Notable contents of 09 new Laws effective from July 1, 2018

1. Additional cases where warning shots are allowed

This is the prominent addition to the 2017 Law on Management and Use of Weapons, Explosives and Combat Gears.

According to the addition, the on-duty officer is allowed to open fire at the suspect, but not without prior warning by actions, verbal commands or shooting in the air in the following cases:

- After knowing that the suspect is committing a serious/very serious/extremely serious crime; (new regulation)

- The suspect is using weapons, explosives, force or any other gears/equipment to attack or retaliate, threatening the lives and health of officers or other people;…

Besides, other notable new points of this Law are:

- Organizations and enterprises unaffiliated with the Ministry of Home Defense or Ministry of Public Security can be permitted to participate in weapons research, manufacturing, production and repair.

- A Chapter dedicated to providing detailed regulations on management and use of explosives precursors (Chapter IV).

2. Entities entitled to claim compensation from the State

According to the 2017 Law on State Compensation Liability, the following entities have to right to request compensation from the State in writing:

- The sufferer;

- The sufferer’s beneficiary if the former has passed away; the organization inheriting the defunct suffering organization’s rights and obligations;

- The sufferer’s legal representative, if the sufferer requires one as specified in the Civil Code;

This law also increases the time limit for compensation request from 2 to 3 years, from the day the eligible entity receives the document serving as ground for claim, except the case specified in Clause 2 of Article 52 and restoration of honor.

3. Amendments to the consular tasks of Vietnamese diplomatic missions

The 2017 Law on Amendments to the Law on Diplomatic Missions of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam provides the following amendments to the consular tasks of Vietnamese diplomatic missions:

- Abolish the competence to receive applications and related evidence from Vietnamese citizens and legal entities so that they can be transferred to Vietnamese competent authorities for consideration and processing;

- Abolish the competence to replace and reissue passports, laissez-passers and other papers valid for entry to and exit from Vietnam; extend, modify and reissue Vietnamese visas and visa exemption papers;

- Allowed to receive and preserve papers, documents and precious items of Vietnamese citizens and legal entities upon request, in accordance with the regulations of Vietnamese law and the host country's law.

4. People’s right to request information from the State

This is the highlight of the 2016 Law on Information Access. Specifically, a person can write an information request form in order to request the State for the following information:

- Information related to trade secrets, individuals’ or families’ private lives and secrets eligible for disclosure as specified in Article 7 of this Law.

- Other information related to the life, activities, work and business of the requester which is not among the information specified in Article 17 of this Law.

- Information that must be disclosed but belongs to one of the following cases:

+ Information within its disclosure period but is not yet disclosed;

+ Information that has passed its disclosure period, as specified in the regulations of law;

+ Information which is being disclosed but the requester cannot access it due to circumstances beyond his/her control

5. The 2017 Law on Irrigation: More incentives from the State

This is the highlight of the 2017 Law on Irrigation, passed by the 14th National Assembly in the 3rd session on June 19, 2017.

According to the above, in irrigation, aside from incentives mentioned in the 2001 Ordinance on use and protection of irrigation works, the State adds many more incentives such as:

- Tax incentives for organizations and individuals in charge of management and use of irrigation works for provision of public irrigation products or utilities, as specified in the regulations of law on taxes.

- Support for organizations and individuals in building, repair, etc. of small-scale, inter-field irrigation systems; advanced, water-efficient watering systems; advanced, state-of-the-art irrigation and drainage systems; water treatment and recycling systems, etc.

6. From July 1, 2018, ceremonial guards are allowed to open fire

This is the highlight of the 2017 Law on Ceremonial Guard passed by the 14th National Assembly in the 3rd session.

According to the above, the ceremonial guard must comply with the principles of military weapon use while on duty and only open fire in the following cases:

- Warn the suspect trespassing on the guarded area/target;

- Fire on the suspect trespassing on the guarded area/target after commands and shooting in the air fail to deter that suspect

- Neutralize the suspect directly attacking the guarded person or on-duty ceremonial guards or officers;

- Other permissible cases specified in the Law on Management and Use of Weapons, Explosives and Combat Gears.

7. Promulgation of the list of technologies prohibited from transferring

This is the highlight of the 2017 Law on Technology Transfer passed on June 19, 2017.

According to the above, the Government promulgated the list of technologies prohibited from transferring, which:

- Fail to comply with the regulations of law on labor safety and sanitation, human health assurance, protection of natural resources, environment and biological diversity;

- Create products that negatively affect social and economic development, national defense, security, order and social safety;

- Are technologies, machines and supporting equipment that are no longer common and transferred in developing countries and fail to meet national technical standards and regulations;

- Use toxic chemicals or produce wastes that fail to meet national technical environmental standards and regulations;

- Use radioactive substances or produce radioactive substances that fail to meet national technical standards and regulations.

8. The Government subsidizes an investment project up to 70%

On November 23, 2017, the National Assembly passed the 2017 Law on Public Debt which regulates the level of government subsidies for investment projects.

According to the above, the level of governmental subsidy for the principal loan and bond issuance of the investment project shall not exceed 70% of the project’s approved total investment.

A subsidized project is an investment project that is within the competence to decide investment policies of the National Assembly and Government, and the competence to decide investments of the Prime Minister, as specified in the Law on Investment and Law on Public Investment.

9. Rights of rail passengers

The 2017 Law on Rail Transport states that the rail passengers have the following rights:

- Receive all benefits of their respective ticket classes and free transport of on-hand baggage within the weights and types specified by the rail transport provider;

- Return or exchange tickets before departure time and pay the fees specified by the rail transport provider (if any);

- Receive ticket refunds, compensations for any damage to and incurred cost of life, health and property caused by the rail transport provider as specified in the regulations of law;

- Be provided health and life insurance as specified in the regulations of law;

- Other rights specified in the regulations of law.

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