The Supreme People's Court of Vietnam has laid out plans to restructure the country’s lower courts, aiming to merge district-level courts across various provinces and cities. This significant announcement was made on March 3, 2025, with the underlying goal of streamlining the administrative framework of the judiciary to improve efficiency and accessibility to court services for the public.
According to the Supreme People's Court, this reorganization will align with the directives from the Party Central Committee, following recent resolutions aimed at optimizing government structures and enhancing political systems. The planned changes were communicated via official document No. 52/TANDTC-KHTC, which outlines specific criteria for evaluating how courts should merge. "The Supreme People's Court proposes to reorganize the first-instance court based on the arrangement of current district-level courts," stated the Supreme People's Court. This reorganization reflects broader goals to minimize waste and improve local judicial efficiency.
Under the new proposal, courts will be combined based on specific standards concerning the number of cases they handle. For example, courts located within major urban areas like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City must manage at least 3,000 cases annually to maintain their own operations. Meanwhile, those based outside urban centers need to address at least 1,000 cases per year. On the other hand, rural courts are expected to handle around 800 cases annually, with mountainous regions requiring at least 200.
The restructuring hinges on geographical convenience, too. "The districts involved must be adjacent with easy access to transportation," as stated by the Supreme People's Court. The purpose of merging adjacent courts is to facilitate smoother court proceedings and accessible justice for citizens. Given the varying densities and demographics across Vietnam, especially between urban and rural regions, the criteria aim to avoid overwhelming court systems.
Significantly, the court reorganization also considers special logistics for mountainous and island areas. For mountainous districts, where population density is low, the distance from the court to residents must not exceed 50 kilometers. If merging based on workload proves challenging, the distance criterion will take precedence. For coastal and island provinces, instead of setting up courts on every island district, judges will be transferred from the nearest court to handle cases directly within those communities, ensuring legal representation is maintained even in less accessible areas.
The Supreme People's Court has emphasized the importance of local involvement as part of this restructuring. They have solicited input from provincial court leaders to contribute constructive feedback on the proposals. "The Supreme People's Court seeks input from local courts to help develop the proposal and to analyze and clarify differing opinions," is one directive encouraging local judicial heads to actively participate before the feedback is aggregated. All feedback must be submitted by March 2, 2025, as part of the preliminary phases of the restructuring plan. This participatory approach is regarded as pivotal for implementing changes effectively and ensuring all regional concerns are acknowledged.
Another administrative note included the directive to halt repair and maintenance work for existing courthouse buildings until the restructuring plan has been finalized and approved, likely within the upcoming month of April 2025. This decision aims to avoid unnecessary expenditures during the transitional period. Local court administrations have been urged to suspend all maintenance activities to direct financial resources toward the eventual implementation of the restructured judicial system.
By reducing the number of lower courts, the Supreme People's Court anticipates not only enhancing operational efficiencies but also improving public access to legal recourse. The merging of courts should allow for more consistent handling of cases and potentially faster resolutions, thereby fostering greater public trust and confidence in the justice system. Officials believe this restructuring marks an important evolution within Vietnam's judiciary framework, demonstrating commitment to modernization and improvement.
Overall, this proposed restructuring of Vietnam's lower courts reflects wider government intentions to optimize state mechanisms and deliver improved public service outcomes. By addressing existing inefficiencies and enhancing reach, the reform could be instrumental for the future operations of Vietnam’s legal system.