Majority of judges who work at district and provincial courts in Vietnam
believe that their judgements should be published in order to create a more
transparent independent justice system, according to a survey of over 2,500
judges across the country.
The survey was conducted in
2011-12 by the Justice Ministry's Judicial Reform Steering Committee and the
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). It is the most comprehensive poll
of its kind in Vietnam so far, as its respondent number accounts for almost
half of the country's judiciary.
Speaking at a workshop entitled
"Court Governance in Vietnam"- where the survey's results were
announced - Nguyen Hung Quang, managing director of NHQuang and Associates said
it was essential to publicise court proceedings and judgements because it would
help improve transparency and make the public more educated about the country's
laws.
He called for more public trials
and said that there should always be supervision by outsiders, including
lawyers, to ensure that adjudication is properly and precisely conducted.
"If all hearing developments are subject to the supervision of the people,
arbitrary judgements will be limited."
Currently the People's Council -
a lawmaking subsidiary of the National Assembly - have the power to supervise
the operation of the courts. However, they fulfil this role by principally
receiving one-sided reports from the courts and procuracy.
UNDP country director Louise
Chamberlain said that publicising judgements would allow judges to be more
accountable. Her organisation have worked with the ministry to organise a
series of forums prompting discussion between the Government and its development
partners about key priorities of the legal and judicial reform agenda.
Deputy Minister of Justice Hoang
The Lien said that making the courts more independent and increasing the
capacity of staff were key steps in judicial reform.
He added that reforms in other
sectors, including investigation and law enforcement, would also help to
positively revamp the system.
Seventy per cent of the judges
participating in the survey agreed that currently the Supreme People's Court is
responsible for law interpretation, without outside influence or supervision.
Over 50 per cent of them stated
that audio and visual recordings during adjudication are necessary to ensure
transparency, but said that these are not regularly made.
The survey also shows that the
budget allocation for courts is granted as a lump sum, and is not calculated to
meet specific needs.
Judges therefore have to use
their power to evaluate whether this sum is enough to cover expenses such as
interpreters, assessors, court appointed lawyers and equipment for mobile
adjudication.
"The lump sum allocation
mechanism can impact the quality of a trial," Quang said, adding that an
increased grant from the Supreme People's Court, alongside funding from the
National Assembly and local authorities at district and province levels, could
improve the independence of judgements.
News Desk
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