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| Residents in Ca Mau have been dependent on rainwater and groundwater for their daily activities and farming__Photo: VNA |
From the beginning of July, 10 laws passed by the 15th National Assembly come into force. These laws regulate credit institutions, personal identity, water resources, telecommunications, e-transactions, protection of consumer rights, price, the forces participating in the protection of security and order at the grassroots level, civil defense, and cooperatives.
Law on Water Resources
With 86 articles arranged in 10 chapters, the new Law on Water Resources provides the management, protection, regulation, distribution, restoration, development, extraction and use of water resources; and prevention, control and remediation of water-caused harms in Vietnam’s territory.
As per the Law, water resources include surface water, groundwater, rainwater and seawater. The Law does not govern groundwater under the sea and seawater within the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf of Vietnam, mineral water and natural thermal water.
Law on Credit Institutions
Compared to the law enacted in 2010, the new Law on Credit Institutions reduces the shareholding rate of an institutional shareholder in a credit institution from 15 percent to 10 percent to limit bank manipulation. A shareholder and his/her/its affiliated persons are not allowed to own over 15 percent of charter capital of a credit institution and may not hold 5 percent or more of charter capital of another credit institution.
As per the 210-article Law, a credit institution may not extend credit exceeding 10 percent of its equity to a customer, and 15 percent to a customer and his/her/its persons (against the current 15 percent and 25 percent, respectively). Commercial banks and foreign bank branches are now required to work out tentative plans on remediation of cases where they are subject to early intervention.
The Law also provides measures to handle non-performing loans and their collaterals of credit institutions, foreign bank branches and institutions with their charter capital wholly owned by the State that have the function of debt trading and handling.
Law on Telecommunications
Compared to the 2009 version (as revised in 2017 and 2018), the new Law on Telecommunications additionally specifies some new telecommunications services that can be provided in Vietnam’s territory, including Internet data center services, cloud computing services, and over-the-top services.
Worthy of note, the State does not impose restrictions on foreign holding rate for the provision of services in Vietnam. Businesses that wish to provide new services are only required to make registration or notification instead of obtaining licenses as currently provided. At the same time, they are entitled to relief of a number of obligations specified for ordinary telecommunications businesses.
This Law applies to Vietnamese as well as foreign organizations and individuals directly engaged in or involved in telecommunications activities in Vietnam.
Law on Identity
The new Law on Identity regulates the National Population Database and the Identity Database; identity cards, electronic identity; identity certificates; and rights, obligations and responsibilities of related agencies, organizations and individuals.
Noteworthily, the Law sets out rights and obligations of people of Vietnamese origin with unknown citizenship with regard to their identity, the National Population Database and the Identity Database.
The Law contains revised provisions on the issuance and management of identity cards, and new provisions on issuance of identity cards to under-14 people and issuance of electronic identity cards to Vietnamese citizens.
Citizen identity cards issued before July 1, 2024, remain valid until their expiration.
Law on E-Transactions
The new Law on E-Transactions provides for the performance of transactions by electronic means within a wider scope of regulation as compared to the 2005 version. It does not specify contents, conditions and forms of transactions.
It serves as an important legal foundation for comprehensively developing e-transactions at all stages in order to thoroughly conduct them from the very first stage to the last stage and promote digital transformation.
It also removes obstacles in the performance of e-contracts and provides a legal basis for ministers to issue regulations on e-contracts in sectors and fields under their management.
Last not but least, it clarifies the policy on data sharing and online supervision, monitoring and inspection, and sets an important legal ground for state management work with the use of big data instead of conventional methods.
Law on Price
With 75 articles, the new Law on Price provides price management and regulation by the State; summarization, analysis and forecasting of market prices, price databases, price appraisal, specialized inspection of prices, and examination of the observance of the laws on price and valuation.
It also specifies price valorization measures and organization of price valorization, and requires agencies competent to decide on price valorization measures to determine the duration of application of price valorization measures after identifying causes of price fluctuation.
The rights and obligations of agencies, organizations, individuals and consumers in the field of price and valuation are also specified in this Law.
Law on Protection of Consumer Rights
The new Law on Protection of Consumer Rights sets out principles of, and policies on, protection of consumer rights; rights and obligations of consumers; responsibilities of institutional and individual businesses toward consumers; consumer rights protection activities of agencies and organizations; settlement of disputes between consumers and businesses; and the state management of protection of consumer rights.
As per the Law, consumers are given the opportunity to choose a healthy and sustainable consumption environment and enjoy the State’s protection when using public services.
Particularly, the 80-article Law specifies incentive policies toward vulnerable consumers and responsibilities of businesses toward consumers in such special transactions as distance transactions and transactions in cyberspace.
Law on the Forces Participating in the Protection of Security and Order at the Grassroots Level
The totally novel Law on the Forces Participating in the Protection of Security and Order at the Grassroots Level provides the position, functions, tasks, principles of organization and operation, working relationships and force building of, assurance of operation conditions for, and responsibilities of agencies and organizations toward, the forces participating in the protection of security and order at the grassroots level.
The forces participating in the protection of security and order at the grassroots level are consolidated from the street population defense force, part-time commune public security officers who are likely to continue serving in the public security forces, and heads and deputy heads of civil defense teams.
Law on Civil Defense
The Law on Civil Defense specifies civil defense principles and activities; rights, obligations and responsibilities of agencies, organizations and individuals involved in civil defense activities; and the state management of, and resources for, civil defense.
Civil defense forces include core forces and universal forces. Militia, self-defense forces, civilian guards, and full-time and part-time forces of the People’s Army, the People’s Public Security Forces, ministries, central sectors, ministerial-level agencies and localities are categorized into the core forces. Meanwhile, universal forces are participated by the entire population.
Law on Cooperatives
The new Law on Cooperatives regulates the establishment, organization of management, reorganization, dissolution, bankruptcy and related activities of cooperative groups, cooperatives and unions of cooperatives; and state policies on development of cooperative groups, cooperatives and unions of cooperatives.
Cooperatives and unions of cooperatives are given the authority to determine the provision of products and services to outsiders after meeting the needs of their members, and diversify forms of mobilization of capital from their members.- (VLLF)
