Mr. Duong The Hao at the trial of the lawsuit against the National Economics University on the morning of May 6 - Photo: THAN HOANG
After questioning both the plaintiff and the defendant, on May 6, the People's Court of Hai Ba Trung District ( Hanoi ) announced a temporary suspension of the trial of Mr. Duong The Hao (66 years old) suing the National Economics University for having his diploma withheld for 25 years and demanding nearly 44 billion in compensation.
The judge said that there were many differences between Mr. Hao’s original petition and his statement in court. Notably, Mr. Hao adjusted the compensation request from over 36 billion to nearly 44 billion, a very large difference.
Because there were many documents and evidence that had not been clarified at the trial, and to give Mr. Hao time to clarify each number in the compensation request, the presiding judge decided to temporarily suspend the trial. The time to reopen the trial will be announced later.
Found the file “in the closet”
Presenting in court, Mr. Hao said that in 1977 he joined the army and served for 4 years at the Technical Department of the Air Defense - Air Force. After leaving the army in 1981, he passed the entrance exam to the Economics Department of the University of Planning and Economics (the predecessor of today's National Economics University), class of 1984.
In 1989, he completed his graduation exams with all subjects, received a certificate of graduation and waited for his degree. After completing the course, Mr. Hao did not receive his diploma and many important personal documents.
According to Mr. Hao’s statement in court, his life was “precarious” when he got married but could not get a marriage certificate and could not get a temporary residence permit. His two children were also not able to get birth certificates in Hanoi and could not go to public schools in Hanoi.
Therefore, he sued the school for 44 billion VND in compensation because his diploma was kept for 25 years and his documents were kept for 30 years, "causing a lot of damage" to him both economically and mentally.
The defendant is the National Economics University, with Mr. Pham Hong Chuong (the school's principal) as the legal representative. The school authorized a lawyer to attend the trial.
Mr. Duong The Hao leaves the court after the trial was suspended - Photo: THAN HOANG
Representing the school in the trial, lawyer Tran Hong Phuc presented many arguments affirming that the National Economics University "did not keep Mr. Hao's degree" as alleged.
The lawyer presented some documents stating that Mr. Hao was originally a student in the 26th industrial class (1984-1988 school year). However, during his studies, he was held back and transferred to the 27th class.
Regarding the reason why Mr. Hao was not considered for graduation in 1989, the lawyer said that Mr. Hao violated the exam regulations, leading to the temporary suspension of graduation recognition. According to regulations, students who violate such regulations can be suspended for 1-2 years.
However, it was not until 1994, after 5 years, that Mr. Hao was included in the list of candidates for graduation recognition.
Explaining this lengthy process, the representative said the school could not find any documents related to Mr. Hao's application for graduation in 1989. It was not until 1994 that the school recorded Mr. Hao's name on the graduation list.
Continuing his presentation, the lawyer affirmed that “it was not until 2017 that Mr. Hao sent a letter to the school asking if he could issue a diploma and retrieve his documents”. The school held a meeting to assign a staff member in charge of directly implementing the search and found Mr. Hao’s documents “in a cabinet slot”.
The delay in returning the documents, according to the lawyer, was due to “objective reasons”. During that time, the school continuously changed locations, many staff members retired or passed away, and the management of the documents encountered many difficulties. “This is an objective, force majeure event”, the lawyer explained.
After 25 years, National Economics University grants degrees to students
"According to regulations, students must proactively come to the school to request a graduation certificate, but there is no announcement?", the chairman questioned.
The lawyer asserted that students must proactively request the school to issue a diploma depending on their job requirements. The principle is beneficial to the students, the school will reserve the results until the student contacts the school to request a diploma.
“From 1994 to 2017, Mr. Hao did not make any contact with the school. It was not until 2017 that a letter was sent to the school asking if he could get a diploma. Therefore, it was not until 2019 that the school first issued a diploma to Mr. Hao,” the lawyer said, adding that the plaintiff’s compensation requests were “baseless.”
The lawyer argued that there was no basis to accept the claim for compensation because in the case of a claim for compensation for non-contractual damages, the plaintiff must prove the act causing the damage, the actual damage, and the causal relationship between the act and the damage.
“For over 30 years I have never heard of being disciplined.”
Before the jury adjourned the trial, Mr. Hao asked to present a “small opinion.” He said he was “surprised” to hear the lawyer explain that he had been disciplined by the school.
“The lawyer confirmed that there was a document related to the disciplinary issue, but until now, more than 30 years later, I have not known about this document.
I was the deputy class monitor for 6 semesters, a member of the school's reward council, and an excellent student for 5 semesters, but now they say I was disciplined, citing some document saying my degree was suspended," Mr. Hao explained and asked the school to provide related documents.
In response to the above opinion, the presiding judge interrupted to announce that the relevant documents had been submitted to the trial panel, and that the plaintiff had the right to request a copy of the entire case file. Despite the trial panel’s explanation, Mr. Hao still claimed that he was requesting disclosure in court, “so there was no need to make a request.”
Previously in the interrogation, Mr. Hao said that because the school kept his original documents for 30 years, he was forced to live like a "homeless person without an ID card or passport, unable to go abroad, unable to buy or sell real estate, and had money to start a business but could not put his name on it."
According to Mr. Hao’s statement in court, his life was “precarious” when he got married but could not get a marriage certificate and could not get a temporary residence permit. His two children were also not able to get birth certificates in Hanoi and could not go to public schools in Hanoi.
He also confirmed that he had previously contacted the school many times to request a graduation certificate and to request the return of documents but to no avail.
The lawyer said that apart from Mr. Hao's testimony, there was no document proving that the former student had contacted the school many times to request a diploma.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/dh-kinh-te-quoc-dan-khang-dinh-khong-giu-bang-tot-nghiep-25-nam-khong-boi-thuong-44-ti-20250506192510397.htm
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