1. What is a Precedent?
A precedent refers to the legal reasoning and rulings contained in legally effective court judgments or decisions on specific cases, which are selected by the Council of Judges of the Supreme People’s Court and promulgated by the Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court as precedents for courts to study and apply in adjudication. (Article 1 of Resolution No. 04/2019/NQ-HDTP)
A selected precedent must meet the following criteria:
– Clarifies legal provisions that are subject to varying interpretations, analyzes and explains legal issues and facts, and identifies applicable legal principles, guidelines, or norms for specific cases, or embodies fairness in matters not explicitly regulated by law;
– Exemplifies legal standards;
– Guides the uniform application of law in adjudication.
2. Regulations on Adoption and Promulgation of Precedents
2.1. Adoption of Precedents
The Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court convenes a plenary session of the Council of Judges of the Supreme People’s Court to discuss and vote on the adoption of precedents.
A precedent may be adopted if it falls under one of the following cases:
- Derived from a legally effective court judgment or decision and has undergone consultation in accordance with Articles 4 and 5 of Resolution No. 04/2019/NQ-HĐTP;
- Proposed by a Judge of the Supreme People’s Court;
- Proposed by the Judicial Committee of a High People’s Court;
- Selected by the Council of Judges of the Supreme People’s Court during cassation or reopening procedures.
The Council of Judges’ session requires the participation of at least two-thirds of its total members. A decision of the Council must be approved by a majority vote of its members.
The voting results must be recorded in the minutes of the session and serve as the basis for the Chief Justice to promulgate the precedent.
2.2. Promulgation of Precedents
The Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court issues a decision to promulgate the precedent adopted by the Council of Judges.
The promulgation includes:
- Precedent number and name;
- Number and name of the court judgment/decision from which the precedent was derived;
- Legal situation and solution in the precedent;
- Relevant legal provisions;
- Keywords on legal situations and solutions in the precedent;
- Case details and relevant court rulings;
- Content of the precedent.
Precedents are published on the Supreme People’s Court’s official portal, disseminated to all courts and units under the Supreme People’s Court, and included in a published Collection of Precedents.
3. Application of Precedents in Adjudication
– Precedents shall be studied and applied in adjudication 30 days after promulgation.
– Judges and assessors must study and apply precedents to ensure consistent rulings in cases with similar legal circumstances. If a court does not apply a precedent despite similar legal circumstances, it must clearly state the reason in its judgment or decision.
– When applying a precedent, the court must cite and analyze the precedent’s number, name, legal situation, and solution in the “Court’s Reasoning” section. Depending on the case, the court may quote the precedent in whole or in part to clarify its stance in adjudicating similar cases.
See also: Compilation of Vietnamese Precedents
