In Clause 1, Article 5 of the 2013 Land Law (still in effect), land users are allocated or leased land by the State, have their land use rights recognized, and receive land use rights transfer in accordance with the provisions of this law, including domestic organizations including state agencies, people's armed forces units, political organizations, socio-political organizations, economic organizations, socio-political-professional organizations, social organizations, socio-professional organizations, public non-business organizations and other organizations as prescribed by civil law.

Clause 2, Article 118 of the 2013 Land Law stipulates cases where land use rights are not auctioned when the State allocates or leases land, including:

"a) Land allocation without land use levy;

b) Using land exempted from land use levy or land rent specified in Article 110 of this Law;

c) Use the land specified at Points b, g, Clause 1 and 2, Article 56 of this Law;

d) Using land for mineral activities;

đ) Using land to implement investment projects on construction of resettlement houses, social houses and official-duty houses;

e) Allocate residential land to cadres, civil servants and public employees who move to work places according to the dispatching decisions of competent agencies;

g) Allocating residential land to households and individuals who have permanent residence in the commune but do not have residential land and have not been allocated residential land by the State;

h) Allocating residential land to households and individuals with permanent residence in townships located in areas with difficult socio-economic conditions or areas with extremely difficult socio-economic conditions without residential land and have not been allocated residential land by the State;

i) Other cases decided by the Prime Minister".

Thus, in Clause 2, Article 118 of the current Land Law, there are no specific regulations for land users who are socio-professional organizations in the case that land use rights are not auctioned when the State allocates or leases land.

Socio-professional organizations, including Vietnam Bar Federation, Bar Associations of provinces and centrally run cities, are influential organizations in social life, activities of professional social organizations, contributing to promoting economic development, helping to avoid legal risks; contribute to the protection of justice and social justice; contribute to the development of institutions, policies, laws...

With such importance, socio-professional organizations have not been included in the land allocation and land lease by the Land Law without auctioning land use rights. In order to be allocated or leased land from the land fund by the State without auctioning land use rights, a decision of the Prime Minister must be obtained according to the provisions of Point i, Clause 2, Article 118 of this Law.

It is necessary to add socio-professional organizations to the subjects of land allocation or land lease without auction of land use rights.

The second draft of the Land Law (amended) has not yet included socio-professional organizations in the subjects of land allocation or land lease without auction of land use rights.

According to Point a, Clause 1, Article 5 of the 2nd Draft of the Land Law (amended), land users are allocated land, leased land, and have land use rights recognized by the State; receive the transfer of land use rights; sublease land in industrial parks, industrial clusters and hi-tech parks in accordance with this Law, including: State agencies, people's armed forces units, political organizations, socio-political organizations, socio-political-professional organizations, social organizations, socio-professional organizations, units public services and other organizations in accordance with the civil law.

Article 125 of this Draft Law stipulates that the allocation and lease of land without auction of land use rights or bidding for projects using land, applies only to the following cases:

"1. Cases of land allocation without land use levy specified in Article 127 of this Law;

2. Cases of land allocation with collection of land use levy or land lease must satisfy the following criteria and conditions:

a) Allocating land with collection of land use levy or lease of land exempted from land use levy and land rent as prescribed in Article 152 of this Law, but only one subject request to be allocated or leased land;

b) Using land for the implementation of mineral extraction projects;

c) Allocating residential land to cadres, civil servants, public employees, active-duty officers and professional soldiers who move to another province under the dispatching decision of a competent authority but have not yet been allocated residential land or houses; building housing for workers in industrial parks, social housing and official residences;

d) Allocating residential land to households and individuals permanently residing in communes without residential land and not yet allocated residential land by the State;

đ) Allocate residential land to households and individuals with permanent residence in townships located in areas with difficult socio-economic conditions or areas with extremely difficult socio-economic conditions without residential land and have not been allocated residential land by the State;

e) Leasing land for production and business premises to people who are leased land by the State with annual rental payment but have to move out of the old location due to environmental pollution in accordance with law; support for leasing land to continue production and business in case of land recovery of non-agricultural production establishments of current users;

g) Leasing land to households and individuals that wish to continue using agricultural land in excess of the assigned limit specified in Article 170 of this Law;

h) Leasing land to public non-business units that are financially self-sufficient;

i) Leasing land to foreign organizations with diplomatic functions to use land to build offices;

k) Leasing land to units of the people's armed forces that use land for agricultural production, forestry, aquaculture, salt production, or combined agricultural, forestry, aquaculture or salt production with national defense and security tasks;

l) Allocation or lease of land to organizations, households, individuals, and overseas Vietnamese for compensation in land in accordance with this Law and other relevant laws due to support for resettlement in accordance with this Law;

m) Allocate or lease land to economic organizations whose production and business land has been recovered according to the provisions of Articles 77 and 78 of this Law which, at the time of land recovery, still have the land use term and the organization has the need to use land at another location to continue production and business.

n) Allocate or lease land for small and narrow plots of land that are located in overlapping areas according to the Government's regulations.

o) Leasing land for construction of underground works for business purposes.

p) Allocate or lease land according to effective decisions on settlement of disputes and complaints about land issued by competent agencies.

q) Special cases of investment incentives and a number of other specific social policies decided by the Prime Minister.

Thus, the 2nd Draft Land Law (amended) has not yet included socio-professional organizations in the subjects of land allocation or land lease, without auction of land use rights, and without bidding for land-using projects.

Therefore, it is proposed that the Drafting Board add to Point h, Clause 2, Article 125 of the 2nd Draft Land Law (amended) as follows:

"2. Cases of land allocation with collection of land use levy or land lease must satisfy the following criteria and conditions:

… h) Leasing land to public non-business units that are financially self-sufficient; socio-professional organizations with operating funds from membership fees".

Lawyer Tran Van Toan

Law Office Khanh Hung, Hanoi Bar Association