Vietnam's Continuing Legal Reform: Gaining Control Over the Courts

Abstract

While legal reform has been an integral part of Vietnam’s economic reform program since the start, the story of Vietnam’s most recent effort at reform of the courts and the prosecutors office begins with the Nam Cam scandal which reached high into the ranks of the public prosecutor’s office, the police and the courts. The public reaction to the corruption scandal created the political impetus to quickly push the next step of reforms. The most recent reforms seek to centralize the administration and management of the courts, reign in the power of the prosecutors and police and create accountability within the legal system. This paper outlines those reforms and highlights some of the outstanding issues related to future further reform efforts.