In the World Bank’s Doing Business 2018 report, Vietnam’s ranking jumped from 82 to 68 out of 190 economies, the highest increase in the past decade. However, non-enforcement and long delays in civil judgments reduce Vietnam’s ranking in the Enforcing Contracts and Resolving Insolvency category of the World Bank’s Doing Business report. To improve this, USAID’s Governance for Inclusive Growth program is working with the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) to reform the legal framework and administrative procedures of civil judgements to expedite and improve enforcement.

On June 4, MOJ and USAID conducted the second of two consultative sessions to validate findings from recent field visits, where provincial Judgment Enforcement Departments and businesses discussed challenges in the implementation of enforcement regulations stipulated in current laws. MOJ will use feedback from this process to revise Vietnamese law, work with government agencies at the central level to ease burdensome procedures, and improve inter-agency coordination.

So What? Improving the enforcement of civil judgments, such as commercial disputes, will strengthen the rule of law, help improve Vietnam’s ranking in the World Bank’s Doing Business Report, and ultimately increase economic efficiency.