Conference discusses the Project for Consolidating the Bar Associations of Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, and Ba Ria - Vung Tau
On the afternoon of July 29, the Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association held a conference in Ho Chi Minh City to discuss the Project for the consolidation of the Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association, Binh Duong Provincial Bar Association, and Ba Ria - Vung Tau Provincial Bar Association.
The Presidium chaired the Conference.
Attendees included Mr. Nguyen Thanh Bang, Head of the Judicial Assistance Division, Department of Justice; Ms. Nguyen Thi Tuyet Nhung, Deputy Head of the Internal Affairs and Judicial Reform Division, Internal Affairs Commission; Mr. Tran Huu Nghia, Deputy Head of the Democracy, Social Oversight, and Scrutiny Department, Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee; along with lawyers who are members of the Steering Committees, Commendation and Discipline Councils of the HCMC BA, Binh Duong Provincial BA, and Ba Ria - Vung Tau Provincial BA.
According to the draft project, as of June 30, 2025, the Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association has 8,848 member lawyers and 5,140 lawyer interns. The Steering Committee has 15 members, including 01 Chairman, 05 Vice Chairmen, and 09 Committee members. The Commendation and Discipline Council has 11 members, and the Bar Association has 07 directly affiliated specialized units.
The Binh Duong Provincial Bar Association has 298 member lawyers and 68 lawyer interns. The Steering Committee has 09 members, including 05 Vice Chairmen and 04 Committee members. The Commendation and Discipline Council has 07 members, and the Bar Association has 06 directly affiliated specialized units.
Lawyer Nguyen Van Hien Phuc, Director of B.C.M Law Company (Becamex Law Firm) and Lawyer in Charge of the Binh Duong Provincial Bar Association, contributed comments to the draft Project at the Conference.
The Ba Ria - Vung Tau Provincial Bar Association has 252 member lawyers and 50 lawyer interns. The Steering Committee has 07 members, including 01 Chairman, 04 Vice Chairmen, and 02 Committee members. The Commendation and Discipline Council has 07 members, and the Bar Association has 07 directly affiliated specialized units.
According to the Project, the structure after consolidation will be:
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Name: Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association
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Headquarters: No. 104 Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street, Tan Dinh Ward, Ho Chi Minh City
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International Transaction Name: Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association
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Acronym: HCBA
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Website: hcmcbar.org.
The consolidated Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association will be a socio-professional organization for lawyers, operating on the basis of self-governance, possessing legal entity status, its own seal, and bank account.
The HCMC BA is a socio-professional organization for lawyers and a member of the Vietnam Bar Federation. It will represent and protect the legitimate rights and interests of its member lawyers; provide professional training and skills development for lawyers, supervise compliance with the law, the Vietnam Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct for Lawyers, and implement the self-governance regime as stipulated by the Law on Lawyers within Ho Chi Minh City.
Also according to the Project, the Provisional Steering Committee will retain the total number of members from the three Bar Associations, consisting of 31 lawyers. This includes 01 Chairman, 15 Vice Chairmen, and 15 Committee members. Lawyer Nguyen Van Trung will serve as the Provisional Chairman of the consolidated Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association.
The Provisional Commendation and Discipline Council will retain the total number of members from the three Bar Associations, consisting of 25 members. This includes 01 Chairman, 09 Vice Chairmen, and 15 Committee members.
Regarding the specialized and affiliated units of the consolidated HCMC BA, after the Provisional Steering Committee is approved by the competent authority, the Steering Committee will decide on the structure, number of specialized and affiliated units, and the personnel in charge of these units.
The two former headquarters of the Binh Duong Provincial Bar Association and the Ba Ria - Vung Tau Provincial Bar Association, which were assigned for use by the competent authority, will temporarily continue to serve as working offices for receiving and handling business for the new HCMC Bar Association in the former Binh Duong and Ba Ria - Vung Tau provinces.
Following the consolidation, the new HCMC BA Steering Committee will consider and propose the establishment of two Branches at: No. 1000 Cach Mang Thang Tam Street, Thu Dau Mot Ward (the former Binh Duong Provincial BA headquarters) and No. 64 Binh Gia, Tam Thang Ward (the former Ba Ria - Vung Tau Provincial BA headquarters).
Regarding assets and finances, the former Binh Duong Provincial Bar Association and the former Ba Ria - Vung Tau Provincial Bar Association will transfer all assets and finances to the management of the consolidated Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association. The use of assets, specifically the headquarters, representative offices, or branches (if any), will be allocated as the headquarters for the representative offices or branches.
The consolidated Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association will have the largest number of member lawyers nationwide, with 9,398 lawyers and 5,258 lawyer interns. Therefore, the Provisional Steering Committee of the HCMC BA proposed that the competent authority consider allowing the holding of the General Congress at the end of October 2025.
Speaking at the Conference, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Bang, Head of the Judicial Assistance Division, Ho Chi Minh City Department of Justice, emphasized: The development of the Project to consolidate the Bar Associations of Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, and Ba Ria - Vung Tau is a step consistent with the policy of streamlining organizational structures towards compactness and efficiency. This is also a general trend as administrative agencies and sectors are being reorganized according to new administrative units. Accordingly, the Bar Association, in its role as the socio-professional organization for lawyers, also needs to be researched and consolidated to fit the new management model.
In its central role, the HCMC Bar Association was proposed to be the lead unit to coordinate with the Steering Committees of the Binh Duong and Ba Ria - Vung Tau Provincial Bar Associations to develop the consolidation Project and submit it to the competent authorities for consideration and decision. The Project must clearly articulate the roadmap, content, and organizational plan for the new Bar Association after consolidation, with special attention paid to personnel plans for the Steering Committee and Commendation and Discipline Council; solutions related to working offices, finance, the seal, and arising legal issues; while also ensuring the timeline aligns with the schedule for holding the new term's General Congress.
Mr. Nguyen Thanh Bang added that in the near future, the Department of Justice will coordinate with the Department of Home Affairs, the Internal Affairs Commission, the HCMC Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee, and other relevant agencies to exchange views, contribute opinions, and finalize the HCMC BA's draft project before submitting it to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee.
Speaking at the Conference, Lawyer Nguyen Van Hien Phuc, Lawyer in Charge of the Binh Duong Provincial Bar Association, stated that the Steering Committee and the Commendation and Discipline Council of the Binh Duong Provincial Bar Association fully agree with the policy of consolidating Bar Associations nationwide, including the plan to merge the three Bar Associations of Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, and Ba Ria - Vung Tau into a unified organization.
Lawyer Nguyen Van Hien Phuc also expressed agreement with the content of the consolidation Project, especially the plan to establish the Provisional Steering Committee and Commendation and Discipline Council by maintaining the current structure to ensure stable operation and avoid disrupting the legal profession and the process of providing legal services in the area.
Representatives of the Steering Committees of the three Bar Associations of Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, and Ba Ria - Vung Tau signed the agreement to adopt the Project for consolidating the three Bar Associations.
He also proposed the establishment of two Branches of the new Bar Association in the former Binh Duong and Ba Ria - Vung Tau provinces to effectively utilize existing facilities, creating favorable conditions for smooth and convenient legal practice activities.
At the Conference, Lawyer Vu Anh Thao, Chairman of the Ba Ria - Vung Tau Provincial Bar Association, expressed strong consensus on the plan for the provisional consolidation of the Steering Committee and the Commendation and Discipline Council as outlined in the Project. He affirmed that the Ba Ria - Vung Tau Bar Association completely agrees on the personnel aspect during the transition period, considering this an important basis to ensure stable continuity and to effectively promote operational efficiency immediately after consolidation.
Steering Committee and Commendation and Discipline Council members of the three Bar Associations took a commemorative photo.
Additionally, Lawyer Vu Anh Thao proposed to add the content of establishing two Branches in Binh Duong and Ba Ria - Vung Tau to the consolidation Project. This would help ensure the continuity of local legal practice activities and contribute to utilizing existing facilities, creating favorable conditions for the lawyers operating in the area.
The Conference to discuss the Project for consolidating the Bar Associations of Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, and Ba Ria - Vung Tau took place in a serious, responsible, and highly unified atmosphere. The heartfelt opinions expressed by representatives of functional agencies and the leading lawyers of the three Bar Associations clearly demonstrated consensus on the policy, roadmap, and organizational plan after consolidation.
The consolidated Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association, with its largest scale nationwide, synchronized structure, and maximized human and material resources, will be in a better position to represent and protect the legitimate rights and interests of the legal profession; thereby making a practical contribution to the judicial reform process and serving the construction of the socialist rule of law state in Vietnam.
