Country Information
Vietnam was occupied by the Chinese for over 1000 years - until 938 AD. Vietnam was then independent until the mid 19th century when it was colonised by the French. It was then occupied by Japan during World War II. In 1945, independence from France was declared and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam was born. In 1946, Vietnam held the first National Assembly election, which adopted its first Constitution. However, the situation was precarious as the French tried to regain power by force, resulting in Vietnam War I (1946-1954). After the defeat of France in 1954, the country was divided into the North and the South. The South was named the Republic of Vietnam; while the north, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. The intervention of the United States led to Vietnam War II. This war which ended in 1975 after victory by the North, and the country was unified.
Vietnam is a one-party state under the control of the Communist Party of Vietnam, which plays a central role in shaping the country's policy and legal system. The supremacy of the communist party is enshrined in the Constitution. The National Assembly of Viet Nam is the highest-level representative body of the people. This body has the supreme supervisory power to oversee all government functions and the implementation of the constitution and laws. It elects the President, who acts as the head of state and commander-in-chief. The Prime Minister is the head of government and is appointed by the President.
| The following resources include general country information - history, demographics, economy, politics and government etc. |
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See also:
Political Dynamics of Grassroots Democracy in Vietnam by Call Number: E-bookPublication Date: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016
Weaving Women's Spheres in Vietnam: the agency of women in family, religion and community by Call Number: E-bookPublication Date: BRILL, 2015
State, Society and the Market in Contemporary Vietnam: Property, Power and Values by Call Number: E-bookPublication Date: Routledge, 2012
- Vietnam Country Review(UniMelb staff & student access) - an annually updated detailed report of demographic, social, political, economic, business, investment, cultural and environmental information. This is an excellent an up to date source of information on the history and government of Vietnam, and includes information on freedoms, human rights, status of women etc.
- Europa World Plus(UniMelb staff & student access) - use the Countries/Territories tab on the top menu to find information on Vietnam.
- Human Rights in ASEAN Online Platform - Vietnam(Open access).
- The CIA World Factbook - Vietnam(Open access) includes country information in 80 topic areas under the main headings of Geography, People and Society, Economy, Energy, Communications, Military & Security, Transportation, and Transnational Issues.
- Vietnam Country Brief and Country Fact SheetAustralian Government DFAT Vietnam Country Brief and Country Fact Sheet (open access).
- Library of Congress - Country Studies - VietnamLibrary of Congress - Country Studies - Vietnam (Open access) a description and analysis of the historical setting and the social, economic, political, and national security systems and institutions of Vietnam.
Doing Business in Vietnam
- Doing Business in VietnamFrom the World Bank (Open Access). Provides statistics and other measures of business regulations and their enforcement for Vietnam. The 'Law Library' link on the top menu provides a collection of business laws and regulations, linking to government sites where possible.
- International Comparative Legal Guides: Vietnam(Open access). Covers 7 areas: Copyright, International Arbitration, Mergers and Acquisitions, Mining Law. Patents, Telecoms, Media and Internet Laws, and Trademarks.
- Legal FrameworkThis is an open-access chapter in The Report: Vietnam by the Oxford Business Group. It provides an up to date overview of the legal system in the context of investment, labour law, free trade agreements, corporate law etc. It includes brief discussion of many recent important laws, as continuous legal reforms aim to liberalise the business environment to attract foreign investment.
Rule of Law and Human Rights in Vietnam
See:
The Rule of Law & Human Rights in Vietnam page on the Human Rights in ASEAN website (open access).
The World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index - Country Profile for Vietnam (open access).
- In 2017-18, Vietnam was ranked 74th out of 113 countries.
- Latest World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index (Full Report)
Update on the Rule of Law for Human Rights in ASEAN: The Path to Integration (2016) (open access) (published by the Human Rights Resource Centre). Includes a detailed chapter on Vietnam.
US Department of State Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2017: Vietnam
Amnesty International: Vietnam
- Update on the Rule of Law for Human Rights in ASEAN: The Path to Integration2016) (open access) (published by the Human Rights Resource Centre). Includes a detailed chapter on Vietnam.
- Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2017: VietnamUS Department of State.
Politics and Constitutions in Southeast Asia by Call Number: E-bookPublication Date: Routledge, 2017See Chapter 10: Vietnam’s Constitutional Politics in Focus: Investigating the Arenas of the Rule of Law and Human Rights
Latest Vietnamese Legal News from the Library of Congress
The Legal System of Vietnam
Vietnam has had a single, unified legal system since 1975. Vietnam's socialist legal system is influenced by eastern and western legal traditions, the French civil law system, and Soviet communist legal ideology.
A detailed history of Vietnamese legal traditions is contained in Dao Tri Uc, 'Vietnam: Basic Information for Legal Research - A Case Study of Vietnam' (2003) Doing Legal Research in Asian Countries China, India, Malaysia,Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam 195-228 (full text in English available on open access)
Sources of Law
Legislation (legal normative documents) is the most important source of law. The Constitution is the supreme law. See Article 4 of the 2015 Law on Promulgation of Legal Normative Documents (Law No 80/2015/QH13) for a full hierarchical list of all legal normative documents.
Judicial decisions are not sources of law in Vietnam. However, guidelines on the interpretation of laws are issued in the form of Resolutions by the Judge Council of the People's Supreme Court (Article 21). This guidance is a source of law (Article 4).
Treaties - ratified treaties are a source of law. See the Treaties page in this Guide for more information.
In general, Customary Law/practice is not a source of law. However, customary practice is referred to as a source of law in specific legal documents. See for example Article 5 of the 2015 Civil Code.
See detailed information on Vietnamese sources of law in Phan Thi Lan Huong, Overview of the Vietnamese Legal System (open access)
- 'Vietnam: Basic Information for Legal Research - A Case Study of Vietnam'Dao Tri Uc, 'Vietnam: Basic Information for Legal Research - A Case Study of Vietnam' (2003) Doing Legal Research in Asian Countries China, India, Malaysia,Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam 195-228 (full text in English available on open access).
- Overview of the Vietnamese Legal Systemby Phan Thi Lan Huong. (Open access).
Other Legal Research Guides
- Vietnam Legal Researchby Anh Luu; 2017 update by Le Thi Hanh - on NYU's Globalex (open access).
- Guide to Law Online: Vietnam(Open access) Legal resources for Vietnam from the Law Library of Congress.
- Foreign Law Guide (Brill)(UniMelb access) Introduction to legislation and the judicial system of Vietnam. The guide is organised alphabetically by topic.
Vietnamese News in English
Viet Nam News legal & political news feed:
- Talk Vietnam(same day open access - no archive)
- Vietnam Breaking News(same day open access - no archive)
- FactivaVietnam News Agency Bulletin - from the official government news agency of Vietnam (UniMelb staff & student access). 2001 to current. On Factiva (Factiva Code VIETNA)
- FactivaViet Nam News: the National English Language Daily archive on Factiva (UniMelb staff & student access) under the names Vietnam News Brief Service (1999 to current - Factiva Code VIETNB) and Vietnam News Summary (2009 to current - Factiva Code VENEWS)