Perfecting the legal framework for publishing activities in the new period

Hoàn thiện khung pháp lý về hoạt động xuất bản trong giai đoạn mới- Ảnh 1. — Perfecting the legal framework for publishing activities in the new period

According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the 2012 Publishing Law was passed by the 13th National Assembly and took effect from July 1, 2013 (generally referred to as the 2012 Publishing Law). After more than 12 years of implementation, the 2012 Publishing Law has contributed to creating a relatively complete legal framework for publishing activities, promoting development in both quantity and quality, contributing to serving political and social tasks, developing reading culture and affirming the role of publishing as a sharp ideological tool of the Party.

Some problems need to be revised and supplemented

However, practice also shows many problems arising, requiring amendments and supplements to the current Law:

Some provisions of the Law are still lacking in specificity and are not consistent with related laws such as the Investment Law, Enterprise Law, Intellectual Property Law, Law on Handling of Administrative Violations, etc., leading to difficulties in application and enforcement.

In addition, some administrative procedures are not in line with the reform orientation, have not promoted the effectiveness of digital transformation, causing costly compliance costs and procedure processing time for both management agencies and businesses.

The division of responsibilities and management authority between the central and local levels in many stages is unclear and inconsistent with the current trend of promoting decentralization and delegation of power in implementing the 2-level local government model.

Vietnam has participated in new generation trade agreements such as CPTPP, EVFTA, RCEP... which also requires perfecting the law on publishing to ensure compliance with international commitments on intellectual property rights, trade in services and market access.

Based on the above-mentioned bases, the amendment and supplementation of the 2012 Publishing Law is necessary, objective and urgent in order to perfect the legal framework on publishing activities in accordance with the Party's orientation and policies and the requirements of state management in the new situation; continue to maintain the role of cultural and ideological orientation, develop reading culture, improve people's knowledge and the "soft" power of the country.

Overcoming shortcomings and difficulties of the current Law; simplifying business conditions, cutting compliance costs; supplementing provisions of the Law in accordance with management practices; improving the effectiveness and efficiency of state management in a modern and transparent direction.

Ensure compatibility and consistency with the Vietnamese legal system and compliance with international commitments in publishing, intellectual property, trade and service activities.

Expected amendments and supplements focus on 3 groups of content

The Draft Law proposes to amend and supplement 26 articles, remove 01 article; replace and remove some phrases in some other articles out of a total of 54 articles of the 2012 Publishing Law.

In particular, 26 articles of the Publishing Law 2012 are expected to be amended and supplemented, focusing on the following 3 groups of contents:

Group 1: Regulations on administrative procedure reform, strengthening decentralization, clearly defining authority and responsibility for state management of publishing activities

Accordingly, the draft Law focuses on amending and supplementing relevant regulations in the direction of reducing business conditions; simplifying and reducing administrative procedures; building a national publishing management data system to serve state management work, ensuring updating, connectivity, and data sharing between the central and local levels; meeting the requirements of streamlining and modernizing the apparatus after reorganization and adjustment of administrative boundaries; promoting decentralization, enhancing decentralization to localities to handle administrative procedures to create favorable conditions for people and businesses.

These contents focus on amending and supplementing 20 articles of the 2012 Publishing Law (specifically including articles 8, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 20, 22, 25, 27, 28, 32, 33, 34, 36, 37, 38, 39, 44 and 45).

Group 2: Regulations on supporting and promoting the development of publishing activities (04 articles)

The draft amends and supplements regulations related to State policies to facilitate the development of publishing activities through specific mechanisms such as: tax support and rent for state-owned houses and land; support for training and human resource development; and expansion of subjects eligible to participate in publishing partnerships with publishers.

Increase funding for ordering publications; promote publications abroad; support innovation, application of science and technology , and digital transformation in publishing activities.

These contents focus on amending and supplementing 04 articles of the Publishing Law 2012 (including articles: 7, 23, 27 and 28).

Group 3: Regulations on ensuring the consistency of the legal system and improving enforcement effectiveness

The draft supplements, completes and clarifies the connotation of a number of concepts and terms used in the Law to ensure consistency in understanding and application of the law; at the same time, amends and supplements regulations on prohibited acts to serve as a basis for developing effective sanctions to handle violations in publishing activities, especially acts such as illegal printing, piracy, and counterfeiting of publications.

This content focuses on amending and supplementing 02 articles of the 2012 Publishing Law (Article 4 and Article 10).

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is soliciting comments on this draft on the Ministry's Information Portal.

Minh Hien

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/hoan-thien-khung-phap-ly-ve-hoat-dong-xuat-ban-trong-giai-doan-moi-102251021161543064.htm