January



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January 15, 2014
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John Edwards Named New Privacy Commissioner

"Wellington lawyer John Edwards is the new Privacy Commissioner. He replaces Marie Shroff who has completed two five-year terms in the role. Edwards is a barrister and solicitor who has been working in public law and policy for more than 20 years, and has been on the staff of the Office of the Ombudsmen, the Privacy Commissioner and the Ministry of Health. He provides general corporate services for a number of smaller Crown agencies, and gives advice and training across the public sector on information law issues. Edwards regularly undertakes investigations and reviews for departments, Crown entities and ministers. ""Mr. Edwards' public and private sector experience gives him a highly informed perspective on data privacy and data matching issues,"" said Justice Minister Judith Collins. ""I am confident Mr. Edwards will be highly credible in the role of the Commissioner and will be able to engage both the public and private sectors."" The Privacy Commissioner's Office has a wide range of functions including investigating complaints about breaches of privacy, running education programmes, and examining proposed legislation and how it may affect individual privacy. Shroff said the task of being New Zealand's privacy watchdog had become increasingly demanding and she wished Edwards well. Edwards will take up the appointment in February."

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January 15, 2014
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Vietnam 's New Decree on Work Permits

On 1 May 2013, the new Labour Code of Vietnam came into force, introducing many significant changes concerning employment matters. To give effect to these changes, the government has issued a number of guiding regulations. The new Labour Code of Vietnam restricts the employment of expatriate employees in Vietnam. To implement the provisions of the Labour Code on work permits, on 5 September 2013 the government issued Decree No.102|2013|ND-CP (Decree 102). As a general rule, in order to work in Vietnam a foreigner must secure a work permit from the labour authority (Work Permit). Decree 102 introduces a new pre-recruitment procedure that must be carried out by employers. Specifically, employers must submit for approval an annual report on their requirements for expatriate employees to the chairman of the local Provincial People's Committee. Any change to these requirements must also be reported. The term of the Work Permit must not exceed two years (as opposed to three years under the preceding legislation). Upon expiry of his or her existing Work Permit, the Work Permit holder should apply for a new Work Permit (instead of applying for an extension as with the preceding legislation). An expatriate employee who is subject to Work Permit requirements and who is working in Vietnam without a Work Permit may be expelled from Vietnam. The government also issued Decree No. 182|2013|ND-CP on 14 November, which provides for new regional minimum salaries of employees, including employees of foreign invested enterprises.

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January 15, 2014
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Where Next for the Draft Data Protection Regulation?

"The EU 's Work on Data Protection Reform continues following the vote of the EU Parliament 's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) to adopt compromise amendments. The 104 compromise amendments represent a consolidation of proposals submitted by various European Parliament committees. The approval of these amendments represents a significant milestone in the progress of the legislation, the amendments now framing Parliament 's negotiating position with the Council of the European Union and the European Commission. As part of the LIBE vote, the Rapporteurs guiding the draft Data Protection Regulation and the separate directive for the law enforcement sector through the Parliament, Members of European Parliament Mr. Albrecht and Mr. Droutsas, have also been given a mandate to begin negotiations with the Council under the trilogue procedure. Use of the trilogue procedure enables the institutions to negotiate informally upon legislation subject to the EU ordinary legislative procedure, with a view to more legislation being finalized at the first and second reading stages. Despite progress in Parliament and the assumed start of trilogue negotiations, it remains unclear how quickly the reform can complete the EU 's ordinary legislative procedure. The next meeting of the Council 's JHA committee is scheduled for 6 December 2013, when more progress is expected to be made towards adopting a negotiating position, known as a ""common approach."" "

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