International lawyers were invited to a workshop in Hanoi on August 19-20 to share experiences on a bill on access to information, which is set to be finalised by early September.

Prof. Sung Nak-in, President of the Lawyer Professors’ Association from the Republic of Korea , emphasised the role played by social organisations in the process of making and implementing the law in his country.

Tonje R. Ruud, Legal Advisor from the Legal Department under the Ministry of Justice and Police of Norway, also shared experiences from her country regarding publicity.
The RoK and Norway were two of the four countries which sent delegates to the event. The other two countries were Japan and Bulgaria .

Pham Anh Tuan, Deputy Head of the Office of the Central Steering Board for Corruption Control, said ensuring and protecting the right of individuals and organisations to access information are important measures to combat corruption.

President of the Vietnam Lawyers’ Association Pham Quoc Anh said the law will not only reflect the exercise of democracy and the motto “Let people know, engage in and supervise” in Vietnam but also increase legal knowledge among the public.

The bill is scheduled to be submitted to the Government by early September and later on to the National Assembly, for consideration in late 2009./.