The Ministry of Justice has recently co-chaired with the United Nations Population Fund Country Office in Vietnam to organize the review of the six-year implementation of the Civil Status Law. On this occasion, Ms. Naomi Kitahara, UNFPA Representative for Vietnam, grants Vietnam Law & Legal Forum magazine an interview on the results Vietnam has achieved in civil status work as well as things that should be done in the future for fulfilling the country’s set goals.

As per the Vietnamese Civil Code, an individual has the right to change his/her family name to his/her spouse’s in the marriage and family relations involving foreign elements in accordance with law of the country in which the foreign spouse is a citizen or retrieves his/her family name before the change.

The Ministry of Justice this year will help the Government further review the implementation of the 2002 Constitution and propose amendments to the Constitution and various laws on state organization.

The Vietnamese law on children’s rights has been regularly amended consistent with the country’s social context, in order to pay more profound attention to guaranteeing and protecting children’s rights and ensuring compliance with the principles of international law on children’s rights.