What are the duplication and photographing of state secret containers in Vietnam?

What are the duplication and photographing of state secret containers in Vietnam?

On November 15, 2018, the XIV National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, at its 6th session, passed the State Secrets Protection Law No. 29/2018/QH14 (referred to as the State Secrets Protection Law 2018).

The State Secrets Protection Law 2018 regulates state secrets, state secrets protection and responsibilities of relevant regulatory bodies, organizations and individuals.

According to the provisions of Article 11 of the State Secrets Protection Law 2018, the duplication and photographing of state secret containers are specifically regulated as follows:

1. The persons with competence in granting permission for duplication and photographing of state secret containers classified as “top secret” include:

- Heads of central organizations of the Communist Party; heads of affiliates of the Central Steering Committee of the Communist Party;

- Heads of organizations of the National Assembly and affiliates of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly; the Secretary General of the National Assembly - Chief of Office of the National Assembly;

- Chief of Office of the President;

- Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court, Chief Prosecutor of the Supreme People’s Procuracy;

- State Auditor General;

- Chief Justices of Superior People’s Courts, Chief Justices of provincial People’s Courts, Chief Prosecutors of Superior People’s Procuracies, and Chief Prosecutors of provincial People’s Procuracies;

- Heads of central bodies of socio-political organizations;

- Ministers and heads of Ministerial-level agencies;

- Heads of Governmental agencies;

- Secretaries of Party Executive Committees of provinces and cities and Head of Delegation of the National Assembly Deputies, Chairpersons of People's Councils, Chairpersons of People's Committees of provinces and central-affiliated cities;

- Superiors of the persons specified in Points a, b, c, h and i herein;

- Heads of Office of the State Audit Office, affiliates of the State Audit Office, specialized State Audit Offices and regional State Audit Offices;

- Heads of affiliates of the bodies specified in Points a, b, c, d, dd, g and h herein, excluding heads of public service providers;

- Heads of overseas representative missions of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

2. The persons with competence in granting permission for duplication and photographing of state secret containers classified as “secret” include:

- The persons specified in Article 1 herein;

- Heads of affiliates of Governmental agencies;

- Heads of public service providers affiliated to the bodies specified in Points a, b, c, d, dd, g, h and i Clause 1 herein; heads of departments affiliated to general departments and equivalent;

- Heads of provincial socio-political organizations and regulatory bodies and equivalent;

- Heads of affiliates of Superior People’s Courts, provincial People’s Courts, Superior People’s Procuracies and provincial People’s Procuracies, excluding the persons specified in Point b Clause 3 herein; Chief Justices of People’s Courts and Chief Prosecutors of district-level People’s Procuracies;

- Secretaries of Party Executive Committees of districts and cities, Chairpersons of People's Councils and Chairpersons of People’s Committees of districts;

- Chairpersons of Members’ Councils, Chairpersons of companies, Directors or General Directors of state-owned enterprises.

3. The persons with competence in granting permission for duplication and photographing of state secret containers classified as “confidential” include:

- The persons specified in Clause 2 herein;

- Heads of divisions of general departments and departments affiliated to the bodies specified in Points a, b, c, d, dd, e, g, h, i and k Clause 1 herein;

- Heads of divisions of provincial regulatory bodies and equivalent; heads of boards of People's Councils, heads of divisions of People’s Committees of districts and equivalent.

4. The Minister of National Defense and Minister of Public Security shall provide for competence in granting permission for duplication and photographing of state secret containers for entities under their management.

5. The persons with competence in granting permission for duplication and photographing of state secret containers defined in Clause 1 and Clause 2 herein may delegate such power to their deputies.

Power in granting permission for duplication and photographing of state secret containers may be delegated on a regular or ad hoc basis. Such delegation must be done in writing with the scope, contents and duration of delegation specified. 

The deputies delegated the power to grant permission for duplication and photographing of state secret containers shall be answerable to their superiors and the law for their decisions and may not delegate such power to another person.     

6. Persons assigned the tasks of duplication and photographing of state secret containers must be officials, public employees, officers, enlistees, non-commissioned officers, workers or public employees of the people’s armed forces, or cryptographers directly related to the state secrets or persons whose tasks are related to the state secrets.

7. The Government shall elaborate duplication and photographing of state secret containers.

What are the duplication and photographing of state secret containers in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)

What is the determination of state secrets and confidentiality of state secrets

In Article 10 of the State Secrets Protection Law 2018, there are regulations on determination of state secrets and confidentiality of state secrets as follows:

1. State secrets and confidentiality thereof must be determined according to state secrets lists and regulations of this Law.

2. Heads of regulatory bodies and organizations shall determine state secrets, confidentiality thereof, scope of distribution and whether duplication or photographing of containers of such state secrets is permitted. When a state secret of another regulatory body or organization is used, its confidentiality level must be determined as appropriate. If different pieces of information in the container of a state secret included in a state secret list have different confidentiality levels, the highest level shall prevail.

3. Confidentiality of state secrets shall be denoted by confidentiality markings, confidentiality notices or in other forms suitable to state secret containers.

4. The Government shall elaborate this Article.

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