Vietnam: 05 most important policies that have been effective since mid-March 2019

1. Resolution 02/2019/NQ-HDTP: Criminal Liability for Acts of Marriage Brokerage with Foreigners

Resolution 02/2019/NQ-HDTP was issued by the Judicial Council of the Supreme People's Court on January 11, 2019, guiding the application of Article 150 on human trafficking and Article 151 on the trafficking of persons under 16 years of age of the Criminal Code.

Individuals who use methods of marriage brokerage with foreigners shall be prosecuted for human trafficking under Article 150 of the Criminal Code when committing one of the following acts:

- Forcing, threatening, or deceiving others to marry foreigners and then handing them over to the foreigners in exchange for money, property, or other material benefits;

- Forcing, threatening, or deceiving others to marry foreigners and then handing them over to the foreigners for sexual exploitation, forced labor, organ removal, or other inhumane purposes;

- Exploiting the method of marriage brokerage with foreigners to recruit, transport, or harbor others to hand them over to foreigners for sexual exploitation, forced labor, organ removal, or other inhumane purposes.

Resolution 02/2019/NQ-HDTP officially takes effect from March 15, 2019.

2. Resolution 01/2019/NQ-HDTP: Guidance on the Calculation of Interest, Interest Rates, and Penalties for Violations

On January 11, 2019, the Judicial Council of the Supreme People's Court issued Resolution 01/2019/NQ-HDTP guiding the application of regulations on interest, interest rates, and penalties for violations in loan asset contracts; average market interest rates; and the determination of interest and interest rates in court judgments and decisions. To be specific:

- Application of the law on interest and interest rates in loan asset contracts that are not credit contracts;

- Determination of interest and interest rates in loan asset contracts that are not credit contracts under the Civil Code 1995; Civil Code 2005; and Civil Code 2015 of Vietnam;

- Determining the time of first-instance trial and the period for delayed payment;

- Application of the law on interest and interest rates in credit contracts;- ...

Detailed guidance is provided in Resolution 01/2019/NQ-HDTP, effective from March 15, 2019.

3. Decree 11/2019/ND-CP of Vietnam's Government: Submission of Certified Copies When Applying for Karaoke, Dance Club Business Licenses

The Government of Vietnam issued Decree 11/2019/ND-CP amending and supplementing certain regulations on administrative procedures related to the requirement to submit notarized or certified copies of documents within the management scope of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Specifically, the requirement to submit a certified copy or a copy and present the original for comparison (if submitting documents directly); or submit a certified copy (if submitting documents by post) in the following cases:

- Enterprise registration certificate when applying for a dance club business license;

- Enterprise registration certificate/household business registration certificate when applying for a karaoke business license;

- Representative office establishment license when applying for amendments or supplements to the representative office establishment license.

Decree 11/2019/ND-CP of Vietnam's Government takes effect from March 15, 2019.

4. Circular 01/2019/TT-NHNN of the State Bank of Vietnam: Detailed Criminal Records in Non-Banking Credit Institution Licensing

This notable new point is outlined in Circular 01/2019/TT-NHNN amending Circular 30/2015/TT-NHNN on licensing, organization, and operation of non-banking credit institutions, effective from March 20, 2019.

When preparing documents to apply for a license for a non-banking credit institution, the judicial history declaration must specify:

- Information on criminal records (including both erased and un-erased criminal records) and;

- Information on bans from holding positions, establishing, or managing enterprises, cooperatives.

For non-Vietnamese nationals, the judicial history declaration or equivalent document must be issued by a competent authority within 6 months prior to submitting the license application.

5. Resolution 629/2019/UBTVQH14: Guidance on Organizing People's Council Meetings

On January 30, 2019, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly approved Resolution 629/2019/UBTVQH14, providing guidelines for organizing People's Council (HDND) meetings as follows:

- Annually, the People's Council holds at least two regular meetings or more, depending on the actual situation and requirements of the locality to decide on matters within the council's authority;

- The People's Council decides the meeting plan. The plan should clearly state the number of regular meetings, the proposed time, the content of each meeting, and other related issues.

- Between two regular meetings, if at least one-third of the total number of People's Council deputies request, the Standing Committee of the People's Council shall convene an extraordinary meeting.

- At the extraordinary meeting, the People's Council may consider and decide on one or multiple issues within its authority. The consideration and decision-making on issues at extraordinary meetings follow the same procedures as regular meetings.

Resolution 629/2019/UBTVQH14 takes effect from March 15, 2019.

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