Abstract

A regulatory sandbox provides a legally defined environment in which new technologies, products, services, and business models may be tested within specified limits. This article examines the development and initial achievements of Vietnam’s legal framework for regulatory sandboxes, with particular emphasis on the 2025 Law on Science, Technology and Innovation and relevant sector-specific regulations. The findings indicate that Vietnamese law has established a general regulatory framework, broadened the scope of application, and taken initial steps toward a risk-based regulatory approach. Nevertheless, several legal issues remain to be clarified, particularly the relationship between the general legal framework and sector-specific sandbox mechanisms, the scope of legal exemptions, the limits of acceptable risk, legal liability, and the legal treatment of outcomes following the testing period. On this basis, the article proposes directions for further improving the legal framework to enhance its consistency, transparency, flexibility, and adaptability.

Keywords: Innovation, regulatory sandbox, risk governance, science, technology, Vietnamese law.