2.4.1.

Interference between law and morality

Plato once pointed out that power needs to meet all three qualities: courage, caution, and
fairness whose impetus is conscience. 35 politics in different countries, different cultural traditions
and ethnic characteristics in each historical period have led to differences in the way of
understanding and organizing state power as well as putting common characteristics of the rule of
law into practice. The inclusion of moral values in the substantial law and procedural law is
considered a very clear trend of the modern rule of law state.

Implementation of law in Vietnam, especially in public services and judiciary, has shown
that the law needs to song hành with other elements in society such as morality, integrity, talent,
and dedication.

Obviously, the law cannot be enacted and implemented by itself. In order to fully and
accurately enforce the law, morality and conscience of humans, particularly the leader, are
required. Bureaucracy, greed, disregard for other people's interests, authoritarianism, deception,
etc. are diseases that can lead to misapplication of the law and make it misleading, distorted, though
the law is fair and appropriate.

2.4.2. The legitimacy of power

When discussing the new thought on the moral basis of the rule of law, it is necessary to
revise and clarify the issue of the legitimacy of power.

Legitimacy includes the following aspect or important factors:

a. The majority’s perception of the rightness and legitimacy in the organization and operation
of institutions compared to their expectations.
b. The majority’s psychological perception of the capability and commitment of state power’s
representatives.
c. The majority’s psychological perception of moral factors of leaders in the state apparatus,
of the fairness in the state’s decisions.
d. The majority’s awareness of the legality in the organization and operation of state agencies.

Generally, state power is legitimate when in the eyes of the people (at least the majority), in
their hearts, state government, institution, and civil servants and the leader, it proved appropriate
to their conceptions and expectations of a required government. Those concepts are often not
associated with legal factors, even rarely take the law as a basis.

The perception’s core element of the legitimacy of state power is people's belief that their
material and mental life and the country in general related to their support for the state, that the
state is subsidizing them and representing their interests, the government is theirs and for them.
Therefore, legitimate is in close relation to benefits issues. Thus, planning or implementing
policies based on a sense of legitimacy is much more difficult than referring to policy decisions
and laws on a legal basis. However, the basis of legitimacy is something that a power institution
cannot ignore. It is always understood as the majority’s perception of relevance or irrelevance, the
relevant level and satisfaction of their interests from the State. The corollary of state power
considered legitimate is the prestige index to the people, the recognition of the people to the right
of the state agency to lead or govern them; the consent, submission, acceptance or support of state
authorities’ decisions and laws. It is the basis for achieving effective management and
administration, effective use of power. Therefore, the goal of any power regime is the right to
maintain its sustainable foundation.

The legitimacy and prestige of a political institution, a state institution in particular and the
political system, in general, must truly be the result of selfless leadership, talent, the wisdom of
those leaders for the people, for the country without seeking their own privileges and benefits.
Along with the popularization of the masses, honest, straightforward and open dialogue is the key
to the legitimacy and long-term prestige of a political regime and government power. Dialogue,
listening to critical opinions, conflicting views, and adjusting the necessary levels of decisions
made due to critical opinions and views, etc. is considered the motto of the leadership and
management agencies, of leaders and organizations, demonstrates the political power of a political
party.