4. Criminal Code 2015
The Criminal Code 2015 removes 11 crimes defined in Criminal Code 1999, such as: intentional commission of violations against state regulations on business management that result in serious consequences, illegal conduct of business, child marriage, illegal use of narcotic substances, etc.
34 new crimes are added, such as: Employment of a person under 16 for pornographic purposes (Article 147); Evading payment of social insurance, health insurance, unemployment insurance for workers (Article 216); Offences against regulations on the management and use of State-owned property that lead to losses or wastefulness (Article 219), etc.
For the first time, corporate legal entities will have to face criminal prosecution for the following crimes: Smuggling (Article 188), Tax evasion (Article 200), Insurance fraud (Article 213), etc.
Criminal responsibility of people aged 14 – 16 for some crimes such as: murder, rape, robbery, etc. is also specified.
5. Law on temporary detention and custody 2015
This Law specifies rights of detainees during the detention or custody
According to the law, a detainee, apart from basic rights such as the right to have his/her life and property protected, the right to accommodation, etc., also has other rights such as:
- The right to know detainees’ rights and obligations;
- The right to receive instruction, explanation and exercise the right to self defense or the right to receive legal aid;
- The right to meet with legal representative to conduct civil transactions;
- The right to request release upon expiration of detention or custody period, etc.
Detention or custody of people under 19, pregnant women and women having children under 36 months of age also differ regarding the care for children under 36 months who have to live with their mothers in the detention center.
Organization structures of management agencies and detention centers in this law are more specific than those in the current regulations on detention and custody.
6. Law on management and use of public property 2017
The Law on management and use of public property 2017 specifies conditions for public service agencies to use public property for business purposes.
According to the new law, the use of public property for business purposes are subject to the following new conditions, which did not appear in the 2008’s Law on management and use of public property 2017:
- It is permitted by a competent authority or competent person;
- It does not lead to the loss of ownership of the public property, preservation and development of state capital or state property;
- Fixed assets are adequately depreciated; taxes, fees, charges and other payables to the state are fully paid;
- Maintenance and repair of the property is not funded by the State.
7. Law on Tourism 2017
Numerous tourism-related administrative procedures are simplified. For instance:
To obtain the license to provide international tourism services, an enterprise needs to submit only 01 application to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism instead of having to send it to the Department of Tourism or Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism for verification before sending it to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.
Besides, to ensure benefits of tourists, the Law also adds several conditions for domestic tourism services:
- A domestic tourism deposit is made at a bank;
- The person in charge of domestic tourism has at least an associate degree in tourism (or an associate degree in another field and a certificate of training in domestic tourism).
(To be continued)
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