Why do I study Law?

Nguyen, Dien Thanh

I day by day go crossing the flower garden namely Mai Xuan Thuong - a small flower
garden located nearby the Presidential Palace and the National Assembly Building. Every
day, regardless of the hot or the cold weather, residents from all localities gather on the grass
grounds and sidewalks at the flower garden with banners and petitions on their hands to ask
for the proper application of the law to their cases. They looks all sad with melancholy and
emaciated faces but the willingness for the lawful fairness is always shown on their eyes.
Whenever there is a car with blue-plate registration passing of the senior public officials,
even though they do not know who is in the car, they all kneel down on the sidewalk or
stretch their hands over the top of the banners describing their unjust cases. And they together
shouted their petitions, hoping that the senior public officials would hear their grievances.
This situation has taken place for a long period of time, several years and the number of
residents more and more going to sue, petition despite the harshness of the weather, facing
with the request to disband, not to gather large numbers of people from the safeguard forces.
I discussed the mentioned situation to my father, a senior researcher in legislation. His
answers provided me with clarifications that the several residents have held their banners on
the roads because: 1) Vietnam's legal system is still incomplete; 2) lawful enforcement by the
competent officers are not in a proper manner in several localities; 3) it is also common to
circumvent the law enforcement by competent authorities.
I then have been more focusing on law-related subjects and started reading law books
and journals. I began to make the comparisons of the similarities in the Constitution of the
United States of America and the Constitution of Vietnam. I understand the universality of
international regulations on human rights. And I also understand how to organize the state,
arrange the society in accordance with the law. I understand that every country must have its
own legal system. Such legal system is a combination of the general rules of conducts, set or
recognized by the State, expressing the common will of a country or a region, guaranteed by
the State by exercising its power. On the international aspect, the behavior between nations is
also subject to the laws. I have realized that the law is an indispensable entity for everyone,
every country and for the world order.
When I decided to pursue law studying, it is reminded by my father that a lot of virtues
is required to study the law subjects, such as the ability to analyze, synthesize, the skills for
logical thoughts and the ability to present and justify for concerned matters. And above all, it
is the respect of justice, the respect for human rights, the the respect of fairness and
transparency. I answered as a question to him, are these the basic, natural attributes of a
human being? and what I still lack of is for sure the law subjects will provide me with
necessary supplementation for me? I already received a nod from my father.