Human Rights Watch reported on April 23, 2026 that Vietnam’s Decree 109/2026, which takes effect May 18, empowers police and commune-level officials to revoke lawyers’ licenses and impose heavy fines for vaguely defined offenses such as “insulting” officials or “obstructing” state agencies — frequently the same officials a defense lawyer would be challenging in court. HRW documents that on April 13 the Long Thanh commune in Dong Nai province already wrote to the local bar urging it to “admonish” lawyers who help citizens file complaints against authorities, signaling immediate chilling effects. Patricia Gossman of HRW called the decree “a serious new threat to Vietnam’s already politicized legal system” and demanded its repeal. The decree is a paradigmatic example of an authoritarian state using formal law to subordinate the legal profession to local executive power.

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