Attending the event were Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long; Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Khac Dinh; leaders of Party commissions, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and central bodies; the Minister of Justice of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic; representatives of foreign embassies, diplomatic missions, and international organizations in Viet Nam; and leaders of provinces and cities.

On this occasion, on behalf of the Party and State leaders, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh presented the First-class Labor Order to the Ministry of Justice; Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long presented the Third-class Labor Order to collectives and individuals.

The Justice Sector: 80 Years Under the Light of the Rule of Law

Delivering his speech at the anniversary ceremony, Minister of Justice Nguyen Hai Ninh emphasized that throughout 80 years of formation and development, the Ministry of Justice and the Justice sector have gone through challenging yet glorious stages, making positive contributions to the cause of national construction and defense, as well as to building a socialist rule-of-law State of the People, by the People, and for the People under the leadership of the Party.

The Ministry and the Justice sector have proactively provided advice and recommendations, helping to improve the Party’s theoretical thinking and understanding regarding the building of a rule-of-law State and institutional and legal development, thereby increasingly affirming their role as the core advisory force in developing and perfecting the legal system.

The Ministry and the Justice sector have taken the lead and coordinated with ministries, sectors, and localities in assisting the Government to actively participate in the drafting of Constitutions, from the first 1946 Constitution and the 1959 Constitution to the Constitutions of the Doi Moi period such as the 1992 Constitution, the 2013 Constitution, and most recently the amendment and supplementation of a number of articles of the 2013 Constitution to serve the policy of streamlining the organizational apparatus and implementing the two-tier local government model.

The Ministry of Justice has also successfully fulfilled its task of leading and advising on the drafting of several important laws such as the Civil Code, the Criminal Code, the Law on Promulgation of Legal Normative Documents, the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations, the Law on Civil Judgment Enforcement, and many other significant legal normative documents. At the same time, it has proactively and creatively advised on special legal mechanisms, particularly contributing to flexible and timely policy responses to remove numerous “bottlenecks” in practice.

During this tenure, the Government has vigorously renewed its law-making efforts, holding 39 specialized sessions on law development and completing a record volume of legislative tasks. In 2024 and the first seven months of 2025, the Government submitted to the National Assembly for approval 66 laws and 15 resolutions. Notably, at the 9th session alone, the Government and relevant agencies submitted and had 35 laws adopted, accounting for 52.3% of all laws adopted in the 17 sessions of the 15th National Assembly tenure.

International law affairs and international cooperation in law and justice have been implemented with increasing effectiveness. The Government and local authorities at all levels have been advised to introduce major reforms in organizing law enforcement and raising public awareness of law compliance. State management in the fields of judicial administration, judicial support, legal aid, and legal assistance for small- and medium-sized enterprises has received greater attention. Effective implementation has been made of the policy of socializing certain judicial and judicial-support activities. The civil judgment enforcement system has been gradually built and developed to become unified and professional, in parallel with comprehensive reform of management methods and operations, grounded on the foundation of “electronic judgment enforcement.”

According to Minister Nguyen Hai Ninh, these achievements stem from solidarity and perseverance in overcoming all difficulties and challenges, steadfastly advancing under the light of the rule of law. “Behind every law adopted by the National Assembly and every legal document put into practice lies a journey of diligent effort—from candid and responsible discussions to late-night working sessions that stretched through holidays with hardly a day off, carried out in the spirit of “building the plane while flying it,” along with silent sacrifices filled with patriotism and a burning aspiration for an enabling and developmental institutional framework. These stand as the most vivid testament to the intellect, dedication, and devotion of the “Justice personel”. This is the precious tradition and spiritual legacy of the sector that future generations must inherit, preserve, and further promote” the Minister stressed.

In recognition of its achievements, the Justice sector has been awarded the Ho Chi Minh Order, the Gold Star Order, and many other prestigious commendations for both collectives and individuals across the sector.

Minister Nguyen Hai Ninh stated that, as the nation enters a new era with intertwined opportunities and challenges, the Ministry and the Justice sector have been and will continue to adapt flexibly and proactively to the new context, with determination for renewal of mindset and operating methods, closely aligning with the strategic objectives of the Party and the State, so that every legal document promulgated both “stands on Vietnam’s practical ground” and approaches international legal standards, truly helping to unlock resources, foster innovation, create a transparent and enabling business environment, enhance public access to the law, contribute actively to building and perfecting the socialist rule-of-law State of Vietnam, promote socio-economic development, safeguard national defense and security, and elevate the country’s position on the international stage.

Always an "essential organ of the government"

In his remarks at the event, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh expressed his delight in attending the 80th anniversary ceremony and the 6th Patriotic Emulation Congress of the Justice sector during the heroic days of August, joining the jubilant atmosphere of the entire nation as it celebrates the 80th Anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day September 2, as well as the 80th Anniversary of the Traditional Day of the People's Public Security Forces.

The Prime Minister emphasized that we pay solemn tribute and boundless gratitude to President Ho Chi Minh — the great teacher of the Vietnamese Revolution, the Hero of National Liberation, the World culture figure of Vietnam, the founder of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, who laid the foundations for building a democratic revolutionary judiciary. At the same time, we extend profound thanks to generations of leaders, officials, and civil servants of the Justice sector — in gratitude, to learn from them and to continue to grow.

Throughout the nation’s glorious thousand-year history of building and defending the country, our legal system was painstakingly developed by generations of ancestors with many renowned codes, each bearing the distinct imprint of Vietnamese civilization and reflecting the consistent philosophy that governing a nation requires the rule of law—such as the Hinh Thu (Ly dynasty), the Hinh Luat (Tran dynasty), the Quoc Trieu Hinh Luat – Hong Duc Code (Le dynasty), and the Hoang Viet Luat Le (Nguyen dynasty).

President Ho Chi Minh, in particular, always emphasized the importance of the Constitution and laws in state and social governance from a very early stage. From the very first days of his journey to seek the path for national salvation, he demonstrated a vision ahead of his time regarding the role of law in protecting human rights, serving as a safeguard against all forms of oppression and exploitation.

The “ Demands of the Annamite People”, regarded as the first political declaration of the Vietnamese people, was sent by President Ho Chi Minh to the Versailles Conference in 1919. The document consisted of eight points, all addressing the protection of human rights and legal reforms in Indochina. Later, in 1922, Nguyen Ai Quoc translated this petition into Vietnamese under the title “Vietnam’s Petition”, in which he emphasized: “Seventh, a constitution must be promulgated / In all matters, there must be the sacred spirit of the rule of law.”

Immediately after the success of the August Revolution, under the leadership and direction of the Party and beloved President Ho Chi Minh, the Provisional Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was established with 13 ministries, including the Ministry of Justice (August 28, 1945). On September 2, 1945, President Ho Chi Minh read the Declaration of Independence proclaiming the birth of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, which also affirmed the equality of all people before the law and the right to resist oppression.

At the first Government meeting (September 3, 1945), one of six urgent tasks proposed by President Ho Chi Minh was: “We must have a democratic constitution. I propose that the Government organize a general election with universal suffrage as soon as possible” so that the country could soon have a constitutional state elected by the people. On September 20, 1945, President Ho Chi Minh signed a decree establishing the Drafting Committee for the Constitution. Following the general election, the first democratic Constitution of the Vietnamese State was promulgated (the 1946 Constitution).

Throughout 80 years of glorious revolutionary history under the leadership of the Party — from protracted resistance wars for national independence and unification to the renewal process, economic liberalization, and international integration — Vietnam’s legal system has been continuously reformed and comprehensively improved in line with the country’s evolving conditions and practical requirements. The Party and the State have always profoundly recognized the crucial role of institutional and legal development and consistently directed efforts to this end to serve national progress. To date, our country has adopted five Constitutions: in 1946, 1959, 1980, 1992, and 2013.

The Prime Minister stressed: Over 80 years of formation and development — established alongside the Provisional Government in the fragile days right after independence, “hanging by a thread” — the Ministry of Justice stood with the nascent democratic people's government to resolve enormous difficulties and left its mark on history, beginning the journey of growth and development of the Justice sector. From being one of the first 13 ministries of the Provisional Government in 1945 to the current comprehensive organizational system from the central to local levels, it can be affirmed that the Justice sector has always accompanied and made vital contributions to the country in the Party’s and the People’s indomitable struggle for national independence and socialism, increasingly affirming its role and position as an “essential organ of government,” as beloved President Ho Chi Minh once affirmed.

The role of a “development enabler” and a “legal gatekeeper.”

According to the Prime Minister, looking back on the history of formation, development, and growth of the Ministry of Justice and the Justice sector over the past 80 years, six outstanding milestones can be summarized in 36 characters: (1) Proactive in building the rule of law; (2) Strict enforcement of the law; (3) Effective civil judgment enforcement; (4) Enhanced cadre organization and capacity; (5) Extensive international cooperation; (6) Active resolution of bottlenecks.

Elaborating on this assessment, the Prime Minister stated that the Ministry and the justice sector have been active and proactive in focusing on developing and perfecting the legal system and building a socialist rule-of-law State.

Second, they have improved and enhanced the quality of law enforcement organization, while renewing and modernizing mechanisms for organizing law enforcement — particularly in judicial administration and judicial support. The Ministry of Justice’s Public Administration Reform Index has consistently ranked among the top ministries and sectors. The establishment and operation of the National Legal Information Portal is regarded as a prominent achievement in digital transformation in law-making and law enforcement.

Third, civil judgment enforcement has achieved remarkable results, successfully meeting performance targets on enforcement rates while protecting the interests of the State and the lawful rights and interests of citizens and enterprises, with special emphasis on recovering misappropriated assets in corruption and economic cases.

Fourth, efforts have been made to proactively build a streamlined Justice sector that operates with effectiveness and efficiency while improving the quality of its human resources.

Fifth, broad, substantive, and effective international cooperation has been promoted, including directly signing treaties and international agreements and advising the Party and the State on matters of international cooperation.

Sixth, the Justice sector has accompanied the nation in its administrative apparatus reform — the “reorganizing the nation” — by removing institutional bottlenecks to unlock every resource for development. In parallel with this “revolution in reorganizing the state apparatus,” a synchronized “revolution in institutional and legal development” has been carried out.

In recent years, by implementing the strategic breakthrough in developing and perfecting institutions, the Ministry of Justice has continued to demonstrate its role as a “development enabler” and “legal gatekeeper” of the Government, tasked with appraising all draft laws and ordinances before their submission to the Government and the National Assembly.

Particularly during this tenure, the entire Justice sector has closely followed the resolutions and conclusions of the Party Central Committee, the National Assembly, the Government, and the Prime Minister, focusing on proposing major and pivotal policy directions in legal and judicial reforms, in building and improving the socialist rule-of-law State of Vietnam, in perfecting the socialist-oriented market economy institution, and in revising the legislative process to “enhance productivity and quality in law-making.” Both law-making and law enforcement have undergone substantive qualitative and quantitative improvements.

Recently, with the institutional motto of being “both a resource, a driving force, and a breakthrough for development,” Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh praised the Ministry and the Justice sector for embodying the spirit of “finishing the work, not just the hours,” “working day and night, even on days off,” and “working through holidays and Tet,” to excellently accomplish the tasks entrusted by the Party, the State, and the People.

A notable achievement has been the advisory work leading to the Politburo’s issuance of Resolution No. 66 (April 30, 2025) on renewing law-making and law enforcement to meet the requirements of national development in the new era.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, under the spirit that “special circumstances and special times require special decisions,” the Ministry of Justice advised the Government in submitting to the National Assembly for the adoption of Resolution No. 30 (July 28, 2021) and in the Government’s promulgation of Resolution No. 66 (July 1, 2021) and Resolution No. 86 (August 6, 2021) on urgent mechanisms, policies, and solutions for pandemic prevention and control, especially Resolution No. 128 (October 11, 2021) issuing the provisional regulations on “Safe, flexible adaptation and effective control of COVID-19.”

The Ministry of Justice has also advised the Government to submit laws and resolutions to the National Assembly to remove obstacles and difficulties. Notably, during the 9th session, the largest number of laws and resolutions ever passed in a single session were adopted, including amendments to the Constitution.

In addition, the Ministry drafted and submitted to the National Assembly the revised Law on Promulgation of Legal Normative Documents; led the appraisal of 30 decrees on d decentralization, devolution, and delineation of powers to promptly submit to the Government for promulgation in support of the two-tier local government structure. The Ministry also chaired and participated in drafting numerous urgent law projects requiring amendment and promulgation to meet the demands of the institutional and administrative apparatus reform.

"We are delighted that President Ho Chi Minh’s aspiration and ideal of a humane rule-of-law system grounded in morality, serving the interests of the nation and the People, built by the People and for the People, is being jointly developed and gradually realized by our entire Party and People. In all circumstances, the Justice sector has remained diligent and responsible, consistently fulfilling its tasks with excellence and making active, effective contributions to the building, consolidation, and development of the three major pillars of our nation: socialist democracy, the socialist rule-of-law State, and the socialist-oriented market economy," the Prime Minister emphasized.

Especially, in recent years, the Justice sector has continued to earn the trust of the Party and the State, being tasked with advising on reforms in law-making and law enforcement, thereby contributing to institutional breakthroughs and laying the groundwork for the country to move firmly into the new era. The Politburo has decided to establish the Central Steering Committee on Institutional and Legal Improvement, chaired by General Secretary To Lam. Under the Party’s leadership, with the National Assembly’s support, the active involvement of the entire political system, and the endorsement of the people, we have strongly renewed our mindset, methodology, and approach to lawmaking.

In recognition of its contributions to the revolutionary cause of the Party and the nation, many collectives and individuals in the justice sector have been awarded high honors and distinctions by the Party and the State. On behalf of the Party and State leadership, the Prime Minister acknowledged, commended, and highly valued the Ministry of Justice and the entire Justice sector’s tireless efforts and significant achievements over the past 80 years, which have played an important role in nation-building and defense.

We must accelerate, make breakthroughs, set an example, take the lead, and spearhead the building and enforcement of laws.

The Prime Minister emphasized that in the coming period, the global landscape will continue to evolve rapidly, with complex and unpredictable developments. Our country faces both opportunities and challenges, but the difficulties and challenges outweigh the opportunities. To achieve the two centennial strategic goals, the tasks ahead are extremely demanding, in which General Secretary To Lam has pointed out that institutions are now the “bottleneck of bottlenecks,” and has directed that institutional and legal reform be regarded as the highest priority task.

According to the Prime Minister, it is necessary to continue to thoroughly grasp and profoundly implement Resolution No. 27-NQ/TW dated November 9, 2022, of the 6th Plenum of the 13th Party Central Committee on further building and perfecting the socialist rule-of-law state of Viet Nam in the new period, as well as the Politburo’s Resolution 66, ministries and sectors, agencies, and local authorities must attach great importance to law-making and building the rule-of-law State; ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, and chairpersons of provincial People’s Committees must personally direct lawmaking and law enforcement efforts. It is necessary to raise awareness of the importance of legislation and law enforcement, streamline and improve the efficiency of the state apparatus, build a high-quality, flexible, and proactive cadre force capable of responding to evolving situations, and ensure adequate resources and policies for officials.

The Prime Minister called for unified understanding and implementation of "five viewpoints":

(1) Institutions are both a goal and a driving force, resource, and solid foundation for national development.

(2) Institutions must lead the way, paving the path for breakthroughs in development, fully unleashing potential, advantages, and creativity to meet the requirements of accelerating industrialization, modernization, and international integration.

(3) Transform law-making and law enforcement from being the “bottleneck of bottlenecks” into the “breakthrough of breakthroughs,” turning institutions into a competitive advantage to drive national progress in the new era.

(4) Investment in policy and law-making is investment in development and must be focused and strategic.

(5) Concentrate on removing institutional and legal obstacles to create breakthroughs in mobilizing and efficiently using all resources, establishing the momentum, position, and strength needed for the country to advance confidently into a new era of prosperity, modernity, and sustainable growth for the people.

At the same time, the Prime Minister demanded the Justice sector to implement "five leading tasks": take the lead in comprehensively advancing institutional improvement, accelerating progress, and enhancing the quality of law-making; take the lead in addressing practical difficulties and inconsistencies in legal provisions; take the lead in reviewing, systematizing, and codifying laws; take the lead in decentralization and delegation of authority in legislative development and enforcement; take the lead in disseminating and educating the public about the law.

“We must accelerate, make breakthroughs, set an example, and lead the way in law-making and law enforcement — ensuring progress, fairness, and equality in building the socialist rule-of-law State, upholding the rule of law, and continuously fostering rapid and sustainable national development, turning the law into a national competitive advantage in the process of deep, substantive, and effective international integration in the new era,” the Prime Minister stressed.

The tasks in the country’s new stage of development for the Justice sector are extremely heavy but also glorious, honorable, and of particularly important significance; among them, a key requirement is to basically resolve the “bottlenecks” caused by legal regulations within 2025. This is a task for the entire political system, for all levels, sectors, and localities, with the Ministry of Justice serving as the core.

Regarding orientations and tasks for the time ahead, the Prime Minister generally agreed with the Ministry’s report and requested a strong focus on several key priorities.

First, strengthen the Party’s leadership in building and improving the socialist rule-of-law State, developing the socialist legal system, and consolidating socialist legality. Laws must fully institutionalize the Party’s and State’s guidelines, policies, and directives, while strictly complying with prescribed legislative procedures. Legislation should be drafted in a framework-based, principle-oriented manner, stipulating only matters within the National Assembly’s authority and authorizing the Government to elaborate on implementation details. Heads of ministries, agencies, and localities must directly lead, direct, and take full responsibility before the Party, the State, the Government, the Prime Minister, and the law for lawmaking within their assigned functions, duties, and powers.

Second, continue renewing thinking on lawmaking and legislative improvement to simultaneously meet state governance requirements and encourage creativity, fully unleashing productive forces and unlocking all development resources. This requires shifting from a “management-oriented” to a “service-oriented, development-enabling” mindset and abandoning the notion of “if it cannot be controlled, it must be banned.” Decentralization and delegation of powers must go hand in hand with proper resource allocation and enhanced implementation capacity at subordinate levels.

Third, create breakthroughs in law enforcement, fostering a culture of respect for and compliance with the law, and upholding the rule of law. Continue reviewing and promptly institutionalizing the “Four Pillars,” particularly the Politburo’s Resolution 66. Strongly innovate legal dissemination and education, ensure the effective operation of the National Legal Portal, and strengthen policy communication.

Fourth, prioritize resources and make commensurate, systematic investments in lawmaking. Continue reviewing and improving policies to attract and adequately remunerate high-quality legislative drafters; provide modern technological infrastructure, large databases, and the application of digital technology, AI, and virtual assistants to modernize lawmaking and law enforcement. Special attention must be paid to building a corps of judicial and legal officials with integrity, competence, and professional qualifications that meet task requirements, who lead by example in observing and complying with the law — “Serving justice, upholding the law, impartial and selfless — a model for the people to follow” as our honorable President Ho Chi Minh instructed.

Fifth, implement the principle of “liberal institutions, seamless infrastructure, and smart governance,” while simultaneously strengthening and designing oversight and inspection mechanisms to prevent, detect, promptly stop, and firmly punish acts of corruption, misconduct in law enforcement, and policy abuse. Continue vigorously streamlining administrative procedures and reducing compliance costs for citizens and enterprises. Minimize intermediary steps and eliminate the practice of higher-level authorities “ rubber-stamping" decisions made by subordinate levels.

Sixth, law-making must closely follow, stem from, and respect practical realities, using reality as the yardstick, so that the law truly becomes a “lever and fulcrum” for development. Pay close attention to expert, scholarly, and public input with the spirit of: “Whatever has matured, is clear, has been proven correct by practice, and is supported by the majority, should be codified into law; implement while drawing lessons and gradually expanding, without perfectionism or haste.”

The Prime Minister recalled President Ho Chi Minh teaching: “Society is constantly changing and advancing, never regressing. Law must also continuously move forward and never fall behind. That is the rule.” In the context of Vietnam entering a new era, the mission of the judicial and legal sector is to continually perfect a Vietnamese legal system that is democratic, equitable, modern, coherent, substantive, people-oriented, aligned with international standards and practices, and enforced in a strict, consistent, open, and transparent manner.

The Prime Minister expressed his hope and confidence that, with the 80-year tradition of building and development, under the leadership of the Party, the companionship and supervision of the National Assembly, the management and administration of the Government, the attention and close coordination of the entire political system, the support of the people, the cooperation of international friends, and the unanimity and consensus of all officials, public servants, and employees of the Justice sector, judicial work will continue to achieve new progress in the time ahead, thereby contributing to the successful fulfillment of the revolutionary cause of the Party and the People.

The Prime Minister called on ministries, Party committees, and local authorities at all levels to continue to give due attention to and work closely with the Ministry of Justice and the entire Justice sector, treating judicial work as a common task, a central, continuous, and regular mission of the entire political system, ministries, sectors, and localities — in the spirit of “knowing one’s role, mastering one’s duties” and “unity from top to bottom, seamless coordination horizontally and vertically.” He extended his best wishes to the leadership and all officials, civil servants, and public employees of the Justice sector, urging them to build on the sector’s glorious 80-year tradition and achievements, to honorably continue the mission of previous generations, to maintain solidarity, dedication, and concerted effort, and to strive to fulfill all tasks with excellence, worthy of the trust of the Party, the State, and the People.