| THE GOVERNMENT No. 51/2014/ND-CP | THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM Independence - Freedom - Happiness Hanoi, May 21, 2014 |
DECREE
Providing the assignment of given sea areas to organizations and individuals for marine resource exploitation and use [1]
Pursuant to the December 25, 2001 Law on Organization of the Government;
Pursuant to the June 21, 2012 Law on the Sea of Vietnam;
At the proposal of the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment;
The Government promulgates the Decree providing the assignment of given sea areas to organizations and individuals for marine resource exploitation and use.
Chapter I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1. Scope of regulation
1. This Decree provides the assignment of given sea areas in Vietnamese sea regions to organizations and individuals for marine resource exploitation and use under investment certificates, marine resource exploitation and use permits or decisions of competent state management agencies; and responsibilities of state agencies, organizations and individuals involved in the assignment of sea areas.
2. The assignment of sea areas for petroleum exploration and exploitation complies with the law on petroleum; the aquatic resource exploitation and the lease of sea surface for aquaculture comply with the law on fisheries; the assignment of sea areas for defense and security purposes complies with regulations of the Government.
Article 2. Subjects of application
This Decree applies to agencies, organizations and individuals involved in the assignment of sea areas, marine resource exploitation and use.
Article 3. Interpretation of terms
In this Decree, the terms below are construed as follows:
1. A given sea area means a part of Vietnam’s sea, comprising water column, seabed and earth under the seabed, which is delimited with boundaries and planned for marine resource exploitation and use under law.
2. A 3-nautical mile sea region means a sea region with its outmost boundary lying at a distance of three nautical miles away from the average lowest sea level in many years in a parallel direction.
3. An inter-regional sea region means a sea region lying between two or more coastal provinces or centrally run cities; or between a 3-nautical mile sea region and a sea region beyond 3 miles.
4. Marine resource exploitation and use mean activities of acquiring marine resources or using marine resources for socio-economic development, national defense and security.
5. Investment certificates and marine resource exploitation and use permits or decisions are documents issued by competent state management agencies under specialized law, permitting organizations and individuals to exploit and use marine resources in the sea areas proposed for assignment.
