At the seminar

Present at the event included Vice Chairman of the Government Committee for Religious Affairs (GCRA) cum Deputy Head of the drafting board and Head of the editing group of the two draft decrees Nguyễn Tiến Trọng; Vice Chairman of the GCRA cum Deputy Head of the drafting board of the two draft decrees Nguyễn Ánh Chức; Vice Chairwoman of the GCRA Trần Thị Minh Nga; members of the drafting board and the editing group of the two draft decrees; representatives from central sectors and agencies, and a large number of scholars, managers and law-making experts in the field of belief and religion.

Speaking at the seminar, Deputy Minister Vũ Chiến Thắng stressed that the Law on Belief and Religion and its guiding Decree No.162 have represented the consistent policy of the Party and the State in safeguarding freedom of belief, religion and human rights in accordance with the 2013 Constitution and international conventions to which Vietnam is a signatory.

He also stated that the Law on Belief and Religion and its guiding Decree No.162 have promoted the efficiency of the state management on belief and religion, contributing to political stability, social order and national security, as well as created favorable conditions for religious organizations to join in the construction and development of the country.

However, according to the deputy minister, the three-year implementing the Law on Belief and Religion and its guiding Decree No. 162 also revealed a number of difficulties and problems, asking for changes and supplements suiting practical conditions and consistent with provisions of current related laws, in order to better meet legitimate needs of religious followers of organizations, as well as prevent and handle acts taking advantage of belief and religion for adversely affecting public security and social order.

Deputy Minister Vũ Chiến Thắng speaks at the seminar

At the event, Director of the GCRA’s Legal Department and Inspection Department Nguyễn Thị Định presented a report on the drafting process of the two draft decrees.

Accordingly, the draft decree to replace Decree No. 162 includes 33 articles, 6 chapters and 61 forms, in which 10 articles are kept unchanged, 9 articles are revised, 12 articles are added, 1 clause is added and 1 clause is annulled compared to Decree No. 162.

The draft decree on sanctioning of administrative violations in the field of belief and religion includes 4 chapters and 51 articles, providing the maximum fine for an act of administrative violation in the field of belief and religion for individual is 30 million VND, and 60 million VND for organization.

Director of the GCRA’s Legal Department and Inspection Department Nguyễn Thị Định speaks at the event

NL