Tu Hoang
The Justice Index 2012, jointly conducted by the Vietnam Lawyers’ Association and the Center for Community Support Development Studies, with United Nations Development Program (UNDP) support, was built on the actual experiences of more than 5,000 people from 21 provinces and cities across the country.
The index captured people’s opinions and assessment of State institutions’ performance in ensuring justice and fundamental rights for citizens.
The Justice Index 2012 revealed the extent of some State agencies’ inefficiencies, with one-fifth of citizens’ complaints on social entitlement policy and environmental pollution having received no feedback from State agencies.
At the same time, the settlement of approximately half of all land disputes and environmental complaints were unresolved pending State action and it often took State agencies a longer time to handle administrative complaints than allowed by law. In fact, the average time taken to address an administrative complaint ranged from 17 to 27 months, depending on the type of individual or household enquiry.
According to nearly half of the surveyed people, land disputes were the most common type of dispute and a ‘disturbing’ issue in their localities. Up to 38% of land disputes are related to land use rights certificates, compensation and reallocation.
The surveyed people revealed that existing land use regulations and opaque local land use plans have led to citizens’ distrust of land tenure security and resistance to long-term land investments.
People voiced demands for a responsive, efficient, reliable, professional and accessible justice system with a high level of integrity. The survey underscored that judicial reform and enhanced law enforcement were essential to achieve a higher level of human development in Vietnam.
Bakhodir Burkhanov, UNDP Deputy Country Director in Vietnam said: “We hope that the index can provide a useful reference for further reforms towards making the legal and judicial system more effective and responsive to the needs and aspirations of the people.”
Pham Quoc Anh, President of the Vietnam Lawyers Association, said: “The Justice Index report accurately captures people’s ability to access justice. It also offers practical policy recommendations to address shortcomings in ensuring justice for people from all sections of society.”
Đăng ký: VietNam News
