The Universality of the Rule of Law as an International Standard: Transplanting the Rule of Law in Vietnam

Abstract

Legal doctrine usually regards the rule of law as the form of a state organization with formal and substantial characteristics. Scholars traced the initial formation and development of the concept through history to some Western countries. However, the rule of law has become an axiological requirement for all states. Besides the process of recognition and dissemination at national levels, the rule of law has become an international standard, along with democracy and human rights. Vietnam transplanted the idea of the rule of law in the late 1980s, along with Perestroika in the Soviet Union. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Vietnam opened up for economic integration, which gave new meaning to the rule of law in the country.