National Assembly Office deputy director Nguyen Si Dung.

National Assembly Office deputy director Nguyen Si Dung said its introduction would provide managers, researchers and especially the public with better access to legal documents.

“The code can be used as a tool to systematise and regularly update Viet Nam’s legal documents,” he said.

“It will help eliminate duplications contradictions in numerous laws.”

A transparent and easy-to-implement legal system was imperative to a State ruled by law.

This included implementation of Viet Nam’s international, multilateral and bilateral agreements.

The code was arranged in topics to ensure ease of use and its introduction would also make the compiling of laws much easier.

The codification is the result of a EU-funded project based on Magi software.

Information and Science Research Centre director Phung Van Hung said his organisation had worked closely with the EU’s Institutional Support Project for Viet Nam to develop the code and test it before public use.

Access to the Internet was the only condition of use, he said.

“With a simple click, the user can extract any legal document.”

The centre is an affiliate of the National Assembly Office.

Deputy Justice Minister Hoang The Lien said his ministry now planned to review existing legal documents and create a department that would be responsible for them so as to help complete the country’s legal system.

Viet Nam Lawyers Association Chairman Pham Quoc Anh said that although much progress had been made in safeguarding people’s access to legal information, there was much room for improvement.

Ha Noi Law University lecturer Nguyen Dang Dung said only a few Vietnamese were aware of their right to get access to socio-economic and legal information which was related to them.

Surveys in several localities showed that most officials were embarrassed when they were asked to provide information.

“They simply refer the request to their superiors,” he said.

The National Assembly Standing Committee is expected to issue a codification ordinance by the end of the year.

VietNamNet/VNS