DECREE

DETAILING AND GUIDING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE LAW ON COMPLAINTS AND DENUNCIATIONS

THE GOVERNMENT

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government of September 30, 1992;
Pursuant to the Law on Complaints and Denunciations of December 2, 1998;
At the proposal of the State Inspector General,

DECREES:

Chapter I

COMPLAINTS, SETTLEMENT OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT ADMINISTRATIVE DECISIONS, ADMINISTRATIVE ACTS

Section 1. COMPLAINTS AND HANDLING OF LETTERS OF COMPLAINT

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1. The complainant must be the person whose legitimate rights and interests are directly affected by an administrative decision and/or an administrative act he/she complains about;

2. The complainant must be the person who has full capacity for his/her own acts according to the provisions of the Civil Code or who has yet the full capacity for his/her acts but is entitled to complain according to the provisions of law; in cases where he/she make complaint through his/her representative, the representative shall be subject to the provisions of Article 2 of this Decree;

3. The complainant must write a letter of complaint and file it to the right body competent to settle it within the statute of limitations and/or time limits prescribed by the Law on Complaints and Denunciations;

4. The complaint has yet come up with the final settlement decision;

5. The complaint has yet been accepted and processed for settlement by the court.

Article 2.-

1. Citizens who are minors or suffer from metal or other diseases being unable to perceive and control their own acts shall exercise their right to complaints through their representatives at law; when exercising the right to complaints, the representatives must produce papers proving to the competent State bodies their lawful representation.

Persons who are unable to make complaints by themselves due to their illness, old ages, physical handicaps or other objective reasons may authorize their representatives being their fathers, mothers, spouses, major offsprings or siblings to make the complaints; the authorization must be made in writing with certification by the commune-level People’s Committee of the locality where the authorizer or the authorized resides.

2. Agencies exercise their right to complaints through their representatives being the heads of such agencies.

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Article 3.- Where a complainant fails to lodge his/her complaints according to the statute of limitations due to his/her illness, natural calamities, enemy sabotage, being sent away on working or study mission in a distant locality or due to other objective reasons, such duration of interruption shall not be calculated into the statute of limitations for lodging complaint; the complainant shall have to prove such objective obstacles to the competent State bodies.

Article 4.- In the course of complaining, the complainant shall still have to abide by the administrative decision which he/she is complaining about except where such decision is suspended from execution under the provisions in Articles 35 and 42 of the Law on Complaints and Denunciations.

Article 5.- Upon receipt of letters of complaint, the State bodies shall handle them as follows:

1. For letters of complaint which fall under their handling competence and satisfy conditions prescribed in Article 1 of this Decree, the receiving agencies shall have to accept, process and settle them; where a letter of complaint is signed by many persons, such agencies shall have to guide the complainants to write separate letters of complaint;

2. For letters of complaint which fall under their handling competence but fail to satisfy conditions for being accepted, processed and settled according to the provisions in Article 1 of this Decree, the receiving agencies shall have to reply the complainants in writing, clearly stating the reasons therefor.

3. For letters of complaint, which contain both the complaints and the denunciations, the agencies which receive them shall handle the complaints according to the provisions at Point 1, Point 2 and Point 5 of this Article and the denunciation contents according to the provisions in Article 43 of this Decree;

4. For letters of complaint which fall under the handling competence of the subordinate authorities, but past the prescribed time-limit they have not been settled yet, the immediate superior bodies directly receiving them shall have to process and settle them;

5. For letters of complaint which do not fall under their handling competence and letters of complaint about matters which have been settled by the final decisions, the complaint-receiving bodies shall not have to process them but shall give written notification and instruction to the complainants. For one complained matter, only one notification is made; where a complainant sent together with the letter of complaint the original documents or papers relating to the complained matters and case, the complaint-receiving body shall return such documents and papers to the complainant.

Article 6.- The State agencies receiving letters of complaint conveyed by deputies of the National Assembly or the People’s Councils, the Vietnam Fatherland Front committees and the Front’s member organizations or press agencies shall have to process and settle complaints which fall under their respective handling competence and notify this to the agencies, organizations or individuals that have conveyed the letters of complaint; if the complaints do not fall under their handling competence, they shall return them to the complainants and notify such to the agencies, organizations or individuals that have conveyed such letters of complaint.

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Section 2. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE HEADS OF THE STATE ADMINISTRATIVE BODIES IN SETTLING COMPLAINTS

Article 8.-

1. The presidents of the commune-level People’s Committees shall have to settle complaints falling under their competence according to the order and procedures prescribed in the Law on Complaints and Denunciations.

If realizing that the matters and cases complained about are clearly presented with enough grounds for settlement, the commune-level People’s Committee presidents shall issue decisions to settle them immediately.

If realizing that the matters and cases complained about are unclear and without adequate grounds for settlement, the commune-level People’s Committee presidents shall have to examine and verify them, meeting the complainants, the complained as well as people with involved rights and interests to make clear the matters complained about and the requests of the complainants before issuing decisions to settle the complaints. Basing themselves on the examination and verification results and the provisions of law, the commune-level People’s Committee presidents shall issue decisions to settle the complaints within the time-limits prescribed in the Law on Complaints and Denunciations.

2. The commune-level People’s Committee presidents shall have to send the complaint-settling decisions to the complainants, the complained, the person with involved rights and interests as well as the district-level People’s Committees; and make public the complaint-settling decisions, when necessary.

3. The commune-level People’s Committee presidents shall have to enforce and organize the enforcement of the legally effective decisions on settlement of complaints within their respective responsibilities.

Article 9.- Heads of the agencies under the district-level People’s Committees, heads of the agencies under the provincial/municipal Departments, and heads of the agencies under the ministries, the ministerial-level bodies as well as the agencies attached to the Government shall have to settle complaints falling under their respective jurisdiction. The complaints shall be settled according to the order and procedures prescribed in the Law on Complaints and Denunciations and to the provisions in Article 8 of this Decree.

Article 10.-

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a) With regard to complaints about their administrative decisions and/or administrative acts, the district-level People’s Committee presidents shall assign them to the heads of functional bodies under the district-level People’s Committees or the district-level chief inspectors to consider, make conclusions and propose the solution thereof;

b) With regard to complaints which have already been settled by the commune-level People’s Committee presidents or heads of the functional bureaus or bodies under the district-level People’s Committees, but further lodged, they shall be assigned to the district-level chief inspectors to make verification and conclusions thereon and propose solution thereof;

c) Basing themselves on the verification reports, conclusions and proposed solutions, the district-level People’s Committee presidents shall issue decisions to settle or authorize the chief inspectors of the same level to issue decisions to settle them according to the provisions in Clause 1, Article 20, this Decree and within the time-limits prescribed in the Law on Complaints and Denunciations.

2. The district-level People’s Committee presidents or chief inspectors authorized to issue the settling decisions shall have to send the complaint- settling decisions to the complainants, the complained, the persons with involved rights and interests and the provincial-level People’s Committees; and make public the complaint-settling decisions, when necessary.

3. The district-level People’s Committee presidents shall have to enforce and organize the enforcement of legally effective decisions on settlement of complaints within the ambit of their responsibilities; to inspect and urge the enforcement of the legally effective complaint-settling decisions by their subordinate bodies and units.

Article 11.-

1. The directors of the Departments of equivalent levels under the provincial-level People’s Committees (referred collectively to as the provincial/ municipal Department directors) shall have to settle complaints falling under their jurisdiction according to the order and procedures prescribed in the Law on Complaints and Denunciations.

a) With regard to complaints about the administrative decisions and/or administrative acts of their own and/or of officials and employees under their direct management, the provincial/municipal Department directors shall assign them to the heads of functional bureaus and bodies under the Departments or the Department chief inspectors to consider, make conclusions and propose solution thereof;

b) With regard to the complaints which have been settled by the heads of bodies under the Department but further lodged, they shall be assigned to the Department chief inspector to make verification and conclusions thereon, and propose solutions thereof;

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2. The provincial/municipal Department directors shall have to send the complaint-settling decisions to the complainants, the complained, the persons with involved rights and interests and the persons competent to continue the settlement; and, when necessary, make public the complaint-settling decisions.

3. The provincial/municipal Department directors shall have to enforce and organize the enforcement of legally effective decisions on settlement of complaints; to inspect and urge the enforcement of the legally effective complaint-settling decisions by their subordinate bodies and units.

Article 12.-

1. The provincial-level People’s Committee presidents shall have to settle complaints falling under their jurisdiction according to the order and procedures prescribed in the Law on Complaints and Denunciations;

a) With regard to complaints about their own administrative decisions and/or acts, the provincial-level People’s Committee presidents shall assign them to the heads of the specialized agencies under the provincial-level People’s Committees or chief inspectors to consider, make conclusions and propose solutions thereof;

b) With regard to the complaints which have already settled by the district-level People’s Committee presidents or by the provincial-level Department directors but further lodged and which fall under their jurisdiction, the provincial-level People’s Committee presidents shall assign them to the provincial-level chief inspectors to make verifications and conclusions thereon and propose the solution thereof;

c) Basing themselves on the verification reports, conclusions and proposed solutions, the provincial-level People’s Committee presidents shall issue decisions or authorize the provincial-level chief inspectors to issue decisions to settle them according to the provisions in Clause 2, Article 20, this Decree, and within the time-limits prescribed in the Law on Complaints and Denunciations. The decisions on the settlement of complaints mentioned at Point a, Clause 1, this Article, shall be the first decisions on the settlement of complaints; the decisions on the settlement of complaints mentioned at Point b, Clause 1, this Article, shall be the final decisions on the settlement of such complaints.

2. The provincial-level People’s Committee presidents or chief inspectors authorized to issue settling decisions shall have to send the complaint-settling decisions to the complainants, the complained, the persons with involved rights and interests; if they are the final decisions they shall also be sent to the State Inspector General; if they are the first decisions on complaint settlement, they shall be addressed to the ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies or the heads of the agencies attached to the Government, who are competent to continue the settlement of such complaints; and, when necessary, make public the complaint-settling decisions.

3. The provincial-level People’s Committee presidents shall have to enforce and organize the enforcement of legally effective complaint-settling decisions within the ambit of their responsibility; to inspect and urge the enforcement thereof by their subordinate agencies and units.

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1. The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies and the heads of the agencies attached to the Government shall have to settle complaints falling under their jurisdiction according to the order and procedures prescribed in the Law on Complaints and Denunciations.

a) With regard to complaints about administrative decisions and/or acts of their own, their officials and employees, the ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies and the heads of the agencies attached to the Government shall assign them to the heads of Departments or functional agencies or the chief inspectors of the same level to consider, make conclusions and propose solution thereof;

b) With regard to complaints which have already been settled by heads of the agencies under the ministries, the ministerial-level agencies or the agencies attached to the Government, district-level People’s Committee presidents or provincial/municipal Department directors, but still further lodged, and which fall under their settling jurisdiction, they shall be assigned to the chief inspectors of the same level to make verification and conclusions thereon and propose the solution thereof;

c) Basing themselves on the verification reports, conclusions and proposed solutions, the concerned ministers, heads of the ministerial-level agencies or heads of the agencies attached to the Government shall issue decisions to settle the complaints within the time-limits prescribed in the Law on Complaints and Denunciations. The decisions settling complaints mentioned at Point a, Clause 1, this Article, shall be the first decisions; the decisions settling complaints mentioned at Point b, Clause 1, this Article, of the ministers or heads of the ministerial-level agencies shall be the final ones.

2. The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies and the heads of the agencies attached to the Government shall have to send the complaint-settling decisions to the complainants, the complained, the persons with involved rights and interests and the State Inspector General; and, when necessary, make public the complaint-settling decisions.

3. The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies and the heads of the agencies attached to the Government shall have to enforce and organize the enforcement of the legally effective complaint-settling decisions within the ambit of their responsibilities; to inspect and urge the enforcement thereof by agencies and units under their respective management.

Article 14.-

1. The State Inspector General shall have to settle complaints falling under their jurisdiction according to the order and procedures prescribed in the Law on Complaints and Denunciations.

2. The State Inspector General may be authorized to settle complaints falling under the Prime Minister’s settling jurisdiction; in case of divergence of opinions between the State Inspector General and ministers or heads of the ministerial-level agencies on the settlement, the State Inspector General shall report such to the Prime Minister for directing the settlement or propose the Prime Minister to issue the settling decisions.

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1. Persons who have issued the final decisions on complaint settlement, when detecting that such decisions had violated laws, causing damage to the interests of the State and/or the legitimate rights and interests of citizens, agencies and/or organizations, shall have to review such decisions so as to ensure that the settlement of complaints comply with the provisions of law.

2. The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies and the heads of the agencies attached to the Government, in the course of performing their State management functions, if detecting that the provincial-level People’s Committee presidents’ final decisions violated laws, thus causing damage to the State’s interests and/or the legitimate rights and interests of citizens, agencies and/or organizations, shall request the persons who have made such decisions to reconsider them; within 15 days, if such request is not met, they may apply measures according to their respective competence to have such request met or report it to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision.

3. The State Inspector General, in the course of inspecting and checking the observance of the legislation on complaints and denunciations, if detecting that the final decisions on settlement of complaints have violated laws causing damage to the State’s interests and/or the legitimate rights and interests of citizens, agencies and/or organizations, shall request the persons who have made such decisions to reconsider them; within 15 days, if the request is not met, he/she may apply measures according to his/her competence to have such request satisfied or propose them to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision.

4. The statute of limitations for making a request to review a final decision on complaint settlement as prescribed in Clauses 2 and 3 of this Article shall be 12 months after such decision takes effect.

Article 16.- The Prime Minister shall direct the settlement or issue decisions to settle complaints when so proposed by the State Inspector General in accordance with the provisions in Clause 2, Article 14 of this Decree.

Upon detecting that a final complaint-settling decision breached laws, causing damage to the State’s interests and/or the legitimate rights and interests of citizens, agencies and/or organizations, the Prime Minister shall direct the person who issued such settling decision or assign the State Inspector General, the concerned minister, head of the ministerial-level agency or agency attached to the Government to reconsider it and report thereon to the Prime Minister for decision.

Article 17.-

1. The heads of the State bodies shall have to direct, inspect and urge their subordinate agencies and units in promptly settling complaints falling under their respective competence.

2. The heads of the State bodies, when receiving complaints which fall under the settling jurisdiction of the immediate subordinate agencies and have been left unsettled beyond the prescribed time-limits, shall have to accept and process them for settlement and at the same to apply measures to deal with according to their respective competence or propose the competent bodies to deal with persons who have shown irresponsibility in or deliberately delayed the settlement of such complaints.

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Article 19.-

1. In the course of settling complaints, if deeming that the cases are complicated and/or the enforcement of the complaint-settling decisions may meet with difficulties, the complaint settlers shall summon the complainants, the complained and, in case of necessity, the persons with involved rights and interests and representatives of concerned agencies to publicly announce the complaint-settling decisions.

2. When publicly announcing the complaint-settling decisions, the complaint settlers shall make known the contents of the complaints, the inspection and verification results, the legal bases for settlement of such complaints, the settlement of specific matters in the complaints; clearly point to the responsibilities of the complainants, the complained as well as the persons with involved rights and interests in abiding by the complaint- settling decisions.

Section 3. THE COMPLAINT SETTLEMENT AUTHORIZATION

Article 20.-

1. The district-level People’s Committee presidents shall issue decisions or authorize the district-level chief inspectors to issue decisions on settlement of complaints which have already been settled by the commune-level People’s Committee presidents but petitioned, except for cases of complicated unsettled and prolonged complaints.

2. The provincial-level People’s Committee presidents shall issue decisions or authorize the provincial-level chief inspectors to issue decisions on settlement of complaints which have already been settled by district-level People’s Committee presidents but petitioned, except for cases of complicated, unsettled and prolonged complaints.

3. The authorization to issue decisions on settlement of complaints as prescribed in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article must be made in writing. The authorization documents shall be kept in the dossiers on complaint settlement.

Article 21.- The Prime Minister shall authorize the State Inspector General to settle complaints falling under the Prime Minister’s settling jurisdiction. In case of divergence of opinions on the settlement of the complaints between the State Inspector General and the ministers or the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the State Inspector General shall report such to the Prime Minister for directing or deciding the settlement.

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1. The authorizer shall have to urge and inspect the settlement of complaints by the authorized and have to be answerable before law for the authorized’s complaint-settling decisions.

2. The authorized shall perform the tasks and exercise the rights of the person who settle the complaints in subsequent times as prescribed in Articles 42 and 44 of the Law on Complaints and Denunciations and take responsibility before law and the authorizer for their settlement of complaints.

3. The authorized’s decisions on settlement of complaints shall be stamped with the seal of his/her agency and have the legal effect like the authorizer’s decisions on settlement of complaints. The complaint-settling decisions of the State Inspector General or the provincial-level chief inspectors shall be the final decisions.

Section 4. THE ENFORCEMENT OF COMPLAINT-SETTLING DECISIONS

Article 23.- The legally effective decisions on settlement of complaints must be strictly observed by individuals, agencies and organizations; persons who have issued complaint-settling decisions shall have to urge, inspect and apply necessary measures according to their competence or request the competent State bodies to apply necessary measures to ensure the strict observance of such decisions. In case of necessity, the complaint-settling decision makers may request the coordination of functional bodies in organizing the enforcement of such decisions.

Article 24.- Basing themselves on the contents of the competent persons’ decisions on settlement of complaints, the heads of the State bodies with administrative decisions and/or administrative acts being complained about shall have to:

1. Issue administrative decisions to replace or amend the complained administrative decisions and organize the enforcement of such decisions, terminate the complained administrative acts if the content of the complaint is true; compensate for damage caused, restore the victims’ legitimate rights and interests according to the provisions of law;

2. Explain to and request the complainants to strictly implement the complaint-settling decisions if the complaint contents are untrue; in case of necessity request the functional bodies to apply measures according to their competence to ensure the strict enforcement of the legally effective decisions on settlement of complaints.

Article 25.- The heads of the superior State bodies shall have to inspect and urge the fulfillment of obligations stipulated in Article 24 of this Decree by heads of the subordinate State bodies with administrative decisions and/or acts being complained about; if the responsible persons fail to strictly implement the complaint-settling decisions, they shall apply measures according to competence to compel the latter strictly implement such decisions; deal with or request the competent bodies to deal with persons who fail to implement the legally effective decisions on settlement of complaints.

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Chapter II

COMPLAINTS AND SETTLEMENT OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT DISCIPLINARY DECISIONS AGAINST OFFICIALS AND EMPLOYEES IN THE STATE ADMINISTRATIVE BODIES

Section 1. COMPETENCE TO SETTLE COMPLAINTS ABOUT DISCIPLINARY DECISIONS

Article 27.- Complaints about disciplinary decisions shall be settled by heads of the agencies who have signed such decisions; in case of further complaints, the heads of the immediate higher agencies shall have to settle them.

Article 28.-

1. The district-level People’s Committee presidents and the provincial/municipal Department directors are competent to settle complaints about disciplinary decisions they have signed.

2. The provincial-level People’s Committee presidents are competent to:

a) Settle complaints about the disciplinary decisions they have signed;

b) Settle complaints about the disciplinary decisions, which have been settled for the first time by the district-level People’s Committee presidents or provincial/municipal Department directors but further petitioned. The decisions to settle the complaints this time shall be the final ones.

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1. Settle complaints about the disciplinary decisions they have signed;

2. Settle complaints about the disciplinary decisions, which have already been settled for the first time by the heads of agencies under ministries, ministerial-level agencies or agencies attached to the Government but still further lodged. These complaint-settling decisions shall be the final ones.

Article 30.- The Minister-Head of the Government Commission for Organization and Personnel is competent to:

1. Settle complaints about the disciplinary decisions he/she has signed;

2. Settle complaints about disciplinary decisions, which have already been settled for the first time by the provincial-level People’s Committee presidents but still further lodged, except for complaints already settled by decisions of heads of the agencies attached to the Government, who are ministers. These complaint-settling decisions shall be the final ones.

Article 31.- The Prime Minister shall authorize the Minister-Head of the Government’s Commission for Organization and Personnel to settle complaints about disciplinary decisions, which have already been settled for the first time by ministers or heads of the ministerial-level agencies, but still further lodged; in case of divergence of opinions between the Minister-Head of the Government’s Commission for Organization and Personnel and ministers or heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the Minister-Head of the Government’s Commission for Organization and Personnel shall make proposal so that the Prime Minister can direct or decide the settlement. The complaint-settling decisions mentioned in this Article shall be the final ones.

Article 32.- The heads of the State bodies shall have to settle complaints about disciplinary decisions under their respective competence; in case of necessity, they may assign the personnel bodies or sections or the inspectorate of the same level to make verification and conclusions thereon, and propose solution thereof.

Section 2. PROCEDURES FOR SETTLING COMPLAINTS ABOUT DISCIPLINARY DECISIONS

Article 33.- Persons who have issued disciplinary decisions against their officials or employees, when receiving complaints about such decisions, shall have to consider and issue written settling decisions according to procedures prescribed in the Law on Complaints and Denunciations.

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Article 35.- Officials holding the position of department head or equivalent and lower levels and being forced to leave their jobs as a form of discipline, who have lodged complaints about such discipline but the persons competent to settle the first-time complaints still stick to such form of discipline, may, within 30 days from the date of receiving the complaint-settling decisions, further lodge their complaints to the person competent to settle them next or initiate an administrative lawsuit at court according to the provisions of law.

Article 36.- The minister-head of the Government’s Commission for Organization and Personnel shall base him/herself on the provisions of the Law on Complaints and Denunciations, this Decree and the provisions of legislation on State officials and employees to provide detailed guidance on the settlement of complaints about disciplinary decisions against officials and/or employees in the State administrative bodies.

Chapter III

DENUNCIATIONS AND SETTLEMENT THEREOF

Section 1. COMPETENCE TO SETTLE DENUNCIATIONS

Article 37.- Denunciations of law offenses by any persons shall be settled by the heads of the agencies in charge of such persons.

Denunciations of violations of the regulations on tasks and public duties by any persons shall be settled by the agencies in charge of such persons.

Denunciations of violations of the regulations on tasks and public duties by the heads or deputy-heads of any agencies shall be settled by the heads of the immediate superior bodies of such agencies.

Article 38.- Denunciations of law offenses related to the State management functions of any agency shall be settled by such agency.

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Article 39.-

1. The commune-level People’s Committee presidents are competent to settle denunciations of law offenses committed by persons under their direct management.

2. The district-level People’s Committee presidents are competent to settle denunciations of law offenses committed by presidents and/or vice-presidents of the commune-level People’s Committees, by heads and/or deputy-heads of bureaus and/or sections under the district-level People’s Committees or by other persons they have appointed and managed directly.

3. The provincial/municipal Department directors are competent to settle denunciations of acts of law offenses by heads and/or deputy-heads of sections under the Departments and other persons they have appointed and managed directly.

4. The provincial-level People’s Committee presidents are competent to settle denunciations of law offenses by presidents and/or vice presidents of the district-level People’s Committees, directors and/or deputy directors of the provincial/municipal Departments and/or other persons they have appointed and managed directly.

5. The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies and heads of the agencies attached to the Government are competent to settle denunciations of law offenses by heads and/or deputy-heads of agencies and units under the ministries, the ministerial-level agencies and the agencies attached to the Government, and other persons they have appointed and managed directly.

6. The Prime Minister is competent to settle denunciations of law offenses by ministers, vice-ministers, heads and/or deputy heads of the ministerial-level agencies and the agencies attached to the Government, presidents and/or vice-presidents of the provincial-level People’s Committees and other persons he/she has appointed and managed directly.

Article 40.-

1. The district-level chief inspector is competent:

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b) To consider and conclude on the denunciation contents which have already been settled by the commune-level People’s Committee presidents but in contravention of law; in case of a law violation in the settlement, as concluded, to propose the persons who have settled the case to reconsider and resettle them.

2. The provincial/municipal Department chief inspector is competent:

a) To verify and conclude on the denunciation contents and propose measures for handling denunciations falling under the settling competence of the provincial/municipal Department directors, when so assigned;

b) To consider and conclude on denunciation contents which have already been settled by heads of agencies under the provincial/municipal Departments but in contravention of law; in case of a law violation in the settlement, as concluded, to propose the persons who have settled the case to reconsider and resettle them.

3. The provincial-level chief inspector is competent:

a) To verify and conclude on the contents of denunciation, propose measures to handle denunciations under the settling jurisdiction of the provincial-level People’s Committee president, when so assigned;

b) To consider and conclude on the contents of denunciations, which have already been settled by district-level People’s Committee presidents or by provincial/municipal Department directors, but in contravention of law; in case of law violations in the settlement as concluded, to propose the persons who have settled the case to reconsider and re-settle them.

4. Chief inspectors of the ministries, the ministerial-level agencies and the agencies attached to the Government are competent:

a) To consider and conclude on the contents of denunciations, propose measures to handle denunciations falling under the settling jurisdiction of the ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies or the heads of the agencies attached to the Government;

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Article 41.- The State Inspector General is competent:

1. To verify and conclude on the contents of denunciations, propose measures to handle denunciations falling under the settling jurisdiction of the Prime Minister, when so assigned.

2. To consider and conclude on the contents of denunciations, which have already been settled by ministers, heads of the ministerial-level agencies, heads of the agencies attached to the Government or presidents of the provincial-level People’s Committees, but in contravention of law; in case of a law violation in the settlement, as concluded, to propose the persons who have settled the cases to review and re-settle them.

Article 42.- Within 30 days after receiving the proposals of the inspectorates as provided for at Point b of Clauses 1, 2, 3 and 4 of Article 40 and Clause 2, Article 41 of this Decree, the heads of the State bodies who have settled the denunciations shall have to implement them and notify the results to the inspectorates which have made such proposals.

Section 2. PROCEDURES TO SETTLE DENUNCIATIONS

Article 43.-

1. Upon receiving written denunciations, a State body shall have to classify and handle them as follows:

a) If the denunciations fall under its settling jurisdiction, it shall have to accept, process and settle them in strict accordance with the order and procedures prescribed in the Law on Complaints and Denunciations and this Decree;

b) If the denunciations do not fall under its jurisdiction, within 10 days from the date of receiving them, it shall have to transfer the written denunciations or the recorded oral denunciations as well as relevant documents and vouchers (if any) to the persons competent to settle them.

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d/ The denunciation of a criminal act shall be handed to the investigation agency or the procuracy for handling according to Article 71 of the Law on Complaints and Denunciations.

2. Where a denounced act causes or threatens to cause serious damage to the interests of the State and/or collectives or to the lives and property of citizens, the bodies which have received the denunciations shall have to immediately report to the functional agencies for preventive measures.

3. Where heads of the State bodies at different levels or branches receive information that the denunciators have been threatened, maltreated for retaliation or revenged, they shall have to direct or coordinate with the concerned functional agencies in the verification of the information and take measures to protect the denouncers and prevent such acts and request the competent authorities to handle according to law those who have committed such acts of threatening, maltreatment or revenge against the denouncers.

Article 44.- Where a denouncer personally makes oral denunciation, the person receiving such denunciation shall have to clearly record the content of denunciation as well as full name and address of the denouncer; when necessary, the oral denunciation shall be tape-recorded. The content of the denunciation must be re-read or re-heard by the denouncer before he/she signs it for confirmation. The oral denunciations shall be handled like the written denunciations as provided for in Article 43 of this Decree.

Article 45.- When receiving information and/or documents supplied by the denouncers, the denounced, agencies, organizations and/or individuals, the persons who settle the denunciations shall have to issue receipts thereof with the signatures of both the recipients and the suppliers.

Article 46.- Persons competent to settle denunciations or heads of the agencies tasked to make verification shall have to issue decisions to carry out the verification of denunciation contents; such a decision must clearly inscribe the person assigned the task of verification, the contents to be verified, the verification duration, the rights and responsibilities of the person conducting the verification.

Article 47.- In the course of settling the denunciation, the person assigned the task of verification shall have to create conditions for the denounced to make explanation and give evidence to prove the right and the wrong of the denunciation.

Article 48.- The gathering of documents and evidences in the course of verification and the settlement of denunciations must be recorded in writing and kept in the denunciation settlement dossiers.

Upon the completion of the verification, the person assigned the task of verification shall have to make a written conclusion on the denunciation content, with evidences to support his/her conclusion.

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1. Where the denounced did not breach the law and/or the regulations on tasks and public duties, there must be clear conclusions thereon and a written notice shall be addressed to the denounced as well as their managing agencies, and at the same time handle or propose the competent State bodies to handle the persons who have deliberately made untruthful denunciations;

2. Where the denounced have breached the law and/or regulations on tasks and public duties, being subject to disciplines and/or administrative sanction, the persons competent to settle denunciations shall handle them according to their competence or request the competent State bodies to handle them, and at the same time apply measures prescribed by law to ensure that the handling decisions and proposals are strictly implemented.

3. Where the denounced acts show signs of criminal offenses, the dossiers thereon shall be forwarded to the investigation bodies or the procuracies for settlement according to criminal procedures legislation.

Article 50.- The persons who settle denunciations shall have to send the written conclusions thereon and the denunciation-settling decisions to the investigation bodies and the immediate superior State bodies; notify the denouncers of the settlement results, if so requested, except for contents classified as the State secrets.

Chapter IV

ORGANIZING THE RECEPTION OF CITIZENS

Article 51.- The reception of citizens who come to lodge their complaints and denunciations, either verbal or written, shall be made at the citizen-receiving places.

The heads of the State bodies shall have to organize and manage the citizen-receiving places in their offices, to issue internal regulations on citizen reception, to arrange citizen-receiving places at convenient locations, and to ensure necessary material conditions for citizens to present their complaints and/or denunciations, to propose and report matters related to complaints and denunciations.

At the citizen-receiving places, the reception time-tables and rules must be posted up. The citizen-receiving time-table must clearly state the time and the titles of the persons who receive citizens. The citizen reception rules must clearly inscribe the responsibilities of the persons who receive citizens as well as the rights and obligations of the persons who come to make complaints and/or denunciations.

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1. The heads of the State bodies shall have to personally receive citizens periodically according to the provisions in Article 76 of the Law on Complaints and Denunciations; the citizen-receiving time-table must be made public to the citizens.

2. In addition to the periodical reception of citizens, the heads of the State bodies shall also have to receive them at their urgent request.

3. With regard to complaints under their jurisdiction, of which the contents are clear and specific with enough grounds to settle, the heads of the State bodies, when receiving citizens, shall reply them immediately; if the matters are complicated, requiring further study and consideration, they must clearly state the time-limit for settling them and the persons to contact later for settlement results.

4. The reception of citizens by the heads of the State bodies must be recorded in the citizen-receiving books and kept at the citizen-receiving places.

Article 53.- Persons who receive citizens must have books for recording and monitoring the citizen reception; request the citizens who come to make their complaints and/or denunciations to produce their personal papers, to truthfully present the matters and supply documents related to the contents of complaints and/or denunciations; in cases where many people come to complain about and/or denounce the same matter, the persons receiving citizens shall request them to nominate a representative to present the matters.

Article 54.- The settlement of complaints and denunciations at the citizen- receiving place shall be conducted as follows:

1. For written complaints, they shall be handled according to Article 5 of this Decree; where citizens come to make verbal complaints which fall under their agencies’ settling jurisdiction, the persons receiving the citizens shall guide them to write out their complaints or tape-record the complaint contents and request such citizens to sign their names or press their finger-prints thereon; if the matters complained about do not fall under the jurisdiction of their agencies, they shall have to guide the complainants to go to the right agencies which are competent to settle their complaints;

2. For denunciations, the persons receiving citizens shall have to accept, classify and handle them according to the provisions in Articles 43,44 and 45 of this Decree.

Article 55.- The State inspectorates at all levels, agencies of the Police, National Defense, Customs, Trade, Planning and Investment, Construction, Finance, Labor-War Invalids and Social Affairs, Organization-Personnel, Communications and Transport, Health, Education and Training, Agriculture and Rural Development , and Land Administration at the central and provincial levels shall have to organize the regular reception of citizens.

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Article 56.-

1. The organization of citizen reception by the Party Central Committee and the State at the citizen-receiving headquarters in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City shall comply with the Government’s Decree No. 89/CP of August 7, 1997 promulgating the Regulation on Citizen Reception.

2. The provincial-level People’s Committee president shall arrange a common place for the People’s Council, the People’s Committee, the delegation of National Assembly deputies and representatives of political organizations to receive citizens who come to make their complaints and/or denunciations; and appoint an official of the deputy-director of the Office or equivalent level to take charge of the citizen-receiving place in order to organize the implementation of the regular citizen reception regime.

Article 57.- With regard to complainants and denouncers who commit acts of causing public nuisances, thus affecting the security and public order as well as normal activities of State agencies and of responsible people, or committing other acts of violating the legislation on complaints and denunciations, the heads of the concerned State agencies and the persons in charge of the citizen-receiving offices shall request the police in charge of the area to take handling measures according to the provisions of law.

Article 58.- The heads of the State agencies shall have to closely coordinate with the head of the police offices in ensuring order and security at the citizen-receiving places.

The commune-level People’s Committee and the police offices in localities shall have to ensure safety of the citizen-receiving offices of the agencies in their respective localities; and shall, in case of necessity, apply measures according to their competence to handle persons who take advantage of complaining and denunciation to commit acts of law violation at the citizen-receiving places.

The Minister of Public Security shall direct the police forces to coordinate with the State agencies in ensuring order and safety for citizen-receiving offices and handling persons who break the law at the citizen-receiving places.

Chapter V

STATE MANAGEMENT OVER THE WORK OF COMPLAINT AND DENUNCIATION SETTLEMENT

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1. Drafting legal documents on complaints and denunciations for the Government to submit to the National Assembly and the National Assembly Standing Committee for promulgation; submitting to the Government for promulgating documents guiding the implementation of the legislation on complaints and denunciations;

2. Propagating for and popularizing the legislation on complaints and denunciations;

3. Promulgating according competence documents guiding the ministries, the ministerial-level agencies, the agencies attached to the Government, the People’s Committee of the provinces and centrally-run cities, the State inspectorates at all levels and branches in the work of complaint and denunciation settlement;

4. Inspecting and controlling all levels and branches in the observance of law provisions on complaints and denunciations;

5. Conducting the complaint and denunciation settlement according to competence;

6. Training and fostering State officials in the work of citizen reception as well as the complaint and denunciation settlement;

7. Summing up the situation on complaints and denunciations and the settlement thereof; regularly or irregularly reporting such to the Government;

8. Reviewing the work of complaint and denunciation settlement in order to draw experience therefrom.

Article 60.- The ministries, the ministerial-level agencies, the agencies attached to the Government and the People’s Committees at all levels shall perform the State management over the work of complaint and denunciation settlement within the scope of their management; guide, urge and inspect the agencies and organizations under their respective management in the observance of legislation on complaints and denunciations; observe the regime of reporting on the work of complaint and denunciation settlement as prescribed in Article 61 of this Decree.

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Article 62.-

1. One every three months, on the 15th of the last month of a quarter at the latest, the ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the agencies attached to the Government and the presidents of the People’s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities shall report to the Prime Minister (through the State Inspector General) the work of complaint and denunciation settlement within the scope of management by their respective ministries, branches and localities.

2. The State Inspector General shall sum up the situation on complaint and denunciation settlement within the scope of the Government’s management and periodically report thereon at the regular meetings of the Government in the first month of every quarter or irregularly at the Prime Minister’s request; and periodically inform the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee of the work of complaint and denunciation settlement.

3. In case of necessity, the State Inspector General shall propose the Prime Minister to convene meetings of leading officials of the central and local agencies to propose to the Prime Minister for consideration and direction measures to handle complicated cases of complaint and denunciation involving many branches, many localities.

Article 63.- The State inspectorate of all levels and all branches shall have to:

1. Guide the agencies, organizations and units of the same level in citizen reception, handling of written complaints and denunciations, settlement of complaints and denunciations, execution of decisions on settlement of complaints and decisions on handling of denunciations;

2. Supervise and inspect the responsibility of the heads of the subordinate agencies, organizations and units as well as of the heads of the same level in citizen reception, settlement of complaints and denunciations; in case of necessity, propose the heads of the same level to convene meetings of the heads of subordinate agencies, organizations and units to propose measures to organize the direction and handling of complicated complaints and denunciations.

3. Upon detection of any violation of the legislation on complaints and denunciations, handle them according to competence or request competent bodies to handle them.

4. Propose measures to improve the work of complaint and denunciation settlement under the scope of management of the heads of the same level;

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Chapter VI

HANDLING OF VIOLATIONS OF THE LEGISLATION ON COMPLAINTS AND DENUNCIATIONS

Article 64.- The agencies, organizations and individuals recording achievements in the settlement of complaints and denunciations and the denouncers with merits in preventing damage caused to the State, organizations and/or individuals shall be commended and rewarded according to the regulations of the State.

Article 65.- The heads of the State bodies shall, within their respective functions, tasks and powers, have to:

1. Issue decisions to suspend the execution of the decisions on settlement of complaints and/or decisions on handling of denunciations of the heads of the subordinate agencies when detecting that the settlement thereof has violated law;

2. Issue decisions to suspend the work of officials under their management, who have deliberately obstructed or refrained from the execution of the decisions on settlement of complaints, decisions on handling of denunications or refrained from meeting requests of the State inspectorate and/or the superior State agencies in the settlement of complaints and denunciations; apply other measures to persons who commit one of the acts prescribed in Articles 96,97 and 100 of the Law on Complaints and Denunciations.

Article 66.- State officials or employees having committed one of the acts prescribed in Articles 96, 97, 98, 99 and 100 of the Law on Complaints and Denunciations, if causing serious consequences, shall be examined for penal liability; if the violation is not serious to the extent of being examined for penal liability, the violator shall, depending on the nature and seriousness of the violations, be subject to one of the following discipline forms:

1. Reprimand;

2. Warning;

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4. Demotion;

5. Dismissal from office;

6. Dismissal from job.

Article 67.- State officials or employees who have caused damage due to their acts of violating the legislation on complaints and denunciations shall have to make compensation therefor; the compensation shall comply with the provisions of Decree No. 47/CP of May 3, 1997 of the Government on settlement of compensation for damage caused by State officials or employees or competent persons of the ligitation bodies, Decree No. 97/1998/ND-CP of November 17, 1998 of the Government on disciplining and material liability of State officials, as well as other law provisions.

Article 68.-

1. Those heads of the State bodies, who, due to their lack of responsibility, let violations of the legislation on complaints and denunciations repeatedly occur in their agencies, shall be disciplined; if causing serious consequences, they shall be examined for penal liability.

2. Those heads of the State agencies who, due to their lack of responsibility, fail to apply necessary measures to enforce decisions on settlement of complaints and/or decisions on handling of denunications, shall be disciplined; if causing serious consequences, they shall be examined for penal liability.

Article 69.- Those who commit one of the acts defined in Article 100 of the Law on Complaints and Denunciations but not to the extent of a criminal offense shall be subject to warning, a fine or other punitive form as prescribed in Decree No. 49 of August 15, 1996 of the Government on sanctions against administrative violations in the field of security and order and other provisions of the legislation on handling of administrative violations.

Persons who receive citizens and persons who settle complaints and/or denunciations may make records and request competent bodies to administratively sanction those who commit acts of violating the legislation on complaints and denunciations. The presidents of the local People’s Committees and the local police offices shall base themselves on such records and request the persons who receive citizens or the persons who settle complaints and/or denunciations to handle such cases according to competence and notify the handling results to the requestors within 15 days from the date of receiving the request.

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IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 70.- The complaint lodging by and the settlement of complaints of, foreign individuals, agencies and organizations as well as the making of denunciations by or settlement of denunciations of, foreigners who are living, studying or working in Vietnam shall comply with the Law on Complaints and Denunciations and this Decree.

Article 71.- The complaint, denunciations and the settlement of complaints and denunciations in the State enterprises shall comply with the Law on Complaints and Denunciations and this Decree, except for complaints related to the performance of labor contracts.

The complaints about administrative decisions in the activities of management by the superior over the subordinate according to the administrative rankings shall not be settled according to this Decree.

Article 72.- Complaints and denunciations which have been accepted and are being processed for settlement before January 1st, 1999 without the final decisions shall continue to be settled according to the provisions of the Law on Complaints and Denunciations and this Decree.

Article 73.- The State Inspector General, the ministers, the heads of the ministerial- level agencies, the heads of the agencies attached to the Government and the presidents of the People’s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities shall have to organize the implementation of this Decree.

The Minister of Defense and the Minister of Public Security shall base themselves on the provisions of this Decree to provide detailed guidance on the settlement of complaints and denunciations within the army and the police after consulting with the State Inspector General.

Article 74.- This Decree takes effect 15 days after its signing.

Decree No. 38/HDBT of January 28, 1992 of the Council of Ministers on the implementation of the 1991 Ordinance on Citizens’ Complaints and Denunciations ceases to be effective.

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ON BEHALF OF THE GOVERNMENT
PRIME MINISTER




Phan Van Khai