Decree 40/2019 - New Amendments To Environmental Protection Regulations In Vietnam

Decree 40/2019 amending four separate decrees on environment protection takes effect from 1 July 2019. Below are some of the key amendments introduced by Decree 40/2019:

· The term “Industrial zones” is expanded to include all kinds of zones, such as export processing zones, high-tech zones, or industrial areas.

· “Main works or items of a project” is the main project component specified in the feasibility study of the project.

· List of projects subject to environmental impact assessment (EIA) is adjusted. For example, investment in a golf course is now subject to EIA. Certain projects which do not have wastewater treatment work or waste treatment work are exempted from post-construction examination. Only residential projects with capacity of 2000 (instead of 500) or more inhabitants are subject to EIA. Only hotel projects with capacity of 200 rooms (instead of 50) are subject to EIA.

· Industrial manufacturing is classified in various sectors with different level of risks to the environment. Development of manufacturing projects with very high risks to the environment is subject to consultancy with environmental experts and scientists, and appraisal of EIA reports of these projects must be conducted by an appraisal panel.

View of the State Bank of Vietnam on P2P lending

On 8 July 2019, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) expresses its view and recommendation to credit institutions in Vietnam (CIs) on peer-to-peer lending activities (P2P Lending). The SBV’s view is as follows:

· P2P Lending is built on a digital platform which connects borrowers and lenders without having to go through financial intermediaries (such as CIs). All lending activities will be recorded on the platform.

· The SBV acknowledges that P2P Lending is not specifically regulated by current regulations.

· Besides its potential to create additional way to mobilize capital, P2P Lending can give rise to the following risks: (1) misleading information provided by P2P Lenders about the product’s safety, (2) the lack of oversight on P2P Lending’s platform in terms of cybersecurity, (3) P2P Lenders’ using customer information for predatory lending activities, and (4) P2P Lending being considered as activities of CI.

E-signatures v.s. digital signatures under Vietnamese law

Under the Law on E-Transactions, an e-signature (chữ ký điện tử) is defined as being created in the form of words, script, numerals, symbols, sounds or in other forms by electronic means, logically attached or associated with a data message, and being capable of identifying the person who has signed the data message, and being capable of identifying the consent of that signatory to the contents of the signed data message.

According to Article 24.1 of the Law on E-Transactions, an e-signature of an individual affixed to a data message will be legally equivalent to the signature of such individual affixed to a written document if:

· the method of creating the e-signature permits to identify the signatory and to indicate his/her approval of the contents of the data message; and

· such method is sufficiently reliable and appropriate to the purpose for which the data message was originated and sent.

Accordingly, if an user being an individual of an e-commerce website, who can be identified by his/her username, password, and other means of verification (e.g., OTP code), clicks on a confirmation button of an online order then such action can be regarded as creating and affixing an e-signature to the online order by the individual user. This is because:

Technology Transfer in Vietnam - Is “technology” a property?

The Law on Technology Transfer 2017 is drafted based on the assumption that a technology (công nghệ) can be transferred as a property (tài sản). But in light of the provisions of the Civil Code 2015, one may have to ask whether technology is a property?

Transferring technology means the transfer of the ownership or the use right of a technology from a transferor to a transferee. In addition, Article 7 of the Law on Technology Transfer 2017 says that the owner of a technology may assign its ownership or license its use right of the technology. Therefore, the Law on Technology Transfer 2017 implies that, to transfer a technology, the transferor must have the ownership of such technology. Under the Civil Code 2015, ownership can only be created upon a property. Thus, the technology under the Law on Technology Transfer 2017 should be a property.

However, technology as defined by the Law on Technology Transfer 2017 may not be a property. Article 2.2 of the Law on Technology Transfer 2017 defines technology as a solution (giải pháp), process (quy trình), and know-how (bí quyết) which can turn resources into products. Article 105 of the Civil Code 2015 says that property comprises objects (vật), money (tiền), valuable papers (giấy tờ có giá), and property rights (quyền tài sản).

The definition of technology suggests that technology is something intangible. Therefore, it is not an object. For the obvious reason, technology is not money, or a valuable paper.

Then can a technology may be property right? Solution, process, and know-how is arguably not a right. But a right to solution, process, and know-how can be property right. Article 115 of the Civil Code 2015 says that property rights are rights being able to be valued in terms of money, including property rights in respect of subjects of intellectual property rights, land use rights and other property rights. Accordingly, a transfer of technology should be considered as a transfer of rights to such technology.

Solution, process, and know-how can be the subjects of intellectual property rights. Therefore, a right to technology can be intellectual property right, thus, a property right. However, the law is not clear whether there is any money-worth right other than intellectual property right can be created upon technology?

This post is contributed by Ha Thanh Phuc, a trainee at Venture North Law.

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