Currently, many students opt to study law in global environments to access modern legal systems of international stature. So, after graduation, do Bachelor of Laws graduates from schools in foreign countries face any procedural difficulties if they wish to return to Vietnam for further training and practice? This article aims to clarify the aforementioned issue.
Article table of contents
Can a Bachelor of Laws who studied abroad practice law upon returning to Vietnam? (Illustrative Image)
in Vietnam, to practice law, students must go through two stages: training and internship. Therefore, just having a Bachelor of Law degree is certainly not enough to practice law. According to Article 10 and Article 11 of the Law on Lawyers, to practice law in Vietnam, individuals must be Vietnamese citizens loyal to the Fatherland, complying with the Constitution and the law, possessing good moral character, holding a Bachelor of Law degree, having completed lawyer professional training, having undergone the lawyer practice internship, and having adequate health to practice law. They can become lawyers if they have the law practice certificate and join a Bar Association in Vietnam.
To obtain the law practice certificate, under normal conditions, except for special cases exempted from training (Article 13 of the Law on Lawyers), students must undertake learning and internship in the following sequence:
- Bachelor of Law degree: Graduation from institutions training in law. Currently, our country has nearly 50 law training institutions.
- Certification of completion of lawyer professional training: Completion of a 12-month lawyer professional training program.
- Certification of lawyer practice internship: A 12-month internship at a lawyer practice organization in Vietnam, certified by the local Bar Association.
- Certification of lawyer practice internship results: The Bar Council reviews and sends the list to the Vietnam Bar Federation for certification issuance.
- law practice certificate: Applicants who meet the requirements of the lawyer practice internship results can submit their application for the law practice certificate to the Bar Council.
In the case of students holding a Bachelor of Law degree from abroad, they can return to Vietnam to continue lawyer professional training and internships to practice law. Degrees today are globally recognized, providing students with more opportunities to access international knowledge. However, for those intending to practice in Vietnam, having a foundational knowledge of Vietnamese law is essential. Therefore, students need to prepare thoroughly and go through initial adjustments to acclimate to the domestic legal system. Note that when enrolling in the lawyer professional training course at the Judicial Academy, besides the copy of the foreign Bachelor's graduation certificate, the Judicial Academy requires students to accompany it with a certificate of degree recognition issued by the Quality Control Department of the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam.
If students continue their lawyer professional training abroad and then return to Vietnam, they must apply for the recognition of the foreign lawyer professional training certificate (submit the application to the Ministry of Justice according to Article 1 of Circular 17/2011/TT-BTP). Currently, there are no specific guidelines, but following the above process, students still have to continue their internship and can practice law in Vietnam once they meet the standards of Article 10 of the Law on Lawyers, possess the law practice certificate, and join a local Bar Association.
Thus, whether trained as a Bachelor of Law domestically or abroad, the opportunity to continue studying and working upon returning to Vietnam is open to everyone.
Hoa Hong
- Key word:
- Bachelor of Law
- Vietnam
