Pham Diem
The State and Law Research Institute
Throughout nearly one thousand years from the early 9th century to the end of the 19th century, various feudal dynasties in Vietnam constantly established and improved their legal systems, considering them a key instrument to rule and manage the country. This can be realized through different historical books such as “ Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu” (Vietnam’s complete historical books) compiled in the 15th to 17th centuries; “Lich Trieu Hien Chuong” (The Royal Court’s Chronicles) written from the early 19th century,” Dai Nam thuc luc” written in the late 19th and the early 20th centuries, though many ancient legal documents were destroyed or mislaid.
After thousands’ years of domination by Chinese feudalists, Vietnam regained her independence in the early 10th century. Such first dynasties as Ngo, Dinh, Tien (anterior) Le had to concentrated efforts on big and urgent tasks such as consolidating the national independence, restoring economy, frustrating separatist feudal forces in localities, maintaining the social stability thus being unable to step up the legislative work, though such feudal dynasties promulgated some essential laws and regulations like “chinh lenh ban ra”, “dinh luat lenh”. Regretably, such documents no longer existed.
Yet, in three subsequent centuries, the Vietnamese society saw a period of stability with the Ly dynasty spanning 215 years (1010-1225), the Tran dynasty spanning 175 years (1225-1400). This created good opportunity and favorable conditions for feudal rulers to step up the legislative work in a constant and systematic manner, thus laying foundations for the governance of the country.
Vietnamese feudal legislation saw its prime time during the Le dynasty which survived longest for 360 years (1428-1789) without having to directly confront foreign invasions from feudal China. From the 15th century on, Vietnamese feudal rulers took Confucianism as their orthodox political ideology in governing the country and the population. Consequently, the Confucian ideology was quickly codified in a comprehensive manner and on a large scale. The Le dynasty’s legislation was colossal in quantity and rich in contents, having become the ancient laws model of all feudal dynasties.
Nguyen House, the last dynasty in the history of the Vietnamese feudalism, inherited the legislative achievements from its predecessor – the Le dynasty. The Nguyen kings also attached importance to the legislative work, having recorded great achievements therein.
Panoramically, the feudal legislation in Vietnam was diversified in its forms and rich in its sources. As far as the source was concerned, there were the State laws and the village rules. As far as the form of legal document was concerned, there were single documents, volumes of systematized legislation and codes.
I. Regarding the source of State laws
The State legislation was promulgated in the three following major forms:
1. Single legal documents:
The single legal documents were not only colossal in volume but also rich in content and diversified in forms. Despite the lost quantity, what was mentioned in ancient historical books now numbered thousands. The single legal documents existed in different kinds, including such main ones as “chieu”, “lenh”, “le”, “du”, “sac”, etc.
a/ “Chieu” (royal edict) was a kind of single legal document issued often by feudal kings of the Ly and Tran dynasties to regulate different aspects of the political, economic and social life. For example:
- The ”chieu” issued in the year 1010 stipulating the settlement of complaints by the king himself.
- The “ chieu” in 1013 on different kinds of taxes.
- The “chieu” in 1267 prescribing the organization of the army.
- The “chieu” in 1285 stipulating the residence registration declaration nationwide.
b/ “Lenh”(order):
“Lenh” was a kind of single legal document commonly used during the Hau (posterior) Le dynasty to stipulate specific issues and affairs. For example:
- The “lenh” in 1596 on the creation of the imprisonment inspectorate to review doubtful sentences in the country.
- The “lenh” in 1601 prescribing uniforms for different kinds of mandarins and aristocrats.
- The 1669 “lenh” prohibiting the agricultural mandarins from harassing people.
c/ “ Le” (regulation):
“Le” was a kind of single legal document issued by kings of the Hau (posterior) Le dynasty to prescribe important and long-term issues. For example:
- The 1520 “le” prescribing the marital relationships.
- The 1484 “le” providing for the division of public land in villages and communes.
- The 1713 “le” prescribing the procedures for making complaint or denunciation application.
d/ “Du” (royal proclamation):
“Du” was also a kind of single legal document commonly used during the Nguyen dynasty by the kings to define important and long-term issues such as the mandarindom, taxation regime, the land regime...
e/ “Sac”(royal ordinance):
“Sac” was a form of single legal documents seen in almost all dynasties. Kings issued “sac” for the promotion of mandarins, the consecration of deities. According to feudal concepts, the king also held the heavenly power and led all deities in the country, being entitled to ordain any deities.
2. “Cac tap hoi dien” (collections of systematized single legal documents).
In order to facilitate the application of laws in governance and legal proceedings, the feudal legislators often systematized single legal documents in book volumes. This form was called “hoi dien” (collection of laws).
“Hoi dien” books were compiled either according to time of issuance of the legal documents, dynasties, or to kings’ tenures, or to fields of regulation by laws such as the land regime, the madarindom, the regime on marriage and family, etc.
According to historical books, following were among “hoi dien” books published by various feudal dynasties in Vietnam:
- “Quoc trieu thong che” (compiled in 1230), comprising 20 volumes which systematized legal documents on organization of mandarin apparatus and administrative procedures.
- “Cong van cach thuc”(forms of documents), compiled in 1290, comprising forms of official dispatches, testaments, land sale and purchase contracts.
- “Quoc trieu thuong le” (royal court rituals), compiled in 1230, which systematized legal documents on rituals.
- “Hoang trieu dai dien”, compiled in 1341, comprising important documents issued by various kings of the Tran dynasty.
- “Thien Nam du ha tap”, a selected works of 100 volumes compiled in the Hong Duc period (late 15th century). Some of such volumes have been preserved until today, which recorded a number of orders and regulations issued by King Le Thanh Tong.
- “Hong Duc thien chinh thu”, compiled in the late 15th century, which comprised legal documents issued by King Le Thanh Tong. This collection has been preserved until today.
- “Quoc trieu thu khe the thuc” which comprised forms of official dispatches, applications, deeds, testaments, used during the Hau Le dynasty.
This collection has been kept until today.
- “Quoc trieu chieu lenh thien chinh”, compiled in the early 17th century. This was a collection of many “chieu” and “lenh”, which were issued during the period spanning the 16th and 17th centuries and arranged according to the competence of six ministries. It has been kept until today.
- “Le trieu hoi dien” which comprised legal documents issued during the Le dynasty and also arranged according to the competence of the six ministries. This selected works has been kept until today.
- “Minh Menh chinh chieu”, a collection of major legal documents issued by King Minh Menh (1820-1840), which has been kept until today.
- “Kham dinh Dai Nam hoi dien su le”, compiled in the first half of the 19th century. This was the major “hoi dien” of the Nguyen dynasty, having systematized important legal documents issued by various Nguyen kings. It has been kept until today.
3. Codes
According to historical books, various Vietnamese kingdoms promulgated five codes:
- “Hinh thu” (The penal code) of the Ly dynasty, which was promulgated in 1042 under the rule of King Ly Thai Tong, the second king of the Ly dynasty. The code was consisted of three volumes. It was the first statutory law of Vietnam still mentioned by ancient historical books, which constituted an important landmark in the history of Vietnam’s feudal legislation.
- “Hinh thu” (the penal code) of the Tran dynasty, which was promulgated and supplemented by various Tran kings.
These two penal codes were in fact general codes, having regulated not only penal issues but also matters concerning administrative and civil affairs, marriage and the family, taxation, land, legal procedures. Regrettably, they were misplaced and no longer available now.
- “Quoc trieu hinh luat” (The royal court’s penal code) of the Hau Le dynasty:
“Quoc trieu hinh luat” was the oldest Vietnamese code being kept intact until today. It was made largely during the years of King Le Thanh Tong’s rein named “Hong Duc” (1470-1496); hence it was often referred to as “Hong Duc” code in historical books. Besides, this code was added with many provisions by various kings of the Le dynasty. It contained 722 articles arranged in 13 chapters. In fact, “Quoc trieu hinh luat” was a general code having governed almost all aspects of the social life then. This was the most typical feudal code of Vietnam.
- “Bo quoc trieu kham tung dieu le” (the royal court’s penal procedures code) of the Hau Le (posterior Le) dynasty:
The code was promulgated at the end of the Hau Le dynasty (the 18th century), containing 133 articles arranged in 31 chapters. It prescribed the procedural field - the litigation order and procedures, including the procedural competence of various levels, the litigation procedures, the arrest procedures, the interrogation procedures, the trial procedures, the rule on detention of criminals. This code has been kept until today.
The promulgation of a separate procedures code by the Hau Le dynasty was a particular legal phenomenon of Vietnam’s feudal legislation because the substantive laws (penal and civil laws) and the procedural laws were clearly distinguished by feudal legislators of Vietnam, but not by feudal legislators of other countries then.
- “Bo Hoang Viet luat le” (the Vietnamese emperor’s laws) of the Nguyen dynasty:
Right from the beginning, the first king of the Nguyen dynasty, namely Gia Long, organized the drafting and promulgation of a code named “Hoang Viet luat le”; hence, it was often referred to as “Bo luat Gia Long” (the Gia Long code). It contained 398 articles arranged in 6 chapters according to the tasks of the 6 ministries. However, it was also a general code, governing key aspects of the social life. This code has been kept until today.
II. Regarding the village rules
One of the basic and striking features of Vietnam’s ancient laws was the existence of village rules besides the State laws.
By then, the Viet people lived concentratedly in villages and communes, who were closely bound to not only their relatives but also to villages and communes where they were born, grew up and lived. In their relations with the State, villages and communes always maintained their autonomy and self-rule. Each village or commune has its own rule containing provisions on morality, customs and practices which every villager had to strictly observe. The feudal regimes, on one hand, always sought to restrict the autonomy of villages or communes and, on the other hand, had to recognize the existence of the village rule, having considered it a source of laws for regulating different social relations within villages or communes and for supplementing the State’s statutory laws.
The relationship between the State laws and the village rules was characterized by conflicts and uniformity as well. The State laws often regulated the penal issues, taxes, military conscription, public labor as the villages’ obligations towards the central feudal state. Meanwhile, the village rule regulated almost all the social relations within villages and communes (such as division of public land, the conciliation of minor disputes, the protection of public law and order as well as of organizations in villages and communes...).
The Viet people’s village rules underwent two periods of development:
The period of unwritten rules and the period of written rules. Since the 15th century as the social relations within villages and communes had developed in a diversified and complicated manner, the village rules had to be recorded in writing so that people could remember and fully observe them. Also from the 15th century on, there appeared in villages and communes the stratum of Confucian scholars who were knowledgeable and prestigious people in the village community and assigned to write the village rules under different names such as “huong uoc”, “khoan uoc”, huong le”, “khoan le”, “dieu le”, “dieu uoc”,...
Panoramically, the ancient legislation of the Viet people not only has its long history but also is volumous, rich and diversified in its sources and forms, of which the typical were Hong Duc and Gia Long codes. Therefore, speaking of Vietnam’s ancient laws one often speaks of the Hong Duc and Gia Long Codes, particularly the Hong Duc Code. All these have now become the valuable tangible and intangile cultural heritage of the Vietnamese people.-