Legal aid accompanies people

(Baonghean) - Officially launched in January 2015 with the motto "effective, objective, legal", the Legal Aid Office organized by Nghe An Newspaper in coordination with Trong Hai & Associates Law Office has left many feelings and impressions on people and readers...

Trust, share

People who come to the Nghe An Newspaper Legal Aid Office located at 3 Lenin Avenue come from many different backgrounds and ages. They are poor workers, ethnic minorities, civil servants, public employees, students... from localities in the province and neighboring provinces.

Each person has a different situation and fate, but they all have the same desire to be assisted and guided through legal procedures to ensure their own and their family's rights. Most of them are poor and disadvantaged people in society. The consulting field is also very diverse, from marriage and family to labor and employment, inheritance rights, execution of judgments... but 90% are still issues related to land.

Lawyers advise people at the free legal aid office Nghe An Newspaper

Many people are in very difficult circumstances, their economy depends on a few fields of rice, their biggest asset is a piece of residential land, however, during the process of using it, disputes arise and they seek legal aid offices to seek advice on how to resolve it. Such as the cases of Ms. Nguyen Thi. H (Quynh Thuan commune, Quynh Luu), Ms. Tran Thi. Y (Tan Son commune, Do Luong)... are examples.

Each case is associated with fates, difficult circumstances, and hidden corners of everyday life. Some people come to the Legal Aid Office just to confide and confide in lawyers about the difficulties and deadlocks arising from conflicts and disputes between husband and wife, father and son, siblings in the family or between neighbors. At such times, lawyers not only advise on issues related to legal policies, but also take the time to listen, share feelings and give reasonable and emotional advice to the consulted person to resolve conflicts and handle the matter in the best way. Such as the case of Ms. HTTH in Bac Hong ward, Hong Linh town (Ha Tinh) or Mr. HTQ temporarily residing in Nghi Phu (Vinh city) who showed signs of psychological instability stemming from a family tragedy that lasted for many years. After being shared and advised by lawyers, they became calmer and more stable.

In many cases, people have had to go to many places to complain and petition but have not been resolved, such as the issues related to the policies of Mr. TVV in Chau Phong commune (Quy Chau) and P.D.Q in Thanh Long commune (Thanh Chuong). After 13 years of deadlock despite knocking on many doors, after talking to lawyers and receiving advice and determining the correct legality, they shared: "I feel happy because I have determined the direction and method...", "The legal aid office is a "lifesaver" for the poor and disadvantaged like us...".

Effective, legal

The purpose of Nghe An Newspaper when putting the Free Legal Aid Office into operation is to help people resolve concerns and problems related to the law, protect their legitimate rights and interests, improve their understanding, awareness of respect and compliance with the law. At the same time, it is a channel for popularizing and educating the law, protecting justice, ensuring social justice, limiting prolonged and excessive complaints and denunciations; contributing to stabilizing the locality. Therefore, although it is "free", both the editorial office and the lawyers determine that the consulting work must meet the criteria of "effectiveness, objectivity, and compliance with the law" to create trust for the people.

There are cases that do not stop at the advice of lawyers, but Nghe An Newspaper has investigated, researched, collected documents, evidence, written news, articles pointing out the wrongs, the wrongs to protect the rights and legitimate interests of people receiving legal aid in the best way. For cases where the local authorities have paid attention to resolving the issue but the people still do not agree, continue to file large-scale, prolonged complaints, the Legal Aid Office has patiently advised, explained in a sympathetic and reasonable manner, and finally the people withdrew their lawsuits and happily left.

After being consulted, people happily left.

Those who provide free legal aid not only require courage, psychology, a firm grasp of the law, a pure heart, a bright mind, but also perseverance, patience and nerves of steel. Because there are many cases where people receiving advice “go crazy”, use insulting words, argue stubbornly, and argue conservatively with lawyers to defend their prejudices, biases, or subjectivity, or there are people who have neurological or psychological problems, and come every week to sit and wait for hours to “confide” with lawyers… “If there is no sharing, tact, perseverance, and a little experience, it is very difficult to convince them to leave” - Lawyer Thai Sy Oai expressed.

Accompanying the Nghe An Newspaper Free Legal Aid Office since its inception, Lawyer Trong Hai (Head of the Trong Hai and Associates Law Office) shared: “We are honored to cooperate with Nghe An Newspaper in providing free legal aid to people over the past year. This is a practical and humane activity of the party newspaper. We hope that the propaganda activities will be wider and further so that people will know and come to the legal aid office..”. As for young people like lawyers Nguyen Van Giang and Nguyen Linh, “The accumulation from direct consultation and studying the records of each specific case has helped them to gain more experience and valuable lessons from practice to further hone their professional skills…”

Concerns

The reality of more than 1 year of operation has also left in the hearts of those working in legal aid at Nghe An Newspaper many worries. Because there are many cases where people, due to lack of knowledge and vague legal awareness, have committed illegal acts. Some people even seek out lawyers with "personal" motives such as wanting to discredit and harm others.

There are also cases where people suffer because the problem is outside the provisions of the law or because they do not understand the process, or the petition is not sent to the right address, so when they come to a lawyer for advice, the time limit for consideration and resolution has passed. There are cases where people have to return to the lawyer's office many times to discuss the same problem because although they have been advised and guided on how to resolve it, the local authorities and functional agencies have not received and resolved it thoroughly. At such times, the Legal Aid Office plays the role of a "bridge" between the Party Committee, the government and the people, guiding public opinion, relieving frustration, and stabilizing the situation at the grassroots level.

Lawyers listen and share with people

Although it has only been in operation for nearly a year and still has certain limitations, the people working in free legal aid of Nghe An Newspaper and the lawyers feel happy because they are increasingly trusted by readers and people. In 2015, the Office organized 50 sessions, providing free consultation to 142 people on legal issues. In addition to coming directly, people also send consultation requests via handwritten letters and emails and the office responds in printed and electronic newspapers. There are cases where after being consulted and guided on how to solve the problem, they come back to thank the lawyers and the Legal Aid Office with "homegrown" specialties such as lemon, guava, pickled vegetables, soy sauce, etc.

After one year of operation, the trust and expectations of readers and citizens are the driving force for the Nghe An Newspaper Free Legal Aid Office to promote its spirit, responsibility, prestigious and effective operations, contributing to bringing people's trust in the Party's policies and the State's laws.

Khanh Ly