Constitution

Viet Nam 1992 Constitution (reviewed 2013)

Table of Contents

CHAPTER III. ECONOMY, SOCIETY, CULTURE, EDUCATION, SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND ENVIRONMENT

Article 50

The Socialist Republic of Vietnam constructs an independent and sovereign economy which shall promote its internal resources, internationally cooperate, and closely connect with cultural development; practices social progressiveness and equality; protects the environment; and exercises industrialization and modernization of the country

Article 51

  1. The Vietnamese economy is a socialist-oriented market economy with multi-forms of ownership and multi-sectors of economic structure; the state economic sector plays the leading role.
  2. All economic sectors are important constituents of the national economy. Actors of different economic sectors are equal, cooperate, and compete in accordance with the law.
  3. The State encourages, provide favorable conditions for entrepreneurs, enterprises and individuals, and other organizations to invest, produce, and do business, contributing to the stable development of the economic branches and national construction. Private possessions of individuals, organizations of investment, production, and business are protected by the law and are not subjected to nationalization.

Article 52

The State constructs and perfects economic institutions, coordinate the economy on the base of respecting market rules; exercises distribution, decentralization, and separation of authorities in state management; and promotes the connection of regional economy and guarantee the unity of the national economy.

Article 53

The land, water resources, mineral resources, wealth lying underground or coming from the sea and the air, other natural resources, and property invested and managed by the State are public properties, coming under ownership by the entire people represented and uniformly managed by the State.

Article 54

  1. Land is special resource of the nation, an important resource of national development, and is managed in concordance with the law.
  2. Organizations and individuals are entitled to land assignment, land lease, and recognition of the land use right by the State. Land user has the right to transfer the land use right, and practice related rights and duties in concordance with the law. The land use right is protected by the law.
  3. The State shall recover land used by organizations and individuals in imperative cases provided by the law for the purposes of national defence, national security, and socio-economic developments for national and public interests. The recovery of land must be public and transparent, and compensations must be provided in concordance to the law.
  4. The State shall effect acquisition of land in cases of urgent demands which are provided by the law with respect to the implementation of the businesses of national defence, national security, and wars, emergency, and prevention and protection against natural calamities

Article 55

  1. State budget, national reserve, state financial funds, and other public financial sources are uniformly managed by the State, and must be used effectively, equally, publicly, transparent, and legally.
  2. State budget consists of central budget and local budget, in which central budget plays the leading role, guaranteeing national expenditure. All items of income and expenditure of state budget must be estimated and must be provided by the law.
  3. The monetary unit of the nation is Vietnam Dong. The State shall guarantee the value of the national currency.

Article 56

State bodies, organizations, and individuals must practice saving and anti-luxury, prevent and fight against corruption in economic-social activities and state management.

Article 57

  1. The State encourages and provides favorable conditions for organizations and individuals’ to create jobs for workers.
  2. The State shall protect legal rights and interests of the workers and employers and provide favorable conditions for construction of progressive, harmonious, and stable labor relationship.

Article 58

  1. The State shall make investment in the development of the protection and care of the people’s health, exercise health insurance for entire people, and exercise a priority policy of health care for highlanders, national minorities, islanders, and people living in extremely difficult economic and social conditions.
  2. It is the responsibility of the State, society, the family and the citizen to ensure care and protection for mothers and children and to carry into effect the family planning.

Article 59

  1. The State and society honor, commend and reward, and exercise a priority policy for the people with meritorious services to the nation.
  2. The state shall create equal opportunities for the citizen to enjoy social welfare, develop a system of social security, exercise a policy assisting old people, disabled, poor people, and people with other difficult circumstances.
  3. The State shall exercise a policy of housing development, and create conditions so that every one shall have housing.

Article 60

  1. The State and the society shall take care of the construction and development of the Vietnamese culture, which is modern and deeply imbued with the national identity, and absorbs the mankind’s cultural quintessence.
  2. The State and society shall develop literature and art so as to meet the diverse and healthy spiritual demands of the people; promote mass media so as to meet the people’s demand of information, serving the career of construction and defence of the Fatherland.
  3. The State and society shall provide favorable environment for the construction of the Vietnamese family which is well off, progressive, and happy; create the Vietnamese people who are healthy, cultural, profoundly patriotic, solidary, independent, and responsible.

Article 61

  1. Development of education is a primary national policy for the purposes of elevating the people’s intellectual standards, training human resources and fostering talents.
  2. The State shall prioritize investment and attraction of other investment sources for education; take care of pre-school education; guarantee compulsory secondary education which is free of charge; gradually universalize high education; develop college education and vocational education; exercise proper policy of scholarship and tuition.
  3. The State shall prioritize the educational development in mountainous and island areas, regions inhabited by ethnic minority people and regions encountering exceptional difficulties; prioritize employment and development of the talented; and provide favorable conditions for the disabled and the poor to access to cultural and vocational learning.

Article 62

  1. Development of science and technology is a primary national policy, playing a key role in the country’s socio-economic development.
  2. The State shall prioritize investment and encouragement of organization and individuals’ investment to scientific research, development, transfer, and effective application of scientific and technological achievements; guarantee the right to conduct scientific and technological research; and protect the right to intellectual property.
  3. The State shall provide favorable conditions for every one to participate in and enjoy benefits from scientific and technological activities.

Article 63

  1. The State has a policy to protect the environment; manages, and effectively and stably use natural resources; protects the nature and biodiversity; takes initiative in prevention and resistance against natural calamities and response to climate change.
  2. The State encourages all acts of protection of the environment, development and use of new energy and recycled energy.
  3. Organizations and individuals who cause environmental pollution, debilitate natural resources and weaken biodiversity shall be strictly dealt with and must be responsible for remedy and compensation for damage.