Legal Basis for International Integration in the Field of Science and Technology

development. Realizing the necessity of international economic integration for national development, most countries actively expand international cooperation in various forms and levels.

In that context, international integration in science and technology has become an indispensable element in foreign policy and science and technology development policy of each country and an important component in international economic integration, a development trend, a form of relationship between partners in the world.

Nowadays, international relations in science and technology are both cooperative and competitive, so in essence international cooperation is a manifestation of international integration, aiming at the following goals:

- Science and Technology Development: This requires countries, organizations and individuals to cooperate and link up to conduct joint research to mobilize more resources, shorten time and reduce costs;

- Strengthening role and influence: International and regional organizations implement science and technology cooperation policies not only to help developing countries but also to strengthen their role and influence;

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- Expanding production, expanding markets and increasing profits: Developed countries and transnational corporations expand cooperation to maintain and enhance their monopoly positions, to expand production, expand markets and increase profits;

- Enhance competitiveness: Foreign investors must train a team of science and technology staff, skilled workers and transfer technology to the host country. Developing countries must prepare resources, strengthen facilities and techniques for research and training, improve information and telecommunications infrastructure, adjust legal regulations... to pursue this goal.

The trend of establishing international cooperation forms in science and technology is becoming popular with the participation of many companies and countries in fields such as electrical equipment, information technology and telecommunications, chemicals, transportation equipment, space research, oceanography, environment and other high-tech fields. The above cooperation is often evaluated through key indicators such as:

The growth rate of inflows and outflows of foreign direct investment; the increasing number of laboratories, research and development centers invested by foreign countries or joint ventures; the formation on an international scale of strategic alliances on technology including large companies from Japan, the US and Western Europe; the exchange or circulation of many researchers, engineers, technicians as well as the implementation of more and more joint research projects with international co-authorship on science and technology, etc. The mergers, joint ventures and associations between a number of large companies with international operations in recent times affirm the trend of increasing cooperation and internationalization in the fields of production; scientific research and technological development to improve capacity and competitiveness in the international market.

For developing countries, international integration in science and technology is a driving force to promote domestic science and technology activities to effectively exploit the world's science and technology achievements, attract foreign resources and technology to improve and develop the level of domestic science and technology, contribute to the implementation of strategic goals of socio-economic development and gradually integrate into the world's knowledge economy.

Although the level, scope, and form of international integration are very different among countries, among fields, and among stages of development, the general trend is that countries are trying to promote international integration in general and international integration in science and technology in particular, in sync with international integration in the economic and trade fields. In other words, promoting international integration in general and international integration in science and technology in particular has become an irreversible trend [6, 18].

Over time, with the continuous development and growth of Vietnam's science and technology, the level, scope and form of international integration of our country in science and technology will be increasingly expanded, diversified and more effective. And of course, the issue that needs to be resolved is to continue to perfect the international and national legal basis for the process of promoting and improving the effectiveness of international integration in science and technology.

In short, international cooperation in science and technology is constantly developing and integrating.

Internationalization and globalization of science and technology have become irreversible trends. The benefits of the process of international cooperation, integration, internationalization and globalization of science and technology are clear and enormous if we know how to exploit and take advantage of them. It will be an immeasurable loss if we stay out of this process. The problem is to choose the appropriate form, level and scale of participation in this process in each stage to gain the most benefits and minimize negative impacts. It is not by chance that countries with stronger science and technology than us such as the US, Canada, Europe, Russia, Japan, China, Korea, etc. are still constantly promoting their international cooperation and integration in science and technology.

1.2. Legal basis for international integration in the field of science and technology

Vietnam's international integration in science and technology is carried out on a solid legal basis, which is international treaties to which Vietnam is a member and Vietnam's national legal regulations.

1.2.1. International treaties and agreements in the field of science and technology

To date, Vietnam has had scientific and technological cooperation with nearly 70 countries, international organizations and territories. More than 80 scientific and technological cooperation agreements at the Government and ministerial levels have been signed and are being implemented. Vietnam has become a member of nearly 100 international and regional organizations on science and technology [2, 40].

In addition, there are many international agreements on/related to science and technology that have been signed between agencies such as the National Assembly, agencies of the National Assembly, agencies assisting the National Assembly, the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuracy, the State Audit, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, agencies under the Government, People's Councils, People's Committees of provinces and centrally run cities, central agencies of socio-political organizations, socio-political-professional organizations, social organizations, socio-professional organizations with foreign partners.

The above-mentioned agreements and conventions have created a legal framework for cooperation activities between Vietnam and partner countries in science and technology. International treaties and agreements on/related to science and technology are all negotiated, signed, joined and implemented in accordance with the provisions of current laws of Vietnam.

Vietnam on signing and implementing international treaties and international agreements.

We can clearly see the specific results of international integration in science and technology within the framework of signed agreements that have contributed to improving the country's capacity in many different fields of Vietnam such as: applying atomic energy for peaceful purposes, serving the nuclear power program; proactively proposing the establishment of joint laboratories and joint scientific centers or foreign ones in Vietnam or Vietnamese ones in other countries; joint research cooperation within the framework of protocols (implemented since 2003) with many results applied in practice, contributing to improving the national science and technology capacity; academic exchanges and exchanges on science and technology within the region and internationally have been promoted more than before. Vietnam has proactively hosted and successfully organized many international conferences and seminars on science and technology attracting the participation of many prestigious scientists and scholars in the world. A network of Vietnamese science and technology representatives has been established in a number of key areas, initially opening up many channels of cooperation in science and technology with foreign countries, supporting activities of searching and transferring technology from foreign countries to Vietnam, etc. [11, 16]

1.2.2. Provisions of national law on international integration in the field of science and technology

The issue of international integration in the field of science and technology has long been stipulated in Vietnamese legal documents. The system of legal documents containing regulations on international integration in the field of science and technology includes:

- Constitution 2013;

- Law on Science and Technology 2013;

- Law on Intellectual Property 2005 (amended and supplemented in 2009);

- Law on Technology Transfer 2006;

- Law on technical standards and regulations 2006;

- Law on product and goods quality 2007;

- Atomic Energy Law 2008;

- Law on High Technology 2008;

- Law on Measurement 2011;

- Government and Prime Minister documents guiding the implementation of the Law on Science and Technology; Law on Intellectual Property; Law on Technology Transfer; Law on Technical Standards and Regulations; Law on Product and Goods Quality; Law on Atomic Energy; Law on High Technology, Law on Measurement;

- Documents at the ministerial and sectoral levels guiding the implementation of laws (in cases where laws are directly assigned to ministries and sectors), guiding the implementation of documents at the Government and Prime Minister levels on science and technology mentioned above.

- Codes, laws, ordinances in the economic and social fields and documents at the Government, Prime Minister, Ministry and sector levels guiding the implementation of these codes, laws, and ordinances have provisions on/related to scientific and technological activities.

- Laws and ordinances have provisions on signing and implementing international treaties and international agreements on/related to scientific and technological activities.

All of the above documents create a national legal framework for international integration activities in science and technology.

Thus, our country's international integration activities in science and technology have had basic national and international legal bases for implementation. However, the current issue is to continue to improve these legal bases to ensure the feasibility of regulations and gradually upgrade the content of regulations in the process of application to international integration practices.

With the aim of continuing to improve the legal basis for Vietnam's international integration in the field of science and technology, the thesis will focus on analyzing, evaluating, pointing out the advantages as well as the shortcomings that still exist in national legal regulations (vertically in the system of documents from the Constitution, Law, Decree, Circular) and evaluating the international legal basis.

(international treaties, international agreements). On that basis, the thesis will propose some suitable solutions to remove obstacles in the process of implementing integration regulations.

1.3. Experience of some countries in building a legal basis to regulate international integration issues in the field of science and technology

1.3.1. Group of developed countries

As presented in Chapter I, international cooperation and integration, globalization of science and technology have become inevitable trends like international integration, globalization of economy and other fields. All the great powers as well as countries that are not great powers in science and technology cannot stand outside this process.

Developed countries, on the one hand, apply many measures in which they have advantages to further promote their S&T development, such as increasing investment from the state budget for S&T, strongly encouraging enterprises, organizations and individuals to invest in S&T, strengthening the construction and modernization of material and technical facilities and training, attracting S&T human resources, especially focusing on key technology and high-tech fields (practice shows that S&T powers have many effective measures to attract foreign S&T scientists such as paying high salaries, creating the most open and favorable working environment for creative activities, etc.), on the other hand, they also ensure the legal basis to promote cooperation with foreign countries, including developing countries, even promoting the internationalization of S&T research in all forms to exploit the advantages brought by this process to serve their own interests in the process of internationalization and globalization. economic, commercial [5, 18].

The greatest experience in the legal policies for science and technology development of countries, especially developed countries, including emerging countries, is to have correct and clear legal policies and strategies, correctly identify priorities, key points, and bottlenecks to create breakthroughs, correctly identify the technological roadmap; take development as the first priority.

Developing science and technology as the basis and driving force, the foundation for socio-economic development, originating from the requirements of production and business practices, directly and closely linked to production and business; investing with focus and high efficiency, especially focusing on training and capacity building, attracting and effectively using the science and technology human resources; highly socialized science and technology activities, creating an open legal environment, the most favorable working environment for the science and technology human resources; having an organizational apparatus and measures to implement legal policies and strategies that are extremely resolute, drastic and highly effective. It is important to focus on developing well the endogenous capacity of science and technology in order to be able to promote international integration in science and technology and exploit the benefits brought about by international integration in science and technology.

The experience of developed countries in building legal policies for international integration in science and technology is to always attach importance to and strongly promote this field to fully exploit the advantages brought about by international integration in science and technology. The forms and contents of integration must be regulated in a rich and diverse manner, suitable for each partner and specific circumstances. They pay special attention and are very successful in attracting highly qualified science and technology human resources, both their own citizens abroad and foreign scientists and technologists, to their side to solve the problem of science and technology development; promptly elevate international cooperation in science and technology to international integration, and timely and timely globalization of science and technology [5, 23].

One of the forms of international integration and also the solution for developing science and technology of developed countries, especially the United States, is to build legal policies to attract scientists around the world to work for them in many different forms.

1.3.1.1. In the US

International integration in science and technology is an important part of U.S. science and technology policy and legislation. In 2000, the National Science Office stated, “U.S. participation in international science and technology partnerships and collaborations is increasingly important as a means of keeping up with advanced research.”

and important new discoveries in science and technology".

The United States recognizes that the development of the scientific enterprise is a cross-border activity. Researchers seek the best partners they can find regardless of national borders. Many scientific inquiries also require international integration to pool appropriate data, materials, equipment, and scientific instruments and to share funding. In addition, international integration of research and development contributes to the dissemination of knowledge to improve the health and economic well-being of societies as well as international credibility [4, 45].

Currently, about 60 percent of total U.S. research and development funding comes from the private sector. Outside of the private sector, funding for U.S. researchers, especially in basic research, comes from federal research and development programs, as well as federal research and development appropriations to the NSF, DOD, DOE, and NIH. Most funding goes directly to U.S. scientists on the merits of their proposals. Some federal programs have clear international integration. For example, the NSF-Korea Science and Technology Foundation (KOSEF) Scientific Integration Program aims to enhance collaboration between the United States and Korea.

Funding from agencies for international integration also supports their domestic research and development missions, supports agencies in their operations, or performs other government tasks, such as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. However, mission-oriented and mission-oriented S&T funding is difficult to track because these funding sources are not organized and identified separately in the Federal budget.

Finally, the United States negotiates and concludes formal and informal agreements for international integration in science and technology. Most of these agreements are bilateral agreements between the United States and another country, and some agreements support multinational research and development. The topics of these agreements cover a wide range of science and technology areas identified in the objectives. However, some international science and technology agreements are never fully implemented due to lack of funding from one or more of the signatories [4, 45].

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