The September 2004 issue of Vietnam Law & Legal Forum marks the 10th anniversary of our monthly magazine, the only English-language law publication in Vietnam.
For the past ten years, VLLF has devoted itself to the objectives of informing readers of important socio-economic, executive, legislative and judicial events in the country, elaborating on the laws of Vietnam, and acting as a forum for everyone, local and foreign, interested in Vietnam’s legal matters to express their opinions and recommendations.
The content and presentation of the magazine have been continuously improved to be more and more useful and attractive to readers. Now, it has seven regular columns, namely, Vietnam in the Month, Legal Updates, Q & A, Focus, Forum, Intellectual Property, History and Law, besides a detachable section, New Legislation.
The Official Gazette, a sister publication of the magazine, is now the most comprehensive source of reference for foreigners wishing to read the English version of Vietnam’s laws. By September, 555 issues of the Official Gazette, detailing over 4,000 legal documents, have been brought out.
The Vietnam Law & Legal Forum and the Official Gazette have become close friends of foreign investors, legal experts and practicing lawyers, helping them understand Vietnam, especially its policies and laws when it is in the midst of industrialization and modernization, and international integration.
Over the past years, Vietnam has made great efforts to build a comprehensive legal system. In just five and a half years, from 1999 to June 2004, 95 laws and ordinances, covering virtually all aspects of life had been promulgated, not to mention thousands of sub-law documents and regulations.
In this context, given its modest resources, it is not easy for the magazine to provide readers with all information they need to know about the laws and legal system in the country. In forthcoming issues, the magazine will carry more articles addressing practical matters of law that foreign businessmen often come across while living and doing business in Vietnam.
To enable us to satisfy your information needs better, we look forward to receiving more comments and suggestions from you through our newly- launched website at http://www.vnanet.com/vietnamlaw or http://news.vnanet.vn/vietnamlaw.
Finally, on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the magazine, we would like to convey our most sincere thanks to everyone of you - readers, writers and collaborators - for your invaluable support.
Nguyen Minh
Deputy Editor-in-chief