Vietnam – annual report 2023

Details
Published: September 4, 2024

Strategic Framework

Legal Policy Starting Point

The political system with the Communist Party‘s monopoly on power remains unchanged, ensures stability and was not called into question at the beginning of the year by the resignation of the President and two Deputy Prime Ministers in connection with allegations of corruption – a unique occurrence. Vo Van Thuong took office as President in March.

The strategy for building and perfecting the socialist constitutional state by 2030 with a vision until 2045, which has been further developed since 2021, shapes the state programs and the resulting guidelines for government institutions. The goals are Improving the mechanism for controlling state power, strengthening administrative reform, building a lean, efficient state apparatus and accelerating judicial reform.

The aim is to achieve the status of a high-income country by 2045 according to the World Bank classification. This will be supported by gradual integration into the global trade and investment system, which will lead to a stronger market-oriented economy. The corresponding reforms include the partial privatisation of state-owned enterprises, the liberalisation of trade and the increasing recognition of private property rights.

Overall Concept

IRZ carries out its projects within the framework of the German-Vietnamese Rule of Law Dialogue, which the Federal Ministry of Justice agreed with the Vietnamese Ministry of Justice in 2009. In 2022, the two ministries signed the fifth three-year programme, in which the topics of rule of law and human rights are fortunately given greater priority than ever before. The programme now includes a dedicated chapter on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and – in addition to continuing important thematic priorities from the fourth three-year programme (including strengthening administrative justice, juvenile criminal law, prohibition of torture, strengthening the rights of transgender people, death penalty) – new thematic priorities such as sustainable and fair supply chains and access to justice. Furthermore, geopolitical issues are also taken into account, for example with a new thematic focus on the Law of the Sea /International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS). During a visit to Hanoi, the State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Justice, Dr Angelika Schlunck, expressed her appreciation for the many years of cooperation.

She exchanged views with Justice Minister Le Thanh Long on the rule of law perspective and expectations for the content of joint projects. The talks at the Supreme People’s Court focused on the independence of the judiciary and judicial reforms such as e-justice. The subject of the meeting at Hanoi Law University was the long-standing cooperation in the rule of law dialogue on legal academic education.

Against the background of long-term legal policy projects, a broad spectrum of international legal advice is provided. To this end, IRZ implements projects with various partners from the annual work programme. One focus was on several consultations and a study trip on juvenile criminallaw, for which a modernization of existing criminal law regulations and the adoption of a separate Youth Courts Act are planned. In several workshops with the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuracy, the draft of the Youth Courts Act was discussed as well as the objectives of juvenile criminal law and alternative sanctions (diversion). The training film “Robbery of a vest and its consequences: a main hearing in juvenile criminal proceedings” produced by IRZ was able to vividly demonstrate the special features of juvenile criminal law, in particular the involvement of Youth courts assistance service and the legal consequences of criminal offenses. The cooperation partners will use the film in future for further training in their own academies.

The cooperation with various Bar associations took place together with the German Federal Bar and was dedicated to criminal defense, a constantly topical issue. The exercise of the rights of criminal defense lawyers is not fully successful, and cooperation with the Prosecuting authorities is often challenging.

The first evaluation talks on the three-year Rule-of-Law programme 2019 to 2022 should also be highlighted. The Federal Ministry of Justice and the Vietnamese Ministry of Justice invited the Vietnamese and German partners involved to report on their experiences and exchange ideas for the future. The project partners used this dialogue format to openly discuss the different modalities for implementing the projects.

Focus of Activity in 2023

Civil and Commercial Law

  • In-person workshop on statutory health regulations for the implementation of the new law on medical treatment with the Center for Consulting on Legal and Policy on Health and HIV/AIDS (CCLPHH), including an exchange on the legislative project to strengthen the rights of transgender people, Hanoi.

Public Law

  • Lecture on constitutional and administrative law with the Vietnam National University (VNU), Hanoi

Administration of Justice

  • Study trip to Berlin on professional law for lawyers and aspects of criminal defense and the penal system for the Vietnamese Bar Federation in cooperation with the German Federal Bar

Criminal and Penitentiary Law

  • In-person seminar on the code of conduct/regulations on integrity for civil servants and on legislation, taking into account corruption
  • prevention, with the Ministry of Justice in cooperation with the Federal Ministry of Justice of Germany, Hanoi
  • In-person workshop on the professional practice of criminal defense, especially with foreign clients, with the Hanoi Bar Association in cooperation with the German Federal Bar, Hanoi
  • In-person workshop to expand the skills of defense lawyers in
  • white-collar criminal cases with the Judicial Academy in cooperation with the German Federal Bar, Hanoi
  • Presence workshop on aspects of criminal prosecution and supervision of criminal proceedings including human rights guarantees for female and juvenile offenders – including guidelines for interrogations – with the Supreme People’s Procuracy, Hanoi
  • Presence workshop on juvenile criminal law including the training film “Robbery of a vest and its consequences – a main hearing in juvenile criminal proceedings” with the Supreme People’s Court in cooperation with the Federal Ministry of Justice of Germany, Hanoi
  • Nationwide conference (face-to-face format) on juvenile criminal law including the training film on juvenile criminal proceedings with the Supreme People‘s Court; nationwide broadcast to all courts with approx. 11,000 people reached, Hanoi
  • Study trip to Berlin on juvenile criminal law with a focus on the law of evidence, representation of minors in court and alternative sanctions for the Judicial Academy

Basic and Further Training

  • Online training for the Judicial Academy as part of the lawyer treinee programme on international integration: management skills and brand building and development for lawyers in cooperation with the German Federal Bar

Outlook

With the adoption of a new work plan by the German and Vietnamese Ministries of Justice, IRZ will continue its existing consultations. The focus will be on commercial law consultations, reforms in court organisation, conferences on juvenile criminal law, legal ethics and an international exchange of experience on the prospective abolition of the death penalty.