President stresses importance of enhancing lawyers’ professional reputation, status

President Nguyen Xuan Phuc emphasised the need to improve the image, professional reputation and status of lawyers while addressing the third National Congress of Lawyers in Hanoi on December 26.

President Phuc, who is also head of the Central Steering Committee for Judicial Reform, affirmed that the Party and State always pay attention to reforming the institutions, organisation and activities of lawyers.

He appreciated their efforts to protect justice, rights to freedom and democracy of citizens, and rights and legitimate interests of individuals and institutions, thus contributing to the country's socio-economic development and judicial reform, as well as to building and perfecting the law-ruled socialist State, and ensuring democracy, justice and civilisation.

The Vietnam Bar Federation has become an important bridge between the State, the social community, the business community and Vietnamese lawyers, helping bring the Party's policies and the State's laws into practice.

He stressed that in the context of extensive international integration, it is necessary to strengthen international cooperation, create conditions for Vietnamese lawyers to exchange and learn from international experience, and actively participate in protecting the rights and interests of Vietnamese enterprises, and protecting national interests in international legal disputes.

At present, Vietnam has more than 16,000 lawyers and more than 4,000 law-practicing organisations./.