Recently, in the scientific debatable criminal case against Doctor (Dr). Hoàng Công Lương, an unexpected procedural issue arised which was, maybe for the first time, confronted by the standing Court. Accordingly, at the appeal stage, the Ministry of Health (Viet Nam) unsolicitedly sent to Hoa Binh People Provincial Court an official document to explain scientific matters of the case and, surprisingly, including legal argumentation. The mechanism for this voluntary submission of expertise explanation, however, is ambiguously envisaged in current Vietnamese procedural laws. Therefore, the author attempts to align this procedural problem with amicus curiae concept - the legal institution might assist the Court in scientific controversial lawsuits. Referring to Dr. Lương criminal case here does not mean the research should concentrate to the criminal procedure only, the main research objective is to potentially incorporate the amicus curiae concept into Vietnamese procedural laws in general, including for civil and commercial proceedings, in relation to expertise explanation to the Court. Literally, amicus curiae means “friend of the court” refers to a non-interest party who could voluntarily assist the Court in case of doubtfulness or having errors. The current two advanced free trade agreements in which Vietnam is a contracting party do implant amicus curiae to their arbitration procedures, which could herald the practical possibility of this voluntary mechanism. It is also predictable that domestic utilization of this mechanism could potentially trigger a debate among legislators, judicial authorities, and legal practitioners, however, this possible application in Vietnam jurisprudence should still be worth an assessment.
Tạp chí khoa học Trường Đại học Cần Thơ
Lầu 4, Nhà Điều Hành, Khu II, đường 3/2, P. Xuân Khánh, Q. Ninh Kiều, TP. Cần Thơ
Điện thoại: (0292) 3 872 157; Email: tapchidhct@ctu.edu.vn
Chương trình chạy tốt nhất trên trình duyệt IE 9+ & FF 16+, độ phân giải màn hình 1024x768 trở lên