An 'Invisible Sword': New Decree Targets Việt Nam's Lawyers

Anh Băng wrote this Vietnamese article, published in Luật Khoa Magazine on June 20, 2025. 

The Vietnamese government has just issued Decree 121/2025/NĐ-CP, a new regulation that grants provincial People’s Committee chairpersons the authority to issue, revoke, and manage law practice certificates. The decree, which transfers power that previously belonged to the Ministry of Justice under National Assembly legislation, has triggered an outcry among legal professionals.

Critics argue that the decree oversteps the government's authority, contradicts existing laws, and may even be unconstitutional. More alarmingly, it introduces a clear conflict of interest, particularly in administrative lawsuits where the potential defendant—a provincial chairperson—would now hold the power to disbar the very lawyer suing them.

Decree 121 and the Law on Lawyers

To understand the controversy surrounding Decree 121, one must look at the legal hierarchy in Việt Nam. A government decree, according to Article 14 of the 2025 Law on the Promulgation of Legal Normative Documents, exists to clarify and implement provisions of a law passed by the National Assembly; it cannot override the law.

However, Decree 121 does exactly that. 

Articles 17, 18, and 19 of the Law on Lawyers explicitly grant the Ministry of Justice the sole authority to issue and revoke law licenses. By transferring this power to provincial chairpersons, the decree directly contradicts the aforementioned law. No matter the justification, the government cannot use a decree to override a law passed by the National Assembly. Under Article 58 of the Law on Legal Documents, in any case of conflict, the law with higher authority—in this case, the Law on Lawyers—must prevail. 

The news that Decree 121 would nonetheless take effect on July 1, 2025, was met with shock and immediate assertions of its unlawfulness from many in the legal community.

Decree First, Law Later?

In a defense of the new regulation, Thanh Niên newspaper released an article on June 13 titled, “Understanding Decentralization of Lawyer Management to Provincial Chairpersons.” It framed Decree 121 as something temporary that would serve as a transitional adjustment pending future amendments to the Law on Lawyers. Atty. Nguyễn Văn Hậu of the Vietnam Bar Federation described it as a pilot initiative to gradually transfer authority to local governments.

However, this justification is a blatant case of the executive branch usurping legislative functions. This violates the Constitution, which assigns lawmaking power solely to the National Assembly. The role of the executive branch is to enforce laws, not preemptively dictate new legal frameworks through subordinate decrees.

From this perspective, the issue is not about waiting for future reforms to validate the decree; it is about the immediate need to repeal Decree 121 to uphold constitutional principles and maintain public trust in the rule of law.

Conflict of Interest in Legal Practice

Decree 121 grants provincial chairpersons authority over several professions, including notaries and auctioneers, but the legal community has opposed it most fiercely—and for good reason.

In Việt Nam, citizens frequently file administrative lawsuits against provincial chairpersons over decisions related to land use, zoning, compensation, and government expropriation. In these cases, lawyers represent citizens and directly challenge the actions of the very official who, under the new decree, now controls their license to practice law.

This creates an undeniable conflict of interest, placing lawyers in a vulnerable and unequal position that compromises the fairness and objectivity of legal proceedings. Even if a chairperson cannot arbitrarily revoke a license without just cause, the latent threat remains. This "invisible sword" may pressure lawyers to self-censor, undermining their ability to advocate fully for their clients and risking the entrenchment of local political interests.