LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR PUBLICPARTICIPATION IN VIET NAM
Ms. CAO Hong Lan
Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute(VINATOM)Tokyo, 22-24 March 2018

Contents
1. General Information
2. Laws currently governing public participation
3. Challenges
4. Conclusions

General Information• The following are present in Viet Nam:– sealed radioactive sources– research reactor• The nuclear power plant projects have been
postponed since November 2016
• The PFS of a new research reactor project isbeing considered for approval

LAWS CURRENTLY GOVERNING
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION (1)• Law on atomic energy 2008: Dossier for site approval shall
include theResolution of the Provincial People’sCommittee of the place where the nuclear power plant isto be located, stating public opinions on measures forsafety and security assurance, investment policy forconstruction of infrastructure, development of culture,
education and welfare in order to harmonize the benefit of
the State, investors and local people (Article 47 on NPP site)– Decree No. 70/2010/NĐ-CP:• Environmental Impact Assessment Report shall include
Opinion of People’s Council and representatives of public inthe Ward where the project is implemented.

LAWS CURRENTLY GOVERNING
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION (2)• Law on Environmental Protection 2014:– Article 21: Consultation to be required in the process of theenvironmental impact assessment, aiming at completing the report onenvironmental impact assessment, helps minimize the bad impacts on
the environment and human beings and ensure the sustainable
development of the project. Project owners are obligated to consult
with regulatory agencies, organizations and communities that aredirectly affected by the project.
– Article 22: Main subject-matters of the report on environmental
impact assessment shall include the Consultation result.
• Decree No.18/2015/NĐ-CPArticle 12 stipulates the consultation procedure,
correction upon receive the opinions and requirement from the People’s
Council and public in the Ward where the project is implemented.
• Circular 27/2015/TT-BTNMT regulations and guidelines on strategic
environmental assessment, environmental impact assessment andenvironmental protection plan including the sample forms for consultation.

LAWS CURRENTLY GOVERNING
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION (3)• Hand book on guidance for formulation of Environmental Impact
Assessment Report of NPP, issued by the Ministry of Environment andNatural Resources:
Chapter 6. Public consultation:
Objectives: Collecting information and data for the EIA process and decision
makingPrinciples:- Consultation on the right people at the right time
- The content of the consultation must be honest with the content of the
project and be shown in a simple and easy to understand.
- Consultation in the EIA implementation process and reflecting in the EIA
report.

Content:––––

Consultation time
Subject to consultation
Forms of consultation
Feedback consulting results

LAWS CURRENTLY GOVERNING
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION (4)• Ordinance on exercise of democracy incommunes,wardsandtownships
The Ordinance stipulates the issues that must be
discussed and participated in authority’s decisionby local people.
– in order to concretize the above provisions, some
Provincial People's Councils have issued separate
resolutions of the People's Councils to guideprocedures and related contents of consultation
activities.

LAWS CURRENTLY GOVERNING
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION (5)1. Prepare for
consultation

2. Consultation
implementation

5. Feedback

4. Consultation
result use

3. Information
synthesis,
treatment andanalyzation

Public consultation process

CHALLENGES• Difficulty in finding common view in thepreparation and construction phase ofprojects such as land acquisition,compensation, site clearance andresettlement.
• Many projects have been delayed, failing tomeet the targets due to long-runningdisputes.

CONCLUSIONS• Stakeholder consultation is an effective way to mobilize
people’s knowledge to improve the project, increasesocial feedback, minimize the negative impact of theproject, make the consensus of people.
• In order to enhance public participation in the project
development, it is necessary to comply with the related
policies and laws; transparent, open and honest about
information and activities of the project. The project
owner and related organizations should be fully
involved in the consultation process, especially withcivil society organizations and communities directly
affected by the project.

Thank you foryour attention !