by Defend the Defenders, June 9, 2017
The Vietnam Bar Federation has urged the country’s highest legislative body National Assembly (NA) to remove a controversial article in the amended Penal Code 2015 which regulates relationship between defending lawyers and their clients.
In its statement sent to the NA’s chairperson, Standing Committee and Committee for Legal Affairs, Do Ngoc Thinh, president of the Vietnam Bar Federation said the Article 19 of the amended Penal Code is against the Criminal Procedure Code and is not in line with international standard.
According to the article of the amended Penal Code which is under debate of the parliament in its ongoing May-June session, lawyers will be punished if he/she does not denounce his/her clients.
The regulation requires lawyers to denounce their clients will be conflicted with Article 73 of the Criminal Procedure Code which states that lawyers cannot unveil information of their clients unless their clients agree with written approval, the federation said.
The federation proposed to remove Article 19 or change it in the way that requiring lawyers’ duty to denounce their clients only in serious cases relating to national security.
Last week, Hanoi-based lawyer Dinh Viet Thanh declared that he would give up his profession if the Vietnamese parliament will keep a controversial article regarding relations between lawyers and their clients in the 2015 Penal Code.
The Vietnamese rubber-stamp parliament, in its going one-month session, is holding discussions on Article 19 of the 2015 Penal Code, which requires a lawyer to denounce his/her client if the latter commits any of the 86 listed serious criminal offenses.
Mr. Thanh and dozens of his colleagues went to meet with the standing members of the Vietnam Bar Federation to talk about the article of the bill which was approved by the communist-controlled parliament in 2015 but was suspended from implementation and being amended by the lawmaking body.
The Vietnam Bar Federation should persuade the parliament to remove the article from the bill, the lawyers said.
Mr. Thanh said he is working with many foreigners and his clients will not trust in Vietnamese lawyers if the article exists. His stance was applauded by many colleagues.
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June 9, 2017
Vietnamese Lawyers Asks Parliament to Remove Controversial Article in Amended Penal Code
by Nhan Quyen • [Human Rights]
by Defend the Defenders, June 9, 2017
The Vietnam Bar Federation has urged the country’s highest legislative body National Assembly (NA) to remove a controversial article in the amended Penal Code 2015 which regulates relationship between defending lawyers and their clients.
In its statement sent to the NA’s chairperson, Standing Committee and Committee for Legal Affairs, Do Ngoc Thinh, president of the Vietnam Bar Federation said the Article 19 of the amended Penal Code is against the Criminal Procedure Code and is not in line with international standard.
According to the article of the amended Penal Code which is under debate of the parliament in its ongoing May-June session, lawyers will be punished if he/she does not denounce his/her clients.
The regulation requires lawyers to denounce their clients will be conflicted with Article 73 of the Criminal Procedure Code which states that lawyers cannot unveil information of their clients unless their clients agree with written approval, the federation said.
The federation proposed to remove Article 19 or change it in the way that requiring lawyers’ duty to denounce their clients only in serious cases relating to national security.
Last week, Hanoi-based lawyer Dinh Viet Thanh declared that he would give up his profession if the Vietnamese parliament will keep a controversial article regarding relations between lawyers and their clients in the 2015 Penal Code.
The Vietnamese rubber-stamp parliament, in its going one-month session, is holding discussions on Article 19 of the 2015 Penal Code, which requires a lawyer to denounce his/her client if the latter commits any of the 86 listed serious criminal offenses.
Mr. Thanh and dozens of his colleagues went to meet with the standing members of the Vietnam Bar Federation to talk about the article of the bill which was approved by the communist-controlled parliament in 2015 but was suspended from implementation and being amended by the lawmaking body.
The Vietnam Bar Federation should persuade the parliament to remove the article from the bill, the lawyers said.
Mr. Thanh said he is working with many foreigners and his clients will not trust in Vietnamese lawyers if the article exists. His stance was applauded by many colleagues.