This paper outlines the remarkable evolution of juvenile justice in Vietnam. It discusses the extent to which Vietnamese juvenile justice and related laws and policies have been shaped by identifiable ideologies and models of intervention. Moreover, the legal framework governing juvenile justice, mainly the 2016 Law on Children, the 2015 Penal Code, the 2015 Criminal Procedure Code and the 2010 Law on Execution of Criminal Judgments, is introduced to show the complex and scattered state of relevant legislation. The paper offers a short analysis of actors who perform the juvenile justice role or function and reveals a system without specialization or clear separation from the justice system for adult offenders. In addition to identifying emerging characteristics of the system, the author compares these with some typical juvenile justice models around the world, namely the welfare model, the justice model and the restorative model, and concludes that the Vietnamese model is a hybrid mixture of these three ones. Finally, the author makes some recommendations on shaping the juvenile justice system of Vietnam in conformity with international standards in order to meet access-to-justice needs of Vietnamese juvenile offenders.

The 13th session of the 12th Party Central Committee opened in Hanoi on October 5 under the chair of Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong.

Local media last month simultaneously reported that an incumbent National Assembly (NA) deputy is named in the so-called “The Cyprus Papers”, a batch of leaked documents containing information on persons having acquired Cypriot citizenship by making investment in the Mediterranean island country.

The National Election Council (NEC) convened the first session in Hanoi on August 3 to make preparations for the elections of deputies to 15th legislature and all-level people’s councils for 2021-26.

Clear and detailed regulations are needed to strictly punish those who abuse labor export policies to make illegal profits, National Assembly deputies said on June 10 when discussing in groups the draft revised law on Vietnamese guest workers.

National Assembly deputies officially ratified the Europe-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the Europe-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) on June 8.

The current Constitution of Vietnam stipulates that all state power belongs to the people. However, for several reasons, including the lack of a complete and comprehensive mechanism to defend the Constitution, the effectiveness of constitutional defense activities in Vietnam remains below expectations. This article analyzes the need and recommends some solutions for guaranteeing people’s sovereignty in the country through constitutional defense activities.

National Assembly deputies continued discussing the development of agricultural production in the morning working session on May 25 with a focus on the draft resolution on agricultural land use tax exemptions.

Law 44/2019/QH14 on Prevention and Control of Harms of Liquor and Beer Abuse was passed on June 14, 2019, and became effective on January 1, 2020. On February 24, 2020, the Government issued Decree 24/2020/ND-CP detailing a number of articles of the Law with effect from the same day. There are detailed rules in those texts on alcohol advertising that this Practice Note tries to examine.

Policies and regulations must be ready once the Europe-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) is approved so Vietnamese enterprises can reap the benefits of the trade pact.