Lawyers fear Vietnam’s new licensing rule could have chilling effect

[ad_1] Attorneys throughout Vietnam are voicing concern over a brand new authorities decree regulating the issuance and revocation of legislation follow licenses, with many taking to social media to publicly specific their grievances.

Decree 121, issued on June 11, shifts the authority to grant, revoke, and renew legislation follow licenses from the Minister of Justice to provincial chairpersons — a transfer seen as a part of a broader agenda to restructure Vietnam’s state equipment. Authorities officers haven't provided a direct clarification for the decree.

Nevertheless, legislation professionals have raised alarms over the change, warning that it not solely violates present legislation but in addition arms sweeping powers to native leaders, elevating issues the authority may very well be abused to intimidate attorneys concerned in instances in opposition to provincial governments.

Writing on his Fb web page, Ho Chi Minh Metropolis-based lawyer Trinh Dinh Dung argued that Decree 121 violates present laws, particularly the 2006 Regulation on Attorneys, which stipulates that solely the Minister of Justice has the authority to challenge, revoke, and renew legislation training licenses. “As a matter of precept, a authorized doc issued by the Nationwide Meeting can solely be amended by the Nationwide Meeting itself,” he wrote.

The continued session of the Nationwide Meeting is scheduled to conclude on June 30, however its agenda doesn't embody any dialogue on the Regulation on Attorneys.

With no indication that the present legislation can be amended, lawyer Trinh Dinh Dung concluded that the manager department is exhibiting “indicators of energy abuse.”

Probably the most troubling facet of the brand new rule, critics say, is that it grants the ability to strip attorneys of their proper to follow legislation to provincial leaders, who continuously face public opposition over native insurance policies.

Dang Dinh Manh, a former lawyer from Ho Chi Minh Metropolis who has given up training legislation in Vietnam on account of authorities harassment, advised RFA that native governments are continuously the goal of authorized challenges.

“Typically, when the authorities challenge paperwork associated to land or housing confiscation, even a single affected space can immediate a whole lot of households to file lawsuits,” he mentioned.

Native communities sometimes rent attorneys from throughout the similar province to symbolize their instances. With native leaders now holding the ability to finish authorized careers, attorneys can be “intimidated into submission,” the previous lawyer warned.

This concern is echoed by attorneys in different elements of the nation as properly.

Talking to RFA on situation of anonymity, a Hanoi-based lawyer cited a hypothetical case involving a metropolis chairperson. “Will probably be straightforward for favoritism and concern to take maintain, because the chairperson has the ability to revoke attorneys’ training licenses at any time,” he warned.

The brand new rule is ready so as to add a further layer of deterrence for attorneys, supplementing present rules. Below present legislation, all training attorneys should be registered with a bar affiliation, which operates below the oversight of presidency authorities.

In 2024, authorities within the southern province of Lengthy An launched an investigation into three attorneys over their on-line commentary on a neighborhood authorized case. The transfer prompted all three to flee the nation, marking a turning level within the authorities’s strategy to authorized professionals concerned in delicate issues.

Talking to RFA, Dang Dinh Manh, one of many three attorneys who fled Vietnam fearing authorities retribution, mentioned the regime’s determination to grant provincial leaders the authority to revoke attorneys’ training licenses reveals that it views authorized professionals as a “goal” to be “struggled in opposition to,” reasonably than as companions in upholding the rule of legislation.