Can police officers be lawyers in Vietnam?

Can police officers be lawyers in Vietnam?

In Article 17 of the Law on Lawyers 2006 as amended by Clause 8, Article 1 of the Law on Lawyers Amended 2012 provides for grant of law practice certificates as follows:

1. The person that passes the assessment of the lawyer apprenticeship shall submit a dossier of application for the lawyer practice certificate to the Board of Directors of the bar association.

The dossier includes:

a) The written application for the lawyer practicing certificate in accordance with the form issued by the Ministry of Justice;

b) The judicial résumé;

c) The health certificate;

d) A copy of the bachelor’s degree in law or master’s degree in law;

dd) A copy of the certificate of lawyer apprenticeship assessment.

Within 07 working days as from receiving the complete and valid dossier, the Board of Directors of the bar association shall send the dossier to the Service of Justice, enclosed with the written certification that the applicant for the lawyer practicing certificate is qualified as prescribed in this law.

2. The person exempted from lawyer apprenticeship shall submit a dossier of application for the lawyer practicing certificate to the local Service of Justice.

The dossier includes:

a) The papers prescribed in Point a, b, c and Clause 1 this Article;

b) The papers prescribed in Point d Clause 1 this Article, except for professors, associate professors of laws, and doctors of law;

c) The copy of the document proving the exemption from lawyer apprenticeship prescribed in Clause 1 Article 16 of this Law.

3. Within 07 working days as from receiving the complete and valid dossier, the Service of Justice shall check the dossier, verify the validity of the dossier if necessary, and send the written request enclosed with the dossier of application for the lawyer practicing certificate to the Ministry of Justice.

Within 20 days as from receiving the complete and valid dossier, the Minister of Justice shall decide the issue of the lawyer practicing certificate; the refusal must be explained and notified in writing to the applicant and the Service of Justice where the dossier of application is submitted.

The refused person may file complaints or lawsuits as prescribed by law.

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.

Besides, in Clause 2, Article 3 of Circular 19/2013/TT-BTP stipulates about people who register to practice law as follows:

2. Persons falling into one of the following circumstances may not register for law practice probation: 

a) 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;

Thus, based on the above grounds, the police officers will not be registered to practice law and will not be granted a law practice certificate. Therefore, your case is a police officer, so you can't be a lawyer in Vietnam.

What are cases of withdrawal of law practice certificates in Vietnam?

In Article 18 of the 2006 Law on Lawyers as amended by Clause 9, Article 1 of the Law on Lawyers Amended 2012, the case in which the law practice certificate is revoked is as follows:

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.

According to this Article, individuals will have their law practice certificates revoked if they fall into the above cases in Vietnam.

When are law practice certificates re-granted in Vietnam?

Article 19 of the Law on Lawyers 2006 as amended by Clause 10, Article 1 of the Law on Lawyers Amended 2012 provides for re-grant of law practice certificates as follows:

1. The person that has had his or her lawyer practicing certificate revoked as prescribed in Point a, b, c, e and k Clause 1 Article 18 of this law shall be considered and reissue with the lawyer practicing certificate 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 a, b, c, e and k Clause 1 Article 18 of this law shall be considered and reissue with the lawyer practicing certificate when the standards prescribed in this Law are met and the reasons for revoking the certificate are eliminated.

3. The person that has had his or her lawyer practicing certificate revoked as prescribed in Point g, h and i Clause 1 Article 18 of this law shall be considered and reissue with the lawyer practicing certificate 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 an 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.

Therefore, the individual will be re-granted a law practice certificate in the above cases in Vietnam.

Best Regards!