HANOI, June 21 (Xinhua) -- Under Vietnam's amended Penal Code, attorneys are subject to denounce their clients if they commit felonies like infringing on national security, local media reported on Wednesday.
The new regulation in the amended Penal Code, adopted by Vietnam's top legislature on Tuesday, is necessary to protect national security and social order, daily newspaper Tien Phong (Pioneer) quoted local lawmakers as saying.
However, many Vietnamese lawyers said the new regulation conflicts with other law provisions and their code of ethics that prohibits attorneys from revealing information about their clients and cases.
Earlier this month, the Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association proposed to the Vietnam's National Assembly, the country's top legislature, to abolish the regulation in the draft amended Penal Code.
