By 
05-05-2026 | Roberta Moisuc | Asia Team Researcher, Global Human Rights Defence.
Vietnam’s newly issued Decree 109/2026, set to take effect on May 18th, authorises local authorities to revoke lawyers’ licenses and impose fines for offences such as “insulting” officials or “obstructing” state agencies. The decree also allows sanctions for advising clients on complaints deemed unlawful and applies to both domestic and foreign lawyers.
A new Governmental Decree in Vietnam has introduced new regulations regarding administrative sanctions for lawyers.
The new Decree 109/2026, which will take effect on May 18th, 2026, will allow police and government officials at a local level to revoke lawyers’ licences and additionally impose fines for offenses vaguely written as “insulting” officials or “obstructing” the functioning of state agencies. Under Article 84 of the new Decree, local authorities and chairpersons can “revoke the right to use licenses, practicing certificates, professional registrations, legal consultant cards, notary cards, and legal aid collaborator cards.”
The new Decree grants extraordinary powers to local authorities. Any statement made by a lawyer can be considered “criticism” and punished as an “insult”. If a lawyer advises their client to remain silent during an investigation, this action could be interpreted as “creating difficulties” or “obstructing police operations” which could lead to the unfair punishment of lawyers. Additionally, other issues can arise, as lawyers frequently defend clients in cases where interests directly conflict with state agencies or on issues where local authorities are directly or indirectly involved as an interested party.
The Decree specifies that advising clients to file “unlawful complaints or denunciations” is also grounds for punishment, but it does not specify what constitutes an “unlawful” complaint. Local officials can punish Vietnamese lawyers by revoking their licenses for up to nine months, and by revoking those of international lawyers for up to three months. Imposed fines can go up to 40 million VND, which is a major increase compared to previous regulations.
