The relation between openness transparency and accountability in state governance and the right of access to justice of citizens in vietnam

AND ACCOUNTABILIT IN STATE GOVERNANCEAND THE RIGHT OF ACCESS TO JUSTICE OF CITIZENS IN VIETNAM ___________ A/ rof Dr ruong B o Hai1- LLM Dang Viet Dat2____________ Int oduction Since the

AND ACCOUNTABILIT IN STATE GOVERNANCE

AND THE RIGHT OF ACCESS TO JUSTICE OF CITIZENS IN VIETNAM

_ A/ rof Dr ruong B o Hai1- LLM Dang Viet Dat2

Int oduction

Since the end of the t entieth centu y to the p esent, the te ms ofmfo mationdisclosu e, t anspa ency, and accountability a e not unkno n to the esea che s andpublic policymake s in Vietnam and a ound the o ld These a e o iginated in theiimpo tance to the equi ement of gove nance quality enhancement, acco ding to thestanda ds of good gove nance

The ight of access to ustice is a fundamental human ight, ecognized byinte national human ights la and the United Nations Development P og amme(UNDP) has conside ed this ight assu ance that is an impo tant pa t of the UNDP’smission, so as to educe the pove ty and to st engthen democ atic gove nance inthe developing count ies3 To accomplish this task, the UNDP tends to p omote theimplementation of info mation disclosu e, t anspa ency, and accountability in thestate agencies in gene al and udicial o gans in pa ticula

Vietnam is a developing count y, and it has been making effo ts to implementmany efo ms since the late 80s of the t entieth centu y, so fa Vietnam has achievedmany good esults and become a b ight spot in the Asia - Pacific egion on the

Ho Chi Mitth National Academy of olitics

2Academy of olitics Region IV

3 UNDP, Access to Justice: P actice Note <https:// undp o g/content/dam/apla s/publication/en/ pubIications/democ atic-govemance/dg-publications-fo - ebsite/access-to- ustice-p actice-note/Justice_PN„

En pdf> accessed 7 Octobe 20 , p 3

pove ty-alleviation Ho eve , Vietnam still is cu ently facing many challenges,

fo example, the economic g o th ate is slo ing do n, the lo p oductivity andespecially, Vietnam is facing the isk of the middle income t ap ; the social inequality

is inc easing; the co uption occu s in a va iety and complicated manne ; the mist ialsituation in legal p oceedings still occu s; the global competitiveness index is lo ;etc These facts demonst ate that the gove nance quality in Vietnam is not still high;the human ights, fundamental ights and obligations of the citizens a e not ellgua anteed, especially the ight of access to ustice2 To add ess this eality, Vietnamneeds to pe fo m ell in the info mation disclosu e, t anspa ency and accountability

in the state agencies

To cla ify the above, this a ticle aim is to ans e the follo ing questions: Whatole does info mation disclosu e, t anspa ency, and accountability play in the stategove nance? What is the impo tance of info mation disclosu e, t anspa ency, andaccountability fo the ight assu ance of access to ustice of the citizens? What is theelationship bet een the good state gove nance and the ight assu ance of access

to ustice of the citizens? Ho does the implementation of info mation disclosu e,

t anspa ency, and accountability in gove nance ith the ight assu ance of access toustice of the citizens in Vietnam?

2 I format o d sclosure, tra spare cy, a d accou tab l ty - mporta tcompo e ts of good gover a ce

Since the 80s, the esea che s on policy and public administ ation have

b ought an ent ep eneu ial spi it into the public secto , ith the goal of changing

o ganizational and executive thinking in the state secto to effectively use publicesou ces ( hich a e cu ently sca ce) to bette se ve society The efo e, the te m

“gove nance” is inc easingly used, especially in the p og amme of the Wo ld Bank(WB)> the United Nations Development P og am (UNDP), and the Eu opean Union(EƯ), the O ganization fo Economic Co-ope ation and Development (OECD), theAsian Development Bank (ADB), etc

Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce

Kenichi Ohno and Le Ha Thanh, “ he middle-income trap in Vietnam with the current situation and solutions'\ Vietnam Jou nal of Social Sciences, (Hanoi, July 20 5) 2, p 33

2Vietnam La ye s Association, CECODES, UNDP, he Vietnam Lawyers Association, CECODE , UND , Justice index: Assessment ofDistributive Justice and Equalityfrom a Citizen-based urvey in 2012 (Hanoi 20 3) pp 2- 3, 7-2

Acco ding to Ma k Bevi , the te m “state gove nance” efe s to the enti e p ocessofo ganizing and managing the state’s activities ca ied out by many diffe ent sub ects,including the state, ma kets and social institutions th ough fo mal (legal) and info malinstitutional systems (customa y la s, ethical no ms, cultu al no ms, eligious no ms,etc ) In pa ticula , the state plays a leading ole, p oactively coo dinating ith otheentities to plan, implement public policy and p ovide public se vices

Although the e a e many diffe ent concepts, the theo y of the stategove nance is to aims at giving measu es in o de to p omote democ acy andhuman ights, p omote economic p ospe ity, social stability, and cohesion, educepove ty, p otect the envi onment and make efficient use of natu al esou ces andinc easing the people’s confidence in state institutions In essence, the theo y ofgove nance desi es the count ies to un the state acco ding to the standa ds ofgood gove nance

In the vie of the Wo ld Bank> UNDP and the Eu opean Commission2(this isthe mainst eam vie of the cu ent app oach to this te m), the good gove nance is toeffectively implement state affai s ith the pa ticipation of many sub ects in society,satisfy social needs, and ensu e the ights of the people and o ganizations This isone of the solutions to ensu e good fo comp ehensive and sustainable development,human ights, and a p ospe ous society Good gove nance leads to the follo ingvalues: ( ) Expanding the people’s pa ticipation in the state management activities;(2) Making policy on the p inciple of social consensus; (3) Developing a esponsibleand t anspa ent administ ation; (4) an efficient and effective accountability; (5) Justiceand comp ehensiveness; (6) La -Abiding3

Acco ding to these standa ds, state gove nance must ensu e the pa ticipation ofthe peopie (the people have a voice in policymaking, have a ep esentative democ acy,and have the f eedom of speech and association); have a society uled bythe la ;have a public and t anspa ent gove nment (the p ocesses and info mation must beaccessible to the people, to help them supe vise); the gove nment ca es about the socialbenefits of ail stakeholde s; c eates b oad consensus in society; t eats fai ly (aboutoppo tunities to imp ove the quality of all the people's lives); ope ates effectively

JMa k Bevi , overnance: A Very hort Introduction (Oxfo d Unive sity P ess, 20 2), p -3

2Wo ld Bank, overnance: he WorldBank’sExperienceDevelopment in ractice (WB, 6); UNDP, overnmance for sustainable human development - a UND policy document (UNDP, 7)

3T uong Ho Hai, "An overview of the state of tectonic development and good governance”, Jou nal of La (Hanoi, Septembe 20 7) , p 6

Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce

Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce

and efficiently (effectiveness of institutions and p ocesses, efficiency compa ed ithinvested esou ces); has accountability (policy decision make s a e accountable tothe public and esponsible to the public); and finally, leade s have a st ategic vision(b oad and long-te m vision fo the development of national gove nance and humanesou ces fo development) Besides the gove nance must aim to ensu e human ights,fundamental f eedoms, and human dignity (including equality, equality bet een menand omen, ega dless of ace, eligion, class); the needs offutu e gene ations must betaken into account hen developing cu ent policies; policies must meet the people’sishes and be compensated adequately hen the people’s legal ights and inte ests a eviolated

In that vie , info mation disclosu e, t anspa ency, and accountability a eimpo tant elements of gove nance as these a e impo tant platfo ms (launche s) fobuilding a p ospe ous nation The eby, the people eally t ust and a e illing to sha ethe bu dens of management ith the state Additionally, the state ill be st ongehen eve y citizen ealizes that this is an institution that ep esents them and thecou try w ll prosperous w e everyo e bel eves t at t ey are s ar g t e samemission2 If Deng Zhenglai, Su ian Guo conside that good gove nance must includeeight components, such as: ( ) Rule of la , Integ ity; (2) Pa ticipation; (3) Fai ness;(4) info mation disclosu e, t anspa ency; (5) Accountability; (6) Flexible adaptation;

(7) Consensus; (8) Effectiveness, Efficiency (Diagram I ), s Chiavo - Campo and

P S A Sunda am have said that good gove nance must ely on fou pilla s, namely

“accountability, t anspa ency, p edictability, and pa ticipation”3 It sho s thataccountability, info mation disclosu e, t anspa ency, and Pa ticipation a e al aysspecially impo tant in secu ing a mode n and democ atic gove nance

T uong Ho Hai, “An overview ofthe state o ftectonic development and good governance", Jou nal of La (Hanoi, Septembe 20 7) , p 6-7

2T uong Ho Hai, “An overview ofthe state o f tectonic development and good governance”, Jou nal of La (Hanoi, Septembe 20 7) , p 5

3 S Chiavo - Campo and P S A Sunda am, erving and Maintaining: Improving ublic Administration in a Competitive World (t anslated by Nguyen Canh Binh et al , National Politics, Hanoi, 2003), p 2

Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce

D agram : Compo e ts of good gover a ce

ource: Compiled f om Deng Zhenglai, Su ian Guo (20 )Accountability is “the ability to ans e and take esponsibility fo theconsequences” This sho s that,firstly, officials have the esponsibility to pe iodicallyans e ho they have used thei autho ity, he e esou ces a e used, ho the esults

a e achieved and the eason hy it did not meet the set goal econdly>besides inte nalaccountability, officials need to inc ease exte nal accountability to ensu e exte nalcont oi of the quality of public se vice delive y The entity that makes and implementspolicies and la s is accountable not only to supe io agencies and to elected bodiesbut also to the p ivate secto and public social o ganizations and the pa ties involved

in those egulations hirdly, officials a e esponsible (i e legal esponsibility, politicalesponsibility) fo the esults of thei official duties Acco dingly, the institutionalsystem must be capable of clea ly defining esponsibilities and holding officialsaccountable fo the esults of thei official duties, especially heads of agencies and

o ganizations Thus, autho ites can be a lack of accountability unless the e a einfo mation disclosu e, t anspa ency, and a full and accu ate legal system

Deng Zhenglai, Su ian Guo, China's searchfor goodgovernance (Published by Palg ave Macmillan, 20 ), p 17

Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce

The info mation disclosu e and t anspa ency of the state's activities can beconside ed in the follo ing main aspects Firstly, the gove nment must p ovidethe info mation on facts elated to policies by itself, such as ho data a e used as

a basis fo policy fo mulation, actual effects, consequences, and methods applied

in p actice Besides the info mation sou ces and the att ibutes of the info mation(unde standability, consistency, comp ehensiveness, honesty, quality and eliability)also play an impo tant ole in ensu ing the info mation disclosu e and t anspa ency

of the gove nment econdly, the ability of the citizens to have access - di ectly oindi ectly “ to the autho ities’s eco ds and documents (except fo matte s elated

to national secu ity, inte nal info mation of agencies and o ganizations); publicizingmeetings (fo example, the meetings of autho ities at all levels except fo inte nalmeetings of agencies o the meetings elated to national defense and secu ity) hirdly,befo e d afting and implementing policies, the gove nment must consult ith elevantstakeholde g oups systematically, including the the dissemination of the info mationand handling of the comments eceived th ough such consultation Fourthly,

p ocedu es (administ ative p ocedu es, udicial p ocedu es) fo dealing ith o ksbet een the people and the state agencies o bet een state agencies must be publishedfully, accu ately, timely Also this p ocedu es must be accessable Fifthly, policies and

la s must ensu e elative stability, consistency, and allo fo ecasts about ho thestate ill apply in p actice The efo e, the autho ities needs to stipulate specificallythe content, time and manne of implementation of the autho ities’ info mationdisclosu e, t anspa ence, and accountability to the people and othe autho itiesThus, info mation disclosu e, t anspa ency, and accountability a e closely-linked to the effectiveness and validity of the gove nance, especially in combating and

p eventing co uption In 2008, at the 3th Inte national Anti-Co uption Confe ence(IACC) in Athens (G eece), they identified a dose connection bet een info mationdisclosu e, t anspa ency, and accountability fo co uption: Co uption = (Monopoly+No info mation disclosu e, concealing the info mation) - Accountability2 The efo e,

in o de to effectively p event and fight against co uption, it is necessa y to inc easeinfo mation disclosu e, t anspa ency, and accountability

Dao T iƯC,Law-governed state curriculum (Vietnam National Unive sity, Hanoi 20 5) p 37- 38

2Dinh Van Minh, “ ood governance and anti-corruption”, Nguyen Thi Que Anh, Vu Cong Giao and Nguyen Hoang Anh, heories, models, approaches on state governance and anti-corruption (Hong Due, 20 8) p 36

3 I format o d sclosure, tra spare cy, a d accou tab l ty to e sure t e

c t ze s* r g t to t e access to just ce

Access to ustice is one of the fundamental human ights, unde stood as: “Theights of the people to seek and achieve compensation o emedy th ough fo mal andinfo mal mechanisms unde inte national standa ds of human ights” Acco dingly,access to ustice is conside ed p ima ily in t o aspects2:firstly, the right to a fai t ial3;secondly, the ight to seek compensation o emedy fo the in ustices o damagessuffe ed by an individual o a g oup of individuals, especially by vulne able social

g oups The efo e, access to ustice is the ight of eve y citizen to equi e the state totake all measu es to ensu e thei legitimate ights and inte ests hen the e a e disputes

o inf ingements of thei ights occu

In the p ocess of ensu ing the ight to access to ustice fo the citizens, manysub ects a e involved, but the cou t plays the most impo tant ole because afte all,the natu e of access to ustice is access to the cou t hich implies access to the udicial

p ocess and p ocedu es of a t ibunal Mean hile, the cou t is also a public autho ity,

an impo tant institution of state gove nance, so this institution must be o ganizedand ope ated in info mation disclosu e, t anspa ency, and accountability unde goodgove nance standa ds Ensu ing that the ight to access to ustice is the efo e both

a goal of udicial activities and a condition to ensu e the enhancement of udicialesponsibility and its level of integ ity Consequently, info mation disclosu e and

t anspa ency in udicial activities is the most impo tant equi ement to ensu e thatthe people can access the cou t hich is access to ustice

Info mation disclosu e and t anspa ency in udicial activities a e impo tantvalues, especially in udicial activities Justice must be not only enfo ced but also seen

to be enfo ced” To info mation disclosu e and t anspa ency, the cou t must ensu ethat the people and the media can attend the t ial and it must al ays be available to thepublic to access to documents in the cou t, especially udgments and othe decisions,

as ell as administ ative info mation elated to the cou t

UNDP, rogrammingfor Justice: Accessfor All A ractitioner’s - uide to a Human Rights-Based Approach to

Accessto Justice, (UNDP Regional Cent e in Bangkok, 2005), accessed 5 Septembe 20 » p 5

2Eu opean Agency fo Fundamental Rights, Eu opean Cou t of Human Rights and Council Eu ope, Handbook

on Eu opean la elating to access to ustice (20 6) <https:// ech coe int/Documents/Handbook_access_ ustice_ENG pdf> accessed 5 Septembe 20

3 La ye s Committee fo Human Rights (2000), What is a Fai T ial? A Basic Guide to Legal Standa ds and

P actice (2000) <https:// human ightsfi st o g/ p-content/uploads/pdf/fai _t ial pdf> accessed

Septembe 20

_ Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce

Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce

The o ganization system of cou ts must be dete mined on the basis ofp ope and

ha monious combination of the p inciple of te ito y and the p inciple of u isdiction,

to ensu e favo able conditions fo the exe cise of the ights to access to ustice of thecitizens In the p ocess of esolving a specific dispute, the competent state autho itymust p ovide official info mation in the egulations about the o de , p ocedu es andievel of cou t fees so that eve yone kno s, hen handling the case, the cou t mustclea ly notify die eceipt o non- eceipt of the case file to the plaintiff ithin the timespecified Afte that, the cou t must post publicly the time and venue fo opening the

t ial so that all the people inte ested can attend and monito the t ial p ocess (except

fo cases hich e e hea d in p ivate)

Additionally, info mation disclosu e and t anspa ency in esolving cases odisputes a e one of the conditions fo competent state agencies and society to monitothe settlement of cases, the eby cont olling udicial ights The efo e, the cou t must

al ays be esponsible fo ensu ing info mation disclosu e and t anspa ency du ingthe t ial p ocess unless it is necessa y to keep state sec ets, t aditions and customs

of the nation, p otect the mino s o keep p ofessional sec ets, business sec ets, o

pe sonal sec ets at the p ope equest of the litigants In such cases, the cou t mayhold the t ial in p ivate Ho eve , cases of t ial in p ivate must be clea ly and st ictlystipulated by la so to avoid misuse of this p ovision to conceal the info mation in the

p ocess of handling and settling cases

Mo eove , info mation disclosu e and t anspa ency in udicial activities a eaimed at ensu ing the necessa y conditions fo each citizen to imp ove thei ability

to access ustice (fi stly the state administ ative agencies and secondly the cou ts) In

p actice, not eve yone is able to exe cise the ight to access to ustice ell because oflimitations on legal kno ledge, complexity of legal p ocedu es, and lack of esou ces

o obst uctions on psychology, cultu e and info mal institutions The efo e, assu ance

of the ight to access to ustice fo the people is “the esponsibility of the system oflegal agencies, autho ities and la ye s in p oviding p ofessional kno ledge, time andintelligence to help all the people have the ight to expect the ability to access ustice”Along ith info mation disclosu e and t anspa ency, accountability in udicialactivities is an indispensable equi ement to build a ustice integ ity backg ound,

so that the cou t is t uly a embodiment of ustice and good p otection of humanights The efo e, in o de to ensu e the ight of the citizens to access ustice, udicialautho ities and the cou ts must fi st be esponsible fo : ( ) publishing udgments ith

Ope ess>Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce

a guments fo those udgments; ensu ing the ight to appeal o p otest (note, if thecitizen has appealed to the highest level of the t ial and continues to appeal fu the , thestate must have a mechanism to eplace the cu ent mechanism); publishing annualepo ts of the cou t; (2) udges and cou ts must be accountable fo thei affai s; (3) incases that the people a e negatively affected by a ong decision of a cou t, the u y,especially the udge (p esiding at the t ial) and the cou t must pay compenstation tosuch people and take legal esponsibility fo the ongdoing by the la

Judicial accountability is a equi ement of ensu ing the ight to fai t ial, theight to compensation and esto ation of the ights and inte ests of agg ieved thepeople and the p inciples of ustice, and the ule of la to p event udicial violations

of human ights, udicial co uption and othe fo ms of udicial ong doing If audicia y lacks accountability to the society, it ill iose t ust of society To effectivelyimplement the citizens' ight to access to ustice in public se vice, the citizens musthave the capacity and conditions to comment on the state’s decisions, so the statemust apply the info mation disclosu e, t anspa ency, and accountability fo its tasksand po e s, especially in complaint settlements, denunciations and administ ative

la suits

Ensu ing the ight to access to ustice elated to the exe cise of legal ights andhuman ights, in any society, the e a e al ays disadvantaged people ho do not havethe capacity to access ustice themselves, so they need legal aid The efo e, it is theesponsibility ofthe state to p ovide legal aid and suppo t to the people, especially thepoo and the disadvantaged, so that eve yone can be t eated equally by the la and a e

as ell as adequate compensation hen thei legal ights and inte ests a e violated

Ho eve , this obvious thing can only be gua anteed ell hen the state is eallyesponsible to the people and se ves the people

Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce

D agram 2: Target t ee d agram good gover a ce

ource: Adapted f om The Wo ld Justice P o ectand Wo ld Wide Gove nance Indicato s2

Acco ding to he WJ ( he World Justice roject) of the Wo ld Bank (WB),the ight to access to ustice is measu ed by: “Access to Civil Justice” and “Effective

C iminal Justice” Th ough these facto s, the p o ect believes that the people canpeacefully and effectively esolve disputes o acts that violate thei ights by commonsocial no ms instead of eso ting to violence o self- esolution3 In Vietnam, the ight

to access to ustice is bullded by the Vietnam La ye s Association (VLA), the Cente

fo Community Suppo t & Development Studies (CECODES) and the United NationsDevelopment P og am (UNDP) ith th ee indicato s: ( ) Access to legal info mation;(2) Access to legal se vices; and (3) Affo dability fo legal se vices The ight to access

to ustice is one of fou components to measu e the ustice index (access to ustice;fai ness and equality; la enfo cement; and basic ights)4 It comes ith the follo inggdals:, To p ovide eliable datas - summa ized f om public opinion, ob ective andindependent sou ces of the info mation - to the Gove nment, ente p ises and social

o ganizations These datas help analyze, evaluate and monito activities of udicialagencies in ensu ing access to ustice, equality and p otection ofthe ights ofthe people,especially the disadvantaged g oups; To facilitate elative analysis and compa isons on

! “The Wo ld Justice P o ect” <https:// o ld usticep o ect o g/> t uy cập ngày / /20

2 World Wide overnance 7«dicữfo s<https://info o ldbank o g/gove nance/ gi/> t uy cập ngày / /20 3Ma k David Ag ast, Juan Ca los Bote o and Ale and o Ponce, Rule of Law Index 2011 (The Wo ld Justice

P o ect 20 ) p 3

4Vietnam La ye Association, CECODES, UNDP, Justice Index 2015 - owards ajustcesystem for the people (Hanoi 20 6) p 40-4 ,66-68

the effectiveness of gove nance and la enfo cement to a ds building a ustice system

fo the people in the localities; To p ovide a tool to assess the p og ess and impact ofudicial efo m on ensu ing access to ustice and the p otection of ights in p atice;

To help identify and invest esou ces in p io ity catego ies, t ack and evaluate theesults of efo m p og ams In pa ticula , each of these components is measu ed bythe follo ing indicato s as sho n in Table :

_ Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce

Table : Cr ter a for assess g t e r g t to access to just ce

Access to Civil Justice

- People can access and affo d civil ustice

- Civil ustice is f ee of disc imination

- Civil ustice is f ee of co uption

- Civil ustice is f ee of imp ope gove nment

influence

- Civil ustice is notsub ectto un easonable delay

- Civil ustice is effectively enfo ced

» Alte native dispute esolution mechanisms

is accessible, impa tial, and effective

2 Effective C iminal Justice

- C iminal investigation system is effective

- C iminal ad udication system is timely and

effective

- Co ectional system is effective in educing

c iminal behavio

- C iminal system is impa tial

- C iminal system is f ee of co uption

- C iminal system is f ee of imp ope

gove nment influence

- Due p ocess of la and ights ofthe accused

Access to legal info mation

- Sou ce of legal info mation is available

- Unde standing of the method fo esolving: labo disputes; land disputes; civil disputes; envi onmental complaints; etc

- Unde standing of the la

2 Access to legal se vices

- Civil status se vice: p ocedu e fo ma iage egist ation; bi th p ocedu es; death p ocedu es; etc

- P ocedu es fo ce tificate of land use ight

- La ye s and legal aid

3 Affordab l ty for legal serv ces

- Affo dability fo applying ce tificate of land use ight

disputes

- Affo dability fo esolving land disputes

- Resolving envi onmental complaints

ourse: The WJP (20 4)2and VLA, CECODES, UNDP (20 6)3

! Vietnam La ye Association, CECODES, UNDP, Justice Index: he situation of equity and equality based on people’s opinions in 2012 (Hanoi 20 3) p 8

2 Ma k David Ag ast, Juan Ca los Bote o and Ale and o Ponce, Rule o f Law Index 2014 (The Wo ld Justice

P o ect 20 4) p 8

3Vietnam La ye Association, CECODES, UNDP, Justice Index 2015 - owards a justice system for the people

Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce

5 Il e real t es of format o d sclosure, tra spare cy, a d accou tab l ty

t e state gover a ce w t e sur g t e r g t of t e c t ze s to access to just ce

V et am

Cu ently, Vietnam has implemented many legal measu es to ensu e theinfo mation disclosu e, t anspa ency, and accountability in the state gove nance,the eby ensu ing the ight of citizens to access to ustice Ihe Politbu o's Resolution 4

on Judicial Refo m St ategy to 2020 specifies: “Rene ing administ ative p ocedu es

in the udicial autho ities to c eate favo able conditions fo the people to access to theustice” , the eby aiming to "Establish a tight cont ol mechanism bet een the agencies

in the implementation of udicial activities”2 and “effective cont ol of po e ”3 Inthat spi it, the legal system of Vietnam continues to be developed, to ensu e theinfo mation disclosu e, t anspa ency, and accountability in the state gove nance,especially in the field of ustice Fo example, see: A ticle 25, 20 3 Constitution; La

on Access to Info mation 20 6; section , chapte II La on Anti-co uption 20 ;

P ess La 20 6; O dinance on the exe cise of democ acy in communes, a ds and

to nships 2007; A ticle 6 , La on Handling Administ ative Violations 20 2; A ticle

53, La on Inspection 20 0; A ticle 3, La on Complaints 20 ; Dec ee 0/20 3/ ND-CP on p esc ibing the accountability of state agencies in implementation ofthe assigned tasks and po e s; Chapte II, Dec ee 5 /20 / ND-CP dated July »

20 of the Gove nment detailing on a numbe of A ticles and the measu es foimplementation of the La on Anti-co uption; La on supe viso y activities of theNational Assembly and People’s Councils 20 5; Civil P ocedu e Code 20 5 (Clause

2, A ticle 5 p ovides that: The Cou t ill hold hea ings in public In special cases,

it is necessa y to keep state sec ets, p ese ve the nation’s fine customs and p actices,and p otect the mino s o keep a sec et on the p ofessional sec ets, business sec ets,

pe sonal sec ets, and family sec ets of the pa ties unde thei legitimate equest, the

(Hanoi 20 6) p 2- 3

Cent al Executive Committee, “Resolution No 4 -NQ/TW dated June 02,2005 on Judicial Refo m St ategy to

2020 of the Politbu o ” <http://hoiluatgiavn o g vn/nghi-quyet-so-4 -nqt bo~chinh“t i-ve~chien-iuoc-cai-cach-tu-phap-den-nam-2020-d563 htmỉ> dated Octobe 02,20

-ngay-02-thang-06-nam-2005-cua-2 Cent al Executive Committee, “Conclusion No -ngay-02-thang-06-nam-2005-cua-2-KL/TW dated Ma ch -ngay-02-thang-06-nam-2005-cua-2, -ngay-02-thang-06-nam-2005-cua-20 4 of the Politbu o on the implementation continuance of the Resolution No 4 -NQ/TW, dated June 02, 2005 of the IXth Politbu o on udicial Refo m St ategy to 2020” < http://tuHeuvankien dangcongsan vn/he-thong-van-ban/van-ban-cua- dang/ket-luan-sO' 2-kIt -ngay- 2320 4-cua-bo-chinh-t i-ve-vieC'tiep-tuc-thuc-hien-nghi-quyet-so-4 - nqt -ngay-262005-cua~bo-chinh-223> dated Octobe 02,20

3Communist Pa ty ofVietnam, Document of the 12th National Congress {the National Political Publishing House

20 6)p 307

Ope ess>Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce

Cou t may hold a closed t ial); C iminal P ocedu e Code 20 5 (A ticle 25 p ovidesthat: The Cou t ill hold hea ings in public, eve yone has the ight to attend a cou thea ing unless othe ise stipulated by this Code, In special cases, it is necessa y tokeep state sec ets, p ese ve the nation's fine customs and p actices, and p otect any

pe son unde 8 yea s of age o to keep the confidentiality of the p ivate life undethe pa ties’ the legitimate equest, the Cou t may hold a t ial p ivately but it must

be public ve dict); The La on Administ ative P ocedu e 20 5 (Clause 2, A ticle 6

p ovides that: The Cou t ill hold hea ings in public In special cases, it is necessa y

to keep state sec ets, p ese ve the nation’s fine customs and p actices, and p otect themino s o keep a sec et on the p ofessional sec ets, business sec ets, pe sonal sec ets,and family sec ets of the pa ties unde thei legitimate equest, the Cou t may hold aclosed t ial); La on P omulgation of Legal Documents 20 5; etc

Ho eve , the implementation of info mation disclosu e, t anspa ency andaccountability in the State gove nance in Vietnam, is still limited The efo e, theVietnam 2035 report has commented, “The cu ent institutions of Vietnam ( ),have the eak capacity and lo accountability” This eality is d ived f om the

o ganizational mechanism and enfo cement of state po e in Vietnam, hich

do not ensu e the elative independence, so the mutual accountability of the th ee

b anches of po e (i e legislatu e, executive, and udicia y) is p actically quite faintThe accountable activities a e mainly and mostly conducted in question-and-ans esessions of National Assembly delegates and People’s Council delegates at all levels

du ing the sessions Ho eve , they a e pe iodically held t ice a yea ; at the sametime and because of the limited time, the accountability of the delegates also o ks

pe functo ily, sometimes they a e also fo mality

Wo ld Bank G oup, Minist y of Planning and Investment, Vietnam Report 2035: owards prosperity, creativity, justice and democracy (Hong Due 20 6) p 452

Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce

C art : I dex of ope ess, tra spare cy a d accou tab l ty V et am

ource: rocessing datafrom he World Justice roject 2011-20181

and World Wide overnance Indicators 2011-20182The data sho s that the index of info mation disclosu e, t anspa ency, andaccountability in state gove nance in Vietnam tends to slo do n and dec ease Theaccountability Indicato in the State gove nance has not changed significantly oveecent yea s (Chart I), as follo s:

Firstly, the decla ations of the income and asset a e conducted ineffectivelyMost of these decla ations have not been checked, ve ified, and confi med As such,

it has not helped the autho ities to cont ol the fluctuation in p ope ty of th officials

in positions and po e s Many agencies and units have not fully g asped the o deand p ocedu es fo the decla ation and openness They a e confused about guiding

p inciples, scope of asset fluctuations, types of assets and income to be decla ed andexplained A numbe of heads of agencies and units have not eally paid attention

o p io itized the decla ation and openness of assets and income decla ations; themanagement and monito ing of the decla ation, openness and ve ification of assetsand incomes have non-systematic yet; the income out of sala y is quite populaithout having mechanism to cont ol; the application of info mation technology in

“The Wo ld Justice P o ect” <https:// o ld usticep o ect o g/> dated Septembe ,20

2 “Wo ld Wide Gove nance Indicato s” <https://info o ldbank o g/gove nance/ gi/> dated Septembe , 20