Laws of Vietnam

No: 31/2009/QH12

Ha Noi, day 18 month 06 year 2009                          

LAW

AMENDING AND SUPPLEMENTING A NUMBER OF ARTICLES OF THE CINEMATOGRAPHY LAW

(No. 31/2009/QH12)

Pursuant to the 1992 Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, which was amended and supplemented under Resolution No. 51/2001/QH10;
The National Assembly promulgates the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Cinematography Law.

Article 1. To amend and supplement a number of articles of the Cinematography Law.

1. To amend and supplement Clause 2, Article 13 as follows:

"2. Foreign organizations and individuals and overseas Vietnamese may make investment through cooperation with Vietnamese film production, distribution and dissemination enterprises under business cooperation contracts or by establishing joint ventures.

The foreign share in such a joint venture must not exceed 51% of the joint venture's legal capital."

2. To amend and supplement Point b, Clause 2 and Point c, Clause 3, Article 14 as follows:

"2.

b/ The director or director general fully meets the criteria specified in Article 15 of this Law.

3.

c/ Resume of the person nominated to be the director or director general of the film production enterprise certified by a competent agency or organization."

3. To annul Clause 3, Article 15.

4. To amend and supplement Clause 3, Article 24 as follows:

"3. For state-funded films, investors of film production projects shall establish a screenplay appraisal council; and may decide on the form of bidding under the bidding law to select film production projects, ensuring work quality and socio-economic efficiency.

The Government shall specify this Clause."

5. To amend and supplement Article 25 as follows:

"Article 25. Production of television films

Heads of Vietnam Television and television and radio-television stations licensed for press operations (below referred to as television and radio-television stations) may decide on investment in and organize the production of television films for television broadcasting under law."

6. To amend and supplement Clause 2, Article 28 as follows:

"2. Only celluloid films and film tapes and discs with dissemination permits granted by a competent cinematography state management agency or with broadcasting decisions issued by heads of television or radio-television stations may be sold or rented; film tapes and discs must be stuck with control stamps of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism."

7. To amend and supplement Clause 2, Article 29 as follows:

"2. Only celluloid films and film tapes and discs with dissemination permits granted by a competent cinematography state management agency or with broadcasting decisions issued by heads of television or radio-television stations may be dubbed or reproduced for distribution. Celluloid films and film tapes and discs shall be dubbed or reproduced under contracts signed with film owners."

8. To amend and supplement Point a, Clause 1, and Clauses 3 and 5, Article 30 as follows:

"1.

a/ To-be-exported films must be granted dissemination permits by a competent cinematography state management agency.

To-be-exported films produced by Vietnam Television must have broadcasting decisions issued by the head of Vietnam Television; to-be-exported films produced by television or radio-television stations must be granted dissemination permits by a competent cinematography state management agency.

To-be-exported film tapes and discs must be stuck with control stamps of the Ministry of Culture. Sports and Tourism;

3. Film production enterprises may import and export films under the law on import and export.

5. Television and radio-television stations may export their own films and import films for television broadcasting."

9. To amend and supplement Clause 3, Article 33 as follows:

"3. To organize the projection of films with dissemination permits granted by a competent cinematography state management agency or with broadcasting decisions issued by heads of television or radio-television stations."

10. To amend and supplement Clause 1, Article 35 as follows:

"1. Films with dissemination permits granted by a competent cinematography state management agency or with broadcasting decisions issued by heads of television or radio-television stations;"

11. To amend and supplement Clause 3, Article 37 as follows:

"3. Television and radio-television stations may disseminate nationwide their produced or imported films with television broadcasting decisions."

12. To amend and supplement Points b and c, Clause 1, Article 38 as follows:

"b/ Based on the quantity of domestically made and imported films of cinematographic establishments managed by provinces and centrally run cities, the Government shall decentralize to provincial/municipal People's Committees the grant of dissemination permits to films produced or imported by their local film production establishments and locally based private cinematographic establishments and to-be-exported films produced by television or radio-television stations licensed for press operations, which have broadcasting decisions:

c/ Heads of television or radio-television stations may decide on and shall take responsibility for broadcasting films on their television stations."

13. To amend and supplement Point c, Clause 1, Article 39 as follows:

"c/ Film appraisal councils of television or radio-television stations shall be established by heads of these stations;"

14.To add the following Clause 4 to Article 39:

"4. The Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism shall prescribe the organization and operation of film appraisal councils specified in Clause 1, Article 39."

15. To amend and supplement Clause 2, Article 40 as follows:

"2. Film advertising is provided for as follows:

a/ Film production enterprises and television or radio-television stations may introduce information on films in the course of preparation and production of these films;

b/ Film production enterprises and television or radio-television stations may not project the full contents of films for advertisement purposes when they have not yet acquired dissemination permits for such films from a competent cinematography state management agency or broadcasting decisions of heads of television or radio-television stations."

16. To amend and supplement Point d, Clause 1, Article 41 and Points a and b, Clause 2, Article 41 as follows:

"1.

d/ Films participating in film festivals must have dissemination permits issued by a competent cinematography state management agency or with broadcasting decisions issued by heads of television or radio-television stations;

2.

a/ Film production, distribution and dissemination establishments and television and radio-television stations may participate in international film festivals or fairs and organize Vietnamese film days overseas;

b/ Films participating in international film festivals or fairs, or Vietnamese film days overseas must have dissemination permits granted by a competent cinematography state management agency or broadcasting decisions issued by heads of television or radio-television stations;"

17. To amend and supplement Clauses 2 and 3, Article 42 as follows:

"2. Television and radio-television stations may organize television film festivals with the approval of the Ministry of Culture. Sports and Tourism, except the cases specified in Clause 1 of this Article. Approval procedures comply with Clause 3, Article 41 of this Law.

3. Films participating in television film festivals must have broadcasting decisions issued by heads of television or radio-television stations."

18. To amend and supplement Clause 4, Article 46 as follows:

"4. Film archive establishments of television and radio-television stations shall store their films.*'

19. To amend and supplement Clause 1, Article 48 as follows:

"1. The inspectorates of the Ministry of Culture. Sports and Tourism and provincial-level Culture. Sports and Tourism Departments shall conduct specialized inspection in cinematography."

20. To amend and supplement Clause 6, Article 49 as follows:

"6. Not establishing a screenplay appraisal council; not organizing biddings for the production of state-funded films under Clause 3. Article 24 of this Law."

21. To amend and supplement Clauses 1,5 and 7, Article 50 as follows:

"1. Distributing films without dissemination permits granted by a competent cinematography state management agency or broadcasting decisions issued by heads of television or radio-television stations.

5. Exporting films without dissemination permits granted by a competent cinematography state management agency or broadcasting decisions issued by heads of television or radio-television stations.

7. Importing films at variance with Clause 2, Article 30 of this Law."

22. To amend and supplement Clause 1, Article 51 as follows:

“1. Projecting or broadcasting films without dissemination permits granted by a competent cinematography state management agency or broadcasting decisions issued by heads of television or radio-television stations.”

23. To amend and supplement Clause 6, Article 52 as follows:

"6. Film archive establishments' sale or rent of films without consent of film owners or without dissemination permits granted by a competent cinematography state management agency or broadcasting decisions issued by heads of television or radio-television stations."

Article 2. To replace the phrase "Ministry of Culture and Information" with the phrase "Ministry of Culture. Sports and Tourism" in Clauses 2 and 3, Article 9; Clauses 2 and 3, Article 14; Clauses 2 and 3, Article 18; Clause 3. Article 21; Clauses 1 and 3, Article 23; Clause 2, Article 32; Clauses 1 and 2, Article 38; Clause 1, Article 39; Article 41; Clauses 1 and 3, Article 43; Clauses 1 and 3, Article 44; Clause 2. Article 46; Clause 5, Article 47; Clause 3, Article 49; Clauses 3 and 6, Article 50; Clause 3, Article 51; and Clause 7, Article 52, of the Cinematography Law.

Article 3.

1. This Law takes effect on October 1. 2009.

2. The Government shall detail and guide the Law's articles and clauses assigned to it; and guide other necessary contents of this Law to meet state management requirements.

This Law was passed on June 18, 2009, by the 12^th National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam at its 5^th session.