i VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES PHAM THI BICH PHUONG THE COURT IN THE MECHANISM OF PROTECTING WOMEN''''S RIGHTS IN VIETNAM NOW Major Constitutional Law and Ad[.]
VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES - - PHAM THI BICH PHUONG THE COURT IN THE MECHANISM OF PROTECTING WOMEN'S RIGHTS IN VIETNAM NOW Major: Constitutional Law and Administrative Law Code: 9.38.01.02 SUMMARY OF THESIS OF LAW STUDY HA NOI - 2023 i The work was completed at: GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES Science instructor: Prof Dr THAI VINH THANG Reviewer 1: Prof Dr Pham Hong Thai Reviewer 2: Assoc Prof Dr Dinh Ngoc Vuong Reviewer 3: Assoc Prof Dr Truong Ho Hai The thesis was defended at the Academy level thesis grading committee meeting at Graduate Academy of Social Sciences, 477 Nguyen Trai, Thanh Xuan, Hanoi Time: At h date month year 2023 The thesis can be found at: Vietnam National Library Library of Graduate Academy of Social Sciences PREAMBLE The urgency of the thesis topic Human rights is a broad concept, including the rights of individuals, groups, groups of people, and communities of people in society In particular, with gender characteristics, women are one of the most vulnerable groups that need special attention and protection However, in reality, women often not receive the proper attention and protection of society, even being discriminated against, mistreated Therefore, in order to protect women's rights, from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present, the United Nations and other international organizations have built many international commitments to protect women's rights, in which, the most prominent is the Convention on Women's Rights about elimination of all forms of discrimination against women in 1979 (CEDAW) The purpose of CEDAW is to give women human rights that are recognized by international law but which they not enjoy in practice because of discrimination against women CEDAW addresses gender inequality in the direction of: not only giving general rules that apply to both men and women, but also developing separate rules with priority, only applicable to women, in order to achieve the goal of equality of rights and opportunities between men and women At the same time, CEDAW highlighted the main areas to focus on eliminating discrimination against women: Education - training; marital - family relations; socio-political activities; economic, cultural and social activities; civil transactions; individual status to the law; health care; nationality In order to protect women's rights in practice, along with the system of legal documents, our State also has mechanisms to promote the development and ensure the rights of women in all areas of social life and family In particular, the Court's activities perform the task of protecting women's rights with the aim of strictly handling all acts of infringing upon women's rights Protecting women's rights through court activities (especially adjudication) is the main method to punish offenders and help women restore their rights when there is a violation, and at the same time, create favorable conditions for women to enjoy their rights and protect themselves according to the provisions of the law However, besides that, the activities of the Court to protect women's rights also revealed many limitations From a theoretical point of view, there are still many shortcomings related to the legal system and the mechanism to ensure the implementation of women's rights in the judicial field The provisions of the law still reveal some limitations on creating favorable, quick and certain conditions for women to receive protection of the Court against violations of their rights The law does not have detailed and specific provisions to thoroughly solve problems arising during the Court's settlement of cases, ensuring equality to the law, non-discrimination against women The legal mechanism to protect women when participating in judicial activities has not been clarified From a practical point of view, the effectiveness of the enforcement of the women’s rights in the court's adjudication activities is not high Although the legal framework on ensuring women's rights has been relatively complete, the process of application and implementation in practice by the Court still has many obstacles, leading to guidelines and policies to ensure women's rights when implemented has not yet achieved high efficiency, especially in adjudicating activities to protect the rights of women in rural areas and ethnic minority women On the other hand, the situation of in-depth research on the topic of protection of women's rights at Court and the position and role of the Court in the mechanism of protecting women's rights in Vietnam is still limited, revealing gaps in both theory aspects and practice aspects The above context requires a systematic and comprehensive study on the protection mechanism for women's rights and on the position and role of the Court in that mechanism in order to build a scientific basis for solutions to improve women's rights enhance the role and effectiveness of the Court in the protection of women's rights in Vietnam today This is the reason why the author chose to research this topic “Courts in the current mechanism to protect women's rights in Vietnam” The purpose and mission of the thesis research 2.1 Research purposes The general purpose of the thesis is to build a scientific basis for proposing solutions to secure the Court in the current protection mechanism for women's rights in Vietnam 2.2 Research mission - Researching theoretical aspects of the Court in the protection mechanism of women's rights, in which focusing on clarifying the concept of the protection mechanism for women's rights and the Court in the protection mechanism for women's rights, the characteristics and role of the Court in the protection of women's rights, modes of operation of the Court in the mechanism of protecting women's rights, factors affecting the guarantee of the Court in the mechanism of protecting women's rights - The study elucidates the legal basis and actual status of the Court's operation in the current protection of women's rights in Vietnam, in which the emphasis is on the actual implementation of the Court's operational methods towards the goal of protecting women's rights in Vietnam today - Research to develop directions and propose a number of breakthrough and feasible solutions to ensure the Court in the mechanism of protecting women's rights in Vietnam The object and scope of the thesis's research 3.1 Research subjects - Scientific viewpoints related to women's rights, defense mechanisms, the role and mode of operation of the Court in the protection of women's rights - Legal policy and system of legal provisions on women's rights and on the functions and mission of the Court in the mechanism to protect women's rights in Vietnam - The actual operation of the Court in the protection mechanism of women's rights in Vietnam today - International legal standards and experience of the Court in the protection of women's rights in some countries around the world 3.2 Research scope - Range of content: The court in the protection of women's rights in Vietnam today is a big problem, approached from many angles with many different contents In the scope of this thesis, the author focuses on the study of the Court in the protection of women's rights through a number of key operating modes of the Court, especially adjudication in the criminal and civil fields These are specific, basic and common areas where women's rights are easily violated Within the above content limits, the protection mechanism for women's rights is seen from the perspective of legal science - the legal mechanism The thesis particularly focuses on studying the current legal provisions on the functions and duties of the Court and the actual operation of the Court in the current protection mechanism for women's rights in Vietnam - Spatial range: The thesis studies the issue of "Courts in the current mechanism of protection of women's rights in Vietnam" in the territory of Vietnam, in order to clarify the national mechanism in Vietnam on the protection of women's rights In the research process, international and regional law as well as the practice of the Court in the mechanism to protect women's rights in some countries around the world are also mentioned at different levels by the thesis - Time range: The thesis studies the Court in the protection of women's rights in Vietnam in the period of national renewal (from 1986 to present), focusing on the promulgation of the Constitution in 2013 and the Law on Organization of the People's Courts in 2014 to present Thesis research methodology and methods 4.1 Methodology The methodological basis of the thesis is the dialectical materialism and historical materialism of Marxism - Leninism The thesis approaches the research based on the viewpoints of Marxism - Leninism, Ho Chi Minh's thought, the thinking and perception of the Communist Party of Vietnam on the nature of the state and the law, on justice and human rights and the role of the Court in protecting human rights in general and women's rights in particular In order to ensure the objectivity and science of the research conclusions, the thesis also applies some basic and modern theories that are widely recognized in the world today: the theory of division of labor power of Montesquieu, the theory of rights-based approach, the doctrine of the rule of law 4.2 Research Methods - Analytical methods: are mainly used from Chapters to of the thesis to clarify the research situation related to the thesis topic, specify the theoretical aspects and clearly explain the actual situation of activities showing the role of Courts in the mechanism of protecting women's rights in Vietnam The results of applying the analytical method aim to provide an accurate, comprehensive, and convincing view of the aforementioned research aspects - Synthetic Methods: used mainly in Chapter 1, Chapter 3, Chapter of the thesis to make scientific conclusions about the research situation of the thesis topic, the whole multi-dimensional picture reflecting the role of the Court in mechanism to protect women's rights in Vietnam, on the overall views and solutions to enhance the role of the Court in the protection mechanism of women's rights in Vietnam today - Comparative jurisprudence method: are used in Chapters and to identify the similarities and differences between Vietnamese and international legal regulations as well as the practice of law enforcement in Vietnam and a number of countries around the world related to women's rights and the mechanism to protect women's rights through court activities, thereby contributing to building valid arguments for solutions to enhance the role of courts in the protection of women's rights in Vietnam - Case study method (case analysis/ judgment): is mainly used in Chapter by selecting a number of typical cases in the Court's activities related to the protection of women's rights from being violated in order to analyze, evaluate and clearly identify the nature of the case, the method of Court's settlement method and effective impact on the goal of protecting women's rights in Vietnam Applying the case study method contributes to proving and increasing the persuasiveness of the thesis' statements and conclusions, as well as supporting the arguments, interpretations and recommendations of the thesis - Method of interpretation, induction: used mainly in Chapters and of the thesis to confirm the author's awareness of the basic theoretical aspects related to the Court in the defense mechanism of women's rights, identify the directions and solutions to enhance the role of the Court in the protection of women's rights in Vietnam today - Historical method: used in Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter of the thesis to understand and analyze the research history of the content related to the thesis topic, the process of developing theoretical and legal awareness about the role, the mode of operation of the Court in the mechanism of protecting women's rights, some experiences in law-making and law implementation in Vietnam as well as in some countries around the world associated with the mechanism to protect women's rights Women and the Court in the mechanism to protect women's rights New scientific contributions of the thesis - The thesis is the first work to conduct a relatively complete synthesis and update of scientific research activities on the protection mechanism of women's rights and the courts in the protection mechanism for women's rights in Vietnam, clearly identifying the current state of the research problem (scientific contents have reached consensus, scientific contents are still being debated, scientific contents have not been mentioned and resolved), thereby contributing to building research orientations of legal science on the guarantee and protection of human rights in general and women's rights in particular in Vietnam today - The thesis is an in-depth research on theoretical and legal aspects related to the Court in the defense mechanism of women's rights The thesis gives an independent opinion on the concept, characteristics, and role of the Court in the protection of women's rights, points out the modes of operation of the Court in the protection of women's rights, fully argues about the need to protect women's rights The requirements and practice of adjusting the law related to the operation of the Court in the protection of women's rights internationally and in Vietnam - The thesis is an elaborate study on the reality of the court in the protection of women's rights in Vietnam The thesis builds a multi-dimensional and multicolored picture of the Court's activities in the protection mechanism of women's rights in Vietnam today In particular, the thesis has discovered and fully pointed out the limitations and inadequacies of the practical law and the practice of applying the law in the operation of the Court in the current protection mechanism for women's rights in Vietnam - The thesis is a serious study on the direction and solutions to secure the Court in the protection mechanism of women's rights in Vietnam The important scientific contribution of the thesis lies in the system of synchronous and feasible solutions with high application value for the goal of ensuring the Court in the protection mechanism of women's rights in Vietnam in the current period of time Theoretical and practical significance of the thesis - In terms of theory, the thesis gives a multi-dimensional and comprehensive view of the Court in the protection mechanism of women's rights; develop a basic theoretical framework on the protection mechanism of women's rights and the mechanism of courts to protect women's rights; provide basic scientific arguments for formulating legal policies and perfecting the law on the protection of women's rights through court operations in the defense mechanism of women's rights - In terms of practice, The thesis is a useful reference for researchers and lecturers in the scientific field of Constitutional Law, Administrative Law, Civil Procedure Law, Criminal Procedure Law… The scientific views and solutions developed by the thesis can be applied in the operation of legal policy-making agencies, Courts at all levels in the Vietnamese court system as well as other agencies and organizations have the responsibility to ensure and protect women's rights in Vietnam today Thesis structure In addition to the Introduction, Conclusion and List of references, the content of the thesis is structured into chapters : Chapter : Overview of the research status of the thesis topic Chapter : Theoretical issues about the Court in the mechanism to protect women's rights Chapter : The status of the Court in the mechanism of protecting women's rights in Vietnam Chapter : Orientations and solutions to ensure the Court in the current mechanism of protecting women's rights in Vietnam Chapter OVERVIEW OF THE RESEARCH STATUS OF THE THESIS TOPIC 1.1 The research status of the thesis topic 1.1.1 Research situation in the country 1.1.1.1 Research situation on theoretical issues about the Court in the mechanism of protecting women's rights In the country, the topic : "Courts in the current mechanism to protect women's rights in Vietnam" is an issue that attracts the attention of many scientists from different fields Therefore, in terms of theory, there have been many research works related to this topic : - Ministry-level scientific research project (2006), Theoretical and practical basis for the implementation of gender equality in the People's Court branch by the Supreme People's Court - Ministry-level scientific research project (2016), Ensuring women's rights in Vietnam today, implemented by the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics - The Judges' Manual for 2023 is issued by the Supreme People's Court on the basis of inheriting the reasonable contents of the 2006 Judges' Manual (Revised and supplemented in 2009) - The book “ United Nations Convention and Vietnamese law on the elimination of discrimination against women ” of Dr Duong Thanh Mai (2004) - The book “ Human Rights in the Practice of Justice : A Human Rights Handbook for Judges, Prosecutors and Lawyer ”, translated by International Cooperation Department, Supreme People's Court (2010) - The book “ Mechanisms to ensure and protect human rights ” of Prof Dr Vo Khanh Linh (2011) - The book “ Theoretical and practical issues of civil and political rights groups ” of Prof Dr Vo Khanh Linh (2011) - The book “ Judicial reform for a judicial integrity ” of Prof Dr of Science Dao Tri Uc – Assor Prof Dr Vu Cong Giao (2014) - The book " Human rights " of Prof Dr Vo Khanh Vinh (2015) - The book " Gender dimensions of social segregation towards more inclusive policy towards women " of Prof Dr Vo Khanh Vinh and Prof Dr Nguyen Huu Minh (2016) - Training documents “ Rights and gender in Vietnam ” of the Institute for Social Development Studies (2015) - Proceedings of the Scientific Conference “ Ensuring the rights and promoting the participation of women in law-making and implementation”, organized by Hanoi Law University in October 2016 In addition, there are a considerable number of scientific articles published in specialized journals that have focused on deciphering one or several theoretical issues related to the topic of the thesis The group of research articles on Women's Rights can be mentioned such as: Articles by author Luu Binh Nhuong, Overview of women's rights under Vietnamese law, Article by author Chu Manh Hung, The influence of Confucianism on ensuring equal rights of women in Vietnam, Jurisprudence Magazine (2010); Article by author Ngo Vuong Anh, Vietnamese women's rights from history to contemporary, Vietnam Human Rights Magazine (2013) The article “ Women's rights in ASEAN countries from a comparative law perspective” by Vu Thi Lan Anh; the article “ Mechanism to ensure and promote women's human rights within the ASEAN framework ” by Chu Manh Hung and Nguyen Thi Hong Yen; the article Civil and economic rights of women in the Republic of Indonesia by Do Duc Hong Ha; and articles published in various journals: articles by author Tran Thi Hue, “ Some legal aspects of women's rights in the People's Republic of China”, Jurisprudence Magazine (2/1011); Article by author Le Thi Anh Dao, Rights of women infected with HIV/AIDS from the perspective of international law, Jurisprudence Magazine (6/2013); Article by author Vu Thi Lan Anh, “ Women's rights and current legislation protecting women's rights in India”, Law Professions Magazine (11/2014) 1.1.1.2 Research on the current situation of the Court in the mechanism of protecting women's rights in Vietnam - Ministry-level scientific research project (2006), Theoretical and practical basis for the implementation of gender equality in the People's Court branch by the Supreme People's Court - Ministry-level scientific research project (2016), Ensuring women's rights in Vietnam today, implemented by the Institute of State and Law at the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics - The book “ United Nations Convention and Vietnamese law on the elimination of discrimination against women” by Dr Duong Thanh Mai, published in 2004 - The book : Judicial reform for a judicial integrity by Prof Dr of Science Dao Tri Uc – Assor Prof Dr Vu Cong Giao, published in 2014 - Proceedings of Conference : Assessing the practice of adjudicating civil and criminal cases involving women and children in the period 2001 – 2004, by Institute of Trial Science, Supreme People's Court (2005) - Proceedings of Conference : Gender equality in the Vietnamese court system and in adjudication activities, organized by Supreme People's Court (2009) Research on legal practice and the operation of the Court for the Protection of Women's Rights in Vietnam, expressed in the form of articles published in scientific research journals, is quite limited, reflected in the modest number of public works published in this direction: Article by author Bui Thi Dao, Vietnamese law on ensuring equal rights of women in health care according to CEDAW, Journal of Jurisprudence (3/2006); Article by author Do Duc Hong Ha, Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure in Vietnam in the Protection of Women, Journal of Legal Studies (3/2008); Article by author Phan Chi Hieu, Crime of trafficking in women and children and the adjudication work of the People's Court branch, Journal of Trial Science Information (3/2008); Article by author Phung Trung Tap, Division of common property of husband and wife during marriage, Journal of Legislative Studies (5/2012); Besides, a number of articles in the direction of studying the practice of foreign law on women's rights, such as the article by Duong Tuyet Mien: Lao criminal law with the protection of women's rights, Jurisprudence Magazine (2/2010); Article by author Nguyen Tuyet Mai: Law on domestic violence prevention in Singapore from the perspective of protecting women's rights, Jurisprudence Magazine (2/2010); From the research results of the thesis group, this thesis shows that the topic of protecting women's rights is often explored and approached in the direction of assessment team of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Report of the International Bank for reconstruction and development, World Bank, World Development Report 2012 Gender Equality and Development Overview, 2010; UN Women's press release, Justice still out of reach for thousands of women in South Asia (Cơng lý ngồi tầm với hàng nghìn phụ nữ Nam Á), 7/2011; Report by Simone Cusack, Eliminating judicial stereotyping Equal access to justice for women in gender-based violence cases, Final paper, Submitted to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (Eliminating judicial prejudices Equal access to justice for women in cases of gender-based violence, Final report to be submitted to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights),6/2014; Edwin Cameron, Judicial Accountability in South Africa (Trách nhiệm tư pháp Nam Phi), South African Journal on Human Rights, Vol.6 (2), 1990; Muhammad Jum'at Dasuki, Women's Right in Islamic Law of Inheritance: Justification and Illustration (Quyền phụ nữ Luật thừa kế Hồi giáo: Biện minh minh họa), Burjis, Vol.9 (2),7-12/2022; Adv.Anat Thon Ashkenazy, The Ramifications of the Judicial Reform for the Status of Women in Israel (Hệ cải cách tư pháp vị phụ nữ Israel), Published in The Israel Democracy Institute online on March 2023 https://en.idi.org.il/articles/48099; Sri Mardiana Joisangadji, Faissal Malik, Suwarti, Fulfillment of Women Prisoner's Rights (Case Study of Class II B Penitentiary in North Maluku) (Thực quyền tù nhân nữ (Nghiên cứu điển hình Trại giam loại II B Bắc Maluku), Journal of Social Science, Vol.04 (02), 3/2023 ; Research presented at workshop: Workshop on capacity building of Vietnamese lecturers by Professor/ Judge Kim Jung Min, Korean Judicial Training and Research Institute, Status and trends of marriage and family adjudication in Korea, July 1, 2014; Workshop on capacity building of Vietnamese lecturers by Professor/ Judge Cho Soon-pyo, Korean Judicial Training and Research Institute, Organizational structure and trial practice of the Korean Family Court, June 9, 2015; Workshop on Japanese Family Court, organized by the Supreme People's Court and Japan International Cooperation Agency, December 2014 Thirdly, the research group published in the form of a handbook, a guidebook on women's rights and the protection of women's rights, implemented by the United Nations and international human rights organizations, including: Equality for Women: A Handbook for NHRIs on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Bình đẳng cho phụ nữ: Sổ tay cho quan nhân quyền quốc gia quyền kinh tế, xã hội văn hoá), International Center for Human Rights Education Equitas, 2008; Handbook for Legislation on Violence against Women (Sổ tay pháp luật bạo lực phụ nữ), Economic and Social Department, United Nations, published in 2009; Mechanisms for advancing women’s human rights: A guide to using the 11 optional protocol to Cedaw and other international complaint mechanisms (Cơ chế thúc đẩy quyền người phụ nữ: Hướng dẫn sử dụng giao thức tùy chọn cho Cedaw chế khiếu nại quốc tế khác), Australian Commission on Human Rights, published in 2011; Supplement to the Handbook for legislation on violence against Women:"Harmful Pratices" against Women (Bổ sung cho Sổ tay pháp luật bạo lực phụ nữ: "Hành vi xâm phạm" phụ nữ), UN Women, New York, 2012; Cedaw Casebook an analysis of case law in Southeast Asia (Phân tích trường hợp luật theo Cedaw Đông Nam Á), UN Women, 2016; Women's access to Justice: A guide for legal practitioners (Tiếp cận Tư pháp Phụ nữ: Hướng dẫn dành cho người hành nghề luật), European Union and the Council of Europe, 10/2018… Fourth, the group of dissertations and research theses are related to the topic, notably as: Doctoral thesis in jurisprudence Protection of women’s rights in Bangladesh: a legal study in an internationals and comparative perspective (Bảo vệ quyền phụ nữ Băng la des: nghiên cứu pháp lý sở quốc tế so sánh) by Afroza Begum, Wollongong University in 2004; Doctoral Thesis of Jurisprudence Protection of Women’s Human Rights Role of Judiciary in India (Bảo vệ quyền người phụ nữ Vai trò ngành tư pháp Ấn Độ) by Haider Ali, Aligarh Muslim University, 2010; Master's Thesis in Law Indonesian Law and Policy on Rape: Paralegals and Access to Justice for Rape Victims (Luật pháp sách Indonesia hiếp dâm: Trợ lý pháp lý tiếp cận công lý cho nạn nhân bị hiếp dâm) by Dewi Novirianti, Lund University, 2010; Master's Thesis in Law Legal and Policy Framework for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment: A Critical Analysis of the Third Millennium Development Goal in Liberia (Khung pháp lý sách bình đẳng giới trao quyền cho phụ nữ: Phân tích quan trọng Mục tiêu phát triển thiên niên kỷ thứ ba Liberia) by Jerry Calson Kammah, Malmo University, 2014; Thesis for Doctor of Philosophy Law and the Protection of Women from violence in Jordan (Legal and policy frameworks for gender equality and women's empowerment: A critical analysis of the Third Millennium Development Goals in Liberia) by Zainab Nimer Khashman, Sussex Law School, University of Sussex, 2018 1.2 Comments on the situation of research on the thesis topic 1.2.1 The existing and inherited results in the thesis Firstly, research works have recognized women's rights as a term to refer to women's rights as a human being and viewed through the lens of gender… Secondly, in the agencies implementing the protection of women's rights, the Court is the traditional body performing this task When women's rights are violated or are at risk of being violated, the State through the activities of Court to protect it intact, restore the status quo 12 Third, there are many approaches from different angles on the mechanism of women's rights protection by the Court, but in general, the authors have outlined some basic areas that women's rights are often violated are: Civil field; criminal field; marriage and family and the labor sector Fourthly, the research works that have analyzed and evaluated the current status of the mechanism of women's rights protection by courts in Vietnam in recent years have brought about great achievements, ensuring fairness for women, the cases related to women are objective, transparent, and resolved quickly and on time… Fifth, solutions to strengthen the role of the Court in the mechanism to protect women's rights in Vietnam emphasize the need to continue supplementing and perfecting the law on women's rights and protecting women's rights; 1.2.2 The thesis issues need to focus on solving Firstly, analyze and give a scientific opinion on the Court in the mechanism to protect women's rights, which focuses on building instrumental concepts Second, fully describe, analyze and evaluate the legal status and practice of the Court in the mechanism of protecting women's rights in Vietnam Third, the thesis identifies the direction and proposes a system of solutions to ensure the Court in the current mechanism of protecting women's rights in Vietnam 1.3 Research hypothesis and research question 1.3.1 Research hypothesis Women's rights and the protection of women's rights in general, and the Court in the mechanism to protect women's rights in particular are issues of special concern to the international community and democratic countries, expressed through law adjustment activities and law application practice However, it is entirely possible that women's rights are not effectively protected in certain spaces and areas 1.3.2 Research question - How should the court in the women's rights protection mechanism be recognized? This question is related to things that need clarification: What are women's rights? How is the mechanism to protect women's rights understood and what mechanisms are there? What is the conception of the Court in the mechanism to protect women's rights? What role does the court play in the mechanism to protect women's rights? What method does the court adopt to protect women's rights? - How is the practice of adjusting the law and the current status of the Court's operation in the mechanism to protect women's rights in Vietnam? This question is associated with a number of requirements that need to be deciphered: What is the state of policy and practice in Vietnam on 13 women's rights and protection of women's rights? What are the advantages and limitations of the Court's actual operation in the mechanism to protect women's rights in Vietnam? What are the causes of advantages and disadvantages? What are the current legal issues? - What solutions are needed to ensure the Court in the mechanism to protect women's rights in Vietnam in the current period? This question is related to the contents that need to be clarified: The need to ensure the Court in the mechanism to protect women's rights in Vietnam in the current period? What are the main directions? How to design solution groups and build content of each solution group? CONCLUSION OF CHAPTER Overview of the research situation related to the thesis topic “ Courts in the current mechanism to protect women's rights in Vietnam ”, can draw the following conclusions: Researching the topic demonstrates the necessity and urgency to meet the requirements of the theoretical basis, the legal basis, the practical basis and the needs of the integration process Most of the studies agree on the understanding of the concept as well as the characteristics of the Court in the mechanism to protect women's rights Although there are many different mechanisms to protect women's rights, the Court is the most effective mechanism in protecting women's rights as an agency to exercise judicial rights in the rule of law Although the research works have agreed on a number of issues related to the Court in the mechanism to protect women's rights, there are still controversial issues, disagreements, and many different opinions around the idea of renovating the judicial operation of the Court to protect women's rights in Vietnam today On the basis of disagreements and debates, the author identifies a number of issues that need to be further researched in the thesis, and at the same time states the research hypothesis and poses a number of specific research questions in order to orientation for the implementation of thesis research Through the overview assessment of the research situation, analysis of the theoretical basis and research methods of the thesis, it can be affirmed that, up to now, there has not been any research that has studied in-depth and comprehensively about “Courts in the current mechanism to protect women's rights in Vietnam” as the approach of the topic, the study of the topic “Courts in the mechanism of protecting women's rights in Vietnam today” very meaningful in both theory and practice, the aforementioned research works are very valuable documents for the author to refer to and serve his/her research 14 Chapter THEORETICAL ISSUES ABOUT THE COURT IN THE MECHANISM TO PROTECT WOMEN'S RIGHTS 2.1 The concept, characteristics and role of the Court in the mechanism to protect women's rights 2.1.1 The concept of the Court in the mechanism to protect women's rights 2.1.1.1 Women's rights Women's rights are first and foremost human rights, which are natural rights inherent in human beings without which one cannot live as a human being However, women with the characteristics associated with the natural sex, in addition to human rights in general, they also have rights associated with their natural duties such as the right to be a mother, the right to be protected as a as a vulnerable group to which a woman must enjoy 2.1.1.2 Mechanism to protect women's rights To introduce the concept of women's rights protection mechanism, it is necessary to clarify two legal terms Firstly, Terminology of " Protecting women's rights" Secondly, Terminology of " mechanism " and " legal mechanism" And in fact, the mechanism of protecting women's rights can be classified according to many different criteria 2.1.1.3 Identifying the Court in the mechanism to protect women's rights Courts in the women's rights protection mechanism can be understood as synonymous with the court mechanism for the protection of the women's rights (the mechanism for the protection of women's rights by the Court of Justice) That is, the Court, based on the provisions of law, handles acts of infringing upon women's rights and settles disputes related to women's rights in the fields of social life in order to protect women's rights, thereby demonstrating the Court's ability to protect women's rights as well as the position and relationship of the Court with other factors in the mechanism to protect women's rights 2.1.2 Features of the Court in the mechanism to protect women's rights 2.1.2.1 Courts play a central role in women's rights protection mechanisms 2.1.2.2 The Court's activities in the mechanism to protect women's rights are highly independent, subject to strict legal constraints and reflected in strong coercive rulings 2.1.2.3 Courts in the mechanism of protection of women's rights have the scope of activities to protect women's rights in all areas of social life when violations of rights occur 15 2.1.2.4 The court in the mechanism to protect women's rights is affected by the inherent characteristics of the way the Court operates 2.1.3 The role of the Court in the mechanism to protect women's rights 2.1.3.1 Courts punish those who commit crimes of infringing on women's rights, protecting women's freedom and personal safety 2.1.3.2 Courts help restore violated women's rights and ensure their practice in practice 2.1.3.3 Courts contribute to overcoming the risk of infringing upon women's rights: 2.1.3.4 Courts contribute to the protection of human rights values that women enjoy through law improvement activities and case precedent development 2.1.3.5 Courts ensure the effectiveness of the overall mechanism for the protection of women's rights 2.2 How Courts work in the mechanism to protect women's rights 2.2.1 Courts protect women's rights through adjudication The court is always a judicial organ The court has the power to adjudicate all violations of the law and all disputes arising in the social spheres; can be mentioned as civil cases, marriage and family, administrative, commercial, labor, etc to other fields as prescribed by law to protect infringed rights Therefore, trial is a typical and dominant mode of operation for the Court to protect women's rights 2.2.2 Courts protect women's rights through compliance with judicial proceedings and supervision of pre-trial proceedings, prevent violations of women's rights by the prosecuting agencies themselves By following due process procedures, the Court itself limits the abuse of power The Court's self-compliance and guarantee for agencies and participants to fully implement the adjudication procedures from the pre-trial stage is an important mode of operation; thereby helping to protect human rights in general and women's rights in particular against the abuse of their rights by powerful individuals and institutions 2.2.3 Courts protect women's rights through legal education and case building The sense of respect and protection of women's rights by individuals and organizations in society is a factor that has a strong impact on the effectiveness of women's rights protection By its activities, the Court contributes to legal education, creates legal consciousness and human rights culture of all social classes This activity manifests itself in two aspects 2.2.4 The Court protects women's rights by ensuring women's right to access to justice, ensuring that women actively exercise their rights during legal proceedings 16 2.3 Factors affecting the Court in the mechanism to protect women's rights 2.3.1 Cognitive factor 2.3.2 Legal factors 2.3.3 Competence factor of the Court 2.3.4 Social factors 2.4 International legal standards on the protection of women's rights and the experience of some countries in the world on the Court in the mechanism to protect women's rights 2.4.1 International legal standards on women's rights and the protection of women's rights 2.4.2 Experiences of some countries in the world about the Court in the mechanism to protect women's rights 2.4.2.1 Experience in organization and operation of the Family Court 2.4.2.2 Experience in building and applying case law in protecting women's rights CONCLUSION OF CHAPTER With the theoretical aspects clarified from the study of the contents in Chapter 2, the thesis has enough cognitive premise to assess the current situation and propose solutions to ensure the Court in the current mechanism to protect women's rights in Vietnam Chapter THE SITUATION OF THE COURT IN THE PROTECTION MECHANISM OF WOMEN'S RIGHTS IN VIETNAM 3.1 Overview of the Court in the mechanism to protect women's rights in Vietnam 3.1.1 The system of institutions to protect women's rights and the functions and authority of the Court in protecting women's rights in Vietnam 3.1.1.1 The system of institutions to protect women's rights in Vietnam In Vietnam, the task of protecting women's rights is carried out by many agencies and organizations, including general agencies and organizations in the protection of human rights and agencies and organizations operating as specialized institutions for the protection of women's rights 3.1.3.2 Functions and competence of the Court in the mechanism to protect women's rights in Vietnam 3.1.2 Legal basis for the operation of the Court in the mechanism to protect women's rights in Vietnam 3.1.2.1 Legal regulations on the content of women's rights in Vietnam 3.1.2.2 Legal regulations on procedures to protect women's rights in Vietnam 17 3.2 Results of the Court's activities in the mechanism to protect women's rights in Vietnam 3.2.1 Protecting women's rights through court proceedings 3.2.1.1 Protecting women's rights through criminal proceedings by the Court According to statistics of the Supreme People's Court, in the period from 2018 to 2022, the number of criminal cases handled by the People's Court system is very large and tends to increase gradually Among them, female victims account for a significant proportion, while the percentage of women committing crimes is much lower than that of men (about 5-10% of crimes) Summary table of number of female defendants / total number of cases tried and number of defendants from 2018 to 2022 Year Case Defendants 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Total 58587 62514 64086 66601 69081 320869 98508 104180 110581 115605 128350 557224 Female Defendants 5138 5260 5494 5705 6288 27885 Source: Supreme People's Court (Number of female defendants counted by local courts according to statistical software) see details of the years Appendix Summary of data on female victims in the trial of a number of crimes belonging to the group of crimes of infringing on the life, health, honor and dignity of women, and human trafficking from 2018 to 2022 Name of crime type Case Defendant Crime of murder (Article 123 Criminal Code) Crime of intentionally causing injury or causing harm to the health of others (Article 134 Criminal Code) Crime of rape (Article 141 Criminal Code) Crime of human trafficking (Article 150 Criminal Code) Crime of trafficking in people under 16 years old (Article 151 Criminal Code) Crime of insulting others (Article 155 Criminal Code) 7.213 27.807 12.241 47.032 Victim is female 288 596 871 270 1.004 470 318 136 150 327 77 317 495 77 Source: Supreme People's Court (Number of female victims is counted by local courts using statistical software) 18 Summary of data on female defendants in the trial of a number of crimes belonging to the group of crimes of infringing on the life, health, honor and dignity of women, and human trafficking from 2018 to 2022 Name of crime type Case Defendant Crime of murder (Article 123 Criminal Code) 7.213 12.241 Victim is female 123 Crime of intentionally causing injury or causing harm to the health of others (Article 134 Criminal Code) Crime of rape (Article 141 Criminal Code) 27.807 47.032 603 871 1.004 Crime of human trafficking (Article 150 Criminal Code) Crime of trafficking in people under 16 years old (Article 151 Criminal Code) Crime of insulting others (Article 155 Criminal Code) 270 470 69 150 327 62 317 495 107 Source: Supreme People's Court (Number of female defendants counted by local courts according to statistical software) 3.2.1.2 Protecting women's rights through civil trial activities of the Court The role of the Court in protecting women's rights through civil cases needs to be identified for a number of popular rights groups and through some typical cases First, the Court settles civil disputes related to the right to protection of honor, dignity, reputation, right to privacy and right to image Second, the Court settles disputes related to women's rights in marriage and family relations Third, the Court settles disputes related to women's rights in labor relations 3.2.2 Protecting women's rights through compliance with judicial proceedings and supervision of pre-trial proceedings by the Court In adjudicating criminal cases involving women victims, in addition to applying substantive law to settle the case, the Court also pays special attention to the application of procedural law provisions to women are protected both physically and mentally, preventing them from being hurt again For the female defendant, the Court strictly abides by the law provisions on the measure of body search and body trace search 3.2.3 Protecting women's rights through the Court's activities in legal education and human rights, developing case law, creating conditions 19 for women to actively approach justice and protecting their rights during the prosecution process Legal education through the exercise of judicial rights is an important function and task of the Court Completing the law, developing and promulgating case precedents are regular activities of the Court in recent times, having particularly important significance, contributing to the protection of women's rights Ensuring women's proactive access to justice and proactively protecting their rights during legal proceedings is the most substantive way to protect women’s rights by the Court, in the context of the fact that access to justice is not high and the fear of using the means of the Court to protect women's rights is still relatively common in our country 3.3 Limitations and reasons for limiting the operation of the Court in the mechanism of protecting women's rights in Vietnam 3.3.1 Limitations First, protecting women's rights through court proceedings has not really achieved the desired goal Second, there are still many shortcomings in the Court's compliance with trial procedures and supervision of the implementation of pre-trial procedures in the direction of protecting women's rights Third, the effectiveness of legal education and human rights education through the activities of the Court is not high Fourth, the building and promulgation of precedents of the Supreme People's Court have not contributed much to the goal of protecting human rights in general and women's rights in particular Fifth, the measures taken by the Court to create conditions for women to actively access justice and actively protect their procedural rights are insufficient and inefficient, leading to results that not meet the requirements 3.4.2 Causes of the limitations The above-mentioned inadequacies have many causes, both subjective and objective, of which the following are notable: First, from awareness Although our Party and State have very progressive and correct guidelines and policies on respecting, ensuring and protecting human rights; also prioritizing women, creating conditions for women to develop comprehensively, contributing to the overall development 20 of the country; However, on the whole society, there are still certain deviations in perception on both dimensions Second, from the law This is the fundamental cause leading to the difficulties in applying the law at the Court, leading to the low quality of the trial; The true nature of women's rights is not protected Third, from qualifications, capacity and responsibility of the team of judges This is the leading cause of limitations in the application of the law, directly affecting the effectiveness of the protection of women's rights Fourth, other causes The position of the Court in the mechanism to protect women's rights has not been achieved as expected, due to many other reasons with different levels of impact CONCLUSION OF CHAPTER Research results in chapter of the thesis have basically met the set objectives; that is also a very important basis, a practical premise for the thesis to give directions and solutions to ensure the Court in the current mechanism of protecting women's rights in Vietnam Chapter ORIENTATIONS AND SOLUTIONS TO ENSURE THE COURT IN THE CURRENT MECHANISM OF PROTECTING WOMEN'S RIGHTS IN VIETNAM 4.1 Orientation to ensure the Court in the current mechanism to protect women's rights in Vietnam 4.1.1 Ensure the Court in the current mechanism to protect women's rights in Vietnam must be based on the foundation of upholding the value of judicial rights and the independence of the Court: 4.1.2 Ensure the Court in the current mechanism to protect women's rights in Vietnam must follow the direction of expanding the jurisdiction of the Court system 4.1.3 Ensure that the courts in the current mechanism of protecting women's rights in Vietnam must aim at the goal that the rights of women who have been violated are treated fairly, according to strict procedures 4.2 Solutions to secure the Court in the current mechanism of protecting women's rights in Vietnam 4.2.1 Renovate the overall model of the organization and operation of the People's Court 21 Regarding organization, it is necessary to change thinking and strongly switch to the model of organizing the Court according to jurisdiction, not depending on the administrative unit Along with the model of organizing a 4-level people's court, it is necessary to study the establishment of abbreviated courts, simplified courts and establish the institution of the National Judicial Council Regarding operations, the most important thing now is to put the litigation model into practice This model has a very basic advantage, is a procedural process that shows high fairness, especially in the trial stage 4.2.2 Complete legal provisions related to the operation of the Court in the mechanism to protect women's rights in Vietnam Reviewing to ensure consistency, overcoming overlaps and contradictions in documents related to the protection of women's rights is the first task to be done to achieve the goal of perfecting the content law There are a number of related documents such as: Penal Code, Criminal Procedure Code, Civil Code, Civil Procedure Code, Labor Code, Administrative Procedure Code, Law on handling administrative violations, Law on Gender Equality, Law on Marriage and Family, etc.; 4.2.3 Improve the qualifications, capacity, qualities and responsibilities of the contingent of judges and people's assessors in the direction of professionalism, intelligence, bravery, compassion, dedication and fairness 4.2.4 Promote legal education, human rights education, and gender education in order to improve women's access to justice and the attitude of respect and protection of women's rights of all social classes 4.2.5 Diversify institutions to protect human rights and implement close coordination between the Court and other institutions in the mechanism to protect women's rights 4.2.6 Other solutions 4.2.6.1 Ensure the Party's leadership over the organization and operation of the Court 4.2.6.2 Ensure the supervisory role of representative agencies and promoting the people's ownership over the Court's activities 4.2.6.3 Ensuring physical facilities for the operation of the Court system 4.2.6.4 Ensuring effective legal aid for women and girls 22 4.2.6.5 Strengthening international cooperation in criminal and civil proceedings to ensure the human rights of Vietnamese women CONCLUSION OF CHAPTER The ideas proposed in Chapter of the thesis are the results of the argumentation of theoretical and practical aspects that have been clarified in Chapters and of the thesis Therefore, it is possible to confirm the scientific basis of the proposals, thereby demonstrating the feasibility and application value of the solutions CONCLUSION Researching of topic “Courts in the current mechanism to protect women's rights in Vietnam” is considered a traditional issue and has received special attention in most of the legal sciences of the country Today, along with the development of society, violations of human rights in general and women's rights in particular are increasingly complex and sophisticated Since then, the role of the Court in protecting women's rights today is very important How the application of the law is correct, correct, ensuring fairness and objectivity in the settlement of cases related to women's rights requires reasonable understanding and is being concerned by society Thus, the topic “Courts in the current mechanism to protect women’s rights in Vietnam” is an elaborate and comprehensive research on theoretical and practical issues associated with the protection of women's rights by way of the court Accordingly, the following issues were mentioned and solved by the thesis: First, the thesis has systematically and comprehensively reviewed the issues related to the Court in the mechanism to protect women's rights Second, the thesis has analyzed and clarified theoretical issues about the Court in the mechanism to protect women's rights Third, the thesis has clarified the functions and authority of the Court in the protection of women's rights in Vietnam and clarified the legal basis for the Court to conduct activities to protect women's rights in Vietnam Fourth, On the basis of clarified theory and practice, the thesis has proposed 03 directions and proposed 06 groups of solutions; in which, the emphasis is on solutions related to innovating the overall model of organization and operation of people's courts; complete the content regulations and procedural regulations associated with the Court's activities of protecting women's rights; improve the capacity and quality of the contingent of judges and people's jurors, etc 23 "Courts in the current mechanism to protect women’s rights in Vietnam" is a rather broad topic and there are a number of other issues that need to be deepened, such as: the relationship between the Court and other elements in the mechanism to protect women's rights; criteria for assessing the position of the Court in the protection of women's rights, etc However, within the scope of this thesis, the author only mentions some basic contents about the Court in the mechanism to protect women's rights in Vietnam Other issues, the author will continue to improve in the process of his scientific research 24 LIST OF PUBLISHED SCIENTIFIC WORKS Phạm Thi Bich Phuong (2014), Some issues about inheritance in the case of stepchildren with stepfather, stepmother, People's Court Magazine No Pham Thi Bich Phuong (2018), The prison sentence enforcement regime for the protection of women's rights in accordance with Vietnamese law, Proceedings of the scientific conference Pham Thi Bich Phuong (2019), Professional Ethics and Code of Conduct for Judges, Vietnam Court Academy teaching programs Pham Thi Bich Phuong (2019), Operational curriculum of Family and Juvenile Courts in Vietnam, Vietnam Court Academy teaching programs Pham Thi Bich Phuong (2020), Women's rights and the role of the Court in protecting women's rights in Vietnam today, Human Resources and Social Sciences Magazine, No 6 Pham Thi Bich Phuong (2020), Some opinions on protecting women's rights in resolving civil cases of the court, People's Court Magazine No 16