Tran Minh Tiet

Tran Minh Tiet (died 1983) was a Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in the Republic of Vietnam.

In 1968 the National Assembly chose Tran Minh Tiet as one of the nine Justices of the Supreme Court. Only three candidates including Tiet received more than 100 Assembly votes.^[1] He was a Catholic from southern Vietnam.^[2] Previously Tiet had served as Minister of the Interior under President Ngo Dinh Diem (1954-1963). He had recently "been openly critical of President Thieu and his administration". Following the establishment of the Supreme Court, its nine members then chose Tiet as their first Chief Justice.^[3]

The Republic of Vietnam's Constitution of 1967 provided for the institution of the Supreme Court. It was "the highest court of appeal with authority to pass on the constitutionality of legislation." The Court was to act as "the final judge of presidential elections [with the] power to outlaw political parties." The National Assembly chose the members of the Supreme Court after a screening process.^[4] "[T]he Supreme Court legally became the equal of the legislative and executive branches [under the] Constitution of 1967" but the president retained formidable powers.^[5] The "principle of executive dominance" is strong in Vietnamese politics, and presidential power usually controls.^[6]

Justice Tiet took the lead in the Court's ruling regarding the controversial case of Tran Ngoc Chau in 1970. The Supreme Court invalidated the prison sentence of Chau which had been entered by a military court, following a trial. Yet "the Supreme Court ruled that the sentence was illegal, but it did not order his release."^[7][8] One commentator opines that the case "established the supremacy of the civil over the military judiciary".^[9] In his efforts to prosecute Chau, President Thieu had brought strong political pressure and issued threats against the members of the legislature.^[10]

In 1970, among other matters, the Court declared that the current tax program of the Thieu regime was unconstitutional. The ruling apparently required that a change be made to the government's economic policy.^[11]

After the Fall of Saigon in 1975 and the commencement of Communist rule, Tran Minh Tiet was ordered to enter a reeducation camp to receive instruction on the ruling ideology. After several years, he was moved to Thu Duc Prison, from which he was later released. Eventually he was allowed to leave the country. He settled in France, but from there he and his family migrated to the United States. Tran Minh Tiet, while residing in Monterey Park, California, died in 1983.^[12]

Bibliography

• John C. Donnell and Charles A. Joiner, editors, Electoral Politics in South Vietnam (Lexington: Heath 1974).
• Allan E. Goodman, Politics in War (Harvard University 1973).
• Howard R. Penniman, Elections in South Vietnam (Washington: A.E.I. & Stanford: Hoover Inst. 1972).
• Tran Ngoc Chau with Fermoyle, Vietnam Labyrinth (Texas Tech University 20012).

Notes