In any profession, there will inevitably be negative aspects, and the legal profession is no exception. Decree 82/2020/ND-CP stipulates that lawyers who engage in collusion or relationships with procedural officers, participants in legal proceedings, Vietnamese officials, and public employees that violate legal regulations in resolving cases will be subject to a fine ranging from 30,000,000 VND to 40,000,000 VND.
Article table of contents
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Lawyers connecting for “case running” will be fined up to 40 million VND (Illustrative image)
To be specific, at Point d Clause 7 Article 6 of Decree 82/2020/ND-CP stipulates:
Article 6. Violations related to practicing law
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7. A fine ranging from 30,000,000 VND to 40,000,000 VND shall be imposed for any of the following acts:
d) Connecting, associating with individuals involved in proceedings, participants in proceedings, officials, and public employees to act contrary to the law in resolving cases or matters;
Thus, from September 1, 2020, in cases where lawyers commit the act of “Connecting, associating with individuals involved in proceedings, participants in proceedings, officials, and public employees to act contrary to the law in resolving cases or matters,” they will be fined from 30,000,000 VND to 40,000,000 VND, and also stripped of their legal practice certificate or foreign legal practice license in Vietnam from 01 month to 03 months. The remedial measure is to confiscate any illegal gains acquired through the aforementioned violations.
According to prior regulations, the act of “Connecting, associating with individuals involved in proceedings, participants in proceedings, officials, and public employees to act contrary to the law in resolving cases or matters,” commonly referred to in practice as “case running,” is subject to revocation of the lawyer’s practice certificate, legal practice registration certificate, or legal practice license in Vietnam for 06 months to 12 months and confiscation of any illegal gains acquired through such acts. (Point e Clause 6 and Point b Clause 8 Article 6 of Decree 110/2013/ND-CP)
It can be seen that compared to current penalty regulations, Decree 82/2020/ND-CP has stricter rules for this behavior. The aim is to reduce negative consequences, such as overlooking crimes or mitigating punishments for offenders. When holders of the scales of justice lack integrity and become corrupt, the consequences are unforeseeable.
Additionally, a fine ranging from 30,000,000 VND to 40,000,000 VND shall also be applied to lawyers committing any of the following acts:
- Providing or instructing clients to provide false or untrue documents and evidence;- Inciting clients to give false statements or inciting clients to file illegal complaints or accusations;- Disclosing information about cases or clients known during practice, unless with the client’s written consent or otherwise provided by law;- Participating in enticing, instigating, bribing, or coercing others into gathering in large numbers to cause public disorder or to commit acts in violation of the law without incurring criminal liability;- Providing legal services or performing legal consultancy under the title of a lawyer or impersonating a lawyer; hanging signboards without obtaining a legal practice certificate or without joining a Bar Association.
Thu Ba
