When a university develops based on academic quality and standards, scientific research is no longer merely a supporting activity for education. It becomes one of the important criteria reflecting the capacity of its academic staff, the quality of knowledge produced, and its ability to contribute to society. At Ho Chi Minh City University of Law (ULAW), research activities in recent years have shown clear development in terms of scale, quality, and international integration.
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According to the University’s compiled list of international publications, the 2022 to 2024 period recorded 82 publications, corresponding to 82 works with non-duplicate titles. In addition to traditional fields such as civil law, criminal law, commercial law, arbitration, and intellectual property, ULAW lecturers have expanded their research into emerging topics including artificial intelligence, personal data, blockchain, finance, management, energy, the environment, and sustainable development.
This growth continued during the 2025 to 2026 academic year, when ULAW academics published 69 articles indexed in Web of Science and Scopus, together with 12 other international publications. During the same period, the University’s researchers published 230 domestic articles, 15 monographs, and organized or co-organized 9 national scientific conferences and 5 international conferences. These figures show that scientific research has become one of the key pillars of the University’s development.
In the field of arbitration and international trade, a series of French-language studies by Prof. Dr Đỗ Văn Đại, Vice Rector and Editor-in-Chief of the Vietnamese Journal of Legal Sciences at Ho Chi Minh City University of Law, focuses on the enforceability of arbitral awards, the civil liability of arbitrators, the application of the 1980 Vienna Convention in Vietnam, and legal reform relating to security measures. These studies not only adopt a comparative law approach but also contribute to bringing Vietnam’s legal experience to international academic forums.
Prof. Dr. Đỗ Văn Đại, Vice Rector of the Ho Chi Minh City University of Law (ULAW) and Editor-in-Chief of the Vietnamese Journal of Legal Sciences, has published a series of French-language studies on arbitration and international trade, contributing to the dissemination of Vietnam’s legal scholarship in international academic forums
In the field of competition law, Assoc. Prof. Dr Hà Thị Thanh Bình, Dean of the Faculty of Commercial Law at ULAW, is the author of the study “Developments in the Extraterritorial Application of Vietnamese Competition Law, Grab's Acquisition of Uber's Southeast Asia Operation”, published in IIC, International Review of Intellectual Property and Competition Law, a Scopus Q1 journal. Based on Grab’s acquisition of Uber’s Southeast Asian operations, the study examines the extraterritorial application of Vietnamese competition law and suggests directions for improving merger control mechanisms in the context of increasingly cross-border business activities.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hà Thị Thanh Bình, Dean of the Faculty of Commercial Law at ULAW, conducted research on Grab’s acquisition of Uber in Southeast Asia, contributing to both the theoretical development and the practical application of Vietnamese competition law in the context of cross-border business activities
In the field of criminal justice, Assoc. Prof. Dr Lê Huỳnh Tấn Duy, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Criminal Law at ULAW, published the article “Spousal Testimonial Privilege in Dealing with Domestic Violence Cases: A Comparative Analysis of the United States and Vietnamese Legal Frameworks” in The International Journal of Evidence & Proof, a Scopus Q1 journal. The study clarifies legal issues related to spousal testimonial privilege and proposes directions for improving the law in order to balance the protection of marital relationships with the protection of victims in domestic violence cases.
From a comparative perspective on the legal systems of the United States and Vietnam, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Lê Huỳnh Tấn Duy, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Criminal Law at ULAW, proposes improvements to the legal framework governing spousal testimonial privilege, seeking to strike a balance between the protection of marriage and the protection of victims of domestic violence
ULAW’s research activities have also expanded strongly into the fields of management and technology. Assoc. Prof. Dr Cao Minh Trí, Dean of the Faculty of Management at ULAW, together with his co-authors, published the study “Factors Affecting Artificial Intelligence (AI) Adoption in the Talent Acquisition Process: The Case of Vietnam's Medium-Sized Firms” in the Journal of Asia Business Studies, a Scopus Q2 journal. Using data from Vietnamese enterprises, the study analyses the factors affecting the adoption of artificial intelligence in talent acquisition, reflecting the growing connection between management studies and digital transformation.
Responding to the accelerating digital transformation, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Cao Minh Trí, Dean of the Faculty of Business Administration at ULAW, examines the factors influencing the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in recruitment practices among Vietnamese enterprises
At the same time, many ULAW lecturers continue to expand their research into global issues. Dr Hồ Hoàng Gia Bảo and Dr Lê Hoàng Phong, together with lecturers from the Faculty of Management, contributed to the study “Government Expenditure and Sustainable Development in Emerging Markets: The Role of Institutional Quality”, published in the Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, a Scopus Q1 journal.
MA Ngô Nguyễn Thảo Vy and MA Nguyễn Xuân Mỹ Hiền, lecturers from the Faculty of International Law, are co-authors of the study “The Quest of Balancing Data Regulatory Autonomy and International Commitments, Assessing the Impact of the General Agreement on Trade in Services and European Union, Vietnam Free Trade Agreement on Vietnam”, published in the European Yearbook of International Economic Law.
Meanwhile, Dr Nguyễn Thị Kim Anh, lecturer at the Faculty of International Law, published the study “Understanding of Hydropower Development in the Greater Mekong: A Sustainable Pathway or an Unacceptable Cost?” in the Vietnamese Journal of Legal Sciences in 2024. The study examines hydropower development in the Greater Mekong from the perspective of sustainable development, with a focus on transboundary environmental impacts, energy security, and water governance.
These studies show that ULAW’s research activities are increasingly expanding into areas such as the digital economy, data, the environment, energy, and global governance.
From left to right: Dr. Hồ Hoàng Gia Bảo, Dr. Lê Hoàng Phong, M.L. Ngô Nguyễn Thảo Vy, M.L. Nguyễn Xuân Mỹ Hiền, and Dr. Nguyễn Thị Kim Anh. Their research reflects ULAW’s growing interdisciplinary orientation, addressing global issues such as sustainable development, governance, data regulation, international trade, the environment, and energy.
ULAW students are also gradually becoming involved in international publication activities. In 2025, the University approved 491 student scientific research projects, of which 310 were completed on schedule. Notably, Trần Vân Anh and Huỳnh Thị Ngọc Nhi, students of class CLC46E, are co-authors of the study “Blockchain-Based Electronic Voting: Lessons from Estonia”. Student participation in international publications demonstrates that scientific research is being developed from the undergraduate level, with support from lecturers and research groups.
These achievements are supported by an increasingly comprehensive system of policies to encourage research. Since 2023, ULAW has introduced regulations governing rewards for international publications, based on publication quality and the level of contribution by individual authors. Under this policy, some works published in Scopus Q1 journals may receive rewards of up to VND 100 million.
Alongside this, the University has organized activities to strengthen research capacity, share experience in academic publishing, develop research groups, and expand cooperation with universities, research institutes, and international partners.
The University’s academic publishing infrastructure has also continued to improve. The Vietnamese Journal of Legal Sciences currently includes Vietnamese-language, English-language, and social sciences and economics publications, while its online platform operates in Vietnamese, English, and French. In particular, the Vietnamese Journal of Legal Sciences has been accepted for inclusion in the Scopus database, helping to expand the international reach of ULAW’s research.
The English-language edition of the Tạp chí Khoa học Pháp lý Việt Nam, has been accepted for inclusion in the Scopus database
These achievements show that scientific research at ULAW has not only increased in terms of publication volume, but has also expanded into new areas, improved in quality, and become more internationally integrated. With a strong foundation in legal studies, the development of interdisciplinary research, and coordinated investment in research and academic publishing, ULAW is gradually affirming its position as a research-oriented university.
Through these efforts, ULAW continues to provide a scientific basis for the development of policies and laws, while strengthening the presence of Vietnamese academic research in international academic forums.
Produced by: Department of Communications and Corporate Relation