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The National Assembly on the afternoon of 23 April approved the amended Law on Access to Information, with 492 of 493 deputies present voting in favor. The law will take effect on 1 September 2026.
The amended law expands the range of information that must be publicly disclosed and adds new groups of information closely related to citizens’ daily lives, as well as to household and enterprise production and business activities.
On responsibilities for providing information, the law specifies that the lead unit identified by the People’s Committee at commune level is responsible for providing residents with information created by the People’s Council, its Standing Committee, the agencies of the People’s Council, the People’s Committee, the Chairman of the People’s Committee, and other administrative bodies at the same level, as well as information created by these entities. It also requires providing this information to other citizens when it directly relates to their lawful rights and interests.
The law strengthens decentralization by allowing provincial and communal-level People’s Committees to determine the information-providing contact point, aiming to increase flexibility in implementation.
For partial access to records, the amended law adds that the agency must review and classify information before disclosure. This is intended to ensure a clear separation between information that is accessible and information that is not.
The amended law expands the scope of information required to be publicly disclosed by listing 21 groups of information. These include:
The law states that information not listed but required by specialized law remains subject to disclosure under the relevant statute.
“This approach ensures completeness while avoiding duplication and maintaining system flexibility,” the law states.
Article 15 of the amended Law on Access to Information is cited as the basis for certain access restrictions.
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