B1.2.1. Policies, laws and regulations on accountability and corruption control

In Vietnamese law, accountability can be understood as “the provision of information by state agencies about the performance of their assigned duties and powers and responsibilities”.[1] More broadly, accountability relates to the transparency of the activities of public agencies, organisations and units, with the aim of ensuring a democratic approach to state management, recognising that society has a supervisory role to play.[2] Accountability is also linked to the adoption and implementation of policies, laws and regulations to tackle corruption and possible misuse of funds.

• The Law on State Audit (2015)[3] aims to assess and confirm the correctness and truthfulness of public financial information, public assets or financial reports related to the management and use of public finances and public assets; audit reports reveal the level of organizational compliance with the law, and efficiency in the management and use of public finances and public assets.
• The Law on Anti-Corruption (2018) defines corruption and corrupt acts, mandates the development of codes of conduct for public servants and place an obligation on public officials of a certain rank to declare their assets (Article 34), and states that all public servants are expected to report acts of corruption where witnessed (Article 66).[4] In addition, assets and income shall be declared including land use rights (Article 35). According to Article 5, every citizen, by law, has the right to discover and report acts of corruption, the right to protection and rewards; the right to propose amendments to anti-corruption laws and supervise implementation of thereof. The receiving authority shall promptly process the information and implement measures for protecting the informers. Complaints against corrupt activities shall be received and handled in accordance with the regulations of the Law on Denunciations (2018) and the Law on Administrative Procedures (2015).[5] Government agencies have the duty to prepare annual reports on anti-corruption work (Article 84 of Law on Anti-Corruption 2018).
• There are a number of bodies responsible for coordinating, inspecting, and promoting anti-corruption efforts at different levels, including the Central and Provincial Steering Committees against Corruption; the National Assembly and its Standing Committee; People‘s inspection boards at all levels; and Government, ministerial, provincial and commune inspectorates:
• The State Audit Office of Viet Nam is responsible for organizing the audit functions both to prevent and to detect corrupt activities in government operations.
• The Supreme People‘s Procuracy is mandated to organize and direct the prosecution of corruption-related crimes.
• Provincial People’s Committees are responsible for dealing with denunciations/complaints.
• The Central Steering Committee against Corruption has national responsibility for directing, coordinating, inspecting and promoting anti-corruption efforts.
• The National Assembly and its Standing Committee supervise anti-corruption efforts in the domains that fall within their jurisdiction.
• People’s inspection boards at all levels supervise anti-corruption efforts in their respective localities. Citizens, on their own initiative or through the people’s inspectorates, public investment supervision board or their organizations, shall participate in anti-corruption activities.
• The Government Inspectorate, ministerial inspectorates and provincial inspectorates, within the scope of their duties and entitlements, shall inspect implementation of anti-corruption laws (Article 80 of Law on Anti-Corruption). Where such observation reveals corrupt acts, the receiving authority shall verify information, take appropriate actions and inform the result to the requesting entity.
• The Vietnamese Fatherland Front and its member organizations are entitled to request other competent authorities to implement anti-corruption measures, investigate corruption cases and take actions against corrupted individuals, recover corruptly-acquired assets, and propose rewards for anti-corruption informers (Article 74 of the Law on Anti-Corruption).

According to Article 16 of the Law on Anti-Corruption (2018), the Government shall submit an annual report on management of denunciation settlement to the National Assembly, Standing Committee of National Assembly and the President, and notify the management of denunciation settlement to the Central Committee of the Vietnamese Fatherland Front. Ministries, ministerial agencies, Governmental agencies and Provincial People’s Committees shall submit reports on management of their denunciation settlement to the Government on a periodic basis or upon request. People’s Committees shall submit an annual report on management of denunciation settlement to People’s Councils at the same level and supervisory authorities and notify the management of denunciation settlement to the Central Committee of the Vietnamese Fatherland Front.

Viet Nam has also established institutions and procedures for promoting transparency of forest sector activities specifically, which include supervision and monitoring of funds. For example, the Viet Nam Forest Development and Protection Fund (VNFF) has established the Fund Control Board.[6] In addition, forestry budgets must be carefully reviewed according to the provisions of the State Budget Law (2015)[7] and information must be publicly announced. The Department of Finance under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and the State Audit Office also promote e-transparency in forestry activities through monitoring and supervision of capital sources. The Government's Decree on Viet Nam's Timber Legality Assurance System (2020)[8] stipulates accountability for timber owners when importing timber to ensure the legality of the origin of imported timber.

[1]	Government Decree No. 90/2013/ND-CP, Article 3(1)
[2]	Nguyen Tuan Khanh ‘Improving the legal bases for accountability’, http://noichinh.vn/nghien-cuu-trao-doi/201309/hoan-thien-co-so-phap-ly-ve-trach-nhiem-giai-trinh-292197/, 18 November 2013
[3]	Law on State Audit (2015) (Law No. 81/2015/QH13) https://chinhphu.vn/default.aspx?pageid=27160&docid=180628
[4]	The Law on Anti-Corruption (2018) (Law No. 36/2018/QH14) https://vanban.chinhphu.vn/?pageid=27160&docid=206104
[5]	The Law on Denunciations (2018) (Law No. 25/2018/QH14 8), https://vanban.chinhphu.vn/?pageid=27160&docid=206115&classid=1&typegroupid=3; and Law on Administrative Procedures (Law No. 93/2015/QH13)
[6]	Decision No. 3618/QD-BNN-TCCB on the organization and operations of VNFF
[7]	State Budget Law (2015) https://chinhphu.vn/default.aspx?pageid=27160&docid=180627
[8]	Decree No. 102/2020/ND-CP on Viet Nam Timber Legality Assurance System