📋 Tender Overview
Over the past many years, especially in 2025, the work of building and perfecting the legal system in Vietnam has achieved important progress. The system of laws, ordinances and by-law documents is increasingly being improved, covering most areas of socio-economic life. However, development practice also raises an increasingly obvious question: is a well-written law enough to create a well-functioning society? Download Chairing the first quarter 2026 meeting of the Standing Central Steering Committee on perfecting institutions and laws, General Secretary To Lam clearly stated, shifting the mindset of evaluating effectiveness from good laws in documents to good laws in life - Photo: VGP/Do CuongIn that context, General Secretary To Lams direction on shifting the mindset of evaluating effectiveness from good laws in documents to good laws in life carries a particularly profound meaning. This is not only a technical requirement for lawmaking, but also an important suggestion about the national governance philosophy in the new development phase of the country. In other words, this is a reminder that the value of law does not lie in the written words, but in the positive changes that the law creates in social life. When the law is good on paper but not good in real life. In reality, it is not uncommon for a law to be carefully prepared and have quite complete legislative techniques, but when put into practice, it faces many difficulties in the implementation process. There are policies designed with very correct goals, but problems arise when implemented; There are regulations issued with the expectation of removing barriers to development, but in reality they have not yet achieved the desired effect. This phenomenon shows a familiar paradox in modern governance: laws may be good on paper but are not necessarily good in real life. When assessing the quality of law is mainly based on legislative techniques or promulgation processes, we can easily ignore the most important question: whether the law has really improved the lives of people and businesses. If a law is drafted very strictly but increases compliance costs for society; if a policy is written very well but fails to address development bottlenecks; or if the regulations become too complex, making enforcement difficult, then no matter how complete the document is, the effectiveness of the law can hardly be considered successful. Therefore, the requirement to shift the focus of assessment from law in documents to law in life has opened a new approach: the quality of law must be measured by the actual results it brings to society. Download A law is only truly successful when people feel its benefits in daily life. The true measure of law lies in life. The nature of law is not the provisions written in documents, but a tool to organize and regulate social life. A legal system is only truly valuable when it creates positive changes in practice: peoples rights and interests are better guaranteed, the business environment becomes more transparent and favorable, transaction costs in society are reduced and development resources are released. Therefore, when it is said that the measure of law is life, it also means that the effectiveness of law must be seen through the impact it creates on socio-economic life. association. A law is only truly successful when people feel its benefits in everyday life; When businesses see that legal regulations help them feel secure in investing and creating development; and when society operates more transparently, stably and fairly. Seen that way, law is not a goal in itself of national governance. Law is a means to achieve a developed, orderly, fair and civilized society. The provisions in the document only have meaning when they are transformed into real life behavior. From legislative thinking to institutional thinking General Secretary To Lams direction also suggests an important shift in the way of looking at institutions. In the traditional approach, when it comes to legal reform, we often focus on drafting and promulgating documents. However, law is only a part of the institutional system, and its effectiveness depends on how the entire system operates. A policy that wants to come to life needs to have at least three basic elements. The first is clear and transparent legal rules. Second, the enforcement institutions have enough capacity and responsibility to organize the implementation of those regulations. And third is an effective operating and monitoring mechanism, ensuring that regulations are enforced consistently and fairly. If there are only rules on paper but lack enforcement institutions or monitoring mechanisms, the law can easily fall into a state of suspended law. So what to bet on?The quality of law cannot be separated from the assessment of the entire chain of institutional operations, from policy design to implementation in practice. To have good law in life, enforcement capacity must be improved. For law to truly become a force for development, it is important not only to continue to improve the document system, but also to improve the enforcement capacity of the state apparatus. Legislation needs to be based on a summary of practice, a full assessment of policy impacts, and increased consultation with people, businesses, and experts. Promulgated regulations must aim to reduce compliance costs, facilitate production and business and free up development resources. Download Law is a means to achieve a developed, orderly, fair and civilized society. In addition, it is necessary to clearly define the responsibilities of agencies in the process of organizing law enforcement. A legal system only operates effectively when enforcement institutions are properly organized, have sufficient resources and are clearly responsible for implementation results. Strengthening accountability and attaching personal responsibility to the results of policy implementation will help ensure that legal regulations
