The World Bank
Vietnam: Improved Delivery of Legal Aid for the Poor And Vulnerable
Project Information Document/
Identification/Concept Stage (PID)
Public Disclosure Copy
Concept Stage | Date Prepared/Updated: 15-Aug-2020 | Report No: PIDC198485
Aug 17, 2020 Page 1 of 16
The World Bank
Vietnam: Improved Delivery of Legal Aid for the Poor And Vulnerable
BASIC INFORMATION
A. Basic Project Data
Environmental and
Project ID Parent Project ID (if any) Social Risk Project Name
Classification
Moderate Vietnam: Improved Delivery
P171660 of Legal Aid for the Poor And
Vulnerable
Region Country Date PID Prepared Estimated Date of Approval
EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC Vietnam 15-Aug-2020
Financing Instrument Borrower(s) Implementing Agency
Public Disclosure Copy
Provincial Department
of Justice, Yen Bai
Investment Project Socialist Republic of Province, Ministry of
Financing Vietnam Justice, Provincial
Department of Justice,
Dien Bien Province
PROJECT FINANCING DATA (US$, Millions)
SUMMARY -NewFin1
Total Project Cost 2.50
Total Financing 2.50
Financing Gap 0.00
DETAILS -NewFinEnh1
Non-World Bank Group Financing
Trust Funds 2.50
Japan Social Development Fund 2.50
B. Introduction and Context
Country Context
1. Vietnam has made significant progress in poverty reduction, including among ethnic minorities. Poverty
(measured at the GSO-World Bank national poverty line)[1] declined by almost 4% since 2014, to 9.8% in 2016.
Notably, poverty among ethnic minorities declined by 13%, representing the largest drop in poverty among
Aug 17, 2020 Page 2 of 16
The World Bank
Vietnam: Improved Delivery of Legal Aid for the Poor And Vulnerable
ethnic minorities in the past decade. Moreover, only 2% of individuals who were not poor in 2014 had fallen
into poverty in 2016, suggesting that those who escape poverty tend to remain out of poverty.
2. Despite its rapid decrease, poverty remains increasingly concentrated in rural areas and among ethnic
minorities. Among around 9 million poor people in Vietnam in 2016, 6.6 million are members of ethnic
minorities and are concentrated in mountainous areas (together, the Midlands and Northern Mountains and the
Central Highlands regions comprise 20 percent of Vietnam’s total population, yet these areas are home to 56
percent of the poor population).[2]
3. Government’s key strategy to address development challenges in the rural sector, and among ethnic
Public Disclosure Copy
minorities, has included the sixteen (16) National Targeted Programs (NTPs) that were implemented over the
period 2011-2015, and two consolidated NTPs for the period 2016-2020. These 16 NTPs were focused on
specific sectors and were implemented through different ministries such as health, education, water, transport,
agriculture and rural development. The 16 NTPs have been recently consolidated into two NTPs for the next
implementation period to run from 2016-2020, namely, the NTP for New Rural Development (NTP-NRD)
implemented under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and the Sustainable Poverty
Reduction Program (NTP-SPR) implemented under the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs
(MOLISA). The NTP-NRD is designed to upgrade services and infrastructure for rural communities across all
provinces of Vietnam, whereas the NTP-SPR supports infrastructure, livelihoods, basic services and capacity
building for the country’s 94 poorest districts and 310 communes in coastal areas. The two NTPS are currently
supported by the ongoing Bank-financed National Target Programs for New Rural Development and Sustainable
Poverty Reduction Support Program (P159737).
4. Though there are significant and well-designed national programs for poverty reduction, the role of law
and legal empowerment in poverty reduction remains under-explored. Legal empowerment promotes the use
of law and legal tools by the poor so that they can gain new means to escape from poverty and
marginalization. For example, a recent World Bank study found that a lack of formal land title (land-use rights)
limits access to finance among poor households in Vietnam.[3] Therefore, use of legal tools, i.e. land titles
obtained through the completion of the necessary legal procedures, enables the use of land as collateral, and
hence facilitates access to credit and ultimately increases the capacity of poor household to invest in cultivation
of perennial crops. In addition, it has been found that land-use rights held by women or jointly by a couple have
a positive impact on the economic welfare of households.[4]
5. The recent COVID-19 crisis has created setbacks for Vietnam and led the government to take short turn
actions in addition to long term plans. Uncertainties surrounding the spread of COVID-19 led the government
Aug 17, 2020 Page 3 of 16
The World Bank
Vietnam: Improved Delivery of Legal Aid for the Poor And Vulnerable
to initiate community and business closures that caused fiscal and external accounts to deteriorate. More
widely, foreign investment in Vietnam is forecasted to decline US$ 2.46 billion or 6.8 percent from pre-virus
forecasts. Altogether, COVID-19 and the government response exposed the vulnerability of poor people to such
external unforeseen events. In response to COVID-19, the government is developing spending plans to create
jobs and ensure equitable growth that will help return the country to previous plans for economic expansion
while reestablishing resilience against COVID19 and future shocks.
[1] The GSO-World Bank poverty line in 2016 is VND 969,167 per person per month, equivalent to US$3.34 per
day in 2011 purchasing-power-parity (PPP).
[2] World Bank (2018). Climbing the ladder- Poverty reduction and shared prosperity in Vietnam.
Public Disclosure Copy
[3] Ibid.
[4] Holder Matters, Nidhiya Menon, Yana Rodgers, Alexis Kennedy (2013). Land Reform and Welfare in Vietnam:
Why Gender of the Land-Rights.
Sectoral and Institutional Context
6. Access to legal aid services remains low. A recent cross-provincial survey on justice performance showed
that disparities in access to justice exist across different social groups. In particular, those who are poor, who
have a low level of education and are not part of the social elite face obstacles in access to information and to
local institutions, given their limited personal and social capital.[1] In addition, women, particularly survivors of
domestic violence, mistrust the judicial system and they struggle to navigate a plural legal system, as legal aid or
other necessary counselling services are not readily available.[2] At the same time, recent data show that the
prevalence of ever-physical or sexual violence by husbands, among ever-married women, has increased among
certain ethnic groups (e.g. Tay, Dao, H’Mong, Nung) and continues to occur against women with disability. In
addition, most of legal aid tasks are fulfilled by PLACs and legal aid branches in provincial or district centers,
which have limited capacity to cater to the needs of the poor and vulnerable communities in rural areas.
7. The legal needs of the poor and vulnerable people remain unidentified and unaddressed. During the World
Bank consultations and assessments supported by a Japan Social Development Fund (JSDF) Seed Grant, there
was a preliminary effort to map the legal needs of selected poor and vulnerable groups, which are potential
beneficiaries of legal aid, as well as barriers to access to legal aid services. The consultation process has revealed
barriers to legal aid stemming from both the demand and the supply side, and demonstrated the potential
effectiveness of community-based activities focused on legal aid and legal awareness as the appropriate tool to
address the barriers faced. From the demand side, there was a lack of awareness among poor and vulnerable
groups about the access to legal aid services, as well as the legal framework critical for livelihoods development
Aug 17, 2020 Page 4 of 16
The World Bank
Vietnam: Improved Delivery of Legal Aid for the Poor And Vulnerable
(e.g. basic legal education revolving around issues of labor, marriage, property, criminal procedures). In
addition, there were also access issues to legal aid services stemming either from physical constraints
(difficulties in transportation) or trust (perceptions about quality of legal aid or fear of interacting with
government agencies). From the supply side, the barriers are mainly related to limited budget and human
resources of department of justices and legal aid centers, lack of coordination and awareness about legal aid
services among government agencies, focus on specific types of legal aid cases/services (mainly criminal cases
and legal representation), gaps in the monitoring and evaluation of legal aid services. Against this background,
there is a clear need for increased awareness and understanding of the legal needs of the poor and vulnerable
groups, the need to tailor the delivery of legal aid in a manner that corresponds to the requirements of different
disadvantaged groups (ethnic minorities, women, groups that face stigmas (e.g. HIV, disable, survivors of gender
based violence), and the need to establish an inclusive, decentralized and diverse network of organizations that
can contribute to legal awareness and legal aid delivery.
Public Disclosure Copy
8. Vietnam has made significant efforts in developing a robust framework on legal aid. Since Doi Moi, judicial
reform in Vietnam was accelerated and there have been important changes in institutional framework around
legal aid. In 1997, a Prime Minister Decision on the establishment of legal aid organizations for the poor and
policy beneficiaries was issued, which marked a significant legal basis for legal aid activities.[3] In 2006, the first
Law on Legal Aid (2006) was issued, marking a new development in legal aid provision. The Law on Legal Aid
(2006) clearly stipulated that legal aid is under the responsibility of the state, which plays a vital role in the
provision of legal aid services and determining the eligible beneficiaries and their rights and obligations. In
addition, legislation related to the legal profession contains provisions regarding the provision of pro bono legal
aid. In 2015, the Prime Minister adopted a Project of Legal aid Innovation for the period 2015-2025 proposed by
the Ministry of Justice.[4] The objective of this project is to promote the socialization of legal aid so that after
2025, the beneficiaries of legal aid may be provided with legal aid services in a timely manner with quality
equivalent to the services provided by lawyers in the market; transforming the state legal aid Centers from
mainly providing legal aid services presently into the state management organ on legal aid, simplifying
organization, apparatus and staff, and innovating administrative procedures in accessing the state of legal aid
services.
9. Vietnam passed a new Legal Aid Law in 2017 expanding the scope of eligible beneficiaries and setting new
standards for legal aid providers. The new law contains 14 groups of beneficiaries of legal aid services,
including: (1) people with honored services to the revolution; (2) poor people; (3) children; (4) ethnic minorities
living in areas with extremely harsh socio-economic conditions; (5) accused people aged from 16 to 18; (6)
accused people belonging to near poor households; (7) people with financial difficulties belonging to the
following groups: father, mother, wife, husband and children of martyrs and people fostering martyrs when they
were young; people infected with dioxin; the elderly; the disabled; victims aged from 16 to under 18 in criminal
Aug 17, 2020 Page 5 of 16
The World Bank
Vietnam: Improved Delivery of Legal Aid for the Poor And Vulnerable
cases; victims of domestic violence; victims of human trafficking in accordance with the Law on Prevention and
Control of Human Trafficking; and HIV-infected people.
10. The Ministry of Justice has developed an institutional framework for the delivery of legal aid services at
the central and provincial level. The Ministry of Justice is the government agency responsible for the state
management of legal aid, including formulation, promulgation or submission of proposals to the state’s
competent authorities for the issuance of legal documents, strategies on legal aid; reporting regime and
statistics on legal aid; organizing training on legal aid; receiving contributing ideas from organizations and
individuals involved in legal aid provision, etc. Within the Ministry of Justice, the National Legal Aid Agency
(“NLAA”) is assigned with the function of advising and assisting the Minister of Justice in the management and
implementation of the law on legal aid. At the provincial level, the provincial People's Committee (PPC) is the
Public Disclosure Copy
state authority for managing legal aid provision with advice from provincial Departments of Justice, and
responsible for the establishment of the Provincial Legal Aid Center (“PLAC”). The main functions of the PLACs
include: the provision of legal aid services; requesting relevant agencies and organizations to coordinate and
provide information and documents on the legal aid cases; gathering statistics, reporting and communication on
legal aid. Finally, the PLAC may establish legal aid branches at the district level with the responsibility of
providing legal aid services at the assigned districts. In 2018, according to World Bank analysis, in the Northern
Mountains Region there is an average of 3 legal aid branches per province (slightly higher than the national
average of 2.3 branches per province). However, the capacity of each province in the Northern Mountains
Region is below the national average when it comes to staffing of legal aid centers and contracted lawyers (8.2
staff per province in Northern Mountains compared to 10.2 staff per province nationwide; 7.4 contracted
lawyers per province in Northern Mountains compared to 11.5 contracted lawyers per province nationwide).
11. The delivery of legal aid services continues to face challenges and there are concerns about resources,
coordination, quality and monitoring. A global study on legal aid has found that in Vietnam, the challenges in
accessing legal aid include: (a) uneven quality of services provided by legal aid lawyers; (b) limited renumeration
for lawyers for conducting legal aid work; (c) limited number of lawyers in the country; (d) lack of knowledge
among people about legal assistance; and (e) poor coordination between legal aid organizations and related
agencies in the justice system.[5] The Ministry of Justice has taken measures to address some of these
challenges both through the new law of legal aid, which set higher standards for legal aid providers, and
secondary regulations regarding coordination for providing legal aid services for litigation.[6] In addition, the
number of lawyers in Vietnam has been increasing in the last years, though practicing lawyers represent a small
portion compared to the country’s population.[7] Although the Legal Aid Law allows for organizations and
lawyers to be registered and sign contracts with the Provincial Department of Justice to deliver legal aid, the
number of such lawyers or organizations remains low.[8] This relatively centralized delivery model is
constrained by the Government’s limited resources in the area of legal aid and the concentration of lawyers in
Aug 17, 2020 Page 6 of 16
The World Bank
Vietnam: Improved Delivery of Legal Aid for the Poor And Vulnerable
major cities. Finally, the current reporting system only allows for tracking the total number of legal aid services
and without advanced case management functions or beneficiary feedback.
[1] VLA & UNDP (2016). 2015 Justice Index: Towards a justice system for the people.
[2] UNWomen (2015). Access to Justice in the Plural Legal System in Viet Nam: A Case Study of Women
Domestic Violence Survivors.
[3] Decision No. 734/QĐ-TTg dated September 6, 1997 by the Prime Minister.
[4] Decision No. 749/QD-TTg dated June 1, 2015 by the Prime Minister.
Public Disclosure Copy
[5] UNODC/UNDP (2016). Global Study on Legal Aid – Country Profiles.
[6] Joint Circular No. 10/2018 / TTLT-BTP-BCA-BQP-BTC-VKSNDTC-TANDTC dated June 29, 2018 by the Ministry
of Justice and the Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Finance, Supreme People's Court,
Supreme People's Procuracy.
[7] Based on data form the Ministry of Justice, there were 0.13 lawyers per thousand people in 2018.
[8] According to data provided by NLAA, there were 103 lawyers, who signed contracts with Provincial
Departments of Justice in the Northern Mountain Regions, and 16 organizations who have registered or signed
contracts for the delivery of legal aid.
Relationship to CPF
12. The proposed project fits well within the first pillar of the World Bank Group Country Partnership
Framework (CPF) for Vietnam for the period 2018-2022, which focuses on enabling inclusive growth and
private sector participation. More specifically, it contributes to Objective 5, which, following the Performance
and Learning Review (PLR) of the CPF presented to WBG Board of Executive Directors in April 2019, is to
improve the welfare and development of ethnic minorities, women, and vulnerable groups. The project will
focus on primarily poor ethnic minorities and women as beneficiaries of legal aid, and will aim to demonstrate
how legal empowerment of those groups can contribute to livelihood improvement. In addition, the project
employs both gender-informed and multisectoral approaches, and will explore opportunities to leverage the use
of technology in service delivery and feedback collection.
13. Finally, in light of its geographic focus, the proposed project contributes to the ongoing World Bank support
to the lagging provinces (i.e. provinces that have limited fiscal space for assuming new debt). The selected
provinces for the proposed project are Dien Bien and Yen Bai province in the Northern Mountainous Region,
Aug 17, 2020 Page 7 of 16
The World Bank
Vietnam: Improved Delivery of Legal Aid for the Poor And Vulnerable
where there is higher concentration of poor and ethnic minorities (see below more details on the poverty and
ethnic minority presence in each province).
14. Even though IBRD/IDA financing is not being sought at this stage as Government of Vietnam prioritizes
concessional ODA resources for infrastructure investments, [1] the project will seek to build linkages with the
Bank-financed National Target Programs for New Rural Development and Sustainable Poverty Reduction
Support Program and the Bank’s work under the Gender Pillar of the Second Phase of the Australia – World
Bank Group Strategic Partnership in Vietnam (which has also supported the preparation of the current
project). In addition, the project will coordinate with ongoing initiatives of other donors, such as the EU Justice
and Legal Empowerment Programme in Vietnam implemented by UNDP, which aims to strengthen the rule of
law in Vietnam through a more reliable, trusted and better accessed justice system, and increase access to
Public Disclosure Copy
justice for citizens, including vulnerable groups such as women, children, ethnic minorities and poor
people. Accordingly, upon successful Project implementation, the government, and particularly NLAA will be
well-positioned to scale up the similar approaches to other parts of the country by disseminating the lessons
learnt and leveraging resources from other donors.
15. The project is also in line with the JSDF objectives, given that it aims to address barriers to justice faced by
poor and vulnerable groups and pilot innovative approaches, which consist of a combination of beneficiary-
driven interventions at multiple stages (design, implementation and monitoring), the creation of better linkages
between beneficiaries and legal aid providers by leveraging community leaders, NGOs and other professional
organizations.
[1] Vietnam is a low middle-income country, which graduated from IDA in July 2017. Accordingly, Vietnam has
access to World Bank financing only on non-concessional terms (IBRD or IDA transitional support, which is on
IBRD terms).
C. Project Development Objective(s)
Proposed Development Objective(s)
16. The proposed Project development objective is to improve the delivery of legal aid and promote the legal
empowerment of beneficiaries in selected provinces in the Northern Mountain Region.
17. The principal outcome to the targeted key beneficiaries is that they will have increased knowledge of and access to
legal aid for labor, family and land issues, supported by a system of trained, local actors such as legal aid providers and
other key figures managing village life. Beneficiaries will have improved satisfaction and trust towards legal aid services
provided by provincial legal aid centers. Legal aid providers will be better equipped to work on key issues of civil,
Aug 17, 2020 Page 8 of 16
The World Bank
Vietnam: Improved Delivery of Legal Aid for the Poor And Vulnerable
marriage and family law and will be trained on how to work with vulnerable groups, such as ethnic minority women,
survivors of gender-based violence , and people with disabilities.
18. This will be achieved through:
• Improved access to and use of legal aid services by addressing barriers of access to legal aid services related to
diverse factors, such as cultural constraints, gender, privacy, language and remoteness, and leverage traditional and
local governance systems to address some of these constraints.
• Improved capacity of legal aid providers and other officials in substantive areas related to legal aid and cases
identified as priorities by local communities and WB national gender research, for example labor, family, and land
issues, soft skills needed to work with specific groups, and use of technology.
• Piloting the creation of partnerships with NGOs and other professional organizations to improve the quality of
legal aid services and demonstrate a more sustainable model for delivery of legal aid services.
Overall, the direct beneficiaries of the project are people who fall under the targeted eligible categories of beneficiaries
Public Disclosure Copy
under the Legal Aid Law in Yen Bai and Dien Bien Provinces, which include poor, ethnic minorities living in areas with
extremely harsh socio-economic conditions, and people with disabilities and having financial difficulties.
19. The topic of focus – labor law, family, access to land, family law - are chosen because of demand and because
there is evidence that these are particularly relevant for enhancing social inclusion and decreasing existing gender
inequalities. Thus, the choice of topics linked to targeting beneficiaries by vulnerability and gender. For example,
according to recent research by the World Bank the provision for joint land titling in the 2003 Land Law has positive
impact on the empowerment of women; the health and economic outcomes of individuals; households’ access to
credit and; household expenditures. However, the country and its people do not reap these benefits in an optimal way.
Although there has been a great increase in share of joint land titles, men remain more likely than women to hold a
land title as an individual or head of household. Key reasons for this that people are unaware of the opportunity to
transform existing titles and the current implementation of the Land Law relies too narrowly on the individual to take
initiative to convert singly titles. With more attention to this at local legal aid centers there is an opportunity to help
increase demand for converting existing singly titles to joint ones.
20. The higher-level objective would be to contribute to improvement of legal aid activities in Vietnam by initially
implementing the proposed activities as a pilot in two provinces in the Northern Mountain Region and then scale-up
the experience of this pilot in other provinces using financing from other sources. Under the Legal Aid Law of Vietnam,
legal aid services include participation in legal proceedings (litigation), legal advice and participation in non-litigation
proceedings (e.g. petitions). Given the nature of the proposed activities, it is expected that the focus will be primarily
on legal advice and participation in legal proceedings.
Key Results
21. The proposed key results indicators that will be used to measure the achievement of the PDO are:
Aug 17, 2020 Page 9 of 16
The World Bank
Vietnam: Improved Delivery of Legal Aid for the Poor And Vulnerable
Number of beneficiaries (of which female; of which Gender Based Violence (GBV) related) receiving legal
aid from provincial legal aid centers (and their branches);
Number of key figures managing village life (such as village elders; heads of village, heads of family clans,
and persons with prestige, teachers, policemen, etc; of which female) receiving training;
Number beneficiaries, legal aid providers and other officials (of which female) receiving training;
Number of non-state organizations participating in the delivery of legal aid-type services;
Improved perception/satisfaction and trust of local communities towards legal aid services provided by
provincial legal aid centers (and their branches)
22. The first three indicators are Tier I JSDF program indicators, whereas the three last indicators can be
classified as Tier II JSDF program indicators.
Public Disclosure Copy
DEVELOPMENT OUTCOME INDICATORS Baseline End Target[1]
8000 (of which
Number of beneficiaries (of which female; of which Gender Based 1,797 (2018)
3200 female, of
(a) Violence (GBV) related) receiving legal aid from provincial legal aid (of which 489
which 80 GBV
centers (and their branches) female)
related)
Number of key figures managing village life (such as village elders;
800 (of which 40%
(b) heads of village, heads of family clans, and persons with prestige, 0
female)
teachers, policemen, etc; of which female) receiving training;
Number beneficiaries, legal aid providers and other officials (of 3500 (of which 40%
(c) 0
which female) receiving training female)
Number of non-state organizations participating in the delivery of
(d) 0 10
legal aid-type services
Improved perception/satisfaction and trust of local communities
(e) towards legal aid services provided by provincial legal aid centers 0 +40% over baseline
(and their branches) (of which GBV survivors)
Share of direct beneficiaries who report legal aid received has or is
(f) expected to positively influence their livelihoods’ income (of which 0% >50%
GBV survivors)
[1] Assuming a 4-year implementation period.
D. Preliminary Description
Aug 17, 2020 Page 10 of 16
The World Bank
Vietnam: Improved Delivery of Legal Aid for the Poor And Vulnerable
Activities/Components
The proposed project is expected to have the following four components:
Component 1: Improved access to and use of legal aid services (estimated $874,000)
22. The most vulnerable populations in Vietnam tend to have the least access to legal aid services, with only
0.17% of the eligible ethnic minorities, 0.11% of poor people and 0.02% of people with disabilities using legal
aid services in 2018. Legal problems, left unaddressed, can severely impact people’s livelihoods, and keep
those in poverty from escaping it. Legal issues related to divorce, domestic violence, inheritance, labor,
access to finance and land can all produce insurmountable financial shocks to those near the poverty
line. Legal aid services can help people gain knowledge about their rights, assist in resolving disputes and
support them in obtaining redress for violation of their rights, leading to better economic opportunities for
the poor. Moreover, Vietnamese laws are increasingly promoting gender equality, but only if implemented
well and people are aware of the legal provisions made for men and women respectively current gender
Public Disclosure Copy
based inequalities - which are higher among ethnic minorities than the majority population – will they have
the intended positive effect. In Vietnam as in other countries, there are also key “gatekeepers” of existing
norms and practices that results in inequalities and slow implementation of updated legislation. Such
“gatekeepers” often includes elder and well-established remote institutions.
23. This component will aim to address the barriers of access to legal aid services faced by the poorest of the
poor, such as cultural constraints, gender, stigma, language and, lack of services in remote areas, and
leverage traditional and local governance systems to address some of these constraints. Public awareness of
the availability of free legal aid services and how to access them is critical in delivering legal aid services,
particularly for marginalized and vulnerable populations. Accordingly, the project is expected to support the
following activities:
(a) targeted training on legal aid at grassroots level focusing on key figures managing village life (such as
village elders; heads of village, heads of family clans, and persons with prestige, etc.). The capacity building of
community leaders is expected to establish a more integrated network linking beneficiaries and legal aid
providers. The training will include negotiation skills, how to refer community members to relevant
resources, basic knowledge of legal concepts and how to work sensitively with vulnerable groups.
(b) development of an awareness raising campaign regarding the availability of legal aid services, with
communication materials (in multiple formats, such as videos and infographics, and in ethnic minority
language) and training for key targeted legal aid beneficiaries regarding both how to access legal aid, but also
basic legal knowledge around key issues of civil, family and administrative laws that were identified as
priorities for livelihood development (such as divorce, domestic violence, inheritance, labor, access to
finance and land), as well as access to justice; and
(c) development of dedicated hotlines or mobile apps taking advantage of technology and mobile coverage in
the project areas, for legal aid services managed by provincial legal aid centers along with materials and
training to the operators. A province-wide legal hotline or mobile apps will be established to provide answers
to clients’ legal questions, analysis of clients’ legal issues, and services such as document preparation, and
Aug 17, 2020 Page 11 of 16
The World Bank
Vietnam: Improved Delivery of Legal Aid for the Poor And Vulnerable
will make referrals if further legal assistance is necessary. The advantage of dedicated hotlines or mobile
apps is that they enable legal aid providers to respond quickly to a large number of people. Operators
speaking ethnic minority languages will be hired and trained to respond confidentially to the needs of
specific populations, such as people with disabilities and survivors of gender-based violence. These virtual
facilities help overcome physical barriers to access for people with disabilities and are more accessible for
vulnerable populations (such as the poor and women) who don’t have the time, money, or are intimidated
by the complexity of formal legal systems. This activity will also aim to improve capacity of provincial legal
aid centers in conducting legal aid management so that they can offer professional guidelines, ICT tools,
resource coordination, monitoring and evaluation of legal aid quality.
Component 2: Improved capacity of legal aid providers (estimated $371,800)
24. This component will focus on improving the capacity of legal aid providers (both officials in provincial
Public Disclosure Copy
legal aid centers and their branches, and lawyers) and closely related officials such as judges, prosecutors,
and investigators in substantive areas related to legal aid and cases related to issues of civil, family and
administrative law that were identified as priorities for livelihood development (such as divorce, domestic
violence, inheritance, labor, access to finance and land), soft skills related to interactions with specific group,
and use of technology. The new Legal Aid law increased the requisite qualifications of legal aid providers and
also the type of beneficiaries, which naturally created the need for legal aid providers to obtain new
skills. Accordingly, the proposed activities under this component will include:
(a) development of (e-)handbooks around key issues of civil, marriage and family law;
(b) building capacity in soft skills related to treatment of vulnerable groups, such as ethnic minority women,
survivors of gender-based violence , and people with disability with the objective of training ‘specialized’
legal aid providers. For example, legal aid services will need to be targeted to survivors of gender-based
violence. Legal aid providers will be trained in understanding the sensitivities in handling GBV cases, including
coordinating with other service providers such as police, medical and income generation services as part of a
survivor-centered referral mechanism. Beneficiaries of these services will be informed of their legal rights
and provided with confidential advice regarding their options under the law.
(c) enhancement of digital skills of legal aid providers to better utilize online tools and resources for reporting
and delivery of legal aid services (for example, improving capacity to use the Internet to improve knowledge
and provide better quality services). This component may also support any limited equipment needs of legal
aid branches to enhance their capacity to deliver legal aid services.
Component 3: Pilots for sustainable delivery and monitoring of legal aid services (estimated $930,100)
25. This component will pilot activities aimed at demonstrating a more sustainable model for delivery of legal
aid services, and it will be divided into three sub-components.
26. Sub-component 3.1: The first sub-component will aim to create a broad and diverse legal aid network,
which will be expected to operate at the grassroots level to meet the legal needs of beneficiaries by creating
more entry points for legal aid provision and better links between legal aid centers, beneficiaries, and other
Aug 17, 2020 Page 12 of 16
The World Bank
Vietnam: Improved Delivery of Legal Aid for the Poor And Vulnerable
stakeholders. The project will aim to provide capacity building to community organizations to provide legal
aid and to establish a more targeted referral system to other relevant services. 10 specific organizations will
be identified in coordination with the Ministry of Justice, considering the needs of the local communities, and
emphasis will be put on prioritizing organizations with presence or willingness to undertake activities at the
grassroots level. Selection criteria will be established in the Operating Manual and the NLAA will provide the
oversight for the capacity building program. Organizations in this network are expected to include legal
consultancy centers of socio-economic organizations (women’s unions, farmer’s unions, and other non-state
organizations etc.), legal clinics of universities/ institutions, and local social and professional organizations,
such as provincial bar associations and legal professions associations, and other selected actors of other
relevant sectors (health, education, social services) in accordance with the requirements of the domestic
regulations and the operations manual that will be developed under the project. These organizations would
be expected to partner with the provincial legal aid centers/departments of justice to establish regular
channel of communications/referrals, receive training on legal aid, or other legal matters related to issues of
Public Disclosure Copy
civil, family and administrative law that were identified as priorities for livelihood development (such as
divorce, inheritance, domestic violence, labor, access to finance and land), and systematically integrate
activities related to legal aid and legal empowerment in their own programs. The client organizations are
responsible for procuring and delivering the trainings. The involvement of the National Legal Aid Agency as
coordinator will allow for the successful interventions to be scaled up and replicated in other provinces, and
for lessons learnt to further inform Government’s strategies, regulations and other decisions on legal aid,
disseminated among agencies for cross-sectoral decision making.
27. Sub-component 3.2: The second sub-component will focus on addressing perceptions regarding the
quality of legal aid services by designing a more rigorous monitoring system of the quality of legal aid
services, which will rely on satisfaction surveys among legal aid beneficiaries and measuring the impact of the
provision of legal aid services on beneficiaries’ livelihoods and explore options for using technology for this
purpose. The expected outcome of this sub-component is to increase accountability among legal aid
providers, measuring beneficiaries’ improved satisfaction with and trust of legal aid services provided by
provincial legal aid centers, as well as expectation of positive influence on income. Data will be collected
regularly and be disaggregated by gender, age, geographic location, disability, and ethnic origin. The data will
be used to improve the provision of legal aid, ensuring vulnerable populations are receiving adequate and
appropriate legal aid, and that legal aid actors are communicating and coordinating effectively.
Component 4: Project management and administration, monitoring and evaluation, and knowledge
Dissemination (estimated $324,100)
28. This component will consist of 3 sub-components:
29. Sub-component 4.1: Project management and administration at the central and provincial level, including
procurement, financial management (including audits), environmental and social management. The Ministry
of Justice will be responsible for the project management, procurement and financial management functions,
Aug 17, 2020 Page 13 of 16
The World Bank
Vietnam: Improved Delivery of Legal Aid for the Poor And Vulnerable
in compliance with the Bank’s fiduciary procedures and regulations, and with the support of the provincial
legal aid centers in respect to monitoring.
30. Sub-component 4.2: Monitoring and evaluation, which will include a baseline survey in the two
provinces, mid-term evaluation, and final outcome-impact evaluation feeding into a completion report:
• Workplan: Provincial-level legal aid centers and the Ministry of Justice will develop annual work plans and
budgets that will need to identify community level activities.
• Participation of socio-economic and professional organizations: the participation of socio-economic and
professional organizations in the delivery of legal aid-type of activities will need to be based on a proposed
work plan focused on the community level and informed by upstream consultations, and with a requirement
for the local communities to provide direct feedback for the activities of the selected organization.
• Baseline and Satisfaction surveys: Surveys will be conducted at the beginning of the project period to set
Public Disclosure Copy
the baseline against which project progress towards targets will be measured, and also assess the satisfaction
of legal aid beneficiaries with the services provided and influence on income.
• Mid-term project evaluation: A mid-term project evaluation will be conducted collecting feedback from all
project stakeholders to improve the project during its remaining years. Among others, this will include
assessment on income and livelihood of those how have received legal aid.
• End of project evaluation: An end of project evaluation will be conducted to provide evidence and lessons
learnt for improving the delivery of legal aid and to assess the sustainability and replication potential beyond
the project end and nationwide.
31. Sub-component 4.3: Knowledge dissemination activities, which will include dissemination of lessons
learnt with other provinces through workshops and reports and knowledge sharing with other legal aid
projects in the region or globally.
32. The operation’s focus on improving legal aid to poor to poor and vulnerable groups allows also to further
tailor its interventions to the needs of these groups, which have been exacerbated by the COVID-19
crisis. Particularly, attention will be paid to Project interventions related to legal aid services that can
support communities benefit from COVID-19-related government policies and address legal needs presented
by COVID-19. In addition, the use of technology and appropriate equipment may also be further explored to
ensure a safe and resilient delivery of legal aid services.
Environmental and Social Standards Relevance
E. Relevant Standards
ESS Standards Relevance
Assessment and Management of Environmental and Social
ESS 1 Relevant
Risks and Impacts
Aug 17, 2020 Page 14 of 16
The World Bank
Vietnam: Improved Delivery of Legal Aid for the Poor And Vulnerable
ESS 10 Stakeholder Engagement and Information Disclosure Relevant
ESS 2 Labor and Working Conditions Relevant
Resource Efficiency and Pollution Prevention and
ESS 3 Not Currently Relevant
Management
ESS 4 Community Health and Safety Relevant
Land Acquisition, Restrictions on Land Use and Involuntary
ESS 5 Not Currently Relevant
Resettlement
Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Management of
ESS 6 Not Currently Relevant
Living Natural Resources
Indigenous Peoples/Sub-Saharan African Historically
ESS 7 Relevant
Underserved Traditional Local Communities
ESS 8 Cultural Heritage Not Currently Relevant
Public Disclosure Copy
ESS 9 Financial Intermediaries Not Currently Relevant
Legal Operational Policies
Safeguard Policies Triggered Explanation (Optional)
The project will neither finance civil works, nor lead
Projects on International Waterways OP to physical activities, and will not be implemented
No
7.50 on any international waterways. Therefore, OP 7.50
is not triggered.
No part of the project activities will be implemented
Projects in Disputed Areas OP 7.60 No
in a disputed area, so the policy is not triggered.
Summary of Screening of Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts
The project, if successfully implemented, is likely to result in significant positive social impacts in terms of
extending legal aid access to vulnerable socio-economic groups including ethnic minorities, poor households,
people with disabilities, and survivors of gender-based violence. The environmental risk rating is Low. The
project does not involve any physical infrastructure improvements or works of any kind or any analytical,
advisory or other activities which could have or lead to downstream physical, social or environmental
impacts. The project will employ workers (primarily as contracted service providers), and will require
engagement with, and service provision to, sensitive socio-economic groups (e.g. ethnic minorities, people
living in poverty, survivors of gender based violence). The main risks are social, and would materialize if
project activities were poorly implemented (e.g. if legal aid service providers do not deliver services to an
ethnically diverse population in a culturally appropriate manner, or lack the capacity to address the needs of
sensitive groups such as survivors of gender based violence). Currently, ESS1, ESS2, ESS4, ESS7, and ESS10 are
relevant.
CONTACT POINT
World Bank
Aug 17, 2020 Page 15 of 16
The World Bank
Vietnam: Improved Delivery of Legal Aid for the Poor And Vulnerable
Contact : Aristeidis Panou Title : Senior Counsel
Telephone No : 5788+7857 / Email :
Contact : Helle Buchhave Title : Senior Social Development Spec
Telephone No : 202-458-7817 Email :
Contact : Huong Thi Lan Tran Title : Senior Public Sector Specialis
Telephone No : 5777+8226 / Email :
Borrower/Client/Recipient
Borrower : Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Director General, International Cooperation
Contact : Vu To Huy Title :
Department, Stat
Public Disclosure Copy
Telephone No : 8402439366306 Email : vu.tohuy@sbv.gov.vn
Implementing Agencies
Implementing Provincial Department of Justice, Yen Bai Province
Agency :
Contact : Khoa Do Viet Title : Deputy Director, Yen Bai Legal Aid Center
Telephone No : 8402163851758 Email : trogiupphaply@yenbai.gov.vn
Implementing Ministry of Justice
Agency :
Contact : Thu Anh Cu Title : General Director, National Legal Aid Agency
Telephone No : 8402437339583 Email : ctgpl@moj.gov.vn
Implementing Provincial Department of Justice, Dien Bien Province
Agency :
Contact : Toan Do Xuan Title : Director, Dien Bien Legal Aid Center
Telephone No : 8402153827080 Email : trogiupphaply.dienbien@gmail.com
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT
The World Bank
1818 H Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20433
Telephone: (202) 473-1000
Web: http://www.worldbank.org/projects
Aug 17, 2020 Page 16 of 16