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General Assessment of Vietnam's Current Legal Framework on the Inviolability of Private Life

Criminal decisions of the Court with legal effect, the status of execution of judgments and the prohibition of holding positions, establishing and managing enterprises and cooperatives in cases where enterprises and cooperatives are declared bankrupt by the Court. Management of judicial records must ensure the principle of respecting personal privacy. The judicial records database is a national asset whose security is guaranteed. Its exploitation and use must be accessed by authorized persons and according to separate procedures.

Law on Adoption : Types of personal data related to the adoption process include: Personal information of children in need of finding a replacement family (including full name, date of birth, gender, ethnicity, place of birth, subject category, health status, full name of parents or guardians, foster care facility, address, contact phone number of the foster care facility); personal information of people in need of adoption (including full name, address, phone number, reason for adoption); personal information of the adopter and the adoptee and the biological parents of the adoptee in the adoption settlement file; personal information of children after being adopted (including health status, physical condition, mental health, level of integration of children after being adopted by foreigners).

However, current law does not have specific regulations on the rights, obligations, and responsibilities of the agency managing personal data on adoption. Personal data of subjects collected from adoption settlement records and the responsibility for managing collected personal data will belong to different relevant agencies based on the participation of these agencies in the adoption settlement process. For example: The management of personal data information of children in need of finding a replacement family when posting an announcement to find an adoptive parent will be done by the foster care facility, the Department of Justice.

and the Ministry of Justice is responsible for implementation. Personal data of domestic adoption registration dossiers are managed by the Department of Justice and the People's Committee of the commune where the adoption is registered; personal data of foreign adoption settlement dossiers are managed by the Ministry of Justice (Adoption Department) and the Department of Justice where the child is a permanent resident. The provision of information about children must ensure the principles in Clause 1, Clause 2, Article 3 of Joint Circular No. 03/2016/TTLT-BTP-BNG-BCA-BLDTBXH, including the principle of keeping children's private information confidential.

The Law on Civil Judgment Enforcement and its guiding documents stipulate the notification of judgment enforcement (Article 39, Law on Civil Judgment Enforcement), public disclosure of information of judgment debtors (Article 11 of Decree 62/2015/ND-CP), confidentiality of information on accounts and assets of judgment debtors subject to security measures when provided by the State Treasury, credit institutions, agencies, organizations and individuals where the accounts are located (Article 20 of Decree 62/2015/ND-CP), public disclosure of information on non-compliance with judgments (Article 30 of Decree 71/2016/ND-CP), public disclosure of information of judgment debtors who are not yet eligible for enforcement (Circular 01/2016/TT-BTP dated February 1, 2016 of the Ministry of Justice)...

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The regular posting and updating of the list of judgment debtors who have not yet been able to execute has helped the general public and the judgment debtors in particular to know the process of judgment enforcement, monitor the classification of judgments and especially the progress of judgment enforcement, the reasons why judgments have not been executed and verify the latest conditions for judgment enforcement. This publicity also helps people save time and travel costs, and at the same time contributes to promoting voluntary judgment enforcement by judgment debtors.

Law on Credit Institutions : Through the regulation of responsibilities of credit institutions and foreign bank branches, accordingly, credit institutions and foreign bank branches must ensure confidentiality of information related to credit institutions and foreign bank branches.

General Assessment of Vietnam's Current Legal Framework on the Inviolability of Private Life

related to accounts, deposits, assets and transactions of customers at credit institutions and foreign bank branches. Credit institutions and foreign bank branches are not allowed to provide information related to accounts, deposits, assets and transactions of customers at credit institutions and foreign bank branches to other organizations and individuals, except in cases where there is a request from a competent state agency as prescribed by law or with the consent of the customer.

In addition to the above legal documents, the right to inviolability of privacy is also stipulated in many sub-law documents of Vietnam, specifically:

- Decree 64/2007/ND-CP dated April 10, 2007 of the Government on the application of information technology in state agencies: “Personal information is information sufficient to accurately identify an individual, including at least one of the following information: Full name, date of birth, occupation, title, address, email, telephone number, identity card, passport number. Information that is considered personal secrets includes medical records, tax records, social insurance card numbers, credit card numbers and other personal secrets” [2, Article 3].

- Decree No. 52/2013/ND-CP dated May 1, 2013 of the Government on e-commerce has provisions on the protection of personal information in e-commerce. Accordingly, traders, organizations and individuals when collecting and using personal information of users must develop and publish a policy on the protection of personal information of consumers [3, Article 69]; must obtain prior consent of consumers [3, Article 70]; and ensure the safety and security of personal information [3, Article 72].

- Circular No. 11/2012/TT-BNV dated December 17, 2012 of the Ministry of Home Affairs regulating the statistical reporting regime and management of civil servant records has stipulated on civil servant personal records:

A civil servant's profile is a legal document that reflects the most basic information about a civil servant, including: origin, background, education, work history, economic circumstances, qualities, qualifications, abilities, family and social relationships of the civil servant, shown in the resume, diplomas, certificates and other relevant documents updated during the civil servant's work process since being recruited.

- Directive No. 101/CT-BQP dated September 3, 2018 of the Ministry of National Defense on strengthening confidentiality protection, preventing data loss in cyberspace and preventing and combating malware in the military.

- Decree No. 88/2019/ND-CP regulating administrative sanctions for violations in the monetary and banking sector (regulations on sanctions related to the provision of customer information in violation of regulations).

- Decision No. 45/2007/QD-NHNN dated December 17, 2007 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam on the confidentiality of each type of document and object containing state secrets in the banking sector, amended and supplemented by Circular No. 10/2009/TT-NHNN dated May 8, 2009 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam: "Documents related to deposits and assets of each customer at credit institutions, signature samples of account holders, signature samples used in payment work; codes prescribed for customers to identify personal cards of each user of payment cards, credit cards and other types of cards used in banking activities" are documents and objects containing state secrets in the banking sector at the "confidential" level.

- Circular No. 25/2010/TT-BTTTT dated January 15, 2010 of the Minister of Information and Communications regulating the collection, use, sharing, security and protection of personal information on websites or electronic portals for state agencies.

- Decision No. 2593/QD-BVHTTDL dated July 21, 2016 promulgating regulations on ensuring network information security of the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

- Decision No. 4198/QD-BCT on promulgating the Regulation on ensuring network information security of the Minister of Industry and Trade.

The law on the protection of personal data relating to private life also stipulates sanctions for violations. Depending on the severity, individuals and organizations must face administrative or criminal sanctions according to the provisions of the law.

Violations of personal data regulations can be subject to criminal penalties with a maximum prison sentence of 07 years. Specifically, Article 159 of the Penal Code stipulates that “violating the confidentiality or security of mail, telephone, telegram or other forms of private information exchange of others” can be punished with up to 03 years in prison. Article 288 stipulates the crime of “illegally providing or using information on computer networks or telecommunications networks” with a maximum penalty of 07 years in prison. However, these two crimes do not specifically and directly regulate violations of the law related to personal data that are currently taking place.

The right to inviolability of private life is a civil right, the protection of which is considered a principle in civil law. Clause 1, Article 9 of the 2015 Civil Code affirms: "All civil rights of individuals, legal entities, and other subjects are respected and protected by law". Clause 2 of this Article records 05 forms of civil sanctions: When a subject's civil rights are violated, that subject has the right to self-defense according to the provisions of this Code or request competent agencies and organizations to: Recognize his/her civil rights; Force the termination of the violation; Force a public apology and correction; Force the performance of civil obligations; Force compensation for damages.

Violations and invasions of privacy may result in criminal liability.

usually damages, administrative sanctions or criminal prosecution, depending on the nature, severity and consequences of the violation. Although the current law on handling administrative violations has provisions on penalties for a number of violations related to personal data protection, the above provisions are not sufficient and comprehensive enough to serve as a basis for penalties for violations not in the fields of post, telecommunications, information technology, radio frequencies, trade, production, and trade of counterfeit and prohibited goods, and protection of consumer rights. In addition, handling the act of buying and selling personal information is difficult due to many reasons such as the difficulty in tracing who disclosed, stole, or used personal information.

Decree No. 174/2013/ND-CP dated November 13, 2013 of the Government stipulating administrative sanctions for violations in the fields of post and telecommunications, information technology and radio frequencies stipulates: Fines from VND 10,000,000 to VND 20,000,000 for acts of not having measures to protect private information or personal information of users (Point C, Clause 1, Article 65); fines from VND 30,000,000 to VND 50,000,000 for acts of disclosing confidential business information on the network environment or illegally disclosing private information of telecommunications service users (Point a, Clause 4, Article 66); Fine from 50,000,000 VND to 70,000,000 VND for illegal buying, selling or exchanging of private information of telecommunications service users (Point a, Clause 5, Article 66).

2.3. General assessment of Vietnam's current legal framework on the right to inviolability of private life

2.3.1. Assessment of suitability with Vietnamese reality

2.3.1.1. On the subject of rights

The 1946 Constitution - the first Constitution of our State - stipulated: " Citizens cannot be arrested or imprisoned until the judiciary has made a decision. "

Vietnam. No one may illegally infringe upon the residence and correspondence of Vietnamese citizens " (Article 11). The 1992 Constitution (amended and supplemented in 2001) once again emphasized this:

Citizens have the right to physical inviolability and are protected by law in terms of their life, health, honor and dignity (Article 71); Citizens have the right to physical inviolability of their residence. No one may enter another person's residence without their consent, except in cases permitted by law. Citizens' correspondence, telephone calls and telegrams are guaranteed to be safe and confidential. Searches of residences, the opening, control and confiscation of citizens' correspondence and telegrams must be conducted by authorized persons in accordance with the provisions of law (Article 73).

Article 21 of the 2013 Constitution stipulates:

(1) Everyone has the right to inviolability of private life, personal secrets and family secrets; has the right to protect his/her honor and reputation. Information about private life, personal secrets and family secrets is guaranteed by law. (2) Everyone has the right to confidentiality of correspondence, telephone conversations, telegrams and other forms of private information exchange. No one may illegally open, control or confiscate correspondence, telephone conversations, telegrams and other forms of private information exchange of others.

Thus, before the 2013 Constitution, the right to protect personal information in particular and the right to privacy in general were limited to civil rights. The 2013 Constitution has made an important change when expanding the subject of the right to protect personal information to "everyone" and not just limited to Vietnamese citizens as in previous Constitutions.

However, currently, some specialized laws still affirm that the subject of the right to protect personal information is the individual (Clause 1, Article 16 of the Law on Information Security).

Information and communication network 2015); postal service users (Postal Law 2010), telecommunications service users and telecommunications subscribers (Telecommunications Law 2009), patients (Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases 2007), HIV-infected people (Law on Prevention and Control of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV/AIDS) 2006)...

In addition to the provisions on the right to protect personal information, some specialized laws have provisions on the right to protect information of organizations, for example: The Law on Information Technology stipulates that "organizations and individuals are not allowed to quote the content of digital information of other organizations and individuals in cases where the owner of the digital information has given a warning or the law stipulates that quoting information is not allowed" (Clause 4, Article 15); The Law on Electronic Transactions stipulates that "Agencies, organizations and individuals are not allowed to use, provide or disclose information about private secrets or information of other agencies, organizations and individuals that they have access to or control in electronic transactions without their consent, unless otherwise provided by law" (Article 46); The Law on Network Information Security stipulates that "Organizations and individuals are not allowed to violate the network information security of other organizations and individuals" (Article 4)...

2.3.1.2. On the content of rights

Article 21 of the 2013 Constitution affirms that “Information about private life, personal secrets, and family secrets is guaranteed by law”. This principle continues to be expressed in the 2015 Civil Code and the 2015 Law on Information Security. A number of specialized laws stipulate the right of individuals to “Keep relevant personal information confidential” (Article 16 of the Law on Telecommunications; Article 91 of the 2016 Law on Pharmacy).

However, there is currently no legal document that provides the concept or content of the “right to protect personal information”. Therefore, at present, the content of this right can only be summarized from the following provisions:

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