In Vietnam, public consultations have been applied by the executive since the 1980s in the form of taking opinions on the constitution, draft laws and ordinances and on issues of interest to the people. For the National Assembly, public consultations are also of prime importance for the activities of the Ethnic Council and the Committees of the National Assembly (NA), particularly in the drafting of laws, ordinances and resolutions, as well as in the collecting of information and evidence serving the work assigned by the National Assembly and its National Assembly Standing Committee. 

The NA Committees have a history of holding some consultations.  Acting on the basis of elements of the Law on Laws 2008, some NA Committees have held public consultations, in the course of which they have made use of certain consultation tools such as consultative meetings, social surveys, and meetings with experts, to collect information and evidence to serve their work. 

In this context, the Project “Strengthening the capacity of representative bodies in Viet Nam (Phase 3)” decided to compile “Guidelines on public consultations for the Ethnic Council and the Committees of the National Assembly”. The guidelines will act as a reference work for members of the Ethnic Council and Committees of the National Assembly and their supporting staff, helping them organise consultation activities. The guidelines include the following major contents: the concept of public consultations; the significance of public consultations in activities of the NA Committees; the legal framework of public consultations; steps to conduct public consultations; and details on the tools for public consultations.