Nguyễn Quốc Tấn Trung 

I am excited to share that I have been selected as a visiting scholar for 2024 at The Hague Academy of International Law, focusing on International Crises. This esteemed institution is located within the historic Peace Palace alongside the International Court of Justice, and it is renowned for its expertise in International Law and Relations. Collaborating with scholars and practitioners worldwide to delve into crucial issues that impact our global community is a great honour. I am eager to contribute to the academy's academic excellence tradition and deepen my understanding of global legal frameworks during this transformative experience.

Hi, my name is Trung. 

And I am your family-friendly international lawyer.

I also love philosophy. 

If my legal career fails, I will definitely become an udon chef.    

If that fails too, then fine, I will pretend to be a politician.

A Short Bio 

My name is Nguyen Quoc Tan Trung (or Nguyễn Quốc Tấn Trung, in full Vietnamese).

Since 2014, I have written extensively about Vietnam's institutional reforms, criminal justice, human rights and the problem with democratisation in the country.

In 2017, I was awarded the International Merit Scholarship from the University of Westminster to study Public International Law. London and the British academia had treated me kindly. 

My Master's dissertation revolves around the question of military intervention by invitation, challenging the dominant belief that the incumbent governments possess unlimited power to invite armed intervention in their favour. The thesis is published in the Journal of Conflict and Security Law, OUP - https://doi.org/10.1093/jcsl/krz004.

In 2020, the University of Victoria, Canada, started to offer me their Graduate and Doctoral Awards on an annual basis, which helped me tremendously in my academic journey.

My PhD thesis focuses on the principle of non-recognition against unlawful situations (let's say the Israeli occupation of Palestine or the Russian occupation of Crimea), addressing the debates on whether it should be considered a legal obligation; when can the principle be applied; its historical practice; legal components and related issues.

Selected work

• Peer-reviewed journals

Quoc Tan Trung, Nguyen, ‘The Practice of Non-recognition and Economic Sanctions: The Case Study of Ukraine, Manchuria and South Africa’, Journal of Conflict and Security Law (OUP), krad012, https://doi.org/10.1093/jcsl/krad012

Quoc-Tan-Trung Nguyen, Et al., ‘Human Right Concerns in Vietnam’s Cybersecurity Law: From International Discourse to a Comparative Perspective’, Journal of Human Rights Practice (OUP), 2022; huac007, https://doi.org/10.1093/jhuman/huac007

Quoc Tan Trung, Nguyen, ‘Rethinking the Legality of Intervention by Invitation: Toward Neutrality’, Journal of Conflict and Security Law (OUP), Volume 24, Issue 2, Summer 2019, Pages 201–238. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcsl/krz004

• Professional magazines

Nguyen, Q. T. Trung, “How Vietnamese ‘Putinistas’ are spreading disinformation about Ukrainians” (The Conversation, May 3, 2022). https://theconversation.com/how-vietnamese-putinistas-are-spreading-disinformation-about-ukrainians-181131 

Quoc Tan Trung, Nguyen, "‘Occupant’ Status for China in South China Sea Islands?" (Opinio Juris, April 17, 2021). http://opiniojuris.org/2021/04/17/occupant-status-for-china-in- south-china-sea-islands/ 


Quoc Tan Trung, Nguyen, ‘Responsibility to Protect Hong Kong: What should the Mainland do?’ (Cambridge International Law Journal Blogspot, August 11, 2020). http://cilj.co.uk/2020/08/11/responsibility-to-protect-hong-kong-what-should-the- mainland-do/

• Conference papers

Quoc Tan Trung, Nguyen, ‘Vietnam and the Banality of Torture’ (Combating Torture in Asia: Law and Practice, University of Melbourne, May 19 2021). https://law.unimelb.edu.au/centres/alc/news-and-events/combating-torture-in-asia-law- and-practice-online-conference/papers 

Award and Honours 

·      University of Victoria Fellowship (2023 – 2024)                                CAD 25,000

·      Dr. Julius F. Schleicher Graduate Scholarship (2022-2023)            CAD 22,000 

·      Graduate Student Award (2021-2022)                                              CAD 10,000

·      Graduate Faculty Fellowship Award (2020 – 2021)                          CAD 10,000

·      Westminster International Award (2017 – 2018)                               GBP 45,000

·      Faculty Valedictorian – the University of Law, Ho Chi Minh City (2014)

Experiences 

·      University Lecturer/Instructor 

·      Columnist/Senior Researcher Associate                      

·      Lawyer                                            

              

                               

My Working Projects 

The Council of Sheep(s) ('COS') is an unexpected "hit" for me. By "hit", I mean around 100,000 subscribers. It is not a lot for most people, but it is something I didn't think that the team and I could do eight months into the Youtube business. COS is basically a media effort to establish an academic presence that is visible and reasonably influential to the Vietnamese public. 

Not many academic institutions in Vietnam like the idea of involving in everyday discourses of philosophy, public international law, and social sciences in general. They have their legitimate reasons. But this also means that public opinion is often plagued by pseudo-scientific Facebook accounts and Youtube channels. Please read this article to understand its severe damage: How Vietnamese ‘Putinistas’ are spreading disinformation about Ukrainians. A group of junior scholars, including me, would love to change that.

For Mytho International and Philosophical Review (MIPReview), the story will be told soon. Please stay tuned.

Project: 

Mytho International and Philosophical Review (MIPReview)

Project: 

The Council of Sheep(s)