Hanoi (Viet Nam), 3 December 2022 - Since its approval on 15 November 2010, the Vietnamese Law on Inspection has been the base for national inspection activities. The law has contributed to stabilizing Viet Nam’s socio-economic situation and improving the overall efficiency of State management and anti-corruption work. However, the law has also revealed several limitations, causing difficulties in the implementation of inspection activities, including uncertainty about the scope and type of inspection, unclear administrative pathways, and overlap between State Inspection and State Audit activities. This has resulted in an unnecessarily high number of inspections, leading to inefficiencies and frustration at the point of delivery.
To address these shortcomings, institutionalize the provisions of the 2013 Constitution, and strengthen the effectiveness and efficiency of inspection activities, Viet Nam began reviewing the law in 2021 with the intention of drafting an amendment to clarify the position, role, functions, duties, and powers of the inspection agencies, facilitate innovations in inspections, and enhance the initiative and responsibility of inspection agencies in performing their assigned tasks. In this context, Viet Nam’s Government Inspectorate (GI), as the leading agency in developing a new Law on Inspection, requested UNODC to provide technical and financial assistance in drafting the amendment.
In support of the GI, UNODC organized and facilitated two legislative drafting workshops on the new “Law on Inspection” on 22 – 23 October 2021 and 3 December 2022 and two consultations on the draft law on 16 April 2022 and 16 September 2022. These meetings created opportunities for law makers, academics, researchers, legal experts, law enforcement officers and government officials in Viet Nam, as well as experts from UNODC, to discuss, gain a greater understanding of, and formulate productive and effective inputs to the new Inspection Law before consideration at the National Assembly in October 2022.
Vietnamese legislators adopted the (revised) Law on Inspection during the ongoing fourth session of the 15th National Assembly in Hanoi on 14 November, 2022. The new Law comprises eight chapters with 118 articles and will take effect on 1 July, 2023.
The Law clearly defines the purpose, position, role, function, duties, powers and responsibilities of State Inspection Agencies and inspectors, codifies standards for inspectors and abolishes the title of People’s Inspector, stipulates coordination in inspection, state audit, and investigation activities to minimize overlaps, and emphasizes the importance of application of information technology and digital technology in inspection activities. New sources of funding for the operation of the State Inspection Agencies (i.e., withholding part of the amounts recovered through inspection after being remitted into the State) were also added.
At the request of the GI, UNODC will continue to support implementation of the new Law via development of a Decree guiding the application of the revised Law on Inspection.
This initiative was part of activities funded by the Ministry of Justice of Government of the Republic of Korea.
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