Defense attorneys in Việt Nam could soon face criminal liability if they fail to report clients who are preparing to commit a crime or who are in the process of committing a crime.
Latest Developments: The Ministry of Public Security (MPS) is currently collecting public feedback on the Draft Policy Dossier for the revised Penal Code, a consultation period running from April 17 to May 7. Marking the third revision of the Penal Code in the past decade, the dossier proposes severe restrictions on the legal protections currently afforded to defense counsel.
The Details: Under Clause 3, Article 19 of the current Penal Code, lawyers are largely shielded from criminal liability for failing to report their clients’ crimes—whether those crimes are in preparation, ongoing, or completed—unless they involve national security offenses or particularly serious crimes.
The MPS argues that this broad exemption is unreasonable. The ministry asserts that because preparing or actively committing a crime “do not fall within the scope of a defense counsel’s duties,” a lawyer’s failure to report such acts violates the foundational legal principle that “all criminal acts must be promptly detected.”
However, the MPS concedes that lawyers should not bear liability for failing to report crimes that have already occurred, as defending past conduct aligns with their duty to protect their clients’ lawful rights.
Why It Matters: If adopted, this provision would create a major conflict between the duty to report crimes and the right to defense.
The right to defense is explicitly guaranteed under Clause 4, Article 31 of the 2013 Constitution and serves as a crucial pillar in safeguarding human rights. Historically, the current legal exemption was designed precisely to foster trust between lawyers and clients, enabling a robust defense.
Passing this proposal would dangerously blur the boundary between professional confidentiality and state reporting duties.
The Timeline: During the 2017 amendment of the 2015 Penal Code, fierce public debate erupted over similar attempts to force lawyers to report clients.
Now, this controversial measure is packaged alongside several other notable proposals in the draft, including:
- The reduction of crimes subject to the death penalty by ten offenses while increasing monetary penalties,
- The unprecedented introduction of temporary suspensions for criminal prosecution.
The fully revised Penal Code draft is slated for public consultation in July 2026, ahead of a review by the National Assembly at its third session and anticipated passage at its fourth session in 2027.
Huỳnh Lam wrote this article in Vietnamese and published it in Luật Khoa Magazine on April 21, 2026. The Vietnamese Magazine has the copyrights of the English translation.
