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A review of the elected deputies for the 16th National Assembly this year reveals a striking absence: there is not a single lawyer among them.

Theoretically , members of the National Assembly (ĐBQH) represent the will and aspirations of the Vietnamese people. [1] They are tasked with bringing daily societal issues to the Assembly, proposing legislation, and drafting ordinances for the Standing Committee of the National Assembly.

Furthermore, under Clause 7, Article 70 of the 2013 Constitution , the National Assembly is responsible for selecting the heads of central executive and judicial bodies once elected. [2] Thus, a deputy must possess professional expertise, legal knowledge, and a grounded understanding of reality to act as a bridge between the state and its citizens.

Despite this, the current list of deputies lacks any legal professionals. In previous terms, a small number of lawyers successfully entered the National Assembly. These lawyer-deputies, such as Nguyễn Văn Chiến , Đỗ Ngọc Thịnh , and Trương Trọng Nghĩa , provided the Vietnamese public with substantive opinions, pointed questioning, and professionally grounded critiques. [3] [4] [5]

However, by the 16th term, they are entirely absent.

The legal profession spans numerous aspects of life, including family, commerce, real estate, criminal law, public administration, and data governance. Few roles intersect with law and society as directly as a lawyer does.

Lawyers do not simply work behind desks; they regularly interact with investigative bodies, procuracies, courts, detention centers, and crime scenes. This exposure allows them to deeply comprehend the diverse circumstances of individuals across society.

Occasionally, their understanding of land law stems from conversations with farmers rather than university lectures. In many ways, the people themselves serve as their largest “law school.”

Hence, few professions are as well-positioned to identify “bottlenecks” within the legal system. Lawyers are uniquely equipped to recognize inconsistencies in judicial applications, barriers to justice, procedural shortcomings that risk wrongful convictions, and gaps in controlling the power of investigative and prosecutorial bodies.

Lawyers in International Legislatures

Individuals with deep legal expertise are essential to any legislature. Without lawyers, independent legal scrutiny can be severely weakened, especially regarding complex bills. Because lawyers are trained in argumentation and the defense of citizens’ rights, they play a vital role in parliamentary debate.

In the United States, lawyers have consistently held a significant share of congressional seats. In 2016, around 35–40% of legislators had legal backgrounds. [6]

This pattern is also visible in Canada , where lawyers maintain a prominent political presence, comprising about one-fifth of lawmakers and nearly three-fifths of prime ministers. [7] Similarly, lawyers constitute the largest professional group within the parliament in Germany . [8]

The People or the Party?

The composition of the National Assembly clearly reveals its underlying priorities.

Because the Assembly functions not only as a professional institution but also as a structured matrix of representation across genders, regions, and state bodies, lawyer candidates are forced to compete within a constrained space. Priority is frequently given to other demographics.

If the goal were genuinely to seat representatives who are legally knowledgeable, policy-aware, and socially attuned to the people, lawyers would logically secure a specific number of seats.

However, the primary systemic barrier to the presence of Vietnamese lawyers in politics is the electoral mechanism itself. Unlike in democratic nations such as the United States, Canada, or Germany, the path to the National Assembly in Việt Nam heavily relies on a single ruling entity: the Communist Party.

Access to the Assembly requires candidates to align with the interests of the ruling party rather than relying primarily on popular mandate. [9]

Because lawyers operate independently to defend clients—often challenging state authorities and remaining detached from administrative structures—they naturally align closer to the people than to the party.

This renders them less compatible with the established political criteria, in contrast to other systems where legal professionals enter the legislature through open competition.

Simultaneously, the National Assembly's capacity for independent legal scrutiny has severely diminished. Theoretically, the Assembly serves as the core legislative body, possessing the sole authority to pass laws and amend the Constitution.

In reality, it has increasingly ceded its limited legislative functions to the Ministry of Public Security, largely serving to approve submitted proposals.

Under the party leadership headed by General Tô Lâm, they advance legislation at breakneck speed , eliminating opportunities for thorough scrutiny. [10]

In a legislature operating under these conditions, lawyers might ultimately become redundant.

***

The complete absence of lawyers from the parliamentary chamber serves as a telling indicator of the marginalized political status of those who defend the lawful interests of citizens.

Without legal professionals present, where will society debate its nuanced legal complexities? More importantly, how will this absence impact the future caliber of legislation produced by the National Assembly? Currently, these questions yield no easy answers.

Đan Thanh wrote this article in Vietnamese and published it in Luật Khoa Magazine on March 27, 2026. Đàm Vĩnh Hằng translated it into English for The Vietnamese Magazine.

References: +

1. Đại biểu Quốc hội là gì? Nhiệm vụ, quyền hạn của đại biểu Quốc hội? (2021, March 15). Baoquankhu4.com.vn; Quân khu 4. https://baoquankhu4.com.vn/chinh-tri/dai-bieu-quoc-hoi-la-gi-nhiem-vu-quyen-han-cua-dai-bieu-quoc.html

2. Hiến pháp năm 2013 . (2013). Thuvienphapluat.vn. https://thuvienphapluat.vn/van-ban/Bo-may-hanh-chinh/Hien-phap-nam-2013-215627.aspx

3. Dân Trí. (2017, May 10). Luật sư Nguyễn Văn Chiến – ĐBQH khóa XIV: “Lẽ nào tôi phải viết tâm thư?” Báo Điện Tử Dân Trí. https://dantri.com.vn/ban-doc/luat-su-nguyen-van-chien-dbqh-khoa-xiv-le-nao-toi-phai-viet-tam-thu-20170510062431012.htm

4. Thông tin đại biểu Quốc hội các khóa . (2021). Quochoi.vn. https://dbqh.quochoi.vn/daibieu/31/2226/1/%C4%90o-Ngoc-Thinh.aspx

5. Thông tin đại biểu Quốc hội các khóa . (2021). Quochoi.vn. https://dbqh.quochoi.vn/daibieu/29/5512/Truong-Trong-Nghia.aspx

6. Declining Dominance – Harvard Law School Center on the Legal Profession . (2023, September 26). Harvard Law School Center on the Legal Profession. https://clp.law.harvard.edu/knowledge-hub/magazine/issues/lawyers-in-politics/declining-dominance/

7. Joshi, D. K. (2019). Lawyers and law graduates in parliaments as a consequence of SMD electoral systems: a comparison of Japan, South Korea, and Germany. Japanese Journal of Political Science , 21 (1), 19–30. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1468109919000112

8. Joshi, D. K. (2019). Lawyers and law graduates in parliaments as a consequence of SMD electoral systems: a comparison of Japan, South Korea, and Germany. Japanese Journal of Political Science , 21 (1), 19–30. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1468109919000112

9. Thúc Kháng. (2026, March 9). Inside the Elections for Việt Nam’s National Assembly: The Three Mandatory Vetting Rounds . The Vietnamese Magazine. https://thevietnamese.org/2026/03/inside-the-elections-for-viet-nams-national-assembly-the-three-mandatory-vetting-rounds/

10. Bối Thủy. (2025, October 17). Lawmaking at Lightning Speed: Việt Nam’s Citizens Pay the Price . The Vietnamese Magazine. https://thevietnamese.org/2025/10/lawmaking-at-lightning-speed-viet-nams-citizens-pay-the-price/

The Absence of Lawyers in Việt Nam’s 16th National Assembly

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