What information do Vietnamese citizens have the right to request state agencies to provide? In what cases are state agencies not allowed to provide information to Vietnamese citizens?
- What information do Vietnamese citizens have the right to request state agencies to provide?
- What are the methods for accessing information and the rules for ensuring the right of access to information in Vietnam?
- In what cases are state agencies not allowed to provide information to Vietnamese citizens?
What information do Vietnamese citizens have the right to request state agencies to provide?
Pursuant to Article 5 of the Law on Access to Information 2016 as follows:
Accessible information
Citizens are permitted to access information of state agencies, except for inaccessible information as regulated in Article 6 of this Law and accessible information with particular conditions as regulated in Article 7 of this Law.
Reference to Article 6 of the Law on Access to Information 2016 as follows:
Inaccessible information consists of:
1. Classified information that contains important contents associated with politics, national defense and security, foreign relations, economics, science, technology, and other fields as regulated by the law.
Once classified information is declassified, citizens may access to it as regulated by this Law.
2. Information the access to which is considered as harming the national interests, causing adverse influence on the national defense and security, international relations, social order, and security, social ethics and community health; harming human life, living or property of others; information classified as working secrets; those concerning internal meetings of state agencies; documents drafted by state agencies to serve their internal activities.
At the same time, according to Article 7 of the Law on Access to Information 2016 as follows:
Accessible information with particular conditions
1. Information relating to a trade secret may be accessible if the trade secret holder has assented to access to such information.
2. Information relating to secrets and privacy of an individual may be accessible if such individual grants an assent; information relating to family secrets may be accessible if there is an assent granted by all members of that family.
3. Heads of state agencies may, during the execution of their functions, tasks and powers, and where necessary, decide the provision of information concerning trade secrets, personal secrets, and privacy or family secrets for the purpose of protecting the interests and health of the community as regulated by relevant laws without asking for the assent of relevant entities as regulated in Clause 1 and Clause 2 of this Article.
Accordingly, Vietnamese citizens have the right to access information of state agencies, except for inaccessible information.
For accessible information with particular conditions according to the above provisions, to be accessed information, Vietnamese citizens must meet all conditions.
What are the methods for accessing information and the rules for ensuring the right of access to information in Vietnam?
Pursuant to the provisions of Article 10 of the Law on Access to Information 2016, Vietnamese citizens may obtain information by employing one of the following methods:
- Exercise the freedom of access to information publicly announced by state agencies;
- Request state agencies to provide information.
Pursuant to Article 3 of the Law on Access to Information 2016, the rules for ensuring the right to access information in Vietnam are:
- All citizens are treated equally and not discriminated in exercising their right to access to information.
- The information must be provided in an accurate and sufficient manner.
- The provision of information must be made in a timely and transparent manner, convenient for citizens to access, and in conformity with procedures regulated by the law.
- Restrictions on the right of access to information must be regulated by the law, where necessary, for the purpose of ensuring national defense and security, social security, social ethics, and community health.
- The exercise of the citizen’s right to access information must not be harmful to national interests, lawful rights, and interests of other agencies, organizations, and individuals.
- The Government grants favorable opportunities for the disabled and those who reside in border regions, islands, mountainous regions, and areas faced with extremely difficult social and economic conditions to practice their right to access to information.
In what cases are state agencies not allowed to provide information to Vietnamese citizens?
Pursuant to the provisions of Clause 2, Article 9 of the Law on Access to Information 2016, the state agencies shall directly organize the provision of information, except for the following cases:
- The Office of the National Assembly shall organize the provision of information that is generated by the National Assembly, agencies affiliated to the National Assembly, agencies affiliated to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, and the information that it directly generates;
- The Office of the President shall provide information generated by the President and the information that it directly generates;
- The Office of the Government shall provide information generated by the Government and the Prime Minister, and the information that it directly generates;
- Offices of the National Assembly Delegations shall provide information generated by the National Assembly Delegations and the information that they directly generate;
- Offices of provincial people’s councils shall provide information generated by people’s councils, standing boards of people’s councils and agencies of people’s councils of provinces and the information they directly generate;
- Offices of provincial people’s committees shall provide information generated by people’s committee, chairpersons of people’s committees of provinces and the information they directly generate;
- Offices of people’s councils and people’s committees of districts shall provide information generated by people’s councils, standing boards of people’s councils, agencies of people’s councils, people’s committees and chairpersons of people’s committees of districts, and the information they directly generate;
- The communal people’s committee shall provide information that it directly generates or generated by its affiliated agencies and the information it receives to directly execute its functions, tasks and powers to citizens residing in such commune; and provide such information to citizens other than those residing in such commune if such information is considered as associating to their lawful rights and interests;
- Minister of National Defense and Minister of Public Security regulate agencies in charge of providing information in their organizational structures.
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