The 13th National Party Congress, scheduled to take place in Hanoi from January 25 to February 2, is attracting attention both in Vietnam and around the world, as it will mark an important milestone in setting out orientations for the country’s reforms, integration and development in the time ahead.

Tran Hong Nhung LL.D.
Hanoi Law University
The Nguyen dynasty (1802-1884) was often recalled for its strong determination to fight corruption through resolute, strict and clear measures, which served as an effective tool to deter and educate the public as well as to prevent and restrict embezzlement and corruption. In 207 corruption cases recorded in “Dai Nam thuc luc” (Chronicles of Great Vietnam), a 10-volume authentic history book, the Nguyen rulers applied various punitive measures against such crime, which can be classified into criminal and administrative ones.

On June 16, 2020, the National Assembly passed the Law on Mediation and Dialogue at Court (the Law). Coming into force from January 2021, the Law builds an effective legal framework for mediation and dialogue at court for agencies, organizations and individuals.

On November 24, a Government’s conference on law building, improvement and implementation was held. On this occasion, Chairman of the National Assembly Committee for Legal Affairs Hoang Thanh Tung granted an interview to the Online Newspaper of the Government to share his experience on how to improve quality and ensure progress of draft legal documents, in which he believes greater attention should be paid to the responsibility of ministers.

The guiding text of the 2019 Law on Tax Administration has recently been issued by the Government with a series of new provisions designed to create convenience for taxpayers and reduce tax-related compliance costs while increasing the effectiveness of tax administration activities.

Dr. Tran Tuan Anh Member of the Party Central Committee Minister of Industry and Trade Contributions of the processing and manufacturing industry to GDP and job creation The gross domestic product (GDP) of a country is structured from different economic activities, which are normally grouped into three main economic sectors: agriculture, industry-construction and service. Agriculture and industry-construction create tangible products while services generate intangible ones. Tangible and intangible products are closely inter-related according to value chains and both bring about value for the economy. A value chain is a chain of operations that converts an idea into a specific product. After a product goes through a certain operation process, its value further increases.

The new Labor Code was passed last November with major amendments and will take effect from the beginning of next year. Compared to the Labor Code which was enacted for the first time in 1994 and revised four times in 2002, 2006, 2007 and 2012, the 2019 Labor Code (the Code) has fundamental and comprehensive revisions and becomes a new legal framework facilitating the building of harmonious, stable and progressive industrial relations in the context of a socialist-oriented market economy and making Vietnam’s labor law better match international labor standards and serve the international integration process of the country.

Tax avoidance strategies using offshore indirect transfer have become popular among multinational companies and caused negative impacts on developing countries. This article discusses difficulties that developing countries have been facing in the fight against tax evasion by multinational companies and suggests the way forward to prevent the abuse of investor-state dispute settlement mechanism for tax avoidance in the globe.

On June 18, 2020, the National Assembly of Vietnam passed the long awaited Law on Public-Private Partnership (PPP Law) which establishes an umbrella legal framework for all PPP projects and aims to attract more private investment to the development of Vietnam’s infrastructure. This article looks at some of the key changes under the Law, some positive and some less so, with respect to making the PPP framework more appealing to private sector developers, investors and lenders.

Vietnam became an official member of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 1994. Since then, the Convention’s provisions have been step by step incorporated into the country’s legal framework. This article assesses the compatibility between CITES provisions and two important laws concerning wildlife conservation and protection, the 2015 Penal Code and the 2017 Law on Forestry, and puts forth some recommendations for further improvement.