What information is subject to mandatory disclosure in Vietnam?

What information is subject to mandatory disclosure in Vietnam? (Internet image)

Regarding this issue, LawNet would like to answer as follows:

1. What is information?

According to Clause 1, Article 2 of the Law on Access to Information 2016, information refers to details and data that are contained in existing documents and papers and stored in writings, printouts, electronic texts, pictures, photos, drawings, tapes, disks, video recordings, audio recordings or in other forms produced by state agencies.

2. What information is subject to mandatory disclosure in Vietnam?

In the information specified in Article 17 of the Law on Access to Information 2016, the following types of information must be disclosed publicly:

- Legislative documents; administrative documents with universal effect; international treaties of which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member or international agreements to which Vietnam is a signatory; administrative procedures and working procedures of state agencies;

- Information regarding the dissemination and guidance on the implementation of laws and policies in sectors under the state management;

- Drafts of legislative documents as regulated by the law on promulgation of legislative documents; contents and results of the referendum and acquisition of people’s opinions about issues which are under the decision of state agencies and have to be asked for people’s opinions as regulated by the law;

Schemes and their drafts on the establishment, dissolution, merger or division of administrative units or modification of administrative areas;

- National and local socio-economic development strategies, programs, projects, schemes and plans; sector/field planning, methods and results thereof; annual working programs and plans of state agencies;

- Information regarding state budget estimates; reports on state budget enactment; state budget statements; estimates, enactment reports, statements of budgets of fundamental construction programs/projects funded by state budget; state budget procedures;

- Information regarding the provision, management and use of official development assistance (ODA) and non-governmental aid as regulated; information about the management and use of social relief and benefits; and information about the management and use of people’s contributions and types of funds;

- Information about lists of public investment and public procurement projects/programs, and the management and use of public investment funding, the situation and results of the execution of public investment plans/programs/projects; bidding information; information on land use plans; land price; land appropriation; plans for compensation, site clearance and resettlement concerning regional projects/works;

- Information about investment activities funded by state budget, the management and use of state capital in enterprises; reports on business and ranking of enterprises; reports on the supervision of the disclosure of financial information of enterprises and state agencies representing owners; information about the organization and operation of state-owned enterprises;

- Information about products, goods and services that have adverse influence on the health and environment; inspection conclusions in the fields of environmental protection, community health, foods safety and labour safety;

- Information about functions, tasks, powers and organization structure of agencies and their affiliated units; tasks and powers of officials in charge of dealing with people’s issues; internal regulations and rules promulgated by state agencies;

- Periodical working reports; annual financial statements; information about the statistics on sectors under the state management; sector/field-related national database; information regarding the recruitment, use and management of officials and public employees; information about lists of scientific programs/topics and results thereof;

- The list of types of information subject to mandatory disclosure as regulated in Point b Clause 1 Article 34 of this Law; name, address, telephone number, fax number and email address of the state agency or the official in charge of receiving information requests;

- Information concerning public interests and community health;

- Information concerning taxes, fees and charges;

- Other information that must be disclosed as regulated by the law

(Article 19 of the Law on Access to Information 2016)

3. Regulations on scope and responsibilities for providing information in Vietnam

Specifically, Article 9 of the Law on Access to Information 2016, scope and responsibilities for providing information in Vietnam is as follows:

(1) State agencies shall provide information they generate, except for the cases regulated in Article 6 of the Law on Access to Information 2016; as for the cases regulated in Article 7 of the Law on Access to Information 2016, the provision of information is carried out if relevant conditions have been satisfied as regulated.

Communal people’s committees shall provide information they generate and those they receive to directly execute their functions, tasks and powers, except for the cases regulated in Article 6 of this Law; as for the cases regulated in Article 7 of the Law on Access to Information 2016, the provision of information is carried out if relevant conditions have been satisfied as regulated.

(2) 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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