On October 6, 2025, the city of Hue became the center of a pivotal effort to modernize and expand legal assistance for Vietnam’s most vulnerable citizens. The Department of Legal Dissemination and Legal Aid, backed by funding from the World Bank and the Japan Social Development Fund, hosted a landmark conference aimed at boosting legal support for the poor and marginalized. At the heart of the event was a new focus on digital transformation—an initiative that’s quickly becoming essential across Vietnam’s legal and law enforcement landscape.
According to coverage from local sources, the conference drew together an impressive array of participants: representatives from the Hue City Department of Justice, local police, the Ministry of Justice’s project management board, and legal aid centers spanning a dozen provinces, including Hanoi, Dien Bien, Lao Cai, Da Nang, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Gia Lai, Quang Ngai, Dak Lak, and Lam Dong. Ms. Vu Thi Huong, Deputy Director of the Department of Legal Dissemination and Legal Aid, presided over the event, emphasizing the critical role of technology in improving legal aid outcomes.
“Building and exploiting electronic case files and legal aid databases is stipulated in Clause 3, Article 39 of the 2017 Law on Legal Aid,” Ms. Vu Thi Huong explained in her opening remarks, as reported by official channels. She highlighted that, since 2019, the Ministry of Justice has been developing and rolling out a management system for legal aid organizations and activities. This digital system, she noted, has already enabled legal aid centers to update case files, organizational data, and personnel information, while also connecting with the national population database in line with Decision No. 06/QD-TTg dated January 6, 2022.
The push for digital transformation in legal aid isn’t just a matter of efficiency. It’s a direct response to high-level directives from Vietnam’s leadership. As referenced at the conference, Resolution No. 27-NQ/TW (issued November 9, 2022) by the Central Executive Committee calls for the modernization and increased application of information technology within the legal aid system. Further, Resolution No. 66-NQ/TW, dated April 30, 2025, from the Politburo, specifically directs the legal sector to “promote digital application and synchronous digital transformation in legal dissemination, education, and legal aid.”
“Strengthening the application of information technology in legal aid activities is essential to implement the Party’s directives and improve the effectiveness of state management,” Ms. Vu Thi Huong told attendees, urging them to approach the training with dedication and to maximize the expertise available from instructors and technical support staff. She encouraged participants to actively discuss and seek solutions to real-world challenges encountered during the rollout of the digital system, especially as recent administrative mergers and reforms have created new complexities.
The conference, as detailed by the Ministry of Justice, was more than just theory. It included hands-on training sessions led by Ms. Do Thi Hao, Deputy Head of the Digital Transformation Department at the Ministry of Justice’s Information Technology Bureau. Ms. Hao, who has closely supported the development and management of the legal aid information system, provided practical guidance on setting up digital case files, extracting and managing data, and ensuring compliance with updated legal frameworks. She also addressed the technical hurdles that legal aid centers face, particularly after the merging of administrative units under the new governance model.
Attendees, including legal aid officers and IT specialists from across the country, rolled up their sleeves for practical exercises on computers, guided by both instructors and a technical support team. According to official reports, these sessions became lively forums for discussion, with participants raising questions about unresolved issues and difficulties—such as digitizing legacy data after provincial mergers, slow system performance during peak reporting times, and the system’s current inability to fully track the process of case appraisal and quality assessment as required by law.
“The system still cannot record and track the entire process of appraising and evaluating case quality according to regulations,” one delegate pointed out during the discussions, echoing concerns shared by several other participants. Others noted that extracting data and generating reports had become more complicated due to the reorganization of centers and the consolidation of their records.
Despite these hurdles, the mood at the conference was one of determination and collaboration. Participants offered constructive feedback to help refine the legal aid information system. Many expressed readiness to implement fully digital administrative procedures in legal aid, including returning results through the VNeID application—a move that aligns with Vietnam’s broader national digital transformation strategy.
Meanwhile, the need for robust legal support and public safety measures remains pressing in other parts of the country. In Can Tho city and neighboring provinces, law enforcement agencies have been busy with a flurry of activities aimed at maintaining order and protecting citizens. On October 8, 2025, authorities in Can Tho penalized individuals for spreading false information and insulting others on social networks—a clear sign that the government is taking online misinformation and defamation seriously.
Recent weeks have seen Can Tho police crack down on illegal drug use organizations, detaining multiple individuals involved in both the consumption and distribution of narcotics. In An Giang province, officials temporarily detained nine leaders among 314 drug rehabilitation center inmates who escaped, and an urgent search continues for several escapees. The local press also reports the arrest of an employee accused of embezzling billions of Vietnamese dong from a company, as well as the detection and prosecution of fraud and asset appropriation crimes.
Other initiatives in Can Tho reflect a broader commitment to community safety and legal compliance. Campaigns such as “Not Alone” and “Together for Online Safety” have been launched to promote digital security, while monks and nuns have been mobilized to help ensure public order. Authorities are also tackling practical issues like the urgent repair of traffic signal lights, restoring safety at spontaneous markets, and promoting traffic law awareness among students.
In the realm of legal aid, these law enforcement actions underscore the importance of accessible legal support for vulnerable populations—especially those at risk of being targeted by scams, online kidnapping schemes, or drug-related crimes. The nationwide effort to digitize legal aid not only promises to streamline services but also to provide a stronger safety net for those who need it most.
As the conference in Hue concluded, participants left with sharper skills in applying information technology for legal aid oversight, monitoring, and quality assessment. The consensus was clear: while challenges remain, the drive to modernize Vietnam’s legal aid system is well underway, powered by both technological innovation and a deep commitment to justice for all.
