Chapter III: ECONOMY, SOCIAL AFFAIRS, CULTURE, EDUCATION, SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT

 Article 50

The Socialist Republic of Vietnam shall build an independent and self-reliant economy, bringing into full play its internal strengths and international integration and cooperation, in close association with cultural development, social progress and justice, environmental protection, and national industrialisation and modernisation.

Article 51

1. The Vietnamese economy is a socialist-oriented market economy with varied forms of ownership and economic sectors; the state economy plays the leading role.

2. All economic sectors are important components of the national economy. Entities in different economic sectors are equal before law and shall cooperate and compete with one another in accordance with law.

3. The State shall encourage and create the conditions for businesspeople, enterprises or other individuals or organisations to carry out investment, production or business activities; and develop economic branches in a sustainable manner in order to contribute to national construction. The legal property of individuals and organisations engaged in investment, production or business activities is protected by law and is not subjected to nationalisation.

Article 52

The State shall develop and improve economic institutions, regulate the economy on the basis of respect for market rules; delegate, devolve and decentralise the powers in the state management; promote regional economic links, and ensure the unity of the national economy.

Article 53

Land, water resources, mineral resources, resources in the sea and airspace, other natural resources, and property managed or invested in by the State are public property, owned by all the people, and represented and uniformly managed by the State.

Article 54

1. Land is a special national resource and an important resource for national development, and is managed in accordance with law.

2. The State shall allocate or lease land to, and recognise land use rights of, organisations and individuals. Land users may transfer land use rights, exercise their rights, and perform their obligations in accordance with law. Land use rights shall be protected by law.

3. The State may recover land currently used by organisations or individuals in case of extreme necessity prescribed by a law for national defense or security purposes; or socio-economic development in the national or public interest. Land recovery must be public and transparent, and compensation must be paid in accordance with the law.

4. The State may requisition land in cases of extreme necessity prescribed by a law to perform national defense and security tasks or during a state of war or a state of emergency, or in response to a natural disaster.

Article 55

1. The state budget, national reserve, state financial funds and other public financial resources must be uniformly managed by the State and shall be used in an efficient, fair, public, transparent and lawful manner.

2. The state budget consists of the central budget and local budgets, in which the central budget plays the leading role and ensures national spending needs. State budget revenues and expenditures must be estimated and must be prescribed by a law.

3. The national monetary unit is the Vietnam dong. The State shall ensure the stabilisation of the national currency value.

Article 56

Agencies, organisations and individuals shall practice thrift and combat waste, and prevent and fight corruption in socio-economic activities and the state management.

Article 57

1. The State shall encourage and create the conditions for organisations and individuals to create jobs.

2. The State shall protect the rights and legitimate interests of employees and employers and create the conditions for the establishment of progressive, harmonious and stable employment relations.

Article 58

1. The State and society shall make investments to further the protection of and care for the People's health, implement the universal health insurance, and adopt policies to prioritise health care for ethnic minority people and people living in mountainous areas, on islands, and in areas that have extremely difficult socio-economic conditions.

2. The State, society and family are responsible for protecting and caring for the health of mothers and children, and for family planning.

Article 59

1. The State and society shall honour, commend, reward, and implement preferential treatment policies to, people who have rendered meritorious service to the country.

2. The State shall create equal opportunities for citizens to enjoy social welfare, develop the social security system, and adopt policies to support elderly people, people with disabilities, poor people, and other disadvantaged people.

3. The State shall adopt housing development policies and create the conditions for everyone to have his or her own home.

Article 60

1. The State and society shall care for the creation and development of an advanced Vietnamese culture that is deeply imbued with the national identity and has absorbed the cultural quintessence of humanity.

2. The State and society shall develop literature and the arts in order to meet the diverse and healthy spiritual needs of the People; and develop the mass media to meet the People's demands for information and to serve national construction and defense.

3. The State and society shall create an environment for building prosperous, progressive and happy Vietnamese families, and developing Vietnamese people with good health, cultural qualities, patriotism, a spirit of solidarity, a sense of mastery and civic responsibility.

Article 61

1. To develop education is a top national policy that aims to increase public intellectual standards, develop human resources, and nurture talented people. 2. The State shall prioritise investment in, and attract other investment sources for, education; care for pre-school education; and ensure free compulsory primary education; gradually universalise secondary education; develop higher education and vocational education; and implement reasonable scholarship and school fee policies.

3. The State shall prioritise the development of education in mountainous areas, on islands, in ethnic minority areas, and in areas that have extremely difficult socio-economic conditions; prioritise the employment and development of talented people; and create the conditions for people with disabilities and poor people to receive education and vocational training.

Article 62

1. To develop science and technology is a top national policy, playing the key role in national socio-economic development.

2. The State shall prioritise investment in, and encourage organisations and individuals to invest in, research, development, transfer and effective application of scientific and technological achievements; guarantee the right to conduct scientific and technological research; and protect intellectual property rights.

3. The State shall create the conditions for everyone to participate in, and to enjoy the benefits from, scientific and technological activities.

Article 63

1. The State shall adopt environmental protection policies; manage and use natural resources in an efficient and sustainable manner; conserve nature and biodiversity; and take the initiative in preventing and controlling natural disasters and responding to climate change.

2. The State shall encourage all activities for environmental protection and the development and use of new energy and renewable energy.

3. Organisations and individuals that cause environmental pollution, natural resource exhaustion or biodiversity depletion shall be strictly punished and shall rectify and compensate for damage.