Thúc Kháng wrote this Vietnamese article, published in Luật Khoa Magazine on May 29, 2025.
Laws are everywhere in Việt Nam. They govern the National Assembly and the Government—both national and local. There are laws in the courts, the procuracy, the Fatherland Front, businesses, and social organizations. In general, almost every organization has legal provisions governing its operations.
Yet there is one organization that towers above them all, unburdened by any legal regulation: the Communist Party of Việt Nam (CPV).
Article 4 of the Vietnamese Constitution declares the CPV as "the leading force of the State and society." This grants the Party the authority to determine who becomes a minister, who secures seats in the National Assembly, and who sits as chief justice. The CPV directs policymaking, issues resolutions, and instructions. In essence, it conducts the entirety of the political system.
However, there exists no law that regulates the Party's own operations. No statutes specify how the CPV must register, define its rights and obligations, or outline the limits of its power. While every other organization—from enterprises to civic groups—is bound by the rule of law, the CPV remains exempt from such constraints.
It is not as if efforts to regulate the CPV have been completely absent. In fact, there have been several attempts made to address this issue of the party's lack of legal constraints.
In a 2016 study titled "Constitutionalizing Single Party Leadership in Vietnam: Dilemmas of Reform," Political Science Ph.D. Bùi Hải Thiêm pointed out that many have proposed placing the CPV within a proper legal framework. Interestingly, these proposals have often come from within the very state apparatus that the party commands.
Take, for example, a rare interview given by former National Assembly Chairman Nguyễn Văn An before the 11th Party Congress. In this candid moment, he expressed frustration with the constitutional limits on the Communist Party's power, going so far as to call for legislation to address these "systemic issues."
Another prominent voice in this debate was Hoàng Thái, the former Standing Member of the Central Committee of the Việt Nam Fatherland Front. In a February 2013 meeting, he remarked: "There are laws on the State, on the National Assembly, on the Fatherland Front, but not on the Party. There must be a law on the Party to ensure transparency and prevent arbitrariness."
Several other officials have also voiced support for legally regulating the Communist Party. These proposals surfaced during the 2013 constitutional amendment period, though they ultimately faded into oblivion.
Were a law on the CPV to exist, it would undoubtedly seek to regulate a myriad of matters—from the procedures for the party's formation and dissolution, to its financial activities, and tax reporting requirements. Additionally, such legislation would likely establish monitoring mechanisms and penalties for any violations committed by the party.
In the absence of such a law, the true limits of the Party’s power remain a mystery. Most legal documents related to businesses, media agencies, and even social or religious organizations contain explicit lists of prohibited acts.
Laws define the boundaries; anything not explicitly forbidden is deemed permissible.
Yet, when it comes to the ruling party, this fundamental principle appears to be conveniently overlooked. As noted by Dr. Bùi Hải Thiêm in his study, the lack of clearly delineated roles and duties for the CPV raises troubling questions about the rights and responsibilities it must uphold before the people and the law.
But why is there no law governing the Communist Party, and will there ever be? The answer is simple yet unsavory: having a law means having constraints, and those in power are rarely eager to tie their own hands.
After all, laws exist to limit power, to force those who wield it to be transparent and accountable. Should a law on the CPV ever materialize, the Party would be forced to submit to greater scrutiny from all directions.
Even the seemingly mundane act of passing a law to govern the CPV could shake the very foundation of the current political system. Hence, despite the numerous proposals to establish legal parameters for the ruling party, silence has always been the ultimate response.
Viewed more broadly, this is entirely consistent with the model of a totalitarian political system as outlined by Dr. Juan Linz in his book, Totalitarian and Authoritarian Regimes.
A totalitarian system, such as the one that prevails in Việt Nam, is characterized by six key traits. Three of the six are:
In such a system, the notion of enacting a law to restrict the ruling party's power is not merely undesirable—it is, in fact, nearly impossible.
The absence of a law governing the Communist Party is no mere oversight, but a deliberate choice. As long as the CPV continues to maintain its monopoly on power, any meaningful legislation that would put limits on its authority remains, sadly, a distant dream.
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Hoàng Mai wrote this Vietnamese article, published in Luật Khoa Magazine on May 20, 2025. The Vietnamese Magazine translated it
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