Institutional breakthroughs go beyond simply making and amending laws.

When we talk about institutional breakthroughs, we often immediately think of enacting or amending laws, or removing overlaps in mechanisms and policies. That's true, but perhaps still not enough.

In reality, despite sharing a common legal system, development results vary significantly between localities. In some areas, businesses are increasingly attracted, procedures are processed quickly, and the investment environment is favorable. However, in other areas, even with similar policies, investors remain hesitant due to delays, a tendency to avoid responsibility, or a lack of support from the implementing agencies.

This difference shows that the strength of institutions lies in both the legal texts themselves and how society and its operational mechanisms enforce those regulations in practice.

Nobel Prize-winning economist Douglass North once called institutions the "rules of the game in society." According to this approach, institutions encompass not only laws and enforcement mechanisms, but also behavioral norms, cultural practices, social beliefs, and a sense of responsibility that govern human relationships.

In other words, alongside the "hard" part of the legal system, there exists a "soft" or "informal" part of the institution, such as: public service culture, social ethics, spirit of service, sense of compliance, and the behavior of subjects in society.

The "soft" aspect of institutions is often just as important as the "hard" legal framework. This is quite evident in the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) rankings. The gap between the top-ranked and bottom-ranked localities doesn't entirely lie in differences in legislation, but often in the attitude towards serving businesses, the sense of responsibility of officials, the ability to coordinate between agencies, and the level of transparency in handling work.

This is particularly thought-provoking as our country enters a new phase of development with demands for high, sustainable growth and increasingly fierce competition. In this process, the biggest obstacle is sometimes not the lack of laws, but the quality of enforcement, policy stability, market confidence, and governance culture.

It is no coincidence that recently, the Party and State have continuously emphasized the need to build a team of cadres who dare to think, dare to act, and dare to take responsibility for the common good; to build a culture of public service and public service ethics; and at the same time, to focus on building national values, cultural values, and standards for Vietnamese people in the new era. This is precisely to strengthen the "soft institutional" foundation for development.

When the system operates transparently, professionally, and responsibly; when citizens and businesses feel a spirit of service rather than a control-oriented management mindset; and when society values ​​honesty, discipline, and respect for commitments, then transaction costs will decrease significantly, resources will be freed up more effectively, and confidence in development will be strengthened more sustainably.

Of course, emphasizing the role of social norms does not mean downplaying the role of law or allowing custom to override law. In a modern rule-of-law state, law still holds the supreme position, serving as the foundation for ensuring fairness, unity, and social order.

However, it is also necessary to recognize that, no matter how perfect the law may be, it cannot completely replace social ethics, the culture of enforcement, and the sense of human responsibility. A system only operates effectively when, alongside legal regulations, there is also a culture of action. A society only develops sustainably when, alongside control mechanisms, there is also self-awareness and trust.

Therefore, reform does not stop at amending or enacting more legal documents. More importantly, it is about building a synchronized institutional ecosystem in which transparent laws go hand in hand with a modern enforcement culture; effective state management goes hand in hand with a spirit of service; and legal discipline goes hand in hand with social responsibility and public service ethics.

This will be the foundation for major policies to be implemented, for laws to be both correct on paper and effective in practice, and for institutional breakthroughs to truly become the driving force for national development in the new era.

Source: https://daibieunhandan.vn/dot-pha-the-che-khong-dung-o-lam-luat-sua-luat-10416349.html