Rule of Law Initiative Programs - Vietnam

Criminal Law & Trafficking

Improved Protection of Criminal Defendants’ Rights

To address the injustices caused by lack of adequate legal representation, the MOJ, Supreme People’s Court, and Supreme People’s Procuracy have been tasked with issuing guidelines for the participation of defense lawyers in criminal cases.  The ABA plans to support this reform by providing expert advice and counsel to the drafters of the new criminal guidelines.  The ABA will also organize a series of training workshops, some of which will be targeted solely at criminal defense lawyers and focus on criminal defense skills, and others that will bring together lawyers, judges, and prosecutors to focus on how to improve procedures so as to introduce greater fairness into the process and better protect defendants’ rights, and on how to increase cooperation amongst all stakeholders on planning and implementation of needed criminal justice reforms.

 

Legal Education Reform

Advocacy and Litigation Skills Training

The ABA will work with its partners to develop and implement a series of broader, country-wide, practically oriented legal training courses.  The ABA will conduct advocacy workshops focusing on litigation skills, public interest advocacy, and a “training-of-trainers.”  The ABA will train a core group of local trainers who will conduct multi-day advocacy and litigation trainings around the country that use modern teaching methodologies such as role-play exercises, moot courts, and hypothetical case studies to introduce legal professionals (including new law graduates, practicing lawyers, judges and prosecutors) to the new procedures provided in Vietnam’s new civil and criminal procedure codes. 

 

Legal Profession Reform

Support the Development of a Unified, Autonomous and Professional Bar Organization

The ABA plans to organize a series of stakeholder meetings to build support for the new national lawyers organization.  These meetings would:

(1) educate participants on the importance of and need for a autonomous legal profession, represented by a unified bar organization, in building the country’s economic and social structure;

(2) solicit stakeholder input on the draft law’s provisions or on the new bar organization’s charter; and

(3) build support for the establishment of a unified bar association, most importantly among the various provincial bar associations. 

For more information, contact Stephanie Le at <les@staff.abanet.org>.