Vietnamese Land Law Across Historical Periods and Issues in the Implementation of the 2024 Land Law

Abstract

This article analyzes the formation and development of Vietnamese land law across major historical periods, from the feudal era to the Land Law of 2024, with the aim of clarifying the underlying dynamics, key characteristics, and structural legal issues. Adopting a historical–systematic approach, combined with the methods of legal text analysis and cross-period comparative legal analysis, the article seeks to address the following question: which legal issues have exhibited continuity and exerted a long-term influence on land management and land use in contemporary Vietnam? The research findings indicate that Vietnamese land law has evolved around several fundamental structural axes, including: the relationship between the principle of all-people ownership of land and the protection of land users’ rights; the interplay between administrative management methods and market mechanisms; persistent shortcomings in the legal framework governing land expropriation, compensation, support, resettlement, and land valuation; as well as the limited long-term stability of the land law system. These analyses are situated on a historical–theoretical plane, thereby contributing a scientific foundation for the study, evaluation, and implementation of land law, particularly in the context of enforcing the Land Law of 2024.