Rethinking Vietnam's legal system for a new development era

Nguyen Minh Tuan

doi:10.31893/multiscience.2026704

Keywords:

rule of law

plural sources

regulatory minimalism

e-governance

comparative jurisprudence

Abstract

Vietnam's legal architecture is still marked by conceptual ambiguity, doctrinal fragmentation, and a strong administrative legacy that limits coherence, predictability, and adaptive capacity. This article re-examines Vietnam's legal system in light of current reform demands, especially the implementation of Resolution No. 66-NQ/TW and the broader transition toward a development-oriented and rule-of-law-based state. The study pursues three objectives: first, to synthesize major contemporary theories of the legal system; second, to assess their analytical value for Vietnam's institutional context; and third, to formulate feasible reform directions for the next stage of legal development. Methodologically, the article adopts a qualitative design that combines doctrinal analysis, structured document review, and functional comparison. The corpus includes foundational legal theory, selected Vietnamese scholarship, constitutional and legislative texts, and comparative materials from Germany, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Malaysia published or in force between 1994 and 2025. The analysis shows that Vietnam's current legal order is weakened by three interrelated problems: an underdeveloped theoretical foundation, a rigid branch-based organization that produces procedural overlap, and an overly statute-centered understanding of legal sources. In response, the article proposes five mutually reinforcing reform directions: consolidating a composite doctrinal framework centered on the rule of law, developmental law, rights-based law, risk regulation, and legal minimalism; replacing compartmentalized procedures with integrated regulatory pathways; broadening legal sources beyond statutes; strengthening compatibility review for international commitments; and transforming the electronic code into an interoperable governance platform. It further argues that these reforms will face bureaucratic resistance unless accompanied by sequencing, accountability mechanisms, judicial safeguards, and digital implementation capacity. By linking legal theory to institutional design, the article offers a more operational framework for restructuring Vietnam's legal system in the new development era.
References
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14. Hart, H. L. A. (1994). The concept of law (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.
15. Kelsen, H. (1970). Pure theory of law (M. Knight, Trans.). University of California Press.
16. Luhmann, N. (2004). Law as a social system (K. A. Ziegert, Trans.). Oxford University Press. (Original work published 1993).
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18. OECD. (2020). The OECD digital government policy framework: Six dimensions of a digital government. OECD Publishing. https://www.oecd.org/
19. Phúc, L. (2023). Improving the legal system to promote investment and business development. Journal of Legal Affairs, 1–2, 4–7.
20. Quế, H. T. K. (2015). Textbook on the theory of state and law. Vietnam National University Press.
21. Raz, J. (2009). The authority of law: Essays on law and morality (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.
22. Singapore Statutes Online. (n.d.). Singapore Statutes Online. https://sso.agc.gov.sg/
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24. Tâm, L. M. (Ed.). (2003). Building and improving Vietnam's legal system: Theoretical and practical issues. People's Public Security Publishing House.
25. Tuấn, N. M. (2022). On case law and its application in Vietnam. Legislative Studies, 1, 4–9.
26. Việt, P. X. (2023). Some solutions to improve the effectiveness of the legal system in the field of land. Journal of Legal Profession, 3, 35–39.
27. Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry. (2019). Report on overlaps and inconsistencies in the legal system. https://vibonline.com.vn/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/VCCI-Bao-cao-chong-cheo-PL-2019.12.26.pdf
28. Vinh, V. K. (Ed.). (2022). Vietnam's legal development strategy to 2030 with a vision to 2045. National Political Publishing House.
29. Zweigert, K., & Kötz, H. (1998). An introduction to comparative law (T. Weir, Trans.; 3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

How to cite

Tuan, N. M. (2026). Rethinking Vietnam’s legal system for a new development era. Multidisciplinary Science Journal, 8(11), 2026704. https://doi.org/10.31893/multiscience.2026704

[1] David, R. (1968). Major legal systems in the world today: An introduction to the comparative study of law (J. E. C. Brierley, Trans.). Stevens. (Original work published 1964).

[2] Đoan, N. M. (2024). Implementing law fairly, strictly, consistently, timely, effectively, and efficiently in accordance with Resolution No. 27-NQ/TW. Journal of State Organization, 6, 9–13.

[3] Economic Planning Unit. (2021). Malaysia digital economy blueprint. Prime Minister's Department, Malaysia. https://www.epu.gov.my/

[4] Ehrlich, E. (1936). Fundamental principles of the sociology of law (W. L. Moll, Trans.). Harvard University Press. (Original work published 1913).

[5] Giang, N. L., & Quân, N. V. (2020). Legal certainty: A requirement in building a rule-of-law state and guaranteeing human rights. Journal of State and Law, 6, 3–9.

[6] Giao, V. C. (2019). A human rights-based approach and its applicability in policy-making and law-making in Vietnam today. Legislative Studies, 18, 3–12.

[7] Giao, V. C. (2023). The need for renewal in legislative thinking in building and improving the socialist rule-of-law state in Vietnam. Legislative Studies, 5, 3–9.

[8] Government of Malaysia. (n.d.). MyGovernment portal. https://www.malaysia.gov.my/

[9] Government Technology Agency of Singapore. (n.d.). Government technology and digital services. https://www.tech.gov.sg/

[10] Hà, Đ. Đ. H. (2021). Foundations for improving the legal system to safeguard the Party's ideological basis. Procuracy Review, 16, 3–12.

[11] Hà, N. T. T., & Anh, V. H. (2022). The principle applied by courts in resolving civil cases in the absence of applicable statutory provisions in the 2015 Civil Procedure Code. Journal of Law, 7, 94–107.

[12] Hagan, M. (2018). A human-centered design approach to access to justice: Generating new prototypes and hypotheses for intervention to make courts user-friendly. Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies, 25(1), 199–239.

[13] Hải, N. T. H., & Ân, N. P. (2023). Improving regulations on the application of custom in resolving civil cases. Prosecutorial Review, 18, 33–38.

[14] Hart, H. L. A. (1994). The concept of law (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.

[15] Kelsen, H. (1970). Pure theory of law (M. Knight, Trans.). University of California Press.

[16] Luhmann, N. (2004). Law as a social system (K. A. Ziegert, Trans.). Oxford University Press. (Original work published 1993).

[17] MacCormick, N. (1999). Questioning sovereignty: Law, state, and nation in the European commonwealth. Oxford University Press.

[18] OECD. (2020). The OECD digital government policy framework: Six dimensions of a digital government. OECD Publishing. https://www.oecd.org/

[19] Phúc, L. (2023). Improving the legal system to promote investment and business development. Journal of Legal Affairs, 1–2, 4–7.

[20] Quế, H. T. K. (2015). Textbook on the theory of state and law. Vietnam National University Press.

[21] Raz, J. (2009). The authority of law: Essays on law and morality (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.

[22] Singapore Statutes Online. (n.d.). Singapore Statutes Online. https://sso.agc.gov.sg/

[23] Sơn, N. H. (2023). Some characteristics of Vietnam's legal system and breakthrough solutions for its development and improvement. Vietnam Lawyers Journal, 5, 16–19.

[24] Tâm, L. M. (Ed.). (2003). Building and improving Vietnam's legal system: Theoretical and practical issues. People's Public Security Publishing House.

[25] Tuấn, N. M. (2022). On case law and its application in Vietnam. Legislative Studies, 1, 4–9.

[26] Việt, P. X. (2023). Some solutions to improve the effectiveness of the legal system in the field of land. Journal of Legal Profession, 3, 35–39.

[27] Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry. (2019). Report on overlaps and inconsistencies in the legal system. https://vibonline.com.vn/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/VCCI-Bao-cao-chong-cheo-PL-2019.12.26.pdf

[28] Vinh, V. K. (Ed.). (2022). Vietnam's legal development strategy to 2030 with a vision to 2045. National Political Publishing House.

[29] Zweigert, K., & Kötz, H. (1998). An introduction to comparative law (T. Weir, Trans.; 3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.

Abstract

References

How to cite