Unit 3: Basic Structure of Vietnamese Government

The politics of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam are defined by a single-party socialist republic framework, where the President of Vietnam is the head of state and the Prime Minister of Vietnam is the head of government, in a one-party system led by the Communist Party of Vietnam. Executive power is exercised by the government and the President of Vietnam. Legislative power is vested in the National Assembly of Vietnam (Vietnamese: Quốc hội). The Judiciary is independent of the executive. The parliament adopted the current Constitution of Vietnam; its fifth, on 28 November 2013.
 

The President (Chủ tịch nước) is elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term and acts as the commander-in-chief of the Vietnam People's Armed Forces and Chairman of the Council for Defence and Security. Moreover, the president has the right to decide on executive brands. The government (Chính phủ), the main executive state power of Vietnam, is headed by the Prime Minister, who has several Deputy Prime Ministers and several ministers in charge of particular activities. The executive branch is responsible for the implementation of political, economic, cultural, social, national defence, security and external activities of the state. The National Assembly is a unicamerallegislative body. The National Assembly has 500 members, elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms. The legislature is, according to the constitution, the highest organ of the state. Its powers includes the enactment and amendment of the constitution and laws; the adoption of the government budget; supervising the Government of Vietnam and other holders of public powers responsible to the National Assembly; and appointing members of the judiciary. The Vietnamese constitution and legislation provide for regular elections for the office of the President of the Socialist Republic, the National Assembly and the People's Councils.

Vietnam has, officially at least, an independent judicial system governed by the Constitution of Vietnam and national legislation enacted by National Assembly. The Supreme People's Court (Tòa án Nhân dân Tối cao) is the highest court of appeal in Vietnam. There are other specialised courts in Vietnam, including the Central Military Court, the Criminal Court, the Civil Court and the Appeal Court. The Supreme People's Procuracy observes the implementation of state organs and makes sure that Vietnamese citizens follow the law.