What is Martial Law? What are details of 8 popular forms of according to current legal education in Vietnam?

What is Martial Law?

Pursuant to Clauses 1 and 2, Article 21 of the 2018 National Defense Law regarding martial law, the following is stipulated:

Martial law is a special, temporary state management measure executed by the Military.

- When political security, order, and social safety in one or several localities are severely compromised to the extent that the local government can no longer control the situation, the President issues an order for martial law upon the proposal of the Government of Vietnam.

- The martial law order must specify the province, district, commune level locality, special administrative-economic units where martial law is declared, the measures, and the effectiveness; stipulate the duties, powers of agencies, organizations, individuals; necessary social order rules in the locality under martial law must be continuously announced through mass media.

- Based on the president's martial law decree and the Prime Minister's decision on implementing the martial law order, the Minister of National Defense directs military units and local militia assigned to perform tasks in the locality under martial law to implement measures for executing the martial law order as regulated by law.

- During the martial law period, the state management in the locality under martial law is entrusted to military units. The commander of the military unit assigned to manage the locality under martial law has the power to issue orders implementing special measures stipulated in Clause 6, Article 21 of the 2018 National Defense Law and other necessary measures to execute the martial law order and is accountable for the application of these measures. The commander of the military unit assigned to manage the province-level locality under martial law has the right to requisition or commandeer properties. Requisitioning or commandeering properties is executed according to the 2008 Property Requisition and Commandeer Law.

- The special measures applied during the execution of the martial law order include:

[1] Prohibition or restriction on the movement of people and vehicles; suspension or restriction of public activities;

[2] Prohibition of demonstrations, strikes, market closures, school closures, mass gatherings;

[3] Arrest or coercion of individuals, organizations engaging in activities harming defense, security to leave or not leave their residence or a specific area;

[4] Mobilization of people, vehicles from agencies, organizations, individuals;

[5] Special management of weapons, explosives, supporting tools, flammable substances, toxins, radioactive substances; strict control of information technology infrastructure, media, journalistic activities, publishing, printing, photocopying, and information collection and use.

[6] All activities in the locality under martial law must comply with the martial law order and the special measures.

[7] Criminal prosecution for crimes occurring in the locality under martial law is conducted in accordance with the 2015 Criminal Procedure Code.

[8] Once the political security, order, and social safety in the locality under martial law have stabilized, the President issues an order to repeal the martial law order upon the proposal of the Government of Vietnam.

[9] The Government of Vietnam stipulates the duties, powers of military commanders, agencies, organizations, and localities related to enforcing the martial law order and the repeal order.

What is Martial Law? What are details of 8 popular forms of according to current legal education in Vietnam?​ (Image from the Internet)

Is learning about the law the responsibility of students in Vietnam?

According to Article 2 of the 2012 Law on the Dissemination and Education of Legal Knowledge regarding the right to be informed about the law and the responsibility to learn and study law of citizens:

Right to be informed about the law and responsibility to learn and study law of citizens

1. Citizens have the right to be informed about the law and have the responsibility to proactively learn and study the law.

2. The State ensures, creates conditions for citizens to exercise the right to be informed about the law.

Hence, according to the above regulation, citizens (including all people and students) have the right to be informed about the law and the responsibility to proactively learn and study the law.

What are details of 8 popular forms of according to current legal education in Vietnam?

According to Article 11 of the 2012 Law on Dissemination and Education of Legal Knowledge, the current 8 forms include:

[1] Press conferences, press releases.

[2] Direct legal dissemination; consulting, guiding legal understanding; providing legal information and documents.

[3] Through mass media, loudspeakers, the internet, billboards, posters; publishing on the Official Gazette; posting legal information on electronic information pages; publicly posting at headquarters, bulletin boards of agencies, organizations, residential areas.

[4] Organizing legal knowledge contests.

[5] Through judicial work, administrative violation handling, citizen reception activities, complaint, denunciation resolution activities by citizens, and other activities by state agency systems; through legal assistance, grassroots mediation activities.

[6] Integrating in cultural, artistic activities, activities of political organizations, and other associations, clubs, legal bookcases, and other cultural structures at grassroots levels.

[7] Through legal education programs in educational institutions of the national educational system.

[8] Other appropriate forms of legal dissemination, education applicable to specific subjects that authorities, organizations, individuals can apply to ensure effective legal dissemination.

*Details on the form: Press conferences, press releases about legal normative documents as follows: (Article 12 of the 2012 Law on Dissemination and Education of Legal Knowledge)

- The Presidential Office leads cooperation with the National Assembly Office, drafting agency, organizing press conferences, and issuing press releases about laws, ordinances, resolutions containing legal norms by the National Assembly, Standing Committee of the National Assembly after the President signs the promulgation order.

- Monthly, the Ministry of Justice leads cooperation with the Government Office and drafting agency to issue press releases about legal normative documents issued by the Government of Vietnam and the Prime Minister.

- The press release content clarifies the necessity, purpose of issuance, and main content of the legal normative document.

*Details on the form: Publishing legal information on electronic information sites as follows: (Article 13 of the 2012 Law on Dissemination and Education of Legal Knowledge)

- The following legal information must be published on the electronic information pages of ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government agencies, the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuracy, the State Audit Office, the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, and central agencies of political-social organizations, People's Councils, People's Committees at provincial levels:

+ Legal normative documents related to the activity fields of the agency, organization;

+ Legal normative documents issued or jointly issued by the agency, organization;

+ Administrative procedures directly related to citizens and enterprises under the responsibility of the agency, organization;

+ Draft legal documents published for opinions according to legal regulations.

- Additionally, organizations are encouraged to publish other legal-related information on their electronic information pages about the activities of constructing and implementing the law, necessary legal Q&A for citizens.

*Details on the form: Legal dissemination and education through mass media (Article 14 of the 2012 Law on Dissemination and Education of Legal Knowledge)

Vietnam Television, the Voice of Vietnam, Vietnam News Agency, Nhan Dan Newspaper, newspapers of law protection agencies, provincial radio and television stations build programs, special sections, legal themes; diversify forms of legal dissemination, education to disseminate legal regulations, law enforcement situations, and other legal information.

*Details on the form: Consulting, guiding legal understanding, providing legal information, and documents (Article 15 of the 2012 Law on Dissemination and Education of Legal Knowledge)

- Agencies, organizations, individuals reviewing and resolving citizen cases are responsible for explaining, providing relevant legal provisions directly related to the case being resolved or guiding legal search, retrieval on the national legal database if requested by citizens.

- The state has policies encouraging legal consulting organizations, other legal service organizations, legal training and research institutions to carry out free legal consulting, guiding legal understanding, and providing legal information, documents to the people.

*Details on the form: Legal dissemination and education through judicial work, handling administrative violations, citizen reception, complaint, denunciation resolution (Article 16 of the 2012 Law on Dissemination and Education of Legal Knowledge)

- People's Courts at all levels through judicial work at their premises select suitable cases with high educational values to organize mobile trials aiming for legal dissemination and education to attendees and the public.

- Competent state agencies, through administrative violation handling, citizen reception activities, complaint, denunciation resolution, organize dialogue with the people to combine legal dissemination and education.