Three new laws were made public on Dec. 14, including the Law on Consumer Rights Protection, the amended Law on Minerals, and the Law on Public Officials and Civil Servants which were passed by the National Assembly during its 8th session.

In a meeting held on Dec 14 by the President's Office, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Le Danh Vinh said that the number of violations of consumer rights and the extent of the violations were on the increase, seriously affecting the rights of consumers.

The Law on Consumer Rights Protection regulated that disputes between consumers and individuals and organisational businesses will be settled by negotiation, conciliation, arbitration and courts.

Consumer protection organisations have the right to sue businesses for harming the public interest and the State will provide funding for organisations to implement the tasks outlined in the law.

Introducing the amended Law on Minerals, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Chu Pham Ngoc Hien said the law's new points are regulations related to licensing mineral exploitation through auctioning exploitation rights, State management of minerals, and devolution of licensing powers to local authorities.

Auctioning mineral exploration rights will help abolish the current "give and take" mechanism in licensing and allow qualified organisations which have enough capacity and experience in the sector to be chosen, he said.

The Law also lays out regulations on the overall direction of the mineral sector as well as rules on mineral planning and exploration to avoid overlapping responsibilities between different State agencies, Hien said.

The breakthrough amendment of the revised law is the change in State's mineral management mechanism which was based on financial regulations and in line with the rules of the market economy, he said.

Under the law, the State will collect a fee from individuals and organisations that are licensed to explore minerals.

The Law on Minerals and Law on Consumer Right Protection will come into effect on July 1, 2011.

Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Nguyen Duy Thang said the Law on Public Officials and Civil Servants will come into force on January 1, 2012./.