70 years of Vietnam Lawyers Association accompanying the country

After 70 years of formation and development, it can be affirmed that the history of Vietnamese lawyers is always closely linked to the history of the country and people.

The Vietnam Lawyers Association was established on April 4, 1955 (according to Decree No. 130/NV/DC/ND dated April 4, 1955 of the Ministry of the Interior). Over the past 70 years, under the leadership of the Party and the attention of the State, generations of Vietnamese lawyers have constantly strived, trained and matured along with the development of the country and the Vietnamese people.

From only 40 members, the Association now has more than 100,000 members. The Association's members include veteran jurists with valuable professional and practical experience; young, ambitious jurists who have worked and are working in state agencies in the legislative, executive and judicial branches, operating in all fields of politics, economics, society, national defense and security.

During the development stages, the Association at all levels and members of the Vietnam Lawyers Association have always strived to fulfill their assigned tasks. Many members of the Association have been assigned important positions in high-ranking agencies of the Party and State; the Association's activities have become increasingly rich, diverse, of increasing quality and efficiency, recognized by the Party and State leaders and respected by international friends.

Origin

The history of the Association is closely linked to the history of the country, the history of the State and law of Vietnam. After the victory of the August Revolution, on September 2, 1945, President Ho Chi Minh read the Declaration of Independence giving birth to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, opening a new historical era of the Vietnamese nation, the era of the Vietnamese people being masters of their country, the Ho Chi Minh era.

The new state requires the organization of a new state apparatus, including legislative, executive, and judicial agencies, and the building of a new legal system to meet the requirements of an independent and free Vietnam. That requires the building of a team of lawyers to serve the Revolution and the country, under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

Lawyer Phan Anh (front row, right) - the first President of the Vietnam Lawyers Association accompanied President Ho Chi Minh and the Vietnamese Government delegation to a reception in China in June 1955.

Responding to President Ho Chi Minh's call, in addition to political activists assigned to build a new government, a number of lawyers who had worked in the old regime, along with a large number of students from the Indochina Law University and a number of lawyers trained at French universities, entered the career of building a new government.

In the early years of nation building (1945 - 1946), a team of Vietnamese lawyers serving the revolution and the country was formed, contributing to the construction of a new government apparatus from the central to the grassroots levels. Some lawyers were honored to be assigned important responsibilities in the Government by President Ho Chi Minh, such as lawyers Phan Anh, Vu Trong Khanh, Nguyen Van Huong, Tran Cong Tuong, and lawyers Duong Duc Hien and Vu Dinh Hoe.

After the victory of Dien Bien Phu (May 7, 1954), the French colonialists had to sign the Geneva Agreement recognizing the independence and unity of Vietnam. However, the North and South of the Fatherland were still temporarily divided. With the plot to turn the South into a new type of colony, the US imperialists continuously assisted the puppet government in the South to sabotage the Geneva Agreement. The task of joining the people of the whole country in the struggle to implement the Geneva Agreement had a strong appeal to patriotic lawyers.

Realizing the important role of lawyers in the struggle to protect the Geneva Agreement and protect the country's peace and unification, the Party and State encouraged lawyers to gather into an organization under the Party's leadership to contribute their strength and intelligence to serve the revolution.

With the encouragement of the Party and the State, on March 29, 1955, about 40 lawyers from different fields attended the Conference to establish the Vietnam Lawyers Association. The Conference approved the Association's Charter and elected Lawyer Phan Anh as President of the Association. Immediately after that, on April 4, 1955, the Government issued a decree recognizing the establishment of the Association and its Charter. April 4, 1955 has gone down in the glorious history of the Association, as the founding day and traditional day of the Vietnam Lawyers Association.

The process of formation and establishment of the Vietnam Lawyers Association is inseparable from important events of the country and the formation of the team of lawyers of an Independent and Free Vietnam.

The process of building and growing up

Since its inception, the Association has participated and actively contributed to the legal struggle to enforce the Geneva Agreement. This is an important task assigned to the Association by the Party and the State. Many members have participated in writing books and articles to explain and widely disseminate the Agreement, exposing the cunning tricks of the US imperialists in domestic and international legal forums to sabotage the implementation of the Agreement.

After France withdrew all its troops from South Vietnam, the United States officially replaced France and strengthened the construction of a new American colonial regime in the South. Together with the people of the whole country, the Vietnam Lawyers Association actively participated in the resistance war against the US to save the country and contributed to the complete liberation of the South and the reunification of the country.

In addition to actively participating in the legal struggle associated with the national struggle, the Vietnam Lawyers Association also contributes to the development of modern international law. The Association has contributed to completing the concept of basic national rights with the four contents of "Independence, sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity"; completing the concept of international legal subjects.

In foreign affairs, the Association has achieved many good results, becoming a member of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers. The Association's activities have always been highly appreciated by international friends and have contributed significantly to the common victory of the nation.

The 7th National Congress of the Vietnam Lawyers Association was held in 1987.

After the country was reunified, in response to the increasing demands for building a socialist rule-of-law state, the Party's leadership over the Vietnam Lawyers' Association was strengthened, and many important documents of the Party and the Government on the organization and operation of the Association were issued, facilitating the activities of the Association. First of all, there was Directive 34-CT/TW dated April 14, 1988 of the Central Party Secretariat on strengthening the Party's leadership over the Vietnam Lawyers' Association. The Directive clearly stated that "To strengthen the socialist legal system, implement the management of the country by law in the spirit of the Resolution of the 6th National Party Congress, the Vietnam Lawyers' Association needs to be consolidated and strengthened in terms of organization, innovate its methods of operation, especially strengthen its activities domestically". This is the Directive guiding the activities of the Vietnam Lawyers' Association at the beginning of the country's renewal period.

During this period, lawyers at all levels actively contributed opinions to Party documents and State legal documents, especially participating in amending the 1992 Constitution, institutionalizing the Party's innovation policy, establishing the organization of the socialist rule of law state apparatus under the mechanism of Party leadership, State management, and People's mastery, determining the position and role of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, a number of people's organizations and social organizations.

In addition, the Association has also focused on legal consultancy by establishing the first legal consultancy center in our country in 1988 and then expanding its activities to provinces and cities. Legal aid work has been expanded to all subjects, especially the poor and policy subjects. Mediation work at the grassroots level has also been given attention and developed.

Vietnam Lawyers Association statement on China's illegal placement of drilling rig in Vietnam's waters (May 9, 2014).

Entering the 21st century, the Vietnam Lawyers Association continues to promote comprehensive innovation, promote the spirit of initiative, creativity, and focus on the grassroots, build and develop an increasingly strong association, build a team of Vietnamese lawyers who are good at professional expertise, steadfast in political ideology, dedicated to the profession, for the people, for justice, improve the quality and effectiveness of the Vietnam Lawyers Association's activities in the new period, contributing worthily to the cause of promoting democracy, building a socialist rule-of-law state of Vietnam, protecting human rights, rights and legitimate interests of citizens, developing a market economy and international integration.

The Party and the State have also paid more and more attention to the work of the Vietnam Lawyers Association by issuing many documents such as Directive No. 56-CT/TW dated August 18, 2000 of the Politburo, Conclusion No. 19-KL/TW dated May 23, 2012 of the Secretariat, Conclusion Notice No. 50-TB/TW dated July 17, 2018 of the Secretariat; Directive No. 08/CT-TTg dated May 24, 2013, Directive No. 21/CT-TTg dated August 30, 2019 of the Prime Minister, etc.

Most recently, the Politburo issued Directive No. 14-CT/TW dated July 1, 2022 on continuing to strengthen the Party's leadership over the Vietnam Lawyers Association in the new situation, continuing to affirm that the Vietnam Lawyers Association is a political-social-professional organization, playing an important role in perfecting the socialist rule-of-law state, building socialist democracy and promoting the people's mastery.

After 70 years, the Vietnam Bar Association has made great strides in both organization and operation.

Requirements before new development stage

From the convergence of power and strength after 40 years of renovation, the country is ready to enter a new era, the era of the Vietnamese people's rise. The content of the rise era is to create a strong, decisive, resolute, positive, effortful, internal, and confident movement to overcome challenges, surpass oneself, realize aspirations, reach goals, and achieve great achievements.

From the experience and historical lessons of 4 decades of persistent Renovation, for the country to enter a new era, the role and responsibility of the legal system, policies along with other important pillars are absolutely necessary. This is inevitable because in a model of a rule-of-law State, the development space of the economy and society is created first and foremost from a complete and synchronous legal system, meeting the development requirements of the present as well as being suitable for the development trends of the future.

And so, if we look back at the existing problems in the legislative work in the previous period as well as the urgent requirements in the new era, it is posing urgent demands for the work of building legal policies today. Therefore, the new era requires the participation of all sectors, fields, forces, the entire political system and the entire nation, including the important role of lawyers nationwide.

14th National Congress of Vietnam Lawyers Association.

In the new context, on January 13-14, 2025, the Vietnam Lawyers Association successfully organized the 14th National Congress of Delegates for the 2024-2029 term. The success of the Congress demonstrated the unity of will and strong determination of the legal community to unite, be proactive, creative, innovative, improve the quality and efficiency of operations, build a comprehensive and strong association organization system; develop a team of Vietnamese lawyers who are good at professional expertise, steadfast in politics and ideology; dedicated to the profession, for the people, for justice.

The success of the Congress opens up many favorable opportunities for Vietnamese lawyers to develop, but we must also know how to seize opportunities, overcome difficulties and challenges, promote innovation in activities, and focus on the grassroots."

The Resolution of the 14th National Congress of the Vietnam Lawyers Association determined to promote the role of a political, social and professional organization assigned by the Party and State, the Vietnam Lawyers Association at all levels strives to fulfill all assigned tasks, contributing to the cause of building and defending the Fatherland; protecting human rights, the rights and legitimate interests of citizens; developing the economy, society and international integration, ready to enter the era of national development.

With the spirit of "solidarity, innovation, creativity, development", all levels of the Vietnam Lawyers Association continue to consolidate, improve, and build the Vietnam Lawyers Association to be increasingly strong in organization, innovate content and methods of operation, focus on the grassroots, and actively contribute to the cause of national construction and development.

Standing Committee of the Vietnam Lawyers Association, term XIV, 2024-2029

Proudly inheriting the 70-year tradition of building and growing, under the leadership of the Party, the State, the Vietnam Fatherland Front, the coordination and sharing of agencies and organizations, and especially the solidarity and determination to innovate, create and dedicate of more than 100,000 members, the Vietnam Lawyers Association will successfully complete its tasks in the era of striving for strong, prosperous development of the nation.

Source: https://daidoanket.vn/chang-duong-70-nam-hoi-luat-gia-viet-nam-dong-hanh-cung-dat-nuoc-10302236.html