To seek public comments, the second version of a draft degree on sanctions for administrative violation in the field of belief and religion in Vietnam has been uploaded on web portals of the Government and the Ministry of Home Affairs and the official website of the Government Committee for Religious Affairs.
This draft decree version has clearly defined categories and forms of violation, sanctions and remedies sought for any violation, as well as competent state authorities to apply sanctioning motions.
Accordingly, as defined in Article 1, there would be three categories of violation, namely violation in the exercise of the right to freedom of belief and religion, violation in practices of belief and violation of religious practices. The first category of violation would include discrimination on ground of belief and religion, contempt of religion or belief, and pretense of religious clergy.
Subject to sanctions under the draft version, individuals and organizations in
Sanctions provided under the draft decree include warning notice, payment of fines and supplementary penalties, such as confiscation of proof and/or violating tools, suspension of religious registration and/or practices, deportation, etc. Under this decree draft, the maximum of fine is up to VND 30 million (USD 1,322) for an individual and VND 60 million (USD 2,643) for an organization.
In addition to sanctions for violation of the Law on Belief and Religion, a violating individual or organization may also have to undertake certain remedies, such as public correction of misinformation and apologies, and return of fund unlawfully collected.
The decree drafting was carried out in accordance with Section 2, Chapter 8 of Law on Belief and Religion approved by the Vietnam National Assembly in November 2016 that will take effect on the 1st of January 2018.
To ensure conformity with international laws on religion or belief, the current draft version also stipulates that “In case where an international treaty acceded by the Socialist
The draft version has been prepared by the Government Committee for Religious Affairs under the home affairs ministry and concerning authorities. It currently contains 37 articles arranged in four chapters and is proposed to take effect on the 1st of June 2018.
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