Research for Vietnam’s National Assembly

Vietnam’s National Assembly is tasked with the complex challenge of passing effective legislation in face of rapid socio-economic development. Thus, the Institute of Legislative Studies (ILS) was established to provide advice and a scientific foundation for the National Assembly’s activities. In collaboration with Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung (RLS), ILS conducts research, manages academic advocacy and consults members of the National Assembly. In this way, ILS plays a crucial role in strengthening Vietnam’s legislative capacity.

In the late 2010s, the partnership between RLS and ILS focused on the issue of labor and trade union rights. At the time, Vietnam’s Labor Code inspired widespread discontent and was outpaced by recent changes in workplace relations. Further, Vietnam was about to enter into several free trade agreements that would require the country to adopt international labor standards. Thus, ILS implemented a series of projects to equip the National Assembly with the necessary tools to effectively amend the Labor Code. ILS took a field trip to Germany to study local social security and trade unions laws. Between 2016 and 2019, ILS published a monograph and organized several workshops on labor issues. These workshops allowed hundreds of National Assembly members to engage in discussions with experts, scholars, trade unionists and representatives of relevant ministries. In October 2019, the National Assembly successfully passed an amendment to the Labor Code, greatly expanding workers’ rights to organize and bargain collectively.

More recently, ILS has turned its attention onto land rights. Across Vietnam, land disputes had become very frequent. The existing Land Law was unable to accommodate economic needs, population growth, and sustained urbanization. In response, ILS hosted a two-day consultative workshop on land planning and finance in 2023. The workshop took place at Dalat University and was chaired by Nguyen Duc Hai, Vice President of the National Assembly. Parliamentarians had the opportunity to exchange ideas with domestic and international experts on land rights. ILS formulated its policy advice to the National Assembly based on the outcomes of this workshop. The resulting amendment to Vietnam’s Land Law was passed in early 2024. It has greatly improved the efficiency of land planning and ensures a better standard of living for those displaced from their land by development projects.