Legal age of children under Vietnamese law debates and perspectives

• Main Authors: Le, Thi Khanh Van, Vu, Cong Giao
• Other Authors: Asian Constitutional Law Recent Development and trends : 6th and 7th December 2019, Hà Nội, Việt Nam. Vol. 2
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Language: English
• Published: Đại học Quốc gia Hà Nội 2020
• Subjects: legal age of children; Vietnamese law; Convention on the Rights of the Child; Pháp luật Việt Nam; Công ước về quyền trẻ em; Luật trẻ em; Độ tuổi hợp pháp của trẻ em
• Online Access: http://repository.vnu.edu.vn/handle/VNU_123/94808
• Institution: Vietnam National University, Hanoi

Vietnam has become the first country member in Asia and the second in the world ratifying the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) since 1990. Although Vietnam government has achieved many progresses in providing better education, care and protection to its children, especially the most vulnerable children, Vietnamese legal age of children has been a concern to the CRC committee. The concern has been put in the CRC committee’s recommendations thoughout national reporting processes as requested by CRC, article 44. The first legal paper on children of Vietnam Government namely Law on Children Education, Care and Protection had been issued in 1991, a year after the CRC ratification made by the government. However, the paper had regulated children as those under 16 years of age while CRC defines children are those under 18 years of age. Having admended in the last two times in 2004 and 2010, with many debates and disscusions, the legal age of Vietnamese children remained unchanged as regulated in Vietnam Child Law which has been passed since 2010 by its Parliament. Regarding the CRC recommendations, Vietnam should raise up the legal age of its children up to the CRC definition in order to acknowlege the involving capacities of the young as well as to better invest in protecting children, young for the sustainable development of the country. The paper is to present the case of Vietnam, the debates regarding scientific, legal and practical perspectives towards children education, care and protection as well as recommendations to the Government on adjusting the legal age of children in Vietnam as CRC committee requires. The research has been supported by UNICEF in Vietnam and caried out for about 9 months, from October 2018- June 2019.