CHƯƠNG I Luật đất đai 2003: Những quy định chung

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1.- Regulation scope

This Law prescribes the powers and responsibilities of the State which represents the entire-people owner of land and uniformly manages land; the regime of land management and use; the rights and obligations of land users.

Article 2.- Subjects of application

The subjects of application of this Law include:

1. The State agencies which exercise the powers and perform the responsibilities of the representative of the entire-people owner of land, performing the task of uniform State management over land;

2. The land users;

3. Other subjects involving in land management and/or use.

Article 3.- Law application

1. The land management and use must comply with the provisions of this Law. In cases where this Law does not provide therefor, the provisions of relevant law shall apply.

2. Where the international treaties which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam has signed or acceded to contain provisions different from the provisions of this Law, the provisions of such international treaties shall apply.

Article 4.- Interpretation of terms and phrases

In this Law, the terms and phrases below shall be construed as follows:

1. Land assignment by the State means the State assigns the land use rights with administrative decisions to subjects having land use demand.

2. Land lease by the State means the State assigns the land use rights under contracts to subjects having land use demand.

3. The State’s recognition of the land use right for current stable land users means the granting for the first time by the State of the land use right certificates to those persons.

4. Reception of land use right transfer means the establishment of the land use rights transferred by other persons under the provisions of law through various forms of exchange, transfer, inheritance, donation of land use rights or capital contribution with land use rights, which results in the emergence of new legal persons.

5. Land recovery means that the State issues administrative decisions to retrieve land use rights or recover land already assigned to organizations, commune, ward or township People’s Committees for management according to the provisions of this Law.

6. Compensation upon land recovery by the State means the State returns the land use right value of the recovered land areas to persons having land recovered.

7. Support upon land recovery by the State means the State renders assistance to persons having land recovered through providing them with training in new jobs, with new jobs, funding for their movement to new locations.

8. Administrative boundary dossiers mean the dossiers in service of the State management over administrative boundaries.

9. Administrative boundary maps are the maps showing the administrative boundary markers and geographical and terrain elements related to administrative boundary markers.

10. Administrative maps are the maps showing the boundaries of administrative units enclosed with place names and a number of major natural, economic and social elements.

11. Land plots mean the land areas delimited by boundaries determined on the field or described on the dossiers.

12. Cadastral dossiers mean the dossiers in service of the State management over the land use.

13. Cadastral maps are the maps showing land plots and relevant geographical elements, made according to commune, ward or township administrative units, certified by competent State agencies.

14. Cadastral books mean the books for every commune, ward or township units to record the land users and information on land use by such persons.

15. Land-itemizing books mean the books compiled for every commune, ward or township unit to record land plots and the information thereon.

16. Land change-monitoring books mean the books compiled to monitor cases of change in land use, including changes in land plot sizes and shapes,  land users, land use purposes, land use duration, rights and obligations of land users.

17. Land use status quo maps are the maps expressing the disposition of land of various categories at a given time, which are drawn according to administrative units.

18. Land use-planning maps are the maps drawn up at the beginning of the planning period, expressing the disposition of land of various categories at the end of the planning period.

19. Land use right registration means the acknowledgement of the lawful land use rights over a determined land plot in the cadastral dossiers, aiming to establish the rights and obligations of the land users.

20. Land use right certificates mean the certificates granted by competent State agencies to land users in order to protect their legitimate rights and interests.

21. Land statistics means the State sums up and evaluates on the cadastral dossiers the present land use situation at the time of statistics and the situation of land changes between two statistical times.

22. Land inventory means the State sums up and evaluates on the cadastral dossiers and on the field the present land use situation at the time of inventory and the situation of land changes between two inventories.

23. Land use right price (hereinafter called land price) means the money amount calculated on a land acreage unit prescribed by the State or formulated in land use right transaction.

24. Land use right value means the pecuniary value of the land use rights over a determined land acreage in a determined land use duration.

25. Land use levy means the money amount which must be paid by land users in cases where the State assigns land with the collection of land use levy on a determined land acreage.

26. Land disputes mean the disputes over the rights and obligations of land users between two or more parties in the land relations.

27. Land destruction means acts of topographically deforming land, reducing land quality, polluting land thus causing the loss or reduction of capability to use land according to the set purposes.

28. Public non-business organizations mean those organized by competent State agencies, political organizations or socio-political organizations and having the function of carrying out public-service activities financed by the State budget.

Article 5.- Land ownership

1. Land belongs to the entire-people ownership with the State acting as the owner’s representative.

2. The State exercises the right to dispose land as follows:

a) To decide on the land use purposes through deciding on, considering and approving land use plannings, land use plans (hereinafter referred collectively to as land use plannings, plans);

b) To stipulate the land assignment norms and land use duration;

c) To decide on land assignment, land lease, land recovery, to permit the change of land use purposes;

d) To set the land prices.

3. The State performs the regulation of benefit sources from land through land-related financial policies as follows:

a) Collection of land use levies, land rents;

b) Collection of land use tax, tax on income from land use right transfer;

c) Regulation of the land value increase not due to investment by land users.

4. The State assigns the land use rights to land users in forms of land assignment, land lease, recognition of land use rights for current stable land users; prescribes the rights and obligations of the land users.

Article 6.- State management over land

1. The State performs the uniform management over land.

2. The contents of the State management over land include:

a) Promulgating legal documents on land management and use and organizing the implementation thereof;

b) Determining administrative boundaries, compiling and managing the administrative boundary dossiers, drawing administrative maps;

c) Surveying, measuring, evaluating and categorizing land; drawing cadastral maps, land use status quo maps and land use planning maps;

d) Managing land use plannings and plans;

e) Managing the land use assignment, land lease, land recovery, change of land use purposes;

f) Registering the land use rights, compiling and managing cadastral dossiers, granting land use right certificates;

g) Making land statistics, inventories;

h) Managing land-related finance;

i) Managing and developing the land use right transfer market in the real estate market;

j) Managing and supervising the performance of rights and obligations of land users;

k) Inspecting and examining the observance of law provisions on land and handling violations of land legislation;

l) Settling land disputes; settling complaints and denunciations against violations in land management and use;

m) Managing land-related public service activities.

3. The State adopts policies on investment in the performance of tasks of State management over land, builds up a modern and fully capable land management system, ensuring the effective and efficient management of land.

Article 7.- The State exercises the right of representing the entire-people owner of land and performs the uniform State management over land

1. The National Assembly promulgates land law, decides on land use plannings and plans of the whole country; exercises the supreme right to supervise the land management and use nationwide.

2. The Government decides on land use plannings and plans of the provinces and centrally-run cities and the plannings and plans on the use of land for defense and/or security purposes; exercises the uniform State management over land throughout the country.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is answerable to the Government for the State management over land.

3. The People’s Councils of all levels exercise the right to supervise the land management and use in their respective localities.

4. The People’s Committees of all levels exercise the right to represent the land owner and perform the State management over land in their respective localities according to competence prescribed in this Law.

Article 8.- Rights and responsibilities of Vietnam Fatherland Front, the Front’s member organizations and citizens

Vietnam Fatherland Front, the Front’s member organizations and citizens have the rights and responsibility to supervise the land management and use, coordinate with State agencies in ensuring the strict observance of the State’s regulations on land management and use.

Article 9.-  Land users

The land users defined in this Law include:

1. Domestic organizations, including State agencies, political organizations, socio-political organizations, socio-political and professional organizations, social organizations, socio-professional organizations, economic organizations, socio-economic organizations, public-non-business organizations, people’s armed force units and other organizations, which, according to the Government’s regulations (hereinafter referred collectively to as organizations) shall be assigned or leased land or have their land use rights recognized, by the State; and economic organizations receiving land use right transfer;

2. Domestic households and individuals (hereinafter called households, individuals), that are assigned or leased land, or have land use rights recognized, by the State, or receive the land use right transfer.

3. Population communities, including communities of Vietnamese living in the same villages, hamlets or similar population quarters having the same customs and practices or the same descents, that are assigned land or have the land use rights recognized, by the State;

4. Religious establishments, including pagodas, churches, oratories, sanctuaries, monasteries, religious training schools, head-offices of religious organizations and other religious establishments, which have the land use rights recognized or are assigned land, by the State;

5. Foreign organizations with diplomatic functions, including diplomatic representation offices, consulates, other foreign representation offices with diplomatic functions recognized by the Vietnamese Government; representation offices of organizations within the United Nations, inter-governmental agencies or organizations, representative offices of inter-governmental organizations, which are leased land by the State;

6. Overseas Vietnamese who return to the country for investment, regular cultural or scientific activities or return for stable settlement in the country, who are assigned or leased land by the State, or are entitled to buy dwelling houses closely associated with the rights to use residential land;

7. Foreign organizations and individuals investing in Vietnam under the legislation on investment, that are leased land by the State.

Article 10.- Guarantees for land users

1. The State grants land use right certificates to land users.

2. The State does not recognize the reclaim of land already assigned under the State’s regulations to other people for use in the course of implementing the land policies of the State of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam and the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

3. The State adopts policies to create conditions for persons directly engaged in agricultural production, forestry, aquaculture, salt-making to have land for production; at the same time adopts policies on preferences for investment, job training, production and business development, job creation for rural labor, suitable to the process of restructuring the land use and restructuring the rural economy along the direction of industrialization and modernization.

Article 11.- Land-using principles

The land use must ensure the following principles:

1. Being in strict accordance with the land use plannings and plans, and for the right land use purposes;

2. Being economical, efficient, protecting environment and not harming the legitimate interests of land users around;

3. The land users exercise their rights and perform their obligations in the land use duration according to the provisions of this Law and other relevant laws.

Article 12.- Encouraging investment in land 

The State adopts policies to encourage land users to invest their labor, supplies, capital in, and to apply scientific and technological achievements to, the following works:

1. Protecting, improving, increasing the fertility of, land;

2. Virgin land reclamation, re-cultivation on unused land, sea encroachment, putting areas of waste land, bare hills and mountains and land with waste water surface to use;

3. Developing infrastructure to increase the value of land.

Article 13.- Land categorization

Depending on the use purposes, land is categorized as follows:

1. Agricultural land, including land of the following categories:

a) Land for cultivation of annual crops, including land for rice cultivation, pasture land for husbandry, land for growing other annual crops;

b) Land for growing perennial trees;

c) Production forest land;

d) Protective forest land;

e) Special-use forest land;

f) Aquaculture land;

g) Salt-making land;

h) Other agricultural land as prescribed by the Government;

2. Non-agricultural land, including land of the following categories:

a) Residential land, including rural residential land and urban residential land;

b) Land for construction of offices, non-business facilities;

c) Land used for defense and/or security purposes;

d) Land for non-agricultural production or business, including land for construction of industrial parks; land used as ground for construction of production and/or business establishments; land for mineral activities; land for production of construction materials, pottery articles;

e) Land used for public-utility purposes, including land for communications, irrigation; land for construction of cultural, medical, educational and training, sport and physical training works in service of public interests; land with historical and cultural relics, scenic places; land for construction of other public works under the Government’s regulations;

f) Land used by religious establishments;

g) Land with works being communal houses, temples, shrines, small pagodas, worship halls, ancestral worship houses;

h) Land for cemeteries, grave-yards;

i) River, arryo, canal, trench, stream and special-use water surface land;

j) Other non-agricultural land as prescribed by the Government;

3. Unused land, including assorted land with use purposes not yet identified.

Article 14.- Grounds for determination of land categories on the field

The determination of land categories on the field is based on the following grounds:

1. The present land use situation compatible with the land use plannings approved by competent State agencies;

2. The competent State agencies’ decisions to assign land, lease land, permit the change of land use purposes;

3. The registration for changes of land use purposes, for cases where permission for change of land use purposes is not required.

Article 15.- Strictly prohibited acts

The State strictly prohibits acts of encroaching upon land; not using land, using land not for the right purposes; violating land use plannings and/or plans already publicized; destroying land; failing to strictly comply with law provisions when applying land users’ rights; failing to perform or performing inadequately the obligations and responsibilities of land users.

The State strictly prohibits acts of abusing positions and powers, acting ultra vires or showing irresponsibility by competent persons to act against the regulations on land management.