Revisions to court operation as of January 1, 2018

As from January 1, 2018, revisions to operating regulations and procedures of People’s Court of Vietnam prescribed in Circular No. 01/2017/TT-TANDTC and Circular No. 02/2017/TT-TANDTC shall come into force. In particular:

1. Rules for court operation

A court shall be held in public in special cases which require protection of state secrets, conformity with the nation’s fine traditions and customs, protection of persons under 18 years of age or keeping of professional, business or personal secrets at justifiable requests of litigants or defendants.

Regarding cases coming under jurisdiction of the family and juvenile tribunal, the court shall be held in an amicable and suitable manner and ensuring the best protection for persons under 18 years of age.

2. Internal regulations of courtrooms

Judges, jurors and court reporters must wear proper uniforms as prescribed. Concurrently, procedural participants and presiding officers must sit at their appropriate positions.

3. Forms of courtrooms

Courtrooms include cassation courtrooms, reopening courtrooms; first-instance trial courtrooms, and appellate trial courtrooms. Accordingly, first-instance trial courtrooms and appellate trial courtrooms shall include:

- Criminal courtrooms;

- Courtrooms used for hearing administrative, civil, bankruptcy cases and considering whether to enforce administrative measures;

- Courtrooms used for hearing and settling cases coming under jurisdiction of the family and juvenile tribunal.

4. Arrangement of courtrooms

- Erecting new barriers to separate the spaces between presiding officers, procedural participants and those participating in courts or meetings.

- Provide new podiums/lecterns for defendants, victims, and other procedural participants to replace them with U-shaped bars which had been used previously.

- Provide peer-to-peer seating in criminal courts between representatives of the People’s Procuracy and defenders and protectors of rights and legitimate interests of litigants.

- Each courtroom used for hearing and settling cases of the family and juvenile tribunal shall be arranged in a manner that presiding officers, procedural participants, participants of the court or meeting in the courtoom could sit on the same ground and in round-table form. Any person under 18 years of age participating in legal proceedings at the court shall be entitled to sit next to his/her representative, defender or protector.

- Additionally, regulations on national emblem, internal regulations, desks and chairs, podiums/lecterns, etc. are also specified in Circular 01.

Reading in Vietnamese: Điểm đổi mới trong việc tổ chức phiên tòa từ ngày 01/01/2018