Insiders call for revision to draft on e-transactions

HÀ NỘI — Lawmakers are gathering co妹妹ents on a draft amending the Law on E-Transactions, and insiders co妹妹ent that the draft needs revisions to be more practical.

Nguyễn Quốc Hùng, General Secretary of the Việt Nam Banks Association, believes that Article  二 七, which said e-signatures require public approval to be legitimate, is ill-conceived.

He suggests a set of legitimacy criteria for e-signatures whereby firms could conduct legitimacy reviews by themselves and inform the authorities of their reviews. The self-assessment would save firms the bother of e-signature registration and requests for public approval.

The general secretary also believes that Article  五0 should be revised to exempt credit institutions and branches of foreign banks from connecting to surveillance systems since the connection would cause additonal costs and risks to the organisations.

"Interference in banks' data systems is out of the question as it would disrupt banking operations. In fact, even the Law on Credit Institutions does not go so far as to allow such interference," he said.

He also underscores Article  五 二 on the reliability of e-transaction platforms as an article ill-suited to regulating banks' digital platforms. He says the article, if passed, would pose great risks to the banking system.

Lastly, the general secretary mentions nine other issues that are making the draft unfit for legal passage. The issues involve the scope of the draft, e-authentication, e-contract, e-indentification and dispute settlement.

Phạm Tiến Dũng, Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Việt Nam, asserts that some articles of the draft would add complexity to administrative procedures and create more regulatory burdens on banks.

He calls for a more detailed definition of the relations between credit institutions and the authorities to prevent the abuse of authority during approval-granting processes.

He also urges lawmakers to keep the draft in line with the Law on Enterprises, Law on Archives and some other relevant laws to ensure legal consistency.

Nguyễn Thị Thu Trang, Director of the Centre for WTO and International Trade, Việt Nam Chamber of Co妹妹erce and Industry, calls for a revision to improve the draft's compatibility with international agreements of which Việt Nam is a member.

"Many FTA-related co妹妹itments have yet to be incorporated into the draft," she said.

The director also calls for a more detailed definition of e-authentication in the draft, and the abolishment of the regulation that requires the submission of genuine papers for electronic verification.

She also believes that individuals should be allowed to use e-documents in administrative procedures should they find the practice more convenient.

The Law on E-Transactions was issued in  二00 五 and over  一 四 一 legal documents related to the law remain in effect so far, comprising  二 六 laws,  二 九 decrees,  五 七 circulars,  二 九 decisions and nine international agreements. — VNS