P. Y. TSVETOV Candidate of Historical Sciences Keywords: Vietnam, constitution, Parliament, human and civil rights Citizens of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV) celebrated the new year 2014 with a new Constitution. More precisely, with the new text of the Constitution of 1992, amended and supplemented at the session of the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in November 2013. But since 90% of the articles of the basic law have been altered, it should be recognized that this event is of particular importance for the development of the Vietnamese state and society. The work to change the Constitution has been going on for more than two years, and millions of Vietnamese have participated in it. However, it should not be assumed that the adoption of the amendments was fully approved by the deputies of the parliament, although the draft passed with 97% in favor. Serious discussions were held on many articles of the Constitution, and some proposals could have resulted in changes in principle. Thus, a proposal to change the official name of the state was discussed. Some considered it necessary to go back to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam proposed by Ho Chi Minh in 1945; others wanted to go even deeper into history and suggested naming the country as it was called by the emperors - Daivet. There were other proposals that hid, but poorly, the desire of their authors to deny Vietnam a socialist perspective. However, members of the Vietnamese parliament voted to keep the current name of the country - the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. MORE THAN FOUR CONSTITUTIONS To evaluate the current text, it is useful to present the process of Vietnam's constitutional development in historical retrospect. The first Constitution of Vietnam was adopted on November 8, 1946. By that time, a little over a year had passed since the declaration of independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, and therefore it is clear how important the provisions on the independ ... Read more