doi moi" period" />
mask
Vietnam's judicial bodies embark on "doi moi" period
Since 1986, Vietnam has embarked on the cause of comprehensive national renewal (doi moi), economic and political as well. In the field of renewal of its political system, Vietnam has been carrying out two big reforms: the administrative reform and the judicial reform.

>>Vietnam's judicial bodies in the 1975-1986 period

>>Vietnam’s judiciary bodies during anti-US war (1954–1975)

>>Vietnam's judiciary bodies during the anti-French war (1945-1954)

Pham Diem

State and Law Research Institute

Since 1986, Vietnam has embarked on the cause of comprehensive national renewal (doi moi), economic and political as well. In the field of renewal of its political system, Vietnam has been carrying out two big reforms: the administrative reform and the judicial reform. The judicial reform has been conducted under the following three guiding principles:

First, renewing, first of all, the perception of the role and position of the judicial system in the process of building a law-governed State in Vietnam.

Second, democratizing the judicial life and intensifying the protection of citizens’ rights and interests.

Third, raising the effectiveness and efficiency of operation of judicial bodies, comprehensively expanding various aspects of jurisdiction.

In order to create legal bases for the judicial renewal, the Vietnamese State has promulgated a series of legal documents, including:

- The 1992 Constitution, which was amended and supplemented in 2001;

- The Criminal Procedure Code (in 1988, which was amended and supplemented many times, then shall be replaced by the newly enacted one which takes effect as from July 1, 2004);

- The Law on Organization of the People’s Courts, promulgated in 1992, then replaced by a new law in 2002;

- The Law on Organization of the People’s Procuracies, promulgated in 1992, then replaced by a new law in 2002;

- The Law on Complaints and Denunciations in 1998;

- The Ordinance on Lawyers’ Organizations in 1987;

- The Ordinance on Criminal Investigation Organization in 1989;

- The Ordinance on Organization of the Military Courts in 1993;

- The Ordinance on Recognition and Execution in Vietnam of Civil Judgments and Decisions of Foreign Courts in 1993;

- The Ordinance on Judges and People’s Jurors in 1993;

- The Ordinance on Procedures for Settlement of Economic Cases in 1994;

- The Ordinance on Procedures for Settlement of Labor Disputes in 1996;

- The Ordinance on Procedures for Settlement of Administrative Cases, promulgated in 1996, then amended in 1999;

- The Ordinance on Procedures for Settlement of Civil Cases in 1989.

Generally, the legal documents on judicial matters, promulgated during the “doi moi” period, have been quantitatively greater and substantially comprehensive particularly with fundamental renewal in their contents.

I. The court system

During this period of “doi moi” (from 1986 till now), Vietnam’s court system still comprises:

- The Supreme People’s Court;

- The provincial/municipal people’s courts;

- The people’s courts of rural districts, urban districts, provincial capitals or towns;

- The military courts, including the Central Military Court, the military courts of military zone or equivalent level; the military courts of regional or equivalent level.

In special cases, the National Assembly may decide to set up special courts.

So, Vietnam’s court system has been organized under the administrative-territorial and adjudicating competence principle.

1. Regarding the courts’ organizational structures:

- The Supreme People’s Court has been structured to consist of the chief judge, deputy chief judges, judges, courts of appeal, specialized courts being Criminal Tribunal, Civil Tribunal, Economic Tribunal, Administrative Tribunal and Labor Tribunal, and the Judges’ Council. The chief judge of the Supreme People’s Court is elected and dismissed by the National Assembly according to its term, taking responsibility and reporting on activities before the National Assembly or the National Assembly Standing Committee and the State President when the National Assembly is in recess, and answering questions of National Assembly deputies. The vice-presidents and members of its Judges’ Council are appointed and dismissed by the National Assembly Standing Committee.

The Judges’ Council of the Supreme People’s Court comprises the chief judge, the deputy chief judges and a number of judges of the Supreme People’s Court. It has the following powers:

- To review according to cassation or reopening procedures the legally effective judgments which are protested against.

- To guide courts at different levels to apply laws in a uniform manner.

- To draw adjudicating experiences.

- To adopt the Supreme People’s Court chief judge’s reports on activities of the Supreme People’s Court for submission to the National Assembly, the National Assembly Standing Committee and the State President.

- To prepare bills and draft ordinances for submission to the National Assembly and the National Assembly Standing Committee.

The provincial/municipal people’s courts are structured each to consist of the chief judge, deputy chief judges, judges, people’s jurors, the Judges’ Committee, the Criminal Tribunal, the Civil Tribunal, the Economic Tribunal, the Administrative Tribunal, the Labor Tribunal.

The district-level people’s courts are organized each to comprise the chief judge, one or two deputy chief judges, judges, the people’s jurors.

The military courts are structured each to consist of the chief judge, deputy chief judges, judges, army men’s jurors, and particularly the Judges’ Committee for the Central Military Court only.

The chief judges and deputy chief judges of the local people’s courts as well as of the military courts and the judges of courts at all levels shall all be appointed and dismissed by the State President.

2. Regarding the adjudicating competence of courts:

a/ The Supreme People’s Court has the following powers:

- To guide subordinate courts to uniformly apply laws, to review the adjudicating work of the whole court system, to review according to cassation procedures the adjudication by courts of different levels.

- To conduct first-instance-cum-final-instance trial of cases under the provisions of procedure laws.

- To conduct appellate trial of first-instance judgments of the courts of provincial or equivalent level, which are appealed or protested against.

- To review according to cassation or reopening procedures legally effective judgments of subordinate courts, which are protested against.

b/ The provincial-level people’s courts shall have the following powers:

- To conduct first-instance trial of cases falling under their competence as prescribed by the procedure laws.

- To conduct appellate trial of first-instance judgments of district-level courts, which are appealed or protested against.

- To review according to cassation or reopening procedures legally effective judgments of subordinate courts, which are protested against.

c/ The district-level people’s courts are competent to conduct first-instance trial of cases as provided for by procedure laws.

d/ The military courts submit to the leadership of the Supreme People’s Court, which are also the adjudicating bodies of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and organized in the army. They are competent only to adjudicate criminal cases involving subjects of either of the following types:

- Defendants are army men or military employees or workers;

- Defendants, though being not army men or military employees or workers, have committed offences related to military secrets or causing damage to the army.

In short, Vietnam’s court system has during the years of “ doi moi” witnessed big and prominent reforms:

First, the judge election regime has been replaced by the judge appointment regime. This is really a big step of reform aiming to ensure the principle of independence in adjudication, and at the same time contributing to building the contingent of professionally skilful judges. Besides Decree No.13 in 1946 on organization of courts and judge’s ranks, the 1993 Ordinance on Judges and People’s Jurors has been the Vietnamese State’s second legal document containing specific provisions and may substantial changes in the judge institution. Article 1 of the Ordinance stated: Judges are persons appointed under law provisions to perform the task of adjudicating cases falling under the courts’ jurisdiction.

According to Article 4 of the Ordinance, in order to be selected and appointed as judges, such people must be Vietnamese citizens who are loyal to the Fatherland, have good moral qualities, are incorruptible and honest, have legal knowledge, strictly observe laws, have the spirit of resolutely protecting the socialist legislation, have good health for the performance of their assigned tasks. Besides the political and ethical criteria, the criteria on professional qualifications, chiefly legal knowledge, have been given special attention and prescribed in detail. For instance, the judges of the Supreme People’s Court must have collegial degree in court or law bachelor degree, have been involved in legal work for at least eight years and have the capability to adjudicate cases falling under the jurisdiction of the Supreme People’s Court. The judges of the provincial-level courts must also have the collegial degree in court or law bachelor degree, have been engaged in legal work for six years or more and have the capability to adjudicate cases falling under the jurisdiction of the provincial-level people’s courts. The judges of the district-level people’s courts must also have the collegial degree in court or law bachelor degree, have been engaged in legal work for at least four years and have the capability to adjudicate cases falling under the jurisdiction of the district-level people’s courts. Particularly, the judge selection councils are set up at all levels with the tasks of selecting fully qualified persons for submission to the State President for consideration and appointment, and considering and examining judges who have broken disciplines and been no longer qualified for their jobs for submission to the State President for dismissal. It has been a new thing under this Ordinance that the judges of courts at all levels would be appointed by the State President.

Second, the people’s courts have been given new jurisdictions, namely the economic jurisdiction, the labor jurisdiction, the administrative jurisdiction, meaning that they are now competent to adjudicate economic disputes, labor disputes and administrative cases. For this reason, the people’s courts (the Supreme People’s Court and the provincial-level people’s courts) have been organized to additionally include three specialized courts - the Economic Tribunal, the Labor Tribunal and the Administrative Tribunal – which were never seen before. Formerly, these jurisdictions fell into the hand of the executive bodies. This change has aimed to avoid the previous common phenomenon that players concurrently act as referees, and at the same time to settle in time and satisfactorily disputes in these domains and to protect citizens’ legitimate rights and interests and to democratize by one further step the judicial life.

Third, the organizational structures and adjudicating competence of courts of different levels have been defined more specifically than before along the direction of increasing the adjudicating competence for local courts. This has aimed at nothing but creating conditions for the Supreme People’s Court to better perform its key tasks of guiding subordinate courts to uniformly apply laws, drawing adjudicating experiences, preparing bills and conducting review, reopening and appellate trials.

II. The system of procuracies

Together with the court system, the system of procuracies has been substantially reformed.

Under the 1992 Constitution and the Law on Organization of the People’s Procuracies, the system of procuracies comprises:

- The Supreme People’s Procuracy.

- The provincial/municipal people’s procuracies.

- The people’s procuracies of rural districts, urban districts, provincial capitals or towns.

- The military procuracies, including the Central Military Procuracy, the military procuracies of military zone and equivalent level and regional military procuracies.

1. Regarding the organizational structures of procuracies:

a/ The Supreme People’s Procuracy consists of the chairman, vice chairmen, procurators and the Procurators’ Committee. The chairman of the Supreme People’s Procuracy is appointed and dismissed by the National Assembly according to its term. The vice-chairmen and procurators of the Supreme People’s Procuracy are appointed and dismissed by the State President. The Procurators’ Committee is composed of the chairman, the vice- chairmen and a number of procurators, who are all appointed and dismissed by the National Assembly Standing Commitee. The chairman of the Supreme People’s Procuracy is answerable and report on activities to the National Assembly or the National Assembly Standing Committee and the State President when the National Assembly is in recess, and answer questions of National Assembly deputies. The Procurators’ Committee of the Supreme People’s Procuracy is competent to discuss and decide on the following important issues:

- Orientations, tasks and work plans of the entire procuracy sector.

- The elaboration of bills, draft ordinances for submission to the National Assembly or the National Assembly Standing Committee, reports of the Supreme People’s Procuracy for submission to the National Assembly, the National Assembly Standing Committee and the State President.

b/ The provincial-level people’s procuracies are structured each to comprise the chairman, vice-chairmen, procurators and the Procurators’ Committee.

c/ The district-level people’s procuracies are organized each to be consisted of the chairman, vice-chairmen, procurators, but no Procurators’ Committee.

d/ The Central Military Procuracy constitutes a part of the Supreme People’s Procuracy, performing the function of the Supreme People’s Procuracy in the army. It is composed of the chairman (who is a vice-chairman of the Supreme People’s Procuracy), vice-chairmen, the procurators (who are concurrently the procurators of the Supreme People’s Procuracy), and the Procurators’ Committee. The military procuracies of military zone or equivalent level are organized each to comprise the chairman, vice-chairmen, procurators and the Procurators’ Committee. The regional military procuracies are structured each to have the chairman, vice-chairmen, procurators, but no Procurators’ Committee.

The vice-chairmen of the Supreme People’s Procuracy, all the chairmen, vice-chairmen of the local procuracies as well as the military procuracies and the procurators are appointed and dismissed by the State President.

Generally, the organizational structure of the current procuracy system has seen no big changes as compared to the previous periods. It is still organized according to the principle of unified centralism according to the vertical hierarchy with the procuracies being, in principle, independent from the executive bodies and courts and only subject to the supervision by, take responsibility before, and report on their activities to, the people-elected agencies (namely the National Assembly, the People’s Councils and the State President).

2. On the functions and competence of the procuracies:

The biggest and substantial change in the process of reforming the procuracy system has been the narrowing of the procuracies’ functions. Under the 1992 Constitution and the 1992 Law on Organization of the People’s Procuracies, the procuracies still had two functions as before: To procurate the observance of laws and to exercise the right to prosecute. Yet, when these two legal documents were amended in 2001 and 2002 respectively, the procuracies were left with only one function, that is to exercise the right to prosecute and procurate judicial activities. In the course of deliberation on the functions of the procuracies, opinions had been divergent and viewpoints differed. However, the majority had agreed that the procuracies should have concentrate efforts on better performing the function of prosecution and control of judicial activities, and not perform the function of procurating the law observance in order to avoid overlapping with the function and tasks of the inspection and control agencies of the State and the Party. Such unique function of the procuracy has been specified in Article 3 of the Law on Organization of the People’s Procuracies as follows:

- To exercise the right to prosecution and control of law observance in the course of investigation of cases by the investigating bodies and other agencies tasked to conduct a number of investigating activities.

- To directly investigate some kinds of offenses infringing upon the judicial activities with the offenders being judicial officials.

- To exercise the right to prosecution and control of law observance in adjudication of criminal cases.

- To procurate the settlement of civil cases, marriage and family cases, administrative, economic, labor and other cases as provided for by law.

- To procurate the law observance in the execution of court judgments and decisions.

- To procurate the law observance in effecting the custody and detention of the defendants as well as the management and education of persons who serve the imprisonment sentences.

Another reform of no less importance is that the Law on Organization of the People’s Procuracies has defined more specifically in its Articles 4 and 5 the responsibilities and powers of the procuracies in settling and procurating the settlement of complaints and denunciations against judicial activities, receiving reports and denunciations on offenders, in the work of crime statistics and studies.

III. The Investing Agencies

The emergence of the Penal Code in 1988, which was later detailed by the 1989 Ordinance on Organization of Criminal Investigations, has constituted a step of basic renewal of the organization and operation of the investigating bodies as compared to the previous periods.

Under the current legislation, the system of investigating bodies in Vietnam is fairly diversified, comprising:

1. The investigating agencies of the People’s Police force, which are competent to investigate all offenses, excluding national security offenses, military offenses and others directly investigated by the investigating bodies of the people’s procuracies.

The investigating agencies of the People’s Police force have been organized at three levels:

- The Investigation Police Department of the People’s Police General Department under the Ministry of Public Security.

- The Investigation Police Bureaus of the provincial-level Police Departments.

- The Investigation Police Teams of the district-level Police Offices.

2. The investigating agencies of the People’s Security force, which are competent to investigate national security offenses. They have been organized at three levels:

- The Investigation Security Department of the General Department of People’s Security under the Ministry of Public Security.

- The Investigation Security Bureaus of the provincial-level Departments of Public Security.

- The Investigation Security Teams of the district-level Offices of Public Security.

3. The investigating agencies of the People’s Army, which are competent to investigate all offenses falling under the adjudicating jurisdiction of the military courts, except for cases directly undertaken by the investigating bodies of the procuracies and the investigating bodies of the People’s Security force. The investigating agencies of the People’s Army have been organized at three levels:

- The Criminal Investigation Department of the Ministry of Defense.

- The Criminal Investigation Bureaus of the Military Zone Commands.

- The Criminal Investigation Boards of army divisions or provincial Military Commands.

4. The investigating agencies of the procuracies, which are competent to investigate offenses infringing upon judicial activities and offenses detected directly by procuracies in the course of performing their functions and deemed unnecessary to be transferred to other investigating bodies. The investigating bodies of the military procuracies are competent to investigate cases falling under the investigating competence of the military procuracies and the adjudicating jurisdiction of the military courts. They have been organized at the following levels:

- The Criminal Investigation Department of the Supreme People’s Procuracy.

- The Criminal Investigation Bureaus of the provincial-level People’s Procuracies and the Central Military Procuracy.

5. Other agencies, which, due to their operational nature, functions and tasks, are permitted by law to conduct a number of investigating activities, including:

- Intelligence, counter-intelligence, counter-reactionary, internal political protection, cultural protection, entry and exit management... sections in the People’s Security force.

- The criminal police, the economic police, anti-drug police, traffic police, fire-fighting police, social order- administratively managing police, prison superintendents,... in the People’s Police force.

- The border guard, heads of independent army units (independent regiments, brigades).

- The customs office.

- The ranger force.

The investigating competence of the above-named agencies is to constitute cases, examine scences, take testimonies of witnesses and victims, collect, seize and preserve exhibits, ask for the order of, orpropose, the competent authorities to apply necessary preventive measures. Within seven days after constituting the cases, they must transfer the dossiers to the competent investigating bodies.

So, the investigating agencies can be classified into the specialized judicial investigation bodies and the non-specialized judicial investigation bodies (agencies assigned to conduct a number of investigating activities). Unlike the non-specialized judicial investigation bodies, the specialized ones have the following characteristics:

- The establishment of these agencies only aims to conduct judicial investigation of criminal cases according to criminal procedures.

- When conducting investigation, these agencies are entitled to resort to all judicial investigation measures prescribed by the Criminal Procedure Code.

- The heads and investigators of these agencies act in the capacity of the procedure-conducting agencies or persons.

However, despite all these, all investigating agencies, regardless of whatever they are, have the following specific tasks:

- To detect criminal signs and accurately determine offenses and offenders.

- To gather, assess and use exhibits for settlement of cases.

- To constitute cases and carry out investigating activities in order to re-establish objective circumstances of the cases.

- To compile case dossiers.

- To apply measures to preclude consequences of crimes and measures to prevent offenses.

Generally, during the “ doi moi” period, the investigating agencies have not only been organizationally consolidated but also had their functions, competence defined more specifically and clearly than before.

IV. Lawyers’ organizations

The 1992 Constitution (Article 132) states: “ The defendants’ right to defense is guaranteed. They may defend themselves or ask other to defend them. Lawyers’ organizations are set up to assist defendants and involved parties to protect their legitimate rights and interests and contribute to protect the socialist legislation”.

The 1987 Ordinance on Lawyers’ Organizations was Vietnam’s first legal document on this matter, thus marking a step of substantial renewal of the lawyers’ organizations and lawyers’ activities in Vietnam. This is really a new step of development in the perception of the lawyers’ role in protecting citizens’ legitimate rights and interests and at the same time ensuring that the adjudication by courts fully comply with law.

Detailing and guiding the implemen-tation of that Ordinance, the Council of Ministers (now the Government) promulgated the Regulation on Bar Associations and the Ministry of Justice issued a circular guiding the implementation of the Regulation on Bar Associations. In 2001, the National Assembly Standing Committee adopted the Ordinance on Lawyers, aiming to supplement the Ordinance on Lawyers’ Organizations.

A Bar Association has been organizationally structured to comprise:

- The plenary conference of the Bar Association, which is the highest body of the Bar Association, having the right to decide on important issues regarding the organization and operation of the Bar Association.

- The managerial board of the Bar Association, which is the executive body of the plenary conference of the Bar Association, functioning to administer daily activities of the Bar Association.

- The inspection board of the Bar Association, which functions to supervise and inspect the activities of lawyers in the observance of the Regulation on Bar Associations and the internal rules of the Bar Association.

The Ministry of Justice shall guide and examine the organization and operation of the Bar Associations throughout the country. The provincial/municipal Services of Justice shall guide and check the Bar Associations in their respective localities, while the provincial/municipal People’s Councils and People’s Committees shall coordinate with the Fatherland Front Committees of the same level in supervising activities of the Bar Associations in their respective localities.

On the conditions for becoming lawyers and joining Bar Associations, the Ordinance on Lawyers’ Organizations stated:

- Being citizens of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

- Having good moral qualities and virtues.

- Possessing law bachelor degree or equivalent level.

Also under the Ordinance, persons working in courts, procuracies, police, judicial bodies, investigating agencies, control bodies, arbitration, customs offices were not entitled to join Bar Associations. And those who wished to join Bar Associations had to go through a practicing period of between six months and two years and an examination for being recognized as barristers.

Yet, the lawyers’ qualities and capabilities must be raised and the efficiency of Bar Associations’ activities as well as the quality of lawyers’ activities must be further heightened under the Ordinance on Lawyers, which clearly stated: “Those who wish to practice lawyer’s profession must join Bar Associations and have certificates of practicing lawyer’s profession” and those who fully satisfy the following conditions can be admitted to Bar Associations:

- Being Vietnamese citizens and permanently residing in Vietnam.

- Having university degree in law, but not the equivalent law degree as previously provided for in the 1987 Ordinance on Lawyers’ Organizations.

- Having graduated from lawyers’ training courses in Vietnam or foreign countries, which are recognized by Vietnamese law. Persons holding the titles of professor or associate professor of law, doctor of law, persons who have worked as judges or procurators for five years or more, persons who have worked as senior investigators, senior legal experts, senior legal researchers shall not have to go through lawyers’ training courses.

- Possessing good moral qualities. Persons who are being examined for penal liability or have been convicted but not yet enjoyed the remission of criminal records, or are being put under administrative probation, have lost their civil act capacity or have had restricted civil act capacity, or public servants who are dismissed from their jobs within three years, are all not entitled to join the Bar Associations.

- Being non-incumbent State officials. This criterion aims to professionalize the contingent of lawyers. This is also a new provision as compared with the 1987 Ordinance on Lawyers’ Organizations, which stipulated that State officials might also practice lawyer’s profession.

Under the Ordinance on Lawyers, the lawyers are entitled to conduct professional practice in the following domains:

- Participation in the procedures as defense counsels for the accused or defendants or as counsels to protect the legitimate rights and interests of the victims, civil plaintiffs, civil defendants, persons with relevant rights and interests in criminal cases.

- Participation in the procedures as representatives or defense counsels for the involved parties to protect their legitimate rights and interests in civil, economic, labor or administrative cases.

- Participation in the arbitration procedures to settle disputes.

- Provision of legal consultancy, compilation of contracts and applications at requests of clients.

- Representation authorized by clients to perform law-related jobs.

- Provision of other legal services under the provisions of law.

Indeed, after the promulgation of the Ordinance on Lawyers’ Organizations and the Ordinance on Lawyers, lawyers’ organizations and bar associations have been set up in all provinces and cities throughout the country. The number of people practicing lawyer’s profession markedly increased from 186 in 1989 to 1,471 in 2000 nationwide. Particularly, lawyers’ activities have become increasingly stirring in the legal life and social life, which have contributed to creating an animated atmosphere of arguments at court sessions.

V. State Notaries Public and judiciary expertise agencies

1. State Notaries Public

Since Vietnam has embarked on the cause of national renewal, building and developing a multi-sector economy under the market mechanism, such new socio-economic environment has promoted the demands for civil, economic and commercial transactions of citizens and organizations. The social life requires the development of notary activities and the establishment of professional notary organizations in order to meet the demands of civil life.

Consequently, many legal documents on organization and operation of public notaries were promulgated such as Decree No.45-HDBT of the Council of Ministers (now the Government) in 1991, the Government’s Decree No.31-CP in 1996 and Decree No.75-CP in 2000, under which the public notaries in Vietnam are the State Notaries Public which belong to the executive apparatus and the public notaries are State employees.

Notary operations and organizations are classified into two types:

- Profesional notary organizations, including the State notary offices under the provincial/municipal People’s Committees (under Decree No.45-CP), which were later transformed into notary offices put under the direct management of the provincial/municipal Justice Services (under Decree No.75-CP). These notary offices are competent to certify the truthfulness of contracts or other transactions established in economic, civil, commercial and other social relations.

- Non-professional organizations, including the People’s Committees of district and commune levels, overseas-based diplomatic missions and consulates of Vietnam, which are competent to certify as true copies of papers, authenticate contracts, transactions and individuals’ signatures in papers in service of their transactions, as provided for by law.

2. Judiciary expertise agencies

Formerly, the system of specialized judiciary expertise agencies did not exist and the judiciary expertise was nothing but mainly the forensic examination.

Vietnam’s first Criminal Procedure Code came into being in 1988, marking a basic step of development of judiciary expertise in Vietnam.

Under the Criminal Procedure Code, the expertising activities are considered judiciary expertise only when they are conducted by experts under the procedure-conducting agencies’ decisions to request the expertise. Cases where expertise must be requested to determine:

- The causes of human death, the nature of injuries, the extent of health damage or working capacity loss.

- The mental conditions of the accused, defendants in case of doubts about their penal liability capacity.

- The mental conditions of witnesses and victims in case of doubts about their perceptive capability and about their testimonies which are contrary to circumstances of cases.

- In other cases where, if necessary, the procedure-conducting agencies may issue decisions to request expertises.

Besides, according to the Ordinance on Procedures for Settlement of Civil Cases, the Ordinance on Procedures for Settlement of Economic Cases, the Ordinance on Procedures for Settlement of Labor Disputes and the Ordinance on Procedures for Settlement of Administrative Cases, when necessary, the courts or the procuracies may request by themselves or at proposals of the involved parties the expertises.

Under the current legislation, judiciary expertise organizations are set up at two levels: central and provincial or municipal.

At the central level, there exist the following specialized expertise organizations:

- The forensic examination organizations set up at the Health Ministry, the Forensic Examination Institute of the Health Ministry, the Army Forensic Examination Institute under the Ministry of Defense, the Forensic Examination Office of the Criminological Institute of the Ministry of Public Security.

- The criminological examination organizations set up at the Ministry of Public Security, the Criminological Institute under the Ministry of Defense, the Criminological Techniques Office of the Investigation Department of the Ministry of Defense.

- The accounting and financial expertise organizations set up at the Ministry of Finance.

- The literary and art works expertise organizations set up at the Ministry of Culture and Information.

At the provincial/ municipal level, there exist the medical expertise organizations, the criminological expertise organizations, the financial and accounting expertise organizations.

Each expertise organization must be staffed with at least three experts.

The Ministry of Justice shall perform the uniform judiciary expertise throughout the country, guide, monitor and inspect the judiciary expertise activities and foster legal knowledge for experts.

In a nutshell, the system of judicial agencies in Vietnam during the “doi moi” period has been comprehensively built with adequate major agencies (courts, procuracies, investing bodies, lawyers’ organizations, public notaries, judiciary expertise agencies). The organizations and operation of judicial bodies have been substantially reformed and continue to be further reformed.-

back to top