A majority of National Assembly deputies agreed that a law on advertising was a necessity when the issue was raised at the second session of the 13th Standing Committee yesterday.
A majority of National Assembly deputies agreed that a law on advertising was a necessity when the issue was raised at the second session of the 13th Standing Committee yesterday.
The discussion of the draft law opened a six-day session of the committee.
In the meeting chaired by NA Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung, deputies heard Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Tuan Anh present the draft law on advertising.
Anh said the Ordinance on Advertising, issued in 2001, had obvious shortcomings despite its positive impact on the advertising sector and the country's social-economic development.
Some regulations in the Ordinance did not fit with the realities of the current business climate and were not in line with Viet Nam's commitments to the World Trade Organisation.
Chairman of the NA Committee for Culture, Education, Youth and Children Dao Trong Thi said the regulations were not specific enough and did not address newer forms of advertising, such as telecom networks and electronic equipment.
Besides, advertising regulations were spread between the Ordinance and other documents such as the Laws on Competitiveness, Construction and Food Security. Thi said this fractured policy led to difficulties in managing advertising at the local and State levels.
Thi stressed that the Ordinance must be amended and developed into a law in order to improve the efficiency of State management and create conditions for the development of advertising market.
Chairwoman of the NA Committee for Social Affairs Truong Thi Mai also supported the new law, but she suggested it should have stronger punishments built in to protect consumers' rights, even advocating sanctions for State officials in charge of managing the sector.
The chairman of the Committee for Science, Technology and Environment agreed with Mai, saying that regulations to punish violators were too simple and should be made more specific.
Chairman of the NA Law Committee Phan Trung Ly and chairman of Ethnic Council Ksor Phuoc said it was necessary to define the scope of the law more clearly, adding that draft law composers must review other laws to see which regulations were already in place.
Deputies also discussed which ministry would be responsible for managing the advertising sector.
Under Article 6 of the draft law, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism would take the responsibility.
NA Deputy Chairman Uong Chu Luu said that when the Ordinance was originally drafted, the former Ministry of Culture and Information was tasked with managing the sector, but after the Government was restructured, the Ministry of Information and Communications assumed responsibility for managing mass media. Therefore, the new law should clearly define the duties of each ministry.
"Some people suggested it should be the Ministry of Information and Communications, as 80 per cent of advertising occurs in print media, television, and the internet, while the culture ministry only controlled outdoor advertising," Thi said.
However, the Committee for Culture, Education, Youth and Children was chosen because advertising must not only provide accurate information of products, but also be suitable to the country's traditional and moral standards, he said.
NA Deputy Chairman Huynh Ngoc Son said it would be complicated if there were many agencies in charge of the sector, so he agreed to let the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism manage it.
Deputy Ksor Phuoc said the co-operation among ministries in controlling the sector should also be regulated specifically.
The draft law has five chapters and 47 articles.
Law on Cryptography
Chairman of the Committee for National Defence and Security Nguyen Kim Thoa said that the Government Cryptography Board should no longer be managed by the Ministry of Home Affairs since the sector handled delicate questions of national security.
From 1958 to 1979, the board was governed by the Party Central Committee's Military Commission. He noted that the Ministry of Defence has significant experience in these types of issues. Statistics show that members of the People's Army account for 45 per cent of those working in the sector.
Therefore, the committee agreed with the Government's proposal to put the board under the leadership of the Ministry of Defence rather than the Ministry of Home Affairs, but its current name, function and tasks should be maintained.
The law, including five chapters and 37 articles, is expected to come into effect on January 1, 2012.
Draft price management
The role of the State in stabilising and fixing market prices was debated yesterday at a meeting to discuss a draft price management law.
According to Finance Minister Vuong Dinh Hue, the State would stabilise prices when there were erratic fluctuations in the cost of essential commodities and services.
The State would stabilise prices by using measures suitable for that point in time to achieve the most effective results.
Hue said the regulation aimed at controlling inflation, stabilise socio-economic development and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of producers, traders, consumers and the State.
The NA Committee on Finance and Budget said the draft had supplemented some new, detailed regulations to the current Ordinance on Price.
They included regulations on the rights and duties of organisations and individuals in price activities, the State role in price adjustment and price appraisal, among others.
However, the committee said the draft had failed to highlight essential changes and make clear advances to overcome limitations in the current legal framework.
It said many regulations remained contrary to the market mechanism and integration trend.
The draft had attached exaggerated importance to the power and role of State offices in deciding prices and State intervention on supply and demand relations. Much of the draft remained qualitative and general, the committee said.
It asked the compiling committee to specify which commodities and services would be subject to the stabilisation measures to ensure transparency and help businesses plan for the future.
The committee said it was unreasonable that the draft allowed provincial People's Committees to decide price stabilisation measures in their own localities.
It said price stabilisation measures on a national scale must be made by the central Government because it was an important issue that directly impacted on production, trade and consumer interests.
Many delegates also agreed that price fixing regulations remained unclear, making it difficult to apply the law.
They suggested to pinpoint the State's role in price stabilisation. They added that the draft needed to affirm a rule that the State would only intervene when there were abnormal market fluctuations in order to avoid distorting the market and strangling production.
The discussion of the draft law opened a six-day session of the committee.
In the meeting chaired by NA Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung, deputies heard Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Tuan Anh present the draft law on advertising.
Anh said the Ordinance on Advertising, issued in 2001, had obvious shortcomings despite its positive impact on the advertising sector and the country's social-economic development.
Some regulations in the Ordinance did not fit with the realities of the current business climate and were not in line with Viet Nam's commitments to the World Trade Organisation.
Chairman of the NA Committee for Culture, Education, Youth and Children Dao Trong Thi said the regulations were not specific enough and did not address newer forms of advertising, such as telecom networks and electronic equipment.
Besides, advertising regulations were spread between the Ordinance and other documents such as the Laws on Competitiveness, Construction and Food Security. Thi said this fractured policy led to difficulties in managing advertising at the local and State levels.
Thi stressed that the Ordinance must be amended and developed into a law in order to improve the efficiency of State management and create conditions for the development of advertising market.
Chairwoman of the NA Committee for Social Affairs Truong Thi Mai also supported the new law, but she suggested it should have stronger punishments built in to protect consumers' rights, even advocating sanctions for State officials in charge of managing the sector.
The chairman of the Committee for Science, Technology and Environment agreed with Mai, saying that regulations to punish violators were too simple and should be made more specific.
Chairman of the NA Law Committee Phan Trung Ly and chairman of Ethnic Council Ksor Phuoc said it was necessary to define the scope of the law more clearly, adding that draft law composers must review other laws to see which regulations were already in place.
Deputies also discussed which ministry would be responsible for managing the advertising sector.
Under Article 6 of the draft law, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism would take the responsibility.
NA Deputy Chairman Uong Chu Luu said that when the Ordinance was originally drafted, the former Ministry of Culture and Information was tasked with managing the sector, but after the Government was restructured, the Ministry of Information and Communications assumed responsibility for managing mass media. Therefore, the new law should clearly define the duties of each ministry.
"Some people suggested it should be the Ministry of Information and Communications, as 80 per cent of advertising occurs in print media, television, and the internet, while the culture ministry only controlled outdoor advertising," Thi said.
However, the Committee for Culture, Education, Youth and Children was chosen because advertising must not only provide accurate information of products, but also be suitable to the country's traditional and moral standards, he said.
NA Deputy Chairman Huynh Ngoc Son said it would be complicated if there were many agencies in charge of the sector, so he agreed to let the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism manage it.
Deputy Ksor Phuoc said the co-operation among ministries in controlling the sector should also be regulated specifically.
The draft law has five chapters and 47 articles.
Law on Cryptography
Chairman of the Committee for National Defence and Security Nguyen Kim Thoa said that the Government Cryptography Board should no longer be managed by the Ministry of Home Affairs since the sector handled delicate questions of national security.
From 1958 to 1979, the board was governed by the Party Central Committee's Military Commission. He noted that the Ministry of Defence has significant experience in these types of issues. Statistics show that members of the People's Army account for 45 per cent of those working in the sector.
Therefore, the committee agreed with the Government's proposal to put the board under the leadership of the Ministry of Defence rather than the Ministry of Home Affairs, but its current name, function and tasks should be maintained.
The law, including five chapters and 37 articles, is expected to come into effect on January 1, 2012.
Draft price management
The role of the State in stabilising and fixing market prices was debated yesterday at a meeting to discuss a draft price management law.
According to Finance Minister Vuong Dinh Hue, the State would stabilise prices when there were erratic fluctuations in the cost of essential commodities and services.
The State would stabilise prices by using measures suitable for that point in time to achieve the most effective results.
Hue said the regulation aimed at controlling inflation, stabilise socio-economic development and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of producers, traders, consumers and the State.
The NA Committee on Finance and Budget said the draft had supplemented some new, detailed regulations to the current Ordinance on Price.
They included regulations on the rights and duties of organisations and individuals in price activities, the State role in price adjustment and price appraisal, among others.
However, the committee said the draft had failed to highlight essential changes and make clear advances to overcome limitations in the current legal framework.
It said many regulations remained contrary to the market mechanism and integration trend.
The draft had attached exaggerated importance to the power and role of State offices in deciding prices and State intervention on supply and demand relations. Much of the draft remained qualitative and general, the committee said.
It asked the compiling committee to specify which commodities and services would be subject to the stabilisation measures to ensure transparency and help businesses plan for the future.
The committee said it was unreasonable that the draft allowed provincial People's Committees to decide price stabilisation measures in their own localities.
It said price stabilisation measures on a national scale must be made by the central Government because it was an important issue that directly impacted on production, trade and consumer interests.
Many delegates also agreed that price fixing regulations remained unclear, making it difficult to apply the law.
They suggested to pinpoint the State's role in price stabilisation. They added that the draft needed to affirm a rule that the State would only intervene when there were abnormal market fluctuations in order to avoid distorting the market and strangling production.
(Source: VNS)
