Human Rights of Vietnamese People from Hong Duc Code to Gia Long Code (Ho Chi Minh City General Publishing House) is a work by two lawyers, Truong Thi Hoa and Phan Dang Thanh, lecturers in charge of the subject of History of Vietnamese State and Law at several universities in Ho Chi Minh City.
The book consists of 5 chapters: Chapter I and Chapter II learn about the Hong Duc Code; Chapter III and IV about the Gia Long Code; Chapter V - need to be fair with the Gia Long Code
Through the research process, the two authors found that in the Hong Duc Code of the Later Le Dynasty (1428 - 1789), there were many provisions on human rights that are now known as civil, political rights and economic, social and cultural rights recognized by modern international law. Afterwards, the Nguyen Dynasty (1802 - 1945) continued to preserve and develop these human rights to govern and manage their country.
This book shows that from the beginning of the 15th century, in our country, the people of Dai Viet initially had equal rights between men and women, husbands and wives, and even between nuns and monks. The elderly, women, children, the disabled, widows, and those who were unfortunate/naturally affected by misfortune/disasters... all had the right to be cared for and supported by the state and society. In some cases, women had the right to break off marriage or divorce their husbands. People who sued each other or against officials had the right to a fair trial. Especially from the second half of the 15th century, the Vietnamese people had the right to elect village chiefs in charge of the grassroots government.
The right to social security - the right of the unfortunate and disadvantaged in society is expressed in the Hong Duc Code.
By the early 19th century, the Nguyen Dynasty continued to inherit that tradition, many human rights of the Vietnamese people were further developed, such as the people had the right to express their opinions, pregnant women who committed serious crimes and were imprisoned had to have a midwife come in to examine and take care of them... or the Tam Phap Ty agency and Dang Van drum were established by the Nguyen Dynasty to help people appeal for justice...
When introducing the book Human Rights of the Vietnamese from the Hong Duc Code to the Gia Long Code, historian Nguyen Dinh Dau said that the authors spent a lot of time collecting documents, comparing the original codes and different comments over a long period of time. The authors' conclusion is that the Hong Duc Code - Later Le Dynasty is worthy of being considered the first human rights code of the Vietnamese people, worthy of being ranked among the world 's typical ancient codes on human rights; and the Gia Long Code - Nguyen Dynasty inherits and develops the human rights values of the Later Le Code, which is a cultural heritage of global stature that the Vietnamese ancestors worked hard to build and leave behind...
In addition, historian Nguyen Dinh Dau, as well as the authors of the book, also hope to receive contributions in the spirit of inquiry and exchange from scientists, readers... to "together clarify more aspects of an important issue that we have long debated". Because, according to historian Nguyen Dinh Dau, many previous researchers stated that Hoang Viet Luat Le (Gia Long Code of the Nguyen Dynasty) was just a copy of Dai Thanh Law of the Qing Dynasty at that time; but in this book, specifically in chapters III, IV, V, it is analyzed and evidenced to show that Gia Long Code not only inherits the human rights values of Hong Duc Code but also develops some traditional human rights at a higher level.
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