Shall a lawyer practicing certificate of a person liable to criminal prosecution in Vietnam be revoked?
- Shall a lawyer practicing certificate in Vietnam be issued to a person liable to criminal prosecution?
- Shall a lawyer practicing certificate of a person liable to criminal prosecution in Vietnam be revoked?
- Can a person whose law practice certificate is revoked because of being convicted of a serious crime in Vietnam apply for re-issuance?
Shall a lawyer practicing certificate in Vietnam be issued to a person liable to criminal prosecution?
Under Clause 4, Article 17 of the Law on Lawyers 2006, amended by Clause 8, Article 1 of the Law on Lawyers 2012:
Issuing the lawyer practicing certificates
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4. A person shall not be issued with the lawyer practicing certificate in one of the following cases:
a) Not being qualified as a lawyer as prescribed in Article 10 of this law;
b) Being an officer, official, professional soldier or commissioned officer, national defense worker in an agency belonging to the army; a commissioned or non-commissioned officer, a worker in an agency belonging to the Police;
c) Not residing permanently in Vietnam;
d) Being liable to criminal prosecution; has been convicted and condemned and criminal record of an unintentional or not serious crime is not expunged; has been convicted of a serious and intentional crime, a very serious and intentional crime, a particularly serious and intentional crime, even the criminal record has been expunged;
dd) Being liable to administrative actions such as compulsory attendance at detoxification centers or educational institutions;
e) Being incapable of civil acts;
g) The people prescribed in Point b this Clause that have been dismissed within 3 years from the decision on dismissal takes effect.
According to the above regulations, a person liable to criminal prosecution falls into one of the cases in which lawyer practicing certificates shall not issued.
Shall a lawyer practicing certificate of a person liable to criminal prosecution in Vietnam be revoked?
Under Article 18 of the Law on Lawyers 2006 as amended by Clause 9, Article 1 of the Law on Lawyers 2012:
Revoking the lawyer practicing certificates
1. The lawyer practicing certificate shall be revoked in one of the following cases:
a) No longer being qualified as a lawyer as prescribed in Article 10 of this law;
b) Being recruited or appointed as an officer, official, professional soldier or commissioned officer, national defense worker in an agency belonging to the army; a commissioned or non-commissioned officer, a worker in an agency belonging to the Police;
c) No longer residing permanently in Vietnam;
d) Not joining a Bar association within 2 years as from the date of issue of the lawyer practicing certificate;
dd) Not establishing, participating in the establishment, or working under a labor contract for a law-practicing organization, or working as an independent lawyer within 03 years as from the day of joining the Bar association;
e) Voluntarily stopping practicing as a lawyer;
g) Being eliminated from the list of lawyers of a bar association;
dd) Having the lawyer practicing certificate temporarily revoked, being taken into detoxification centers or educational institutions;
i) Being convicted and the sentence has taken effect;
k) Being incapable of civil acts;
2. The Minister of Justice is entitled to revoke lawyer practicing certificates, and shall specify the procedure for revoking lawyer practicing certificates. The Decision on revoking the lawyer practicing certificate of the Minister of Justice shall be notified to the Vietnam Bar Federation for revoking the Lawyer’s card.”
Thus, a lawyer practicing certificate of a person liable to criminal prosecution in Vietnam shall not be revoked. However, if that person is convicted and his/her sentence has taken effect, his/her lawyer practicing certificate will be revoked.
Can a person whose law practice certificate is revoked because of being convicted of a serious crime in Vietnam apply for re-issuance?
Under Article 19 of the Law on Lawyers 2006 as amended by Clause 10, Article 1 of the Law on Lawyers 2012:
Reissuing the lawyer practicing certificates
1. The person that has had his or her lawyer practicing certificate revoked as prescribed in Points a, b, c, e and k Clause 1 Article 18 of this law shall have the lawyer practicing certificate reissued when the standards prescribed in this Law are met and the reasons for revoking the certificate are eliminated.
2. The person that has had his or her lawyer practicing certificate revoked as prescribed in Point d and Point dd Clause 1 Article 18 of this law shall have the lawyer practicing certificate reissued if he/she applies for reissuance of the lawyer practicing certificate.
3. The person that has had his or her lawyer practicing certificate revoked as prescribed in Points g, h and i Clause 1 Article 18 of this law shall have the lawyer practicing certificate reissued when the requirements prescribed in this Article 10 are satisfied, and in one of the following cases:
a) Within 03 years as from the date of the decision on revoking the lawyer practicing certificate by reason of being eliminated from the list of lawyers of the bar association;
b) The lawyer practicing certificate revocation period has expired, or the decision on taking into detoxification centers or educational institutions is implemented;
c) The criminal records in the cases prescribed in Clause 4 this Article have been erased.
4. The person that has had his or her lawyer practicing certificate revoked by reason of being convicted of a serious and intentional crime, a very serious and intentional crime, a particularly serious and intentional crime shall not be reissued with the lawyer practicing certificate.
5. The procedures for reissuing lawyer practicing certificates are specified in Article 17 of this Law.
Thus, a person whose law practice certificate is revoked because of being convicted of a serious and intentional crime in Vietnam may not apply for re-issuance.
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