accountable for carrying out its own activities, which may increase the “ownership” of project activities by these agencies The notion of

“integrating” the projects and assuring the best use of resources could be accomplished

by requirements that certain training, study missions and workshops be carried out with participation by all the related agencies

49 The managerial or administrative difficulties of implementing a Project with multiple

agencies or actors should not be underestimated When a single agency (MOJ, in the case

of the Project) is the sole executing agency, with other agencies playing subcomponent roles, this may reduce the “ownership” in the overall success in the Project, and may also tend to collect resources within the sole executing agency, and overload the ability of a

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PMU to coordinate subcomponents over which it has no line authority One alternative for future projects is to assign single, separate projects to individual agencies, such as a separate project for the MOJ, another separate project for the SPP, etc In addition to these separate projects, a “coordinating unit” of some kind, ideally based in a state agency recognized as superior in rank to all the other agencies, could then be provided with sufficient resources both to coordinate and monitor the other separate projects and to fund and administer what could be understood by all to be common or shared activities.

Project Management

50 The PMU has achieved considerable project management skills and experience in cooperation with donors Similarly, considerable experience has been gained in collaboration between the various government institutions represented in the sub- components

ANNEX A: Project Document Objective, Outputs and

Activities

I Immediate Objective, Outputs and Activities

Outcome 1: Finalized Draft LSDS for approval by the competent State authorities;

Immediate Objective:

Improved and finalised Draft LSDS for approval by the competent State authorities and its immediate implementation

Success Criteria:

 A well-structured and feasible LSDS approved ACHIEVED!!!

Output 1.1: The Draft LSDS approved by the competent State authorities;YES

Outcome 2: Co-ordinated management of the implementation of LSDS

Output 2.1: Enhanced capacity of the LSDS Secretariat YES

Output 2.2: Establishment of a Management Information System, incorporating a

database for co-ordination activities.YES

Output 2.3: Sustained co-ordination among the Government, State Agencies and

donors YES

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Outcome 3: A number of high-priority components of the Project and emerging

needs implemented through the Legal System Development Facility (LSDF)

Immediate Objective:

Enhanced capacity of the management structure through the implementation of a number

of high-priority components and identification of emerging needs

Success Criteria:

 Effective establishment of the LSDS Support Facility MAYBE??

 Effective implementation of a number of short-term priority components, identified

by Ministry of Justice (MOJ), Ministry of Public Security (MPS), Central Party Internal Affairs Committee (CPIAC), and other emerging high priority proposals.

Output 3.1: A co-ordinated multi-donor support facility (the LSDF) established to

facilitate mobilisation of resources to support the implementation of the LSDS MAYBE

Output 3.2: Implementation of a number of short-term priority proposals,

identified by the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Public Security and the Central Party Internal Affairs Committee.???

Output 3.3: Identification, funding and implementation of other emerging

high-priority needs.YES

Annex B: PROJECT RESULTS AND RESOURCES FRAMEWORK FOR 2007 - 2008

Component 1: Improving the consistency and coherence of the legal system and the legislative process

 Specific guidelines on the use of impact assessments and other research required in support of draft LNDs

 Specific guidelines on how to promote stakeholder participation

in the law drafting process

 Specific recommendations on how

to bring major LNDs in line with ratified international human rights treaties

1 Prepare of a handbook on drafting and scrutinizing LNDs (new activity)

2 Finalise a manual/toolkit on post-checking of LNDs (ongoing activity)

3 Develop a manual on regulatory impact assessment of the draft LNDs (new activity)

4 Prepare guidelines on other supporting documents (including international comparative research) required for the submission of draft LNDs (new activity)

5 Undertake a study to recommend ways of involving professional associations, mass organizations and the general public in the law drafting process (new activity)

6 Review key LNDs to ensure their consistency with select international treaties on human rights, such as the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (new activity)

7 Prepare recommendations to the Government on amendment, supplementation and/or newly adoption of LNDs to meet the requirements of international human rights treaties (new activity)

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Key outputs Indicators Indicative Activities

the legal system

 Recommendations provided on how

to enhance the role of the National Assembly and its committees in securing consistency between LNDs

8 Conduct a study on the roles of the National Assembly and its committees in securing the consistency of legal system (new activity)

- Code on handling administrative Offences;

- Law on State Compensation;

- Revision of Code of Criminal Procedures;

- Amendment to the Law on the Organization and Functioning of the Procuracy;

- Amendment to the Law on the Organization and Functioning of the Courts;

- Amendment to the Law on the Organization and Functioning of the Investigation Agencies

Key outputs Indicators Indicative Activities

Component 2: Enhancing the policy framework and capacity for law implementation and enforcement

12 Study and survey on current criminal policy and procedures (ongoing activity)

district court judges, conciliators,

legal consultants of socio-political and socio-professional

organisations, political officials, and the police (on handling administrative violations) –assessed through post-training evaluations

13 Pilot training of select groups of local justice service providers based on the results of the capacity needs assessments and training materials produced by the project (ongoing activity)

 Strengthened capacity of select groups of legal disseminators and reporters at the local level – assessed through post training evaluations

14 Conduct baseline survey on existing modalities for legal dissemination

15 Undertake international comparative study on legal dissemination and information strategies

16 Develop and test new modalities of legal dissemination and information

17 Conduct pilot training for select groups of legal disseminators and reporters at the local level

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Key outputs Indicators Indicative Activities

Component 3: Strengthening communication and policy dialogue and legal and judicial reform

to various policy dialogue for a – assessed through

workshop/conference evaluations

18 Conduct policy research on overall issues related to legal and judicial reforms (subject matter agreed during annual work planning process)

19 Organise bi-annual government-donor policy dialogues allowing for interactive experience sharing

20 Organise thematic policy seminars related to subject matters of policy research

21 Organise annual donor coordination meetings

Annex C: Annual output achievements

1 2005: List of 2005 activities directed to Project Outcomes (From APR for 2005):

OUTCOME 1: Improved and finalised draft LSDS for approval by the competent

authorities and its immediate implementation.

As stated, the LSDS was adopted by the Politburo in May 2005 However, prior

to final approval, the Politburo required a number of revisions to the text which,

in turn, required the assistance of the Project, various meetings and workshops involving senior legal experts, Members of the National Assembly and its Standing Committee, and many central commissions, including the Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, in order to perfect the draft LSDS

OUTCOME 2: Strengthened capacity of the LSDS Management Mechanism to manage, co-ordinate, and oversee implementation of the LSDS.

A Enhanced capacity of the LSDS Secretariat

The LSDS Secretariat has not been established and all related activities - such as provision of training and advice to the LSDS Secretariat and establishment of a monitoring and evaluation mechanism for LSDS implementation – have been delayed as a result These activities were moved to the 2006 Work Plan, in the expectation that the LSDS Management Mechanism would be established in 2006.

B Establishment of a management information system, incorporating a database for co-operation activities

Since the LSDS was approved only in mid-2005, a database for internal and external use in the co-ordination of activities by the LSDS Management Mechanism could not be established Instead, a comprehensive matrix of ongoing projects in the legal and judicial areas was prepared based on inputs from various donors and Vietnamese agencies

C Sustained co-ordination among the Government, State Agencies, and donors

A mechanism to maintain regular consultation between Project implementing agencies, government agencies, and donors was set up through a number of meetings:

1) A Bi-annual Conference and Legal Partnership Forum, with the participation

of approximately one hundred representatives from state agencies, political associations and organisations, as well as representatives of the international community in Vietnam, was organised in Danang on 10 and 11 October 2005 At the Conference, a great deal of information on new or

socio-28

topical legal issues - such as the LSDS, Judicial Reform Strategy, legislative activities of the National Assembly, aspects of Vietnamese criminal and civil law promoting democratic rights and ensuring justice for citizens, laws and poverty reduction at the local level, and mechanisms to improve coordination and legal co-operation - was exchanged and discussed

2) Regular meetings between the PMU and representatives of Project donors, and between the PMU and project sub-components, were conducted from the Second Quarter on At these meetings, information on Project implementation, pending issues, difficulties, and solutions were discussed Recommendations were also made to accelerate Project performance and to ensure the quality of Project activities.

3) A Newsletter on Project activities, “LSDS News”, was produced and distributed to all key legal agencies in Vietnam and international donors

D Preparatory works were carried out to lay the foundation for the co-ordination

of implementation of the LSDS when it is approved “An Assessment on the current situation of international legal co-operation and recommendations for possible amendment of Governmental Decree 103/ND-CP on the Management of Legal Co-operation and Circular No 10/1999/TT-BTP providing details for the implementation of Decree 103” was made The draft report was shared with relevant Vietnamese agencies and donors at a two-day workshop in Quang Ninh

in July 2005 and the Final Report was published and shared with donors and Vietnamese agencies at all levels at the Bi-annual Conference and Legal Partnership Forum conducted in Danang on 10 and 11 October 2005

E Rules for Project Co-ordination and Operational Procedures were drafted, shared with Project sub-components and relevant donors for comments These Rules set out the specific responsibilities and duties of members of the Project Board of Directors, PMU staff members, Project implementing agencies, and international consultants/experts In addition, these Rules regulate relationships and the co-ordination mechanism between members of the PMU, international consultants, and implementing agencies, and define the procedures for co- ordination and co-operation among relevant Vietnamese agencies, as well as between the PMU and relevant donors

F Project Management and NEX Training Courses were conducted in June in Cua Lo, Nghe An province by the Project and attracted the participation of approximately 70 members of Project components and other legal agencies at the central and provincial levels

G A two-week study tour for officials from key legal and ODA management agencies, as well as staff of the Project, headed by Vice-Minister of Justice Mr Hoang The Lien, to Indonesia and the Philippines was organised from 19 to 28 July 2005

The aim of this tour was to gain (1) an understanding of alternative systems for the reception, co-ordination, and use of ODA and other international assistance in legal system development, (2) specific knowledge by the participants of those procedures and processes in the countries visited that might be adapted to the Vietnamese context and disseminated to policy-makers and colleagues, so as to improve the overall efficiency and quality of international legal co-operation in Vietnam and strengthen the role of both central and local institutions in promoting the rule of law, and (3) specific knowledge of how the countries visited have overcome or avoided the problems or deficiencies experienced in the Vietnamese process

H Short-term consultants were recruited during 2005 to assist the Project to identify emerging high-priority needs, prepare TORs and work plans, and assist project components in carrying out other activities.:

a A national consultant was recruited on a short-term basis to assist the departments of Justice of Haiphong, Tien Giang, and Khanh Hoa to identify, select, and elaborate emerging high-priority needs for funding by the Project

b The services of two part-time national consultants were retained in 2005 They worked directly in the components’ offices to assist in the preparation of TORs, work plans, and general organisation of component activities

c An international consultant for the Legal System Development Facility (LSDF) was recruited in 2004 In June 2005, the consultant was officially appointed as RTA/STA

I TOR for the establishment of a LSDS web-site were finalised and, owing to the delay in adoption of the LSDS and establishment of the LSDS Secretariat, hiring consultants was deferred until 2006

OUTCOME 3: Enhanced capacity of the management structure through the implementation of a number of high-priority components and identification of emerging needs.

Activities carried out during the reporting period are as follows:

Drafting of Rules for the Legal System Development Facility (LSDF)

The Rules constitute a regulatory document and focus on the objectives,

principles of use, and management of, and conditions of access to, the LSDF In

addition, the document provides for: the powers and responsibilities of agencies making decisions on proposals to be funded by the LSDF; the responsibilities of agencies executing proposals funded by the LSDF; the requirements of proposals

or emerging needs to be funded by the Facility; the implementation of proposals

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or needs funded by the LSDF; and an advanced format for requesting the support

of the LSDF The Rules were adopted in May 2005 by a Decision of the Prime Minister (No 153/2005/QD-TTg dated 21 May 2005) and serve as a basis for drafting and approving LSDF technical regulations

Component 1: Strengthening the legislative drafting process

A The Law on Promulgation of LNDs to be implemented at all levels This activity

was carried out by the Criminal and Administrative Legislation Department of the Ministry of Justice.

1) Support for the preparation of the LNDs needed to implement the Law on

Promulgation of LNDs issued by Central Authorities (as amended 2002) and support for drafting the Law on the Promulgation of LNDs issued by People’s Councils and People’s Committees was provided through a series of

workshops: (1) A two-day workshop to discuss the draft decree to replace

Decree No 101/1997/CP on giving guidance to implement the Law on the Promulgation of Legal Normative Documents (14-15 January 2005); (2) Three

small-scale workshops on drafting Prime Ministerial Directives on the evaluation of LNDs and organisation and operation of drafting committees (1-

3 March, 10-11 March, and 1 April 2005); and (3) A three-day workshop on

drafting the Decree on giving guidance to implement the Law on the Promulgation of LNDs by People’s Councils and People’s Committees (28-30

April 2005)

2) A commentary book on the Law on the Promulgation of LNDs (adopted in

1996 and amended in 2002) was prepared by eight independent consultants, and ten legal experts from Ministry of Justice and other legal agencies

working on a pro bono basis, was published and widely distributed to relevant

legal officials in 2005

3) Support was provided for the compilation and development of a draft Manual

providing guidance on the implementation of the Law on the Promulgation of LNDs by People’s Councils and People’s Committees by eight national

consultants

4) Four training courses to give interpretations and explanations of Law on the

Promulgation of LNDs by local People's Councils and People's Committees

were conducted for almost 600 legal staff of people's committees, people's councils, and agencies at local levels The first training course was held on 14-

15 April 2005 in Ho Chi Minh City with the participation of approximately

150 local legal officials from 32 southern provinces The second training course was conducted on 30-31 May 2005 in Tuyen Quang and Thai Nguyen with the participation of more than a hundred legal staff from the district and commune levels The third training course, with a similar number of participants, this time from Lam Dong and Ninh Thuan provinces, was held in

Dalat (Lam Dong Province) 6-7 June 2005 The fourth and final training course was conducted on 16-18 November 2005 in Ha Tay Province with participation of approximately 200 legal staff and officials from people's committees, people's councils, and legal bureaux of various provincial agencies of six Project pilot provinces; that is, Haiphong, Danang, Khanh Hoa, Lam Dong, Quang Binh and Tien Giang

B Implementation of the Directive on Post-Adoption LND Review

1) A workshop to comment on the draft of the Prime Minister’s Directive on strengthening post-adoption review and handling of LNDs and the draft Regulations on self-post-adoption review of LNDs promulgated by the MOJ was organised in Hanoi from 7-8 June 2005

2) A comprehensive Assessment of the current situation of post-adoption LND review was conducted by two independent national consultants commencing in July 2004 and finalised in March 2005 The consultants received questionnaires from representatives of 42 provinces and cities Based on the results of the survey, the Assessment was drafted in order to develop a plan for the improvement of the organisation, structures, and personnel of the new mechanism for post-adoption LND review

C Drafting of a number of key laws

1) A one-day conference on “reviewing the practice on the conclusion and implementation of international agreements of central state agencies, provincial- level authorities, and organisations in Vietnam" was held in Hanoi on 12 December 2005 with about 150 Vietnamese participants and Hanoi-based international legal experts The main objective of the conference was: (1) To review outstanding issues and shortcomings in the regulations and practice in Vietnam with a view to improve the regulations on the conclusion and implementation of international agreements; and (2) To discuss possible improvement of the regulations on the conclusion and implementation of international agreements, particularly the initial draft of the Ordinance on the conclusion and implementation of international agreements

2) A one-day training course on implementation of the Law on the Conclusion, Accession, and Implementation of Treaties was held in Hanoi on 13 December

2005 with approximately 160 participants

3) A workshop to comment on the third draft of the Code on Judgement Enforcement was conducted from 21 to 23 June 2005 in Hanoi with more than 70 participants; including, members of the Code Drafting Team, as well as Representatives of the Law Committee of the National Assembly, the Legal Department of the Office of the National Assembly, the Office of the State President, the Office of the Government, and the Agency for Civil Judgement Enforcement Representative from enterprises, banks, execution offices, judgement execution agencies, and judicial cadres were also invited to the

32

workshop to give comments on controversial issues regarding the third draft of the Code

4) Two two-day conferences were organised in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in September 2005 to (1) assess the implementation of the LNDs on Complaint and

Denunciations, (2) identify the weak points in the Law on Complaints and Denunciations, and (3) propose provisions for a comprehensive revision of the Law on Complaints and Denunciations in order to enhance its efficiency and

effectiveness in dealing with people's complaints and denunciations More than

200 participants attended the conference in Hanoi and 150 participants attended the conference in Ho Chi Minh City Participants included inspectors and officials working in state inspectorates at all levels throughout the country

Component 2: Improving access to Justice

A Finalisation of a Comprehensive Assessment of Legal Aid in Vietnam

A Survey and Assessment Report was prepared by the Centre for Legal Information and the Library of the Office of the National Assembly from July through

to the end of November 2004

B Review and Assessment of Support of Project VIE/02/015 for Legal Aid

A consultant was hired to make an assessment and analysis of previous international assistance for legal aid in Vietnam and, in particular, Project support

of legal aid initiatives The Assessment identified the effectiveness and deficiencies of such support and makes recommendations as to specific ways to improve legal aid delivery, enhance donor-government and inter-donor co- ordination, and on the advisability and opportunities for any future Project intervention in the sector

C Assessment and base-line survey of the capacity of legal officials at the

local level to manage and supervise conciliation work

1) The Report prepared by the Legal Dissemination Centre of the Vietnamese Farmers’ Union was accepted by the Project in March 2005 and published and distributed in September 2005 This report provides input for future activities relating to the improvement of conciliators

2) In the assessment report, the researchers recommended a number of specific measures to improve and enhance the capacity of legal officials who are in charge

of assisting their corresponding People’s Committees to manage conciliation, in which special attention was given to the reform of training In September 2005, a

workshop was conducted to set criteria for training materials for legal officials to

manage, steer, and guide conciliation works at the grassroots level and to identify the key contents for such training materials

3) A nation-wide Conciliators' Contest, with more than 300 participants from the whole countries, on 1 and 2 August 2005 was supported by the Project The objectives of this contest were: (1) To provide an opportunity for conciliators from throughout Vietnam to meet and exchange experiences and legal culture, to praise excellence in conciliation work, and enhance the legal knowledge and professional skills of conciliators, and, thereby, raise the morale of conciliators and the quality of conciliation at the grassroots level; and (2) To complement legal dissemination and education efforts, in general, and serve as propaganda for conciliation work, in particular, and, thereby, enhance legal awareness among officials and the populace and promote the use of conciliation for the resolution of disputes

D Field trips to assess current status of legal consultancy centres and the need for legal services

Two field trips in Lang Son, Hai Duong, Vinh Phuc, An Giang, Ca Mau, and Ho Chi Minh City provinces were organised during April and May 2005 to gather information and other data and assess the effectiveness of legal consultancy centres (LCCs), in general, and LCCs operating under local Lawyers’ Associations, Trade Unions, and Farmers’ Unions, as well as legal consultancy activities conducted by local Women Unions, Veterans Unions, Youth Unions, and state legal aid centres under local departments of Justice, in particular

Component 3: Organising implementation of the “Ordinance on Handling

Administrative Violations” by the People’s Police Force

A Implementation of the Ordinance on Handling Administrative Violations

1) The Project organized a field trip to Dong Nai, Ba Ria, Vung Tau, Tien Giang, Can Tho, and Long An provinces to collect comments for drafting three LNDs to implement the Ordinance (that is, a draft Decree on procedures to apply expulsion methods, a draft Decree on the methods of arrest, and a Circular of the Minister of Public Security to give guidance on sending violators to re-education centres) During the trip, a three-day workshop on the same topic was conducted in Ho Chi Minh City from 15 to 17 November 2005

2) Ten national consultants were recruited to prepare a book on the “Competence of the People’s Police Force to Punish Regulatory Offences” The draft book in Vietnamese was finalised is to be published in early 2006

Component 4: Strengthening the capacity of key officials in the political system at the grassroots level to implement laws

A Workshops to develop a Manual and Training Materials on key legal issues for conducting training courses to enhance the capacity of officials in political system at the grassroots level

34

A series of small-scale workshops and meetings with the leaders of Lang Son Province, consultants, UNDP, and the PMU were organised in Hanoi and Lang Son in August 2005 to study and identify concrete solutions to improve the professional capacity of public servants working in the political system at the grassroots level Recommendations from these workshops and the base-line Survey provide the inputs for the development of a Manual on law implementation, design of legal and professional training and re-training programmes, and provision of legal information suitable for officials working in the political system at the grassroots level

B Survey and assessment

A base-line survey and assessment of the capacity of grassroots level officials in the political system in Lang Son Province were conducted and prepared by Visions & Associates law firm in 2004 The report was edited by an independent consultant in 2005 This Report reflects the current state of legal knowledge and understanding of law implementation of officials in the political system in Lang Son Province

Component 5: Strengthening the capacity of legal officials of local justice departments

Based on in-country pilot surveys on the current state of the work capacity of legal officials at justice agencies at the district level conducted in Dien Bien, Quang Ninh, and Thua Thien-Hue provinces in late 2004, TOR for a comprehensive assessment of the capacity of legal officials at the district level - which may be extended to 621 communes, - that makes recommendations for the development of training and re-training programmes for said officials, was prepared The assessment is to commence in January 2006.

Ad-hoc activity: Assistance to prepare officials working Documents for the VIth ASEAN Conference of Justice Ministers and Senior Law Officials in September 2005

Support was given for the organisation of the 6th Meeting of ASEAN Law Ministers and the 10th Meeting of ASEAN Law Senior Officials in Hanoi in September 2005 A number of small-scale workshops and seminars were held throughout 2005 to exchange experience on conducting such conferences in other ASEAN countries and review the substantive contents discussed in previous conferences In addition, the Project provided the Board organising the Conference technical assistance to research and recommend Vietnamese initiatives, in order to promote a significant role and function for judicial and legal institutions of ASEAN member countries during the process of international integration, for the upcoming Conference.

Identification of new project implementing agencies

Proposals from the departments of Justice of Haiphong, Khanh Hoa, and Tien Giang provinces were approved by Project Board of Directors and donors All

administrative and financial procedures have been completed and activities are to

be carried out, starting in early January 2006.

36

2 2006: Table showing review of output achievements and performance

assessment in 2006 (taken directly from APR for 2006)

assessment

Outcome 1: Finalised from 2005.

Outcome 2: Strengthened capacity of the LSDS Management Mechanism, including the National

Steering Committee (NSC), Inter-Agency Working Committee (IAWC), and LSDS Secretariat to manage, co-ordinate, and oversee full implementation of the LSDS

Output 2.1 : LSDS Management Mechanism (National Steering Committee, Inter-agency Working Committee, and Secretariat) established

2.1.1 Establishment of LSDS Steering Committee

1 Meetings between MOJ

and other relevant

agencies were held in

Hanoi to get comments

on the draft LSDS SC

Establishment Decision

and Operation Rules

completed

2.1.2 Drafting of Action Plan for Implementation of the LSDS (period 2007-2012)

1 An action plan with

completed It is now on the table of the

Standing Committee of the National Assembly for discussion.

Output 2.2: Capacity of LSDS Implementation Management Mechanism enhanced

2.2.1 LSDS Secretariat on programming procedures, frameworks and LSDS website and database

devised, trained and advised

1 Devise, train and advise

Partially completed.

2.2.2 Launching conference on the LSDS organised

Outputs/activities Progress Performance

2.2.3 Methodology for designing a Communication plan for LSDS Prepared

1 Draft a Communication

Plan for LSDS

A Communication Plan has been drafted and idea to have a Communication Plan has been inserted into draft LSDS Action Plan However, there is no official approval for LSDS Action Plan, the Communication Plan has not been in place

Partially implemented.

2.2.4 Methodology for designing an M&E tools for LSDS implementation prepared

1 Meetings to discuss

about methodology for

designing M&E tools for

to prepare M&E tools

Output 2.3: Co-ordination between Government, state agencies, and donors including sustained and communication and policy dialogue on legal and judicial reforms reinforced

2.3.1 Quarterly/ Biannual meeting cum Legal Partnership Forum with Government agencies and

donors organised

1 Quarterly meetings and

stakeholder workshop Quarterly meetings are organised regularly between PMU, SMU and/or

relevant donors in March, June, August and November 2006.

Completed

2 Biannual Conference

cum Legal Partnership

Forum with Government

agencies and donors

The Conference is organised in November 22, 2006 in Ha Noi with participation of more than hundred Vietnamese and international invitees.

Completed

38

Outputs/activities Progress Performance

assessment

3 Training on Project

Management A project management training held in Nha Trang in April 2004.

In addition, PMU provided direct instruction on NEX and other issues relating to project management at project site for sub-components (Hai Phong, Khanh Hoa and Tien Giang) in August 2006.

Completed

2.3.2 Revision of LNDs on management of international legal cooperation supported

1 Preparatory works to lay

the foundation for the

co-ordination of

implementation of the

LSDS when it is

approved

2.3.3 A study/research and conference on key issues in Vietnam's legal system and preparation for a

study on impact of ODA-funded legal cooperation arranged

1 A research on key issues

in Vietnam's legal

system

Meetings with all authors to comment and finalise the individual reports were held Final draft of research submitted It

is scheduled to finalised in the first quarter 2007

2006, the activities to postpone to 2007

Not implemented yet.

2.3.4 Compendium of project activities and outputs prepared and published

Outputs/activities Progress Performance

- 04 books published and disseminated in November and December 2006: (1)Report on three study tours abroad, (2) Report on assessment of judicial officials at local levels, (3) Manual on implementation of Ordinance on settlement of administrative violations in Police Force, and (4) Report on Legal Partnership Forum

- 03 books are in process of edition in the Judicial Publishing House: (1) 9 volumes of legal text book and manual for officials in political system at grassroots level, (2) Manual on promulgation of legal normative documents, (3) Manual on Post Adoption LND review).

Publication of 04 books: completed.

Publication of 03 other books: ongoing

Outcome 3: Enhanced capacity of the management structure effected through the implementation

of a number of high-priority components and identification of emerging needs

Output 3.1: Legal System Development Facility (LSDF) developed and effectively operated

3.1.1 Design and implement LSDF operation procedures and forms, guidelines on access to LSDF

- Meeting in December 2006 with GACA to review the Circular in comparision to new Decree 131/2006/ND-CP on utilisation and management of ODA.

- Official written opinions from GACA gathered

- The circular on guidelines to implement LSDF Rules is issued by Minister of Justice in December 2006

completed

3.1.2 Produce and disseminate LSDF information to government agencies and donors

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