The Latest: On May 18, 2026, Decree 109/2026 officially took effect across Việt Nam, granting commune chiefs the authority to revoke lawyers’ practicing certificates. The implementation moved forward after the government ignored a direct request from the Vietnam Bar Federation to “suspend” the regulation.
The government did not consider the Vietnam Bar Federation’s request to “suspend” a regulation that allows commune chiefs to revoke lawyers’ licenses.
The Details: Issued by the government on April 1, 2026, Clause 1, Article 84 of Decree 109 empowers commune chiefs to revoke lawyers’ practicing certificates, notary cards, and legal aid collaborator cards.
Earlier, on May 7, the Vietnam Bar Federation sent a written request to the government and the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, asking them to “consider temporarily suspending the implementation of several provisions of Decree 109/2026.”
Specifically, the federation requested a halt to Article 8, which regulates violations and penalties related to legal practice; Article 12, which regulates violations and penalties related to legal consulting activities; and Clause 1, Article 84.
The Vietnam Bar Federation argued that these provisions fundamentally conflict with the Law on Lawyers and other legal regulations. Notably, granting revocation powers to commune chiefs directly contradicts Article 83 of the current Law on Lawyers, which firmly reserves this authority for the Ministry of Justice. Despite this formal submission, the government failed to respond to the document or reconsider the contents of the decree.
The Background: After the government issued Decree 109/2026, the legal profession reacted strongly against the provision. Several lawyers, including Trần Văn Tuấn, Hoàng Hà, and Trần Đại Lâm, publicly voiced their opposition on their personal Facebook pages. This pushback mirrors a previous incident in June 2025, when the government issued Decree 121/2025, a mandate that allowed provincial chairs to issue and revoke lawyers’ licenses.
Lê Sáng wrote this article in Vietnamese and published it in Luật Khoa Magazine on May 18, 2026. The Vietnamese Magazine has the copyrights of the English translation.
