Judiciary of Vietnam
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The judicial system of Vietnam is governed under the
Constitution of Vietnam The Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Hiến pháp nước Cộng hòa xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam) is the current constitution of Vietnam, adopted on 28 November 2013 by the Thirteenth National Assembly, and took eff ...
, the Law on the Organization of People's Courts (2014), and the Law on the Organization of People's Procuracies (2014). Since Vietnam is a one-party socialist republic, the judiciary falls under the leadership of the
Communist Party of Vietnam The Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), also known as the Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP), is the founding and sole legal party of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Founded in 1930 by Hồ Chí Minh, the CPV became the ruling party of North ...
, and judges and procurators are all members of the Party. The judiciary is nominally accountable to the
National Assembly of Vietnam The National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Quốc hội nước Cộng hoà xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam) is the national legislature of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The Constitution of Vietnam recognizes the a ...
, which is the highest institution of government power in the country.


Structure

The judicial system of Vietnam comprises the "people's courts," military tribunals, and people's procuracies. The highest court in the country is the
Supreme People's Court The Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China (SPC; ) is the highest court of the People's Republic of China. It hears appeals of cases from the high people's courts and is the trial court for cases about matters of national ...
. Underneath the Supreme People's Court are three levels of courts: the superior people's courts (''toà án nhân dân cấp cao''), of which there are three; the provincial-level people's courts (''toà án nhân dân cấp tỉnh''), of which there are 63; and district-level people's courts (''toà án nhân dân cấp huyện''), which is the lowest level. The superior courts are appellate courts based in Hanoi, Danang, and Ho Chi Minh City, each responsible for the northern, central, and southern region of the country, respectively. Provincial and municipal courts are both trial courts and appellate courts, while district courts are trial courts. There are military tribunals established at various levels in the
Vietnam People's Army Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
, the highest one being the Central Military Tribunal, which is subordinate to the Supreme People's Court. The Supreme People's Court is headed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court (''Chánh án Toà án nhân dân tối cao''), who is appointed by the
National Assembly of Vietnam The National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Quốc hội nước Cộng hoà xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam) is the national legislature of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The Constitution of Vietnam recognizes the a ...
. The people's procuracies (also known as the people's office of inspection and supervision, ''viện kiểm sát nhân dân'') serve as the prosecutorial authority in Vietnam. They also have the responsibility to supervise and inspect judicial compliance by government agencies and officials. There is a people's procuracy for every people's court, and the military has its own military procuracies. The highest procuracy is the Supreme People's Procuracy (''Viện Kiểm sát nhân dân tối cao''), headed by the Chief Procurator of the Supreme People's Procuracy (''Viện trưởng Viện Kiểm sát nhân dân tối cao''), who is appointed by the National Assembly.


Criticisms

Although the constitution provides for independent judges and lay assessors (who lack administrative training), the U.S. Department of State maintains that
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
lacks an independent judiciary, in part because the
Communist Party of Vietnam The Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), also known as the Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP), is the founding and sole legal party of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Founded in 1930 by Hồ Chí Minh, the CPV became the ruling party of North ...
selects judges and vets them for political reliability. Moreover, the party seeks to influence the outcome of cases involving perceived threats to the state or the party's dominant position. In an effort to increase judicial independence, the government transferred local courts from the Ministry of Justice to the Supreme People's Court in September 2002. However, the Department of State saw no evidence that the move actually achieved the stated goal. Vietnam's judiciary also is hampered by a shortage of lawyers and rudimentary trial procedures.


Death penalty

The
death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
often is imposed in cases of corruption and
drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...
. As of February 2014, the death penalty remains a punishment that can be applied to those who have been found guilty of criminal activity. In January 2014, a court in northern Vietnam sentenced 30 Vietnamese citizens to death after they were found guilty of heroin trafficking—the largest number of defendants sentenced to death in a single trial in the country's legal history. At the same time, there are around 700 people awaiting on death row in Vietnam. The January 2014 decision received condemnation from numerous international organizations, such as the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty.


References

* {{Vietnam topics * *