Veitnam: New points of 10 Laws effective from January 01, 2019 (Part 2)

1. Bases for Planning Adjustment under the Law on Planning of Vietnam

On November 24, 2017, the National Assembly officially passed the Law on Planning 2017 (effective from January 1, 2019), which regulates the establishment, appraisal, decision or approval, publication, implementation, evaluation, and adjustment of planning within the national planning system; and the responsibilities of state management in planning.

According to the Law, the planning adjustment is executed when one of the following bases occurs:

- Adjustment of the objectives of socio-economic development strategy or sectoral development strategy that changes the objectives of the planning;

- Adjustment of a higher-level plan that changes the content of the plan or conflicts with the same-level plan;

- Changes in administrative boundaries that affect the nature or spatial scale of the planning;

- Impact of natural disasters, climate change, or war changing the objectives, orientation, or spatial organization of the planning;

- Unusual socio-economic fluctuations limiting resources for plan implementation;

- Scientific and technological developments fundamentally changing the implementation of the plan;

- Requirements to ensure national defense and security.

1. The Law on Fisheries 2017 Provisions on Fisheries Surveillance in Vietnam

Fisheries surveillance is a new concept mentioned in the Law on Fisheries 2017 passed by the 14th National Assembly during its 4th session on November 21, 2017, replacing the Law on Fisheries 2003.

According to the Law, fisheries surveillance is a state-specialized force executing the function of enforcing Vietnamese laws and relevant international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member, regarding the exploitation and protection of aquatic resources. Specific duties include:

- Patrolling, inspecting, controlling, examining, investigating, and handling legal violations, applying preventive measures against illegal acts as per legal regulations;

- Propagating, disseminating, and educating Vietnamese law, international laws, and relevant countries' laws in the fisheries sector; guiding fishermen and related organizations/individuals in complying with fisheries regulations;

- Mobilizing forces to coordinate search and rescue operations; participating in disaster prevention and control;

- Participating in protecting sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction rights of Vietnam in marine areas as regulated by law;

- ...

The Law on Fisheries 2017 takes effect from January 1, 2019.

1. The Law on Forestry 2017 Prohibits 09 Following Actions in Vietnam

The Law on Forestry 2017 effective from January 1, 2019, prohibits the following violations in forestry activities:

- Illegally cutting, destroying, exploiting, encroaching on forests;

- Illegally discharging waste, toxic chemicals, explosives, flammable substances, tools, and means into forests; grazing, herding, releasing livestock into the strictly protected area of special-use forests, newly planted forests;

- Illegally hunting, capturing, breeding, detaining, killing, storing, transporting, trading in wild animals, collecting samples of forest plants and wild animals;

- Destroying forest resources, forest ecosystems, forest protection, and development projects;

- Violating regulations on forest fire prevention and control; forest pest control; managing invasive alien species; forest environmental services;

- Illegally storing, trading, transporting, ... forest products as per Vietnamese law and international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member;

- Exploiting natural resources, minerals, forest environments illegally; building, digging, damming, blocking natural flows, and other activities unlawfully altering the natural landscape structure of the forest ecosystem;

- Illegally transferring forest lands, forest leases, forest recovery, converting forest types, changing forest use purposes; permitting unlawful exploitation and transportation of forest products; converting forest areas, transferring, inheriting, donating, mortgaging, contributing capital with the value of forest land use rights, ownership of production forest as plantation forest against regulations; discriminating against religion, belief, and gender in forest allocation and leasing;

- Illegally using materials in forest product processing.

1. Amendment of 11 Laws Related to Planning in Vietnam from January 1, 2019

On June 15, 2018, the National Assembly passed the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of 11 Laws Related to Planning. Specifically, the following laws:

- Food Safety Law;

- Notarization Law;

- Pharmacy Law

- Investment Law;

- Public Investment Law;

- Electricity Law;

- Chemical Law;

- Science and Technology Law;

- Law on Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harm;

- Law on Economical and Efficient Use of Energy;

- Children's Law.

Details of the amendments and supplements can be found in the Amending Law effective from January 1, 2019.

1. Amendments to Several Provisions of the Law on Construction of Vietnam from January 1, 2019

On November 20, 2018, the National Assembly continued to pass the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of 37 Laws Related to Planning, including: Land Law, Construction Law, Road Traffic Law, etc.

Notably, the Construction Law has had several provisions amended and supplemented from January 1, 2019, as follows:

- Article 37 on construction planning;

- Section 2, Chapter II on regional construction planning;

- Article 24 on objects and responsibilities for preparing specific functional area construction planning;

- Article 34 on the authority to approve construction planning tasks and plans;

- Article 35 on conditions for adjusting construction planning.

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