Vietnam

Legal tradition

Vietnam belongs to the socialist civil law tradition. A civil-law system of French colonial origin, rebuilt on socialist lines and then substantially marketised through the doi moi reforms from 1986. The Civil Code 2015 and Enterprise Law and Investment Law of 2020 are modern and internationally drafted, and Vietnam's WTO and CPTPP commitments have driven convergence in commercial and IP law. What has not changed is the constitutional architecture: Article 4 states the leading role of the Communist Party, there is no judicial review of legislation, and the National Assembly's Standing Committee interprets statutes.

How power is divided

Unitary. 63 provinces and municipalities have People's Councils and People's Committees which administer within a centralised framework, and Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and several others have special statutes granting limited additional autonomy. There is no constitutional division of legislative competence.

Where law comes from

The Constitution of 2013

Supreme in form; enforced by the National Assembly, not courts.

Laws and codes of the National Assembly

Including the Civil Code 2015 and the Land Law 2024.

Decrees and circulars

Government and ministerial instruments; the operative detail of most regimes.

Resolutions of the Supreme People's Court

Binding guidance to lower courts.

Selected precedents (án lệ)

Published since 2016; courts must apply or explain departure.

The legal profession

Lawyers are members of the Vietnam Bar Federation and provincial bar associations, admitted under the Law on Lawyers after a law degree, the professional training course at the Judicial Academy, a twelve-month apprenticeship and the bar examination. Foreign law firms may establish branches and subsidiaries and advise on Vietnamese law only through licensed Vietnamese lawyers, and may not appear in court.