Issues Surrounding the Draft Law of Associations is a book reflecting open and straightforward opinions and comments contributed by a wide variety of actors from State departments, organizations and civil society sector throughout Vietnam since the draft Law in 2006. The book also embraces an evolutionary discussion of diverse social views towards a concept of 'Civil Society' which has long been regarded as 'sensitive' in the socio-political context of Vietnam. The concept of 'civil society' was initially expected to gain social acceptance and recognition since 1993 in the pursuit of the draft Law of Associations to be completed in 2006. However, the draft Law did not come out because of a last minute decision by legislative bodies to suspend it for further study at meeting session 10th, for comments as earlier expected at National Assembly XI in November, 2006. The topic/issues concerning the Law of Associations is not easy, given the concept of 'civil society' has not been properly understood nor officially recognized by the society. Secondly, the draft Law of Associations in 2006 has remained suspended up to now. Defining associations and how they are set up and governed has recently re-gained interests in the course of a stronger civil society movement and development in Vietnam. So when compiling this book, the editing team has tried to fully respect whatever happenings have occurred during this time and to genuinely re-capturing them, minimizing our own opinions. We hope to keep the book close to reality so as to provide the readers with a full and objective understanding of the social context and diverse contributions to the draft Law of Associations. We very much hope this book will be a valuable contribution to the current and upcoming legal discussion.