(…)

Article 8: Principle of equality

It civil relations, the parties are equal; they shall not invoke the differences in nationalities, sex, social status, economic situation, belief, religion, levels of education and/or professions as reasons for discriminatory treatment.

(…)

Section 2

PERSONAL RIGHTS

Article 26: Personal rights

Personal rights laid down in this Code are civil rights inherent to every individual which are inalienable to others except as otherwise provided for by law.

No one shall misuse his/her personal rights to infringe upon the interests of the State, public interests, and the legitimate rights and interests of others.

Every person shall have the duty to respect the Personal rights of others.

Article 27: Protection of personal rights

When personal rights of an individual are infringed upon, that individual has the right to:

1. Request that the violator cease or that the court compel the violator to cease the infringements and/or to make public apologies or rectification;
   
   

2. Himself/herself make rectification in the press:
   
   

3. Request that the violator indemnify or that the court compel the violator to indemnify his/her for material and/or spiritual damage.

Article 28: Right regarding family name and forename

1. Every individual has the right to have his/her family name and forename. Family name and forename of a person are determined pursuant to the family name and forename stated at birth of that person.
   
   

2. An individual establishes and executes his/her civil rights and obligations pursuant to his/her family name and forename which have been recognized by the competent State authorities.
   
   

3. The use of aliases and/or pen names shall not cause damage to the legitimate rights and interests of others.

Article 29: Right to change family name and/or forename

1. An individual has the right to request competent State authorities to recognize the change of his/her family name and/or forename in the following cases

1. At the request of the person whose family name and/or forename are/or subject to change, as the use of such name or names causes confusion that affects his/her family sentiments. and/or his/her honour, legitimate rights and interests.
   
   

2. At the request of the adoptive parent(s) to change the family name and/or forename of his/her/their adopted child, or when such adopted child ceases to be adopted and he/she or his/her biological parents claim back the family name and/or forename given to him/her before;
   
   

3. At the request of the parents or of the child upon determination of the latter's parents;
   
   

4. Changing the family name of a child from his/her paternal family name to his/ her maternal family name and vice-versa;
   
   

5. Changing the family name and/or forename of a person who went missing from his/her childhood but subsequently found his/her family of origin;
   
   

6. Other cases provided for by law.

2. The change of family name and/or forename of a child of fully nine years of age or above shall be agreed to by such child.

3. The change of a person's family name and/or forename does not result in the termination of the civil rights and obligations of that person which were established pursuant to the person's former family name and forename.

Article 30: Right to determine ethnicity

1. Ethnicity of an individual at birth is the ethnicity of his/her parents. In the case the ethnicities of the parents differ, the ethnicity of the child is the ethnicity of the father or of the mother in accordance with customs, or upon agreement between the parents.
   
   

2. A major has the right to request that the competent State authorities re-determine his/her ethnicity in the following cases:

a) Re-determining the major's ethnicity following that of the major's father or mother in case the father and the mother have different ethnicities.

b) Re-determining the major's ethnicity following that of his/her biological parents' ethnicity in case the major has been adopted by parents having a different ethnicity.

Article 31: Individuals' rights regarding picture

1. An individual has the right regarding his/her own picture.
   
   

2. The use of any individual's pictures must be agreed to by such individual; the use of picture of a deceased person or of a person incapable of performing civil actions must be agreed to by the person's relatives, except in cases otherwise provided for by law.

Article 32: Right to have one's life, health and body protected

1. An individual has the right to have his/her life, health and body protected.
   
   

2. No one shall infringe upon the life, health and body of other person.
   
   

3. People discovering that a person has an accident or an illness that threatens the latter's life, shall be responsible for bringing the person to a medical institution; public, collective and private medical institutions shall not refuse the treatment and shall use all measures and capacities to cure the person.
   
   

4. The application of a new medical treatment on the body of, the giving of anaesthesia to, the operation on, and/or the cutting or transplanting of an organ in the body of a person shall be agreed to by that person; if the person in question is a minor or is incapable of performing civil actions or is an unconscious patient, the above shall be agreed to by the person's parents, guardian or relatives; in case of urgency that threatens the life of the patient in which the opinions of the person's parents, guardian or relatives cannot be obtained immediately, a decision of the head of the medical institution where the person is treated is required.
   
   

5. The operation on the dead body of a person shall only be carried out upon clear consent thereto by the person when he/she was alive; in the case there was no opinion of the deceased person, there must be the consent of the deceased person's parents, guardian or relatives. The operation on a dead body can also be carried out in accordance with a decision of the competent State authorities.

Article 33: Right of protection of one's honour, dignity, and prestige

1. The honour, dignity and prestige of an individual shall be respected and shall be protected by law.
   
   

2. No one shall offend the honour, dignity, and prestige of others

Article 34: Right of privacy

1. Right of an individual's privacy shall be respected and shall be protected by law.
   
   

2. The collection and publishing of information and personal data concerning the private life of a person must be agreed to by that person or by the latter's relatives in case the person has died or is incapable of performing civil actions, except in cases where the collection and publishing of information and/or personal data are carried out by the competent State authorities in accordance with the provisions of law.
   
   

3. No one shall arbitrarily open, keep or destroy letters, telegrams, or shall eavesdrop on telephone conversations of others, or shall, by other actions, prevent or obstruct the communication line of others.

   Only in cases provided for by the law and with the order of competent State authorities can surveillance of letters, telephones, or telegrams of an individual be carried out.

Article 35: Right to marriage

Marriage shall be based on the principle of monogamy.

Men and women meeting the requirements provided for by the law on marriage and the family have the right to a free marriage; neither party shall compel or defraud another party; no one shall obstruct a voluntary, and progressive marriage or force people to be married.

The free marriage between people of different nationalities and religions, and between religious people and non-religious people shall be respected and shall be protected by law.

Article 36: Equal rights between spouses

The wife and the husband are equal; they have equal rights and obligations in all respects in their family and in civil transactions; together they build a well provided for, strong, harmonious and happy family.

Article 37. Right to enjoy the care of members of family

Members of a family have the right to enjoy the care of and help from one another in conformity with the good moral traditions of the Vietnamese family.

Children and grandchildren who are minors shall enjoy the care and support of their parents, grandfathers and grandmothers children and grandchildren have the duty to respect, take of and support their parents, grandfathers and grandmothers.

Article 38: Right to divorce

A wife or a husband or both have the right to request the court to terminate their marriage upon having legitimate reasons therefor.

Article 39: Right to recognize or not to recognize parents or children

1. A person who is not recognized to be the father, mother or the child of another person, has the right to request that the competent State authorities determine that that person be the father, the mother or the child of another person in accordance with the law on marriage and the family and the law on civil status.
   
   

2. A person who has been determined to be the father, mother or the child of another person, has the right to request the competent State authorities to determine that that person is not the father, mother or the child of another person in accordance with the law on marriage and the family and/or the law on civil status.

Article 40: Right to adopt children and to be adopted children

A person's right to adopt children and to be an adopted child shall be recognized and protected by law.

The adoption of children and becoming an adopted child shall be carried out in accordance with the conditions, orders and procedures provided for by the law on marriage and the family, and the law on civil status.

Article 41: Right to citizenship

Every individual has the right to citizenship.

The recognition, change, naturalization, and renunciation of Vietnamese citizenship shall be carried out in accordance with the conditions, orders, and procedures provided for by the law on citizenship.

Article 42: Right to a secure place of residence

An individual has the right to an inviolable place of residence.

Entry into the place of residence of a person must be agreed to by that person.

No one shall enter the place of residence of another person contrary to the latter's wish. Only in cases provided for by law and with the order of the competent State authority can the investigation of a persons place of residence be conducted; the investigation must be carried out in accordance with the orders and procedures provided for by law.

Article 43: Right to freedom of belief and religion

1. An individual has the right to a freedom of belief and religion, and the right to follow or not follow a religion.
   
   

2. No one shall infringe upon the freedom of belief and/or religion of others, or misuse one's belief or religion to infringe upon the interests of the State, public interests, or the legitimate rights and interest of others.

Article 44. Right to free movement and residence

1. An individual has the right to freedom of movement and residence in accordance with the provisions of law. The movement and selection of place of residence of an individual are decided by the individual in conformity with his/her own needs, capacity and situation.
   
   

2. The right of an individual to freedom of movement and place of residence shall only be restricted by a decision of the competent State authorities and in accordance with the orders and procedures provided for by law.

Article 45: Right to work

An individual has the right to work.

Every person has the right to work, to freely choose jobs and professions without being discriminated against on the basis of sex, nationality, social levels, belief or religion.

Article 46: Right to freedom of business

The right to freedom of business of an individual shall be respected and shall be protected by law.

Individuals have the right to choose the forms, areas and fields of their business, to establish business enterprises, to freely enter into contracts, and to hire employees, and have other rights which are in conformity with the provisions of law.

Article 47: Right to freedom of creation

1. An individual has the right to freedom of creation, scientific and technical research, invention, discovery and initiative to improve the techniques and rationalization of production; has the right to create and criticize literature and art works, and to participate in other cultural activities with a view to developing creativity according to his/her own abilities and strengths.
   
   

2. The right to freedom of creation shall be respected and shall be protected by law. No one shall obstruct or restrict the right to creation of individuals.
   
   

3. The State recognizes and protects the ownership of intellectual products.

(…)

Article 51: Place of residence of spouses

The place of residence of the husband and wife is the place where they reside together and shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of Article 48 of this Code.

A husband and a wife may have separate places of residence upon agreement.

(…)

Section 4

CIVIL STATUS

Article 54: Registration of civil status

1. The registration of civil status is an activity in which a competent State authority certifies births, deaths, marriages, divorces, guardianships, adoptions, changes in family names, forename, citizenship, determination of nationality, corrections of errors in civil status, and other events provided for by the law on civil status.
   
   

2. The registration of civil status is the right and obligation of every person
   
   

3. The registration of civil status shall be carried out in accordance with processes and procedures provided for by the law on civil status.

Article 55: Certification of birth

1. Every infant, regardless of having been born to legally married or unmarried parents, shall have the right to have his/her birth certified. The family name of the infant is the family name of the father or mother in accordance with custom or upon agreement by the parents. In case the father of the infant cannot be determined the family name of the infant shall be that of the mother.
   
   

2. A father, mother, or relatives must certify the birth of their infant in accordance with the provisions of the law on civil status.

Article 56: Certification of birth for children abandoned at birth

1. Persons who discover an infant abandoned at birth must protect the infant, his/her clothes and other things found together with the infant, and immediately report the same to the People's Committee of the village, ward, or town, or the nearest police station in order to find a person or organization to take care of the infant.
   
   

2. Individuals or organizations which take care of the infant must have the infant's birth certified pursuant to the law on civil status.
   
   

3. The date of birth of the infant is the date on which he/she was found, if there is no evidence on another date of birth of that infant.

Article 57: Registration of marriage

1. Marriages shall be registered at the competent State authority in accordance with the procedures provided for by law; all other marriage ceremonies shall not be legally valid.
   
   

2. In case a man or a woman, or both the man and the woman do not meet the requirements to be married pursuant to the provisions of the law on marriage and the family, the State authority competent to register marriages shall refuse the registration of the marriage and shall give reasons therefor; if the person whose marriage has been refused does not agree with the refusal, he/she can appeal the matter to the competent State authorities.
   
   

3. Spouses who have been divorced, but remarry, must also register their marriage.

Article 58: Registration of guardianship

A guardianship shall be registered at the People's Committee of the village, ward, or town of the place of residence of the person being the guardian, or that of the headquarters of the agency or organization being the guardian.

Article 59: Registration of the adoption of children

The adoption of a child must be registered and adoption procedures must be completed at the competent State authority in accordance with the provisions of the law on marriage and the family and the law on civil status.

Article 60: Certification of death

1. When a person dies, a relative, the head of the household, or the head of the agency or organization where the person died must have the death of the person declared.
   
   

2. If a newly born child dies after birth, the birth and the death must be registered; if the child dies before or at birth, birth and death shall not be required to be declared.
   
   

3. The registration of death shall be carried out at a competent State authority, in accordance with the law on civil status.

(…)

Chapter IV

FAMILY HOUSEHOLDS AND COOPERATIVE GROUPS

Section 1

FAMILY HOUSEHOLDS

Article 116: Family households

1. Family households, the members of which have common assets for common economic activities regarding the use of land, agricultural, forestry and fish production activities, and activities in other fields of production and business which are provided for by law, shall be parties in civil relations.
   
   

2. Family households which have been given residential land for use shall also be the parties in civil relations in connection with the land.

Article 117: Representatives of family households

1. The head of a family household is its representative in civil transactions for the common benefit of the household. The father, mother, or another member of the family who is a major can be the head of the family household.

   The head of a household may authorize another member who is a major to be the representative of the family household to participate in civil transactions.
   
   

2. Civil transactions established and executed by the representative of a family household for the common benefits of the household shall give rise to the establishment of rights and obligations for the whole family household.

Article 118: Common property of family households

Common property of a family household shall be the property which the members of the household create together, or is given to the whole household, and other property which the members agreed to be the common property of the household.

The legitimate right to use land of a family household shall also be the common property of the family household.

Article 119: Civil responsibility of family households

1. Family households shall bear responsibility regarding the fulfilment of civil rights and obligations established by the representative of the family household on the latter's behalf.
   
   

2. A family household shall bear civil responsibility by utilizing the common property of the entire household; if the common property of the family household is not sufficient to cover the common obligations of the household, the members of the household shall bear joint responsibility by utilizing each member's separate property.