Navigating Vietnam’s Legal Reforms: Insights from Nguyen Thi Hong Hanh

In a recent interview with VOV.VN, Nguyen Thi Hong Hanh, the National Assembly deputy and Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Justice Department, emphasized the critical need for Vietnam to advance its legal reform process. With a keen focus on moving beyond mere formal compliance, Hanh advocates for a legal framework that is not just practical, but also transparent and attuned to the evolving social and economic realities of the country.

Identifying Core Challenges in Lawmaking

Hanh highlighted several pressing challenges that persist within Vietnam’s lawmaking and enforcement landscape. These include:

• Overlapping Regulations: Conflicting laws can create confusion and inefficiency, complicating compliance for citizens and businesses alike.
• Administrative Complexity: The bureaucratic maze serves as a barrier to effective governance and public trust.
• Inconsistent Decentralization: Varying degrees of authority among local and central entities lead to disparities in law enforcement.
• Gaps in Policy Implementation: There is often a disconnect between the ideal legislations and their actual enforcement.

Addressing these bottlenecks is not just essential; it’s pivotal for restoring public confidence in governmental institutions.

Institutional Reforms in Ho Chi Minh City

As Vietnam’s largest economic hub, Ho Chi Minh City has identified institutional reform as a cornerstone of its development strategy for 2026. Local authorities are proactively refining legislative drafting procedures with the intention to:

• Separate Policy Design from Technical Drafting: This initiative is aimed at enhancing clarity in lawmaking.
• Strengthen Impact Assessments: By evaluating the potential impacts of new regulations, authorities hope to ensure that laws are coherent, enforceable, and truly reflective of the city’s economic needs.

Public communication is being intensified as well, with an aim to solicit feedback from citizens, businesses, and civil society organizations on major policy initiatives.

Importance of Implementation

Hanh asserts that drafting effective laws is only half the battle. Implementation is equally significant. In her view, dialogues with businesses and residents are crucial. The city plans to conduct post-implementation reviews of legal documents while utilizing digital tools to quickly identify and rectify regulatory obstacles.

The end goal is to create a symbiotic relationship between lawmakers and the public, fostering a collaborative approach to governance.

Long-term Objectives for Legal Reform

Vietnam’s long-term objectives are encapsulated in the Politburo’s Resolution 66. The framework aims to:

• Cultivate a legal system that is transparent, unified, and aligned with international standards by 2030.
• Develop a high-quality, modern legal framework by 2045.

These ambitions are not just governmental goals; they represent a modern conceptualization of governance that places citizens and enterprises at the center of policy formulation.

Economic Context of Legal Frameworks

In the sphere of economic policy, Hanh pointed out that lawmakers are focusing on:

• Regulatory simplification
• Lowering compliance costs
• Improving access to capital, land, and skilled labor specifically for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The legal frameworks are also being tailored to support modernization initiatives, including innovation, digital transformation, and the green transition—key ingredients for a sustainable economic future.

Decentralization and Accountability

To bolster local governance, Vietnam is advancing decentralization, establishing clearer decision-making powers for local authorities, and instituting stronger accountability mechanisms. This shift is designed to enhance local governance while simultaneously maintaining rigorous oversight.

The focus on anti-corruption safeguards within this context is also noteworthy. Recent regulations emphasize:

• Clear delineation of authority
• Enhanced transparency, particularly in sensitive sectors like land management and public investment
• Strengthened oversight and auditing frameworks

Digitalization emerges as a vital tool for enhancing these processes, aiming to reduce misconduct opportunities and increase public confidence.

Grassroots Democracy and Public Consultation

Hanh emphasized that strengthening grassroots democracy is fundamental. By enhancing public consultation processes and fortifying social supervision, the government aims to ensure that citizens not only have access to information but also have avenues to provide feedback—key components to reinforcing governance legitimacy.

Modernizing State Institutions

Vietnam’s current reform strategy serves a larger purpose: to modernize state institutions in tandem with fostering economic growth. Officials argue that effective rule-of-law governance, coupled with accountable power structures and meaningful public participation, is essential for navigating the complexities of the nation’s next stage of development.

Through these focused reforms, Vietnam is carving out a pathway that not only aims for legal compliance but strives for a system that is both dynamic and reflective of modern societal needs.