09 Matters available for public comment prior to the competent authority’s decision in Vietnam

09 Matters available for public comment prior to the competent authority’s decision in Vietnam (Internet image)

The National Assembly passed the Law on Implementation of Grassroots-level Democracy 2022 on November 10, 2022.

1. 09 Matters available for public comment prior to the competent authority’s decision in Vietnam

09 matters available for public comment prior to the competent authority’s decision according to Article 25 of the Law on Implementation of Grassroots-level Democracy 2022, including:

- Draft socio-economic development plans of communes; plans for transformation of economic and production structures; projects on sedentary farming, settlement, development of new economic zones and plans on development of trades and industries of communes.

- Draft land use planning of districts and modification plans; management and use of reserved land assigned to the commune-level People's Committees for management purposes.

- Undertakings and policies for investment, construction, land, treatment of waste, environmental protection, compensation, site clearance, plans for residential mobility, resettlement and agricultural resettlement, which are applied to decisions on public investment in projects of national significance; class-A projects;

Projects in which residential mobility, resettlement and agricultural resettlement are on a large scale; projects posing risks of causing critical impacts on environment; projects directly impacting socio-economic lives of residential community at or near project sites.

- Draft projects on establishment, dissolution, merger, division, relocation of boundaries between administrative units, naming and renaming of administrative units; draft proposals for establishment, dissolution, merger, division, naming and renaming of villages, residential quarters, and coupling between residential clusters.

- Draft administrative decisions of the commune-level People's Committees related to public interests, including decisions on release or approval of programs, plans, projects or proposals having impacts on environment, community health, social order, safety and other issues affecting residential community.

- Draft planning requirements and general construction planning projects, draft requirements and projects on zone planning, detailed construction planning and general construction planning of communes, construction planning of rural residential quarters.

- Draft regulations on implementation of democracy applied in communes, wards and towns; draft regulations on implementation of democracy imposed on specific sectors and activities in communes, wards and towns (if any).

- Draft administrative decisions establishing obligations or giving rise to termination or restriction of the rights and interests of the executors who are citizens living in communes.

- Other matters as stipulated by laws and regulations on implementation of democracy in communes, wards, towns, or at the request of competent state authorities or governments of communes that need public comment.

Currently, the Ordinance on the exercise of democracy in communes, wards and townships 2007 stipulates contents to be commented by people as follows:

- Draft plans on socio-economic development at the communal level; economic and production- restructuring options; schemes on sedentary farming, resettlement and new economic zones and production and business line development options of the communal level.

- Draft detailed land use planning and plans and adjustment schemes; the management and use of land areas of the communal level.

- Draft plans on implementation of programs and projects in communal-level localities; undertakings and schemes on ground clearance compensation and supports, infrastructure construction, resettlement; schemes on population quarter planning.

- Draft schemes on establishment, merger, division of administrative units, adjustment of administrative boundaries, directly related to communal-level localities.

- Other contents, which need people's comments as required by law, requested by competent state bodies or considered necessary by communal-level administrations.

2. Form of public comment in Vietnam

The form of public comment in Vietnam under Article 26 of the Law on Implementation of Grassroots-level Democracy 2022 is as follows:

- Public comments shall be collected:

= In a meeting or seminar between the commune-level People's Committee and the public;

= In a meeting of the residential community;

= By using survey forms handed out to family households;

= Through a feedback mailbox or hotline (if any);

= Through the Committees on Fatherland Front Affairs of villages or residential quarters, and socio-political organizations at the grassroots level;

= On websites or web portals of commune-level local governments;

= Via telecommunications networks or social networks accepted by the provisions of law if the level of competence in application of information technology in a commune, village, and residential quarter permits;

= Through conversation or consultation with citizens who are the executors of the matters specified in clause 8 of Article 25 of the Law on Implementation of Grassroots-level Democracy 2022.

- Depending on the content, nature and requirements of collection of public comments, capabilities and conditions required to adapt to the actual condition of each locality, and in accordance with the regulations on implementation of democracy in communes, wards or towns, commune-level People’s Committees shall decide on one or several forms of public comment specified in clause 1 of Article 26 of the Law on Implementation of Grassroots-level Democracy 2022.

Where there is any regulatory provision on using a particular forms or method of public comment about a specified matter, conducting collection of public comments, consolidating, explaining or responding to public comments shall be subject to these regulatory provisions.

Currently, the Ordinance on the exercise of democracy in communes, wards and townships 2007 stipulates Modes of giving comments by people as follows:

- Meetings of voters or voter-representatives of households in each village, street population group.

- Distributing tickets to gather comments of voters or voter-representatives of households.

- Installing mailboxes for comments.

The Law on Implementation of Grassroots-level Democracy 2022 takes effect from July 1, 2023, replacing the Ordinance on the exercise of democracy in communes, wards and townships 2007 and Resolution 55/1998/NQ-UBTVQH10.

Quoc Dat

>> CLICK HERE TO READ THIS ARTICLE IN VIETNAMESE