1. 2019 Labor Code
2019 Labor Code contains noticeable new regulations, including:
- There are now 2 contract types left.
- Workers or employees may unilaterally terminate their contracts without cause.
- Employers must bear costs incurred from the opening of accounts for workers and employees which are used for paying them salaries via banks.
For more details, see the Overview of new regulations in 2019 Labor Code
2. 2019 Securities Law
2019 Securities Law contains several significant new regulations mentioned as follows:
Firstly, establishing Vietnam Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation (formerly, Vietnam Securities Depositories).
According to regulations of the Law, Vietnam Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation is an enterprise that is founded and operated as per this Law and the Law on Enterprises and of which more than 50% of the charter capital or total voting shares is held by the State.
Members of Vietnam Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation, including:
+ Depository members include securities companies, commercial banks, foreign bank branches licensed to provide securities depositing services by State Securities Commission and accepted by Vietnam Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation as depository members;
+ Clearing members include securities companies, commercial banks, FBBs licensed to provide securities offsetting and payment services by SSC and accepted by VSD as their clearing members.
Secondly, adding more prohibited acts of services related to securities and securities markets, specifically including:
+ Using client’s accounts or assets without their authorization or against the law; abusing trusts to appropriate client’s assets.
+ Allowing another person to borrow the account to trade securities, hold securities in the name of another person for the purpose of manipulating securities prices.
Thirdly, listing or registering transactions of stocks on stock exchanges after an offering.
Point h of clause 1 of Article 15, regulating one of the initial public offering requirements, says: “The issuer has a commitment to have its shares listed or registered on the securities trading system after the end of the offering”.
Like public offerings of stocks, issuers must have commitments to have their shares listed or registered on securities trading systems after the end of each offering.
Fourthly, public companies only allow more public offerings if profits are earned.
3. 2020 Amended Law on Judicial Expertise
The 2020 Amended Law on Judicial Expertise contains several significant regulations as follows:
Firstly, expanding the scope of judicial expertise
The scope of judicial expertise will be expanded so that a judicial expertise can be solicited or conducted immediately from the stage of initiation of legal proceedings, not from the stage of criminal case investigation mentioned in applicable regulations (clause 1 of Article 2).
Secondly, supplementing regulations on issuance and revocation of judicial expert’s identity cards and appointment and dismissal of judicial experts
In order to enable judicial experts to prove their status, the new Law sets out additional regulations on the issuance of judicial expert’s identity cards (showing their personal ID cards instead of appointment decisions).
Specifically, a person appointed as a judicial expert witness will be granted the judicial expert’s identity card.
Persons authorized to appoint judicial expert witnesses will be accorded authority to issue or re-issue judicial expert’s identity cards. Ministry of Justice will issue sample judicial expert ID card for use in a uniform manner (clause 4 of Article 9).
Thirdly, Supreme People’s Procuracy can run another additional Criminal Expertise Technology Division
According to new regulations, public providers of criminal technical expertise service will comprise:
+ Institute of Forensic Science controlled by the Ministry of Public Security;
+ Criminal Justice Technology Divisions controlled by provincial Departments of Public Security;
+ Bureau of Criminal Justice Technology and Expertise controlled by the Ministry of National Defense;
+ Criminal Expertise Technology Division controlled by Supreme People’s Procuracy.
Criminal Expertise Technology Division controlled by Supreme People’s Procuracy is additionally regulated in this Law, conducting the judicial expertise on electronic audiovisual data. (clause 8 of Article 1)
Fourthly, requirements for opening of Judicial Expertise Services.
According to clause 1 of Article 15 in the 2012 Law on Judicial Expertise, judicial experts may establish Judicial Expertise Offices when fully meeting the following requirements:
- Having at least 05 years of experience working as a judicial expert in the sector the same as the one mentioned in the application for permission for establishment of the Judicial Expertise Service;
- Having the establishment plan clarifying the purposes; the expected titles, personnel, venue of operation; requirements concerning facilities, equipment, means used for conducting judicial expertise engagements in accordance with regulations of ministries, ministry-level agencies professionally in charge of expertise sectors and implementation plans.
However, from January 1, 2021, once the amended Law is in force, the founding of judicial expertise services will be subject to less strict requirements.
Specifically, judicial experts need to have at least 3 years (not 5 years as prescribed in regulations in force) of experience working as judicial experts and providing expertise service in the area the same as the one mentioned in the application for permission for establishment of Judicial Expertise Services.
(clause 9 of Article 1).
Fifthly, the maximum time limit for judicial expertise is not over 04 months.
This is an absolutely new regulation that is added when the time limit for judicial expertise for cases of exemption from the compulsory judicial expertise regarding criminal proceedings is 03 months.
If a matter or case subject to judicial expertise is of complicated nature or has large workload, the maximum time limit for that judicial expertise will be 04 months.
Sixthly, the Law provides for more cases of dismissal of judicial experts
Compared to regulations laid down in Article 10 in the 2012 Law on Judicial Expertise, the new Law adds more cases of dismissal of judicial experts as follows:
+ Changing his/her job position or transferring to another agency or organization to the extent that suitable conditions for continuation of his/her judicial expertise no longer exist;
+ A judicial expert is appointed as a prerequisite for setting up a his/her expertise office but, after 01 year from the date of appointment, failing to do so or, after 01 year of receipt of the decision to allow establishment of expertise office, failing to register the operation of his/her office.
+ Upon the request from judicial experts; if the judicial expert who is a public official or employee, an officer of the army or people's police force, or a professional serviceman or a defense worker wishes to leave his/her job position, he/she must seek consent from his/her directly supervisory entity.
Seventhly, regulations on judicial expertise conclusions are amended to make them more specific
In order to address several difficulties arising from judicial expertise conclusions in the present context, Article 32 is amended and supplemented as follows:
- Judicial expertise conclusions must provide explicit details about the professional contents of the subjects of judicial expertise according to the judicial expertise solicitation or petition;
- Repealing regulations stating that signatures of judicial experts must be authenticated under laws on authentication when soliciting or requesting judicial expertise by the judicial expert.
4. 2020 Law on Mediation or Dialogue at Court
2020 Law on Mediation or Dialogue at Court contains several significant new regulations, including:
Firstly, setting out requirements for appointment of mediators
A Vietnamese citizen who is permanently residing in Vietnam, loyal to the Fatherland and the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, has full legal capacity, good moral qualities, is exemplary in the observance of the law and meets all requirements below may be appointed as a mediator if he/she fully meets the following requirements:
- Acquiring experience of working as a Judge, Court Examiner, Court Clerk, Procurator, Procurator Inspector, Civil Judgment Executor, Inspector;
- Having at least 10 years of experience as a lawyer, expert, or professional; being knowledgeable about customs and traditions and having prestige in the community;
- being knowledgeable about customs and traditions and having prestige in the community;
- Having experience and skills in mediation or dialogue;
- Attaining fitness to complete the assigned tasks;
- Possessing a certificate of professional training in mediation or dialogue issued by a training facility of the Supreme People's Court, unless he/she has been a judge, court examiner of chief examiner or senior examiner level, court clerk of chief clerk or senior clerk level, procurator, executor of civil judgment, or inspector (Article 10).
Secondly, the term of office of a mediator is 3 years from the date of appointment (Article 11).
Thirdly, 07 cases of non-conduct of mediation or dialogue at court
Article 19 regulates that mediation or dialogue at court does not take place at court in the following 7 cases:
- Claim compensation for damage to the State's property;
- Cases arise from civil transactions that violate the prohibition of law or social ethics;
- The petitioner, the respondent, persons with related interests and obligations have been duly invited to participate in mediation or dialogue for the second time but still absent due to force majeure events or objective obstacles or unable to participate in mediation or dialogue for valid reasons;
- A spouse in a divorce dispute is legally incapacitated.
- One of the parties proposes not to conduct mediation or dialogue;
- One of the parties requests the application of an interim injunction as per the Civil Procedure Code and the Administrative Procedure Law;
- In other cases as provided by law.
Fourthly, confidentiality (Article 4)
- Mediators, parties, and other entities who are invited to participate in mediation or dialogue must not disclose information they know in the process of mediation or dialogue.
- During the mediation or dialogue process, no audio-recording or video-recording is allowed and no minutes of mediation or dialogue is taken.
- Documents and presentations of the parties in the process of mediation or dialogue must not be used as evidence in the course of case settlement as per the law, except for the following cases:
+ The party that has presented documents and presented opinions during the mediation or dialogue process has agreed to use the documents and presentations during the mediation or dialogue process as evidence;
+ The documents and presentations must be used as evidence in accordance with the law.
5. 2020 Youth Law
2020 Youth Law contains several significant new regulations, including:
Firstly, rights and obligations of the youth are not regulated in detail as they are also Vietnamese citizens whose rights and obligations are regulated under the Constitution of Vietnam.
Clearly regulating roles, rights and obligations of the youth by stating that the youth are a large pioneering and creative social force that leads the reform, development and protection of the Fatherland; and plays a crucial role in national industrialization and modernization, international integration and socialism advancement (Article 4).
Secondly, clearly regulating 07 rules of assurance of rights and obligations of the youth
- Rights and obligations of the youth must be recognized, respected, protected and ensured under the Constitution and the law.
- The youth must have equal rights and obligations, regardless of their ethnicity, gender, social class, belief, religion, educational level and occupation.
- The State, organizations, educational institutions, families and individuals must enable the youth to exercise their rights and fulfill their obligations according to regulations in the Constitution and the law.
- Youth policies of the State must ensure youth development; enable the youth to exercise their rights, fulfill their obligations and responsibilities and enhance their capacity; and be incorporated into sectoral and local policies.
- Youth policies of the State must be formulated and implemented with the youth’s participation and due respect paid to and consideration taken of the youth’s opinions and wishes.
- Enabling overseas Vietnamese youth to participate in activities honoring the Fatherland and protecting and enhancing the national cultural identity.
- Regulatory bodies, organizations and individuals failing to perform the tasks assigned in this Law shall be promptly and strictly handled.
Thirdly, regulating the Youth's Month which is the March each year for the first time.
Fourthly, specifying state policies granted to the youth which are classified by 6 groups of sectors:
- Learning and scientific research policies;
- Labor and employment policies;
- Entrepreneurship policies;
- Health protection, care and enhancement policies;
- Cultural and sports policies;
- Fatherland protection policies;
(Article 16 through Article 21).
Fifthly, adding more regulations on state support policies granted to youth organizations with respect to the participation in construction and implementation of policies and laws applied to the youth.
6. 2020 Investment Law
2020 Investment Law contains several significant new regulations, including:
Firstly, business of debt collection services is officially banned.
Secondly, the number of conditional business lines is reduced to 227.
Thirdly, more business lines eligible for investment incentives are added.
Fourthly, additional investment incentives are regulated.
Fifthly, new regulations on special investment incentive and assistance policies are set out;
Sixthly, List of business lines restricted to foreign investors will be issued.
Seventhly, 4 cases in which investors are exempted from the requirement for placement of deposits as security for project execution obligations.
For more details, please see significant new regulations of the 2020 Investment Law in force in 2021.
7. 2020 Law on Enterprises
2020 Law on Enterprises contains several significant new regulations, including:
Firstly, abolishing regulations regarding the notice of corporate stamp specimens before use.
Secondly, adding more entities prohibited from establishing businesses.
Thirdly, shortening time limit for prior notice of temporary business suspension from 2021.
Fourthly, changing the “state enterprise” definition.
For more details, please see the overview of new and significant regulations in 2020 Law on Enterprises.
8. 2020 Law on Amendments to Construction Law
2020 Law on Amendments to Construction Law contains several significant new regulations, including:
Firstly, 09 types of construction works are exempted from the construction permit requirement
Secondly, shortening the duration of processing of application for construction permits to 20 days
Thirdly, in order to build homes with 7 or more stories in rural areas, application for construction permits is required
Fourthly, regulations on management of investment costs of construction works are amended
Fifthly, a lot of new regulations regarding construction permits are set out
9. 2020 Amended Law on Issuance of Legislative Documents
2020 Amended Law on Issuance of Legislative Documents contains several significant regulations such as adding more legislative documents to the system; amending regulations on the effective time of legislative documents.
For more details, please see 8 significant new regulations of the 2020 amended Law on Issuance of Legislative Documents
10. 2020 Law on Public – Private Partnership Investment
2020 Law on Public – Private Partnership Investment contains several significant regulations as follows:
Firstly, narrowing PPP investment sectors
According to 2020 Law on Public – Private Partnership Investment, PPP investment sectors have been narrowed to 5 sectors, including:
(1) Traffic and transportation;
(2) Electrical grid, power plants, except hydropower plants and those subject to the state monopoly requirement as provided in the Law on Electricity;
(3) Irrigation; supply of clean water; water drainage and wastewater treatment; waste disposal;
(4) Healthcare; education – training;
(5) Information technology infrastructure.
Secondly, implementation of new BT projects will be halted from 2021.
Thirdly, clearly regulating the investor selection
While the Investment Law and Decree providing guidance only indicate that the investor selection is subject to regulations of laws on bidding, the Law on Public – Private Partnership Investment clearly regulates the investor selection.
Specifically, forms of investor selection applied in the PPP investment include:
- Open bidding
- Competitive negotiation
- Investor appointment
- Investor selection taking place in certain special cases
11. 2020 amended Law on National Assembly Organization
2020 amended Law on National Assembly Organization contains several significant regulations as follows:
Firstly, regulating the amalgamation of Offices of National Assembly Delegations and Offices of People’s Councils while Offices of provincial People’s Committees are kept unchanged.
Secondly, 07 standards of National Assembly’s deputies are in effect from January 1, 2021.
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