Vivian Pham Nguyen

THE LATE BLOOM OF INTERNATIONAL LAW AND THE REFORMATION OF

FOREIGN RELATIONS IN VIETNAM

It is undeniable to us all that Vietnam is a country founded in legends: With a history of

more than 4000 years, millennia of invasions and conflicts have shaped Vietnamese culture into
what you see today. To maintain the culture, the law and discipline must exist and keep
everything in place. In this essay, a brief overview of international law in Vietnam (including
parts about national law and mainly about international law) and how Vietnam established its
relationship with other countries will be discussed.

First of all, what are the definition of law and international law? In simple words, the law
is a binding custom or practice of a community; a set of rules, conduct, or action prescribed or
formally recognized as binding or enforced by a controlling authority. And the main focus –
International law, also known as public international law and law of nations, is the set of rules,
norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between nations (Encyclopedia Britannica)
It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for states across a
broad range of domains, including war, diplomacy, trade, and human rights. International law
aims to promote the practice of stable, consistent, and organized international relations. The
sources of international law include international custom, treaties, and general principles of law
recognized by most national legal systems. International law may also be reflected in
international comity, the practices, and customs adopted by states to maintain good relations and
mutual recognition, such as saluting the flag of a foreign ship or enforcing a foreign legal
judgment. (William, S. 2011, 4-5)

About Vietnam’s history of law, although having a long history with thousands of years,
Vietnam’s law was not officially established until 11th century, in year 1042 of Ly Dynasty. To
have a more insightful perspective of Vietnam’s law, listed down below is ten most significant
codes of Vietnam with a brief description of content:

Number Period of time Name of the Code Content

1 Ly Dynasty Hinh Thu Code - This is considered the first written

national law in the country's legislative
 Vivian Pham Nguyen

history.

- The letter consists of 3 books, which

includes regulations:

 Organization of the court, army

and mandarin system.
 Punishment for acts dangerous to
society.
 Ownership and sale of land,
property, tax regulations...
2 Tran Dynasty Quoc Trieu Hinh - Inheriting the content of the Figure
Luat Letter from the Ly dynasty and adding and
making certain adjustments on penalties,
proceedings and private ownership of land
and property.

3 The reign of Hong Duc Code - Includes 722 articles, divided into 12
King Le Thanh chapters, 6 volumes.
Tong
- Including administrative, criminal, civil,
marriage and family matters and legal
proceedings.

- This is considered an achievement of

particularly important value in the history
of Vietnamese law.

4 Nguyen Dynasty Code of Gia Long - Includes 398 Articles, divided into 22
volumes and 6 areas.

- Including provisions on:

 State organization and mandarin

system.
 Vivian Pham Nguyen

 Crime and punishment.

 Management of population and
land.
 Diplomacy and royal ceremonies.
 Organization of the army and
defense.
 Build and protect dykes and
mausoleums.
- Evaluated as one of two sets of general
laws with large scale and rich content.

5 November 9th, Constitution of - This is the first constitutional judgment

1946 Vietnam 1946 of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam after
President Ho Chi Minh announced the
Declaration of Independence.

- This Constitution affirms the freedom

and democracy of our Vietnamese people.

- Includes: 7 chapters and 70 articles,

including provisions on:

 Government.
 Obligations and rights of citizens.
 The organizational structure of the
People's Council, the Government,
the People's Council, the
Administrative Committee and the
judicial body.
Since December 19, 1946 - National Day
of Resistance, the State of Vietnam has
issued 479 legal documents, including 243
decrees, 46 circulars and 12 other
 Vivian Pham Nguyen

documents.
6 January 1st, 1960 Constitution of - Includes 10 chapters and 112 Articles. In
Vietnam 1959 it, there are the main contents of
regulations on:

 Political, economic and social

regime.
 Responsibilities and powers of
state agencies.
 Rights and obligations of each
citizen…
After the 1959 Constitution was ratified,
our country's legislative activities were
only interested in the organization of the
state apparatus, military service and
criminal law. Other areas receive less
attention.

7 December 19th, Constitution of - This Constitution was created to

1980 Vietnam 1980 institutionalize the leadership line of the
Communist Party of Vietnam in the new
period. This is the Constitution of the
period of transition to socialism in the
whole country.

- Includes 12 chapters and 147 Articles. In

it, there are the main contents of
regulations on:

 Political, economic, cultural and

social.
 Basic rights and obligations of
citizens.
 Vivian Pham Nguyen

 Organizational structure and

operating principles of state
agencies.
After the adoption of this Constitution,
Vietnam's legal system should have a new
flourish, however, the fact that law-
making activities after this Constitution
was adopted did not have the necessary
prosperity.

Legislative activities focus mainly on the

organization of the state apparatus,
criminal law, military field...

8 April 18th, 1992 Constitution of - This Constitution affirms that the State
Vietnam 1992 develops a multi-sector commodity
economy according to the socialist-
oriented market mechanism, the State
recognizes the citizens' right to freedom of
business.

- Includes 12 chapters and 147 Articles. In

it, there are the main contents of
regulations on:

 Political, economic, cultural,

social, defense and security
regimes.
 Basic rights and obligations of
citizens.
 Structure, principles of
organization and operation of state
agencies.
 Vivian Pham Nguyen

 Institutionalize the relationship

between the Party's leadership and
the people's mastery.
- Since the 1992 Constitution was
adopted, the legal system of Vietnam has
made leaps and bounds

9 January 7th, 2002 Resolution After nearly 10 years of implementation,

51/2001/QH10 the 1992 Constitution revealed many
(Amendment to shortcomings and inadequacies compared
the 1992 to reality, Resolution 51 was born with the
Constitution) purpose of perfecting the 1992
Constitution.

Clearly affirming that the State of the

Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a
socialist rule of law state of the people, by
the people, for the people. State power is
unified, with assignment and coordination
among state agencies in the exercise of
legislative, executive and judicial powers.

10 January 1st, 2014 Constitution 2013 - Includes 11 chapters and 120 articles,
which include the main contents on:

 Politics, economy, culture, society,

environmental protection,
education.
 Human rights, basic rights and
obligations of citizens.
 State apparatus organization.
 Defend the Fatherland.
- The birth of the 2013 Constitution
 Vivian Pham Nguyen

marked the completion of the country's

legislative activities in the period of
integration and development.

Next, about international law, according to my research, it is likely that international law
was not being officially applied and established until late 20th century – early 21st century,
precisely from 1980. There are two main reasons behind this: The first reason is that most of
Vietnam relationships with other countries and surrounding empires were mostly based on
diplomacy & trade – there is no further involvements, and there are no traits about any
international codes being applied. Another reason for this is 2 main historical events: In 19th
century, abiding the ruler, Vietnam was forced to close its border, prevent any involvements from
outsiders economically and culturally. Before and after that event, a series of war were
conducted, one of the most significant one is the Vietnam war.

On the foreign relation’s side, Vietnam is friends and reliable partners of all countries in
the international community from feudal period to now: In feudal period (from 15th century to
1945), Vietnam's main diplomatic relationships were with Imperial China and surrounding
empires, such as Kingdom of Champa, Khmer Empire, Lan Xang kingdom and Siam. with China
and surrounding empires. From 1945 until now, Vietnam has formed many relations with other
nations – some significant examples are China, Russia, and ASEAN. Firstly, China: Actually,
relations between Vietnam and China have been back and forth for thousands of years. Although
China assisted North Vietnam during the Vietnam War, relations between the two nations soured
following Vietnam's reunification in 1975. China invaded Vietnam in 1979, known as the Sino-
Vietnamese War, and lead a prolonged border war from then to 1990. However, both sides have
since worked to improve their diplomatic and economic ties. Yet, the two countries remain in
dispute over political and territorial issues in the South China Sea (or East Sea). Secondly,
Russia: Vietnam and Russia relations date back formally to 1950, when the Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics established an embassy to North Vietnam. Russia is a current ally of
Vietnam, and the few non-Orthodox allies along with India besides its strained alliance with
China and North Korea. In fact, Soviet Union was one of the first countries in the world to
recognize and formally establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam, laying the foundations for
 Vivian Pham Nguyen

strong and cooperative friendship between the two countries until now. Thirdly, ASEAN:
Vietnam became a full member of ASEAN on July 28th, 1995. Vietnam's membership of ASEAN
was driven by pragmatic reasons of economic growth, political independence and regime
survival in a post-Cold War environment. But in fact, the case of Vietnam joining ASEAN shows
that the process of socialization and interactions between Vietnam and ASEAN countries helped
improve the awareness of commonalities and promoted cooperative relations.

To sum up, the history of international law in Vietnam was not that significant as it is still
newly applied and develop here. In spite of that, so far, Vietnam has established and maintained
its relationship in good conditions, and that somewhat ensures a bright future for Vietnam and its
partner.

Reference list:

1, Book:

William, S. "Fundamental perspectives on international law." 6Ed. (Boston, USA: Wadsworth

Publishers, 2011) (2011).

2, Article/Website:

TUNG, NGUYEN VU. “Vietnam’s Membership of ASEAN: A Constructivist Interpretation.”

Contemporary Southeast Asia 29, no. 3 (2007): 483–505. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25798849.
History of formation and development of the Vietnamese legal system (Accessed on December
8th, 2021)

Forbes, Andrew. "Why Vietnam Loves and Hates China". Asia Times. (Accessed on December
9th, 2021)

BBC "Why is the South China Sea contentious?" (Accessed on December 9th, 2021)

Vietnam-Russia traditional ties reach new height (Accessed on December 9th, 2021)

Vietnam in ASEAN: Toward Cooperation for Mutual Benefits (Accessed on December 9th,
2021)