In the meeting held yesterday 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 would 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 would 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 were regulations related to licensing mineral exploitation through the auctioning exploitation rights, State management of minerals, and devolution of licensing powers to local authorities.

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

The Law also laid 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 was 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 would 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 would come into force on January 1, 2012. - VNS