The Right to Access Information in Convenient with Human Rights Laws: Facts and Solutions in Vietnam

Abstract

The right of access to information has moved from a governance reform to a recognised component of international human rights law, yet the distance between formal legislation and effective enjoyment remains a central concern in comparative scholarship. This article develops a seven-component normative benchmark maximum disclosure and the scope of duty-bearers, personal scope, proactive disclosure, request procedures, narrow exceptions under a three-part test, independent review, and protection and promotion drawn from Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, General Comment No. 34, regional case law and comparative scholarship. Using doctrinal and comparative analysis, it applies this benchmark to Viet Nam’s Law on Access to Information No.01/2026/QH16, in force since 1 September 2026. The 2026 Law marks real progress: it widens the range of duty-bearers, mandates digital proactive disclosure, permits partial release of records and supports persons with disabilities, ethnic minorities and residents of disadvantaged areas. Four gaps remain against international standards: the restriction of the right to citizens, the absence of a general harm and public-interest test, the lack of an independent review body, and broadly worded prohibited acts. The article argues that these gaps will be resolved chiefly at the implementation stage and proposes seven measures for doing so. It offers an early human-rights assessment of a new national statute and a transferable benchmark for comparable jurisdictions.