ABSTRACT
The Vietnamese courts have undergone a period of significant change in the contemporary period, taken here to commence with the adoption of the ‘renovation’, or đổi mới, policy adopted in 1986 by the Communist Party of Vietnam (‘the Party’). Đổi mới sought to shift the country from the system of collectivised agriculture and industry envisaged during the 1960s and 1970s toward a ‘socialist-oriented market economy’. In terms of the impact on courts, this post-1986 period can be viewed as a series of broadly stated reform agendas. Speaking generally, these reforms have sought to increase the efficiency, consistency and transparency of court processes, both judicial and administrative, and to increase access to the courts. Arguably, the policies using the language of court independence have also strived to ensure independence from influence over individual case decisions, rather than any independence from Partystate guidance.
