Legal Document Updates in English (08/2011)

6 GROUPS OPERATING ON THE POLICY ON PAYMENT
FOR FOREST ENVIRONMENT SERVICES
 

In order to properly implement the policy on socialization   of   forest   protection   and development work, strongly and thoroughly allocate forest land and assign and contract forest use rights in a stable and permanent manner to organizations, households and village communities; to create conditions for more effective management, protection and utilization of forest resources and forest land resources and  contribute to ensuring harmony and balance of the living environment: to conserve biodiversity; to prevent and limit adverse impacts of natural disasters. On December 13, 2010, the Prime Minister issued the Decision No. 2284/QD-TTg approving the scheme on implementation of the Government's Decree No. 99/2010/ND-CP dated September 24, 2010, on the policy on payment for forest environment services.
Accordingly, at central level the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is assigned to act as the focal point to organize the Scheme implementation. At provincial level, provincial-level steering committees are set up for the Decree implementation, each consisting of a leader of the provincial-level People's Committee as chairman and representatives of the leaders of the Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development; Finance; Planning and Investment; Natural Resources and Environment; Industry and Trade; Information and Communications: and Culture, Sports and Tourism. Provincial-level People's Committees shall promulgate operation regulations for provincial-level steering committees for the Decree implementation.

The plan focuses on 6 major activities: popularizing, disseminating, studying and raising public awareness about the policy on payment for forest environment services; elaborating and promulgating legal documents of ministerial and provincial levels to guide the Decree implementation; elaborating and submitting to the Prime Minister for promulgation documents pertaining to the implementation of Decree No. 99/2010/ ND-CP; reviewing and perfecting mechanisms and policies on forest land allocation and lease; formulating and approving schemes and projects related to the Decree implementation in localities and inspecting, supervising and preliminarily reviewing the implementation of the policy on payment for forest environment services.

On project implementation schedule, in 2011, it is necessary to list provinces and regions eligible for priority implementation of the policy on payment for forest environment services in 2011; From 2012 on, it is necessary to implement schemes and projects and effect the payment of money for forest environment services for providers under the Decree and elaborate and submit to the Prime Minister for consideration and promulgation legal documents mentioned in the Decree.

APPROVING THE NATIONAL PROGRAM ON LABOR SAFETY AND HYGIENE

Improving working conditions and mitigate working environment pollution; to prevent labor accidents and occupational diseases; to provide healthcare for employees: to raise awareness about and assure observance of the law on labor safety and hygiene; to assure body and life safety for employees and safety for assets of the Stale, enterprises and organizations, making contributions to national sustainable development.

This is the national program on labor safety and hygiene during 20112015 which is approved by the Prime Minister on the Decision No. 2281/QD-TTg on December 10, 2010.

In particular, the program point out the aims to reduce by an average 5% of fatal labor accidents in mining, construction, electricity-used, metal and chemical industries and annually increase by an average 5% of establishments which organize regular medical check-ups for employees, to increase by 5% of employees whose occupational diseases are detected through medical check-ups, to increase by 3% of establishments put under working environment surveillance.
At the same time, by 2015, there are over 1,000 craft villages. 5.000 cooperatives

and 30,000 small- and medium-sized enterprises which are provided appropriate information on labor safety and hygiene; healthcare and functional rehabilitation for all employees certified to suffer labor accidents or occupational diseases; and investigate and handle 100% of fatal labor accidents.
In order to achieve above targets, the Program focuses on 05 solution groups on policies and mechanisms; funds for the Program; management and administration; information and communication; international cooperation.
Among them, the most prominent points are that the Prime Minister To encourage enterprises to contribute resources and carry out activities for improving working conditions and providing healthcare for employees; and to assist enterprises and establishments in piloting and applying advanced labor safety and hygiene control systems and forming a labor safety culture;
State budget funds are estimated at VND 730 billion, including VND 680 billion in the central budget and VND 50 billion in local budgets. To give in-principle approval of 5 projects and activities under the Program provided in the Appendix to this Decision.
This Decision takes effect on the date of its signing.

08 CONTENTS IN THE PROGRAM TO SUPPORT
INTELLECTUAL ASSET DEVELOPMENT
 

On December 06, 2010, the Prime Minister signed the Decision No. 2204/QD-TTg approving the program to support intellectual asset development during 2011-2015

Accordingly, the program to support intellectual asset development during 2011-2015 is supported with the following principal contents to meet 70% of requirements of scientific and technological service enterprises and organizations for raising awareness about intellectual property; 70%- of requirements of universities, scientific research institutions and scientific research and technological development institutions for guiding and supporting the creation of and managing, protecting and developing intellectual assets with respect to research outcomes; 70% of requirements of localities for supporting the development of intellectual assets with respect to their specialty products and meet 50% of requirements of enterprises having strategic and specific products with export potential for

supporting the registration of intellectual property protection in countries being major and potential markets.
The Decision also give out 08 contents in the Program in disseminating knowledge about and training in intellectual property; supporting the management of intellectual property activities; establishing and operating organizations to support intellectual asset development; supporting the establishment, exploitation, management, protection and development of intellectual assets of Vietnamese enterprises, organizations and individuals at home and abroad; supporting the formulation and application of management processes and scientific research outcomes and products to raise the value of intellectual assets.

This Decision takes effect on the date of its signing.

LAW-PRACTICING PROBATIONERS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO PROCEDURE
 

On December 01, 2010, the Ministry of Justice issued the Circular No. 21/2010/TT-BTP promulgating the regulation on law-practicing probation.

One of the prominent point of the Lawyer Law and this Circular is that law-practicing probationers are not allowed to procedure and provide other legal services with the consent of clients. This Regulation of Lawyer Law and this Circular is the new point compared to the Lawyer Ordinance in 2001.

A person wishing to practice law on probation shall select and reach agreement with a law-practicing organization so as to be admitted as a law-practicing probationer. In case a person wishing to practice law on probation fails to reach agreement with a law-practicing organization to admit him/her as a law-practicing probationer, he/she may request the management board of a bar association to recommend a law-practicing organization willing to admit him/her for probation.

Law-practicing organizations which can admit law-practicing probationers include: lawyer offices and law firms; subsidiaries of lawyer offices and law firms: Vietnam-based subsidiaries of foreign law-practicing organizations and Vietnam-based foreign law firms: Vietnam-based subsidiaries of foreign law firms.
An instructing lawyer must fully satisfy the following conditions: currently practicing law in a law-practicing organization; having practiced law for 3 years or more;

being fully capable, professionally qualified, prestigious and responsible for area(s) of instruction; not being subject to any discipline prescribed in the bar association's charter.

Lawyers who have been sanctioned for administrative violations in law practicing activities under the Governments Decree No. 60/2009/ND-CP of July 23.2009, on sanctioning of administrative violations in the judicial domain, may only instruct law-practicing probationers one year after they completely execute sanctioning decisions.

The law-practicing probation duration is 18 months. For a person entitled to a reduction of the law-practicing probation duration under Clause 2. Article 16 of the Law on Lawyers, such duration is 6 months. For a person entitled to a reduction of the law-practicing probation duration under Clause 3. Article 1.6 of the Law on Lawyers, such duration is 9 months. The law-practicing probation duration shall be counted from the date of issuance of a decision on registration of law-practicing probation by a bar association.

THE EXAMINATION AND HANDLING OF LEGAL DOCUMENTS
 

On November 30, 2010, the Ministry of Justice issued the Circular No. 20/2010/TT-BTP detailing a number of Articles of the Government's Decree No. 40/2010/ND-CP of April 12,2010, on the examination and handling of legal documents.

Accordingly, documents subject to examination and handling under Decree No. 40 include legal documents defined in Clause 2. Article 1 of Decree No. 40; documents which contain legal norms but are not issued in the form of legal documents and documents with legal norms or a format and contents similar to legal documents which are issued by incompetent agencies or persons in ministries, branches or localities are also subject to examination and handling under Clause 3, Article 1 of Decree No. 40.
The examination of documents prescribed in Article 3 of Decree No. 40 covers the consideration, evaluation of and conclusion on the constitutionality and legality of to-be-examined documents based on the following contents: bases for the issuance of an examined document or legal bases; competence to issue legal documents; compliance with current law; compliance with formats and techniques of presentation as prescribed by current law;

Documents serving as legal bases for determining unlawful contents of an examined document under Article 6 of Decree No. 40 must ensure the following conditions being of a higher legal effect than the examined document, issued by competent agencies or persons; being currently effective or having been signed for issuance or passed but not yet took effect at the time of examination. In case legal documents serving as the legal bases for determining unlawful contents of an examined document contain different provisions on a matter, the document of the highest legal effect, prevails. In case all legal documents serving as the legal bases for examination are issued by a single authority but contain different provisions on a matter, the provisions of the latest document prevails; in case documents issued by different ministers or heads of ministerial-level agencies contain different provisions on a matter, the document issued by the minister or the head of the ministerial-level agency performing the state management of that area prevails.