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This research centers on the change in the nature of the death penalty as expressed in law and practice throughout Vietnam's history with a focus on modern time. Using a set of typical legal research methods, in particular, legal history, doctrinal research, philosophy of law and, sociology of law, the article analyzes the change and reform of capital offences in Vietnamese laws. It is revealed through our research that the nature of the death penalty has been fundamentally changed from an instrument of power and coercion during much of the history of the country to a manifestation of justice based on the ideas of rule of law and human rights that started to emerge in the early twentieth century, especially from 1986 onwards. As a result, the number of capital offences has been gradually reduced in three modern Criminal Codes. However, it is also noted that the number of capital sentences and executions appears to remain unchanged, even slightly increased. This creates a paradox that opens and invites a future, interdisciplinary research to thoroughly investigate the problem in the country. The article also argues that as the death penalty finds its moral and legal justifications along with the rise of the number of death sentences given to many serious criminal cases, the death penalty appears to find support among the public. In addition, the political sensitivity of the issue, as expressed through the prohibition on the disclosure of the death penalty data, will inhibit discourse on the problem. Together, they will maintain the existence and application of the death penalty in Vietnam in the time to come.

This book is the result of the first interdisciplinary conference in Vietnam which took place on "the Rule of Law." Instead of beginning immediately with a highly specialized debate from the perspective of one single academic discipline, we started to discuss numerous facets of the subject arising from a multidisciplinary dialogue. For this reason, the contributions for this publication come from various scientific disciplines in Vietnam and Germany: political, historical, social, economic and legal sciences, but also members of Vietnamese governmental and non-governmental organizations. The aim of the volume is to open up a dialogue about the Rule of Law between two very different legal cultures, the German-European and the Vietnamese-Southeast Asian.

Frontmatter --Table of Contents --Introduction --I. Traditions --A Brief History of the Idea of the State of Law and Its Basic Indicators --Thoughts and Policies on Governing the People under the Ly-Tran and the Early Le Dynasties: Experiences and Historical Lessons --Some Signs of a State of Law in Vietnam in the Monarchical Time --The French "État legale" in Vietnam. Between Legal Pluralism and Police State --II. Theoretical Reflections --Separation of Powers in Pre-modern Western Political Thought and the Building of the State of Law in Vietnam --Rousseau's Thoughts on the Division and Control of State Power. A Comparison with Montesquieu's Model --Ruling with Law. On the Significance of Rules of Organization and Procedure --III. Global Trends and Challenges --The Rule of Law and the Emergence of Market Exchange: A New Institutional Economic Perspective --The Rule of Law in the Global Development of Constitutionalism --Rule of Law and Global Governance --IV. Contemporary Debates --State Reformation and Improvement -- towards a Vietnamese State of Law --The Issue of the Rule of Law in Vietnam in the Constitution of 2013 --The State of Law and the Creation of a Human Rights Culture --The Development of the Civil Society and the Socialist Law-based State in Vietnam --Anti-Corruption from the Perspective of Ho Chi Minh's Ideology: Towards a Vietnamese Rule of Law --Rule of Law and Codes of Trust. Interdependencies between Legal and Social Institutions: A Case Study of China --The Role of the Press in the Construction of a Legitimate State in Vietnam Today --On the Civil Society and the State of Law in Vietnam --The State of Law in Vietnam: Understandings, Prospects and Challenges --List of Tables