Rights
Party leadership in Article 4 and a National Assembly that reviews its own laws
The 2013 Constitution names the Communist Party as the leading force in Article 4. There is no constitutional court: the National Assembly supervises constitutionality itself, so ordinary courts cannot invalidate legislation.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Unitary state with provincial People's Councils exercising delegated authority. The Supreme People's Court issues binding precedents but cannot review the constitutionality of statutes.
Governing law
- Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam2013
- Law on Organization of the National Assembly2014
- Law on Promulgation of Legal Documents2015
In practice
Chapter II sets out extensive rights, including a 2013 addition of a right to life, but Article 14(2) permits restriction by law for national defence, security, social order and public health, and those grounds are applied generously. Since 2016 the Supreme People's Court has published selected case precedents that lower courts must follow, a notable departure for a civil-law socialist system. Constitutional amendment requires two-thirds of the National Assembly. In practice the decisive documents are often Party resolutions and implementing decrees rather than the constitutional text, and the hierarchy of legal documents statute is the practical tool for resolving conflicts.