Unjust government laws

Vũ Quang Các, director general of the Department of Planning Management, under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, speaks to the Vietnam News Agency about some key new points in the latest draft of the Planning Law. Do you think that the draft Law on Planning will help eliminate the mechanism of “ask and give” in Việt Nam’s planning activities? Over the years, Việt Nam’s planning has revealed many weaknesses. As a result, it has weakened national economic development due to frequent changes in planning work and poor co-ordination among government agencies. At present our planning work is mainly based on the country’s master plan for socio-economic development, construction plan, land use plan, sector’s development plans and more. That approach has led to poor co-ordination between management agencies. It is high time for Việt Nam to renew its planning methods and planning contents based on an integrated, multi-disciplined approach. Of course, to have good planning, we … [Read more...] about No more “ask and give” in new law

Legislators yesterday urged the Government to ensure the draft Law on Support for Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) doesn't clash with other laws. — Photo baocongthuong.vn HÀ NỘI — Legislators yesterday provided the Government with feedback on the draft Law on Support for Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), urging the drafter to ensure it was consistent with other relevant legislation. With six chapters and 47 articles, the bill aims to enhance the efficiency of support for SMEs in line with market principles, while ensuring that it does not violate the country’s international commitments. It is also designed to create a legal framework to rally public support for the effort, the law drafting board said. During their fourth working session in Hà Nội, the National Assembly Standing Committee focused discussion on the necessity of the law. NA Chairwoman Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân was concerned about the compatibility between the bill and other laws, one of them … [Read more...] about Lawmakers assess draft law’s impact on SMEs

The National Assembly Standing Committee opened their 14 th session yesterday, with discussion centred on the draft Law on Special Administrative-Economic Units, which will be submitted to the National Assembly (NA) in October. — VNA/VNS Photo Trọng Đức HÀ NỘI — The National Assembly Standing Committee opened their 14 th session yesterday, with discussion centred on the draft Law on Special Administrative-Economic Units, which will be submitted to the National Assembly (NA) in October. NA Vice Chairman Uông Chu Lưu stressed that the law will cover all three of the country’s special administrative-economic zones– Vân Đồn (Quảng Ninh Province), Bắc Vân Phong (Khánh Hoà Province) and Phú Quốc (Kiên Giang Province). The Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyễn Chí Dũng said the goal of the draft is to create a legal framework for the establishment, development and management of the zones. The governments of these three zones, according to the draft, will be established … [Read more...] about NA Standing Committee gave directions on the draft Law on Special Economic Zone

National Assembly (NA) deputies on Wednesday agreed that it is necessary to make amendments to the Law on Trade Unions to better protect labourers working for private enterprises. — VNA/VNS Photo Phương Hoa HÀ NỘI — National Assembly (NA) deputies on Wednesday agreed that it is necessary to make amendments to the Law on Trade Unions to better protect labourers working for private enterprises. Deputy Phạm Minh Chính from Quảng Ninh Province said the number of private enterprises has increased, meaning the number of labourers working for the private sector is now higher than that of the State-owned sector. The current Law on Trade Unions focuses on protecting rights of State-owned enterprise labourers, but not so much for private sector labourers. The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership ( CPTPP) signed by Việt Nam and ten other countries allows labourers to establish their own organisations, which means trade unions will no … [Read more...] about NA reviews law on unions, education

A view of Cái Bàu Island in Quảng Ninh Province’s Vân Đồn District. The Government Office has announced to postpone the adoption of the draft law on Law on Special Administrative and Economic Units of Vân Đồn, Bắc Vân Phong and Phú Quốc until the next National Assembly session. — VNA/VNS Photo Minh Quyết Viet Nam News HÀ NỘI — The vote to approve the controversial draft Law on Special Administrative and Economic Units will be postponed until the sixth National Assembly session, to commence in October, instead of the on-going fifth. According to a special announcement released early on Saturday morning from the Government Office, the postponement aims to provide the Government with more time to study and complete debates on the draft law. The Law on Special Administrative and Economic Units of Vân Đồn, Bắc Vân Phong and Phú Quốc had been built carefully and elaborately to institutionalise Party resolutions and materialise the 2013 Constitution to create a legal … [Read more...] about Adoption of controversial draft law on special zones postponed

The Government Committee for Religious Affairs held a conference in Hà Nội yesterday to introduce the Law on Belief and Religion, and a decree stipulating a number of articles of the law and enforcement measures to ambassadors and representatives of diplomatic agencies in Hà Nội as well as domestic ministries and agencies.— VNA/VNS Photo Nguyễn Dân HÀ NỘI — The Government Committee for Religious Affairs held a conference in Hà Nội yesterday to introduce the Law on Belief and Religion, and a decree stipulating a number of articles of the law and enforcement measures to ambassadors and representatives of diplomatic agencies in Hà Nội as well as domestic ministries and agencies. Vũ Chiến Thắng, Head of the Government Committee for Religious Affairs, said that while considering belief and religion the demand of people, along with socio-economic development policies, Việt Nam has over the years created favourable conditions for religious activities of people, including foreigners … [Read more...] about Diplomats learn about religious law

If the Law on Planning is not passed during the next session of the National Assembly (NA), many opportunities would be missed, as the law relates to the establishment of a planning strategy for the next five years, NA Chairwoman Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân said at a meeting yesterday. — VNA/VNS Photo Nguyễn Dân HÀ NỘI – If the Law on Planning is not passed during the next session of the National Assembly (NA), many opportunities would be missed, as the law relates to the establishment of a planning strategy for the next five years, NA Chairwoman Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân said at a meeting yesterday. The NA Standing Committee (NASC) yesterday continued its session discussing the draft Law on Planning, which faces many differing opinions. The draft law, which has been reviewed by the NA in previous sessions, in principle met the demands of developing a legal framework regulating planning activities, said the NA Economic Committee Chairman Vũ Hồng Thanh. However, it needed to be revised … [Read more...] about NASC urges passing planning law

The National Assembly Standing Committee yesterday agreed to introduce a draft law on amending 13 planning-related laws to the agenda of next week’s National Assembly plenary meeting. — VNA/VNS Photo Trọng Đức HÀ NỘI — The National Assembly Standing Committee yesterday agreed to introduce a draft law on amending 13 planning-related laws to the agenda of next week’s National Assembly plenary meeting. The amendments are expected to make the laws match with the Law on Planning that the National Assembly approved last November, and will take effect next year. The 13 laws that are being suggested for amendments include the Law on Chemicals, the Law on Electricity, the Law on Food Safety, and others. According to Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyễn Chí Dũng, the proposed draft consists of 14 Articles, of which, 13 contain suggestions for amendments, while the other regulates law enforcement. If approved, the law would remove the need for development and investment … [Read more...] about 13 planning laws to be amended

Minister of Planning and Industry Nguyễn Chí Dũng speaks at the afternoon session of the National Assembly on Tuesday.– VNA/VNS Photo Trọng Đức HÀ NỘI – Minister of Planning and Industry Nguyễn Chí Dũng asked the National Assembly to review the draft of the amended Law of Public Investment on Tuesday afternoon. The draft law contains six chapters and 104 items and is expected to adjust some items of the original Law of Public Investment No 49/2014/QH13, which was dated June 18, 2014 and took effect in January 2015. “After three years of implementation, the Law of Public Investment has raised the efficiency of public investment and public capital use,” Dũng said. “It has helped government agencies become transparent in their use of State capital, pushed efforts to fight corruption and overspending and saved some budget expenses in civil procurement,” he said. However, Dũng said the existing law had room for improvement. The team that developed it lacked practical … [Read more...] about Draft law on public investment proposed

Việt Nam lacks necessary mechanisms to enforce provisions on bribery of foreign public officials and officials of international public organisations under the 2015 Penal Code, according to research conducted by Hà Nội Law University with support of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). — Photo vietnamnet.vn HÀ NỘI – Việt Nam lacks necessary mechanisms to enforce provisions on bribery of foreign public officials and officials of international public organisations under the 2015 Penal Code, according to research conducted by Hà Nội Law University with support of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The research provides case studies of laws and law enforcement efforts to curb bribery of foreign public officials in five countries – the US , the UK , South Korea , Japan and China - and applications for Việt Nam . These five selected countries criminalize bribery of foreign public officials. Sharing the research outcomes at a discussion in Hà … [Read more...] about VN must bolster anti-bribery laws