Even before the highly controversial Decree 109/2026 officially takes effect, the chairman of the People’s Committee of Long Thành Commune in Đồng Nai Province has begun exerting pressure on practicing lawyers in the locality.
Latest Developments: On April 14, Document No. 2275—dated April 13, 2026, and issued by the Long Thành Commune People’s Committee to the Đồng Nai Bar Association—went viral among legal practitioners on social media.
- The document explicitly requested the Bar Association to “remind and rectify” legal organizations and practitioners operating within the commune. Local authorities alleged that these professionals were “abusing trust” by advising citizens to file complaints against leaders and competent authorities, a practice they claimed was “affecting reputations and posing risks to public order and security in the locality.”
- That same evening, Lê Hoàng Sơn, the commune chairman and signatory of the document, confirmed its authenticity to Pháp luật TP. Hồ Chí Minh newspaper. Sơn defended the directive, stating its purpose was to “limit the submission of complaints and denunciations in cases that have already been verified and resolved.”
The Reaction: The directive has sparked immense backlash across the legal community, with many legal practitioners taking to Facebook to voice their outrage.
- Atty. Ngọc Long stated that “being granted additional management tools cannot serve as a basis to ‘rectify’ lawyers’ activities, nor can it justify creating indirect pressure on lawyers in cases where local administrative authorities themselves are involved parties.”
- Atty. Trần Hòa argued that the chairman fundamentally misunderstands a lawyer’s role in protecting citizens’ lawful rights and interests.
- Atty. Trần Cảnh criticized the chairman’s governance mindset, arguing that authorities should focus on establishing compensation plans that ensure public consensus rather than interfering with lawyers’ advisory work.
Key Point: On April 1, 2026, the government issued Decree 109/2026, effective May 18, 2026. The decree grants commune-level chairpersons the authority to revoke lawyers’ practicing certificates, heavily contradicting Article 17 of the Law on Lawyers, which reserves that power solely for the Minister of Justice.
Legal Framework: The commune’s actions conflict with several existing statutes.
- Article 9 of the Law on Lawyers states that agencies are “strictly prohibited from obstructing lawyers’ professional activities.”
- Article 6 of the Law on Complaints and Article 8 of the Law on Denunciations prohibit any acts of “obstructing or causing difficulties” for individuals exercising their legal rights.
Background: This legal friction is linked to the massive Long Thành Airport project located within the commune. The development is currently a focal point of public scrutiny and criminal investigations.
On Feb. 25, the Đồng Nai Provincial Police expanded their probe into “violations in compensation, support, and resettlement when the state recovers land.” Several officials have already been prosecuted over irregularities in the appraisal and approval of land compensation dossiers, including the former chairman of the Long Thành District People’s Committee and five officials from the district Land Fund Development Center.
Lê Sáng wrote this article in Vietnamese and published it in Luật Khoa Magazine on April 16, 2026. The Vietnamese Magazine has the copyrights of the English translation.
