Laws of Vietnam

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government of September 30, 1992;

Pursuant to the Law on the Promulgation of Legal Documents of November 12, 1996;

At the proposal of the Minister of Justice and the Minister-Director of the Office of the Government,

DECREES

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1.- Legal documents

1. A legal document is a document that has all the following factors:

a/ It is issued by a competent State agency in one of the forms prescribed in Article 1 of Chapter I and in Chapter II of the Law on the Promulgation of Legal Documents;

b/ It is issued by a competent State agency at the central level in accordance with the procedure and order prescribed in Chapters III, IV, V, VI and VII of the Law on the Promulgation of Legal Documents and the provisions of this Decree;

c/ It contains universal rules of conduct to be applicable more than once to all objects or a group of objects, and to be effective nationwide or locally.

Universal rules of conduct are standards which all agencies, organizations and individuals must abide by when participating in social relations governed by such rules.

d/ Its enforcement is guaranteed by the State through such measures as popularization, education and persuasion as well as organizational, administrative and economic measures; in case of necessity, the State shall apply coercive measures to ensure enforcement and stipulate remedies against violators.

2. A document which is also issued by a competent State agency but does not contain all the above-mentioned factors to deal with a specific case involving a specific object, is not a legal document and therefore not subject to the regulation of the Law on the Promulgation of Legal Documents and this Decree, such as decisions to raise salaries, to reward, discipline, transfer to another post, appoint or dismiss public employees, decisions to sanction against administrative violations, decisions to approve projects, directives to launch emulation campaigns, commend good people and good deeds as well as other particular documents.

Article 2.- Constitutionality, legality and uniformity of the system of legal documents issued by the Government, the Prime Minister, the ministries, ministerial-level agencies, agencies attached to the Government, inter-disciplinary documents issued jointly by various competent State agencies, of competent State agencies and socio-political organizations, legal documents issued by the People's Councils and People's Committees of various levels.

1. Resolutions and decrees issued by the Government must comply with the Constitution, laws, resolutions of the National Assembly, ordinances and resolutions of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, orders and decisions of the State President.

2. Decisions and directives issued by the Prime Minister must comply with the Constitution, laws, resolutions of the National Assembly, ordinances and resolutions of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, orders and decisions of the State President, and resolutions and decrees of the Government.

3. Decisions, directives and circulars issued by the ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies and the heads of the agencies attached to the Government must comply with the Constitution, laws and resolutions of the National Assembly, ordinances and resolutions of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, orders and decisions of the State President, resolutions and decrees of the Government, decisions and directives of the Prime Minister, and with legal documents of the ministries, ministerial-level agencies and agencies attached to the Government regarding the management of the branches and fields under their charge.

4. Inter-disciplinary resolutions and circulars issued jointly by various competent State agencies at the central level or by the competent State agencies at the central level and the socio-political organizations must comply with the Constitution, laws and resolutions of the National Assembly, ordinances and resolutions of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, orders and decisions of the State President, resolutions and decrees of the Government and decisions and directives of the Prime Minister.

5. Resolutions issued by the People's Councils of various levels, decisions and directives issued by the People's Committees of various levels must comply with the Constitution, laws and resolutions of the National Assembly, ordinances and resolutions of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, orders and decisions of the State President, resolutions and decrees of the Government, decisions and directives of the Prime Minister and with documents of the higher-level State agencies.

The legal documents of the Government, the Prime Minister, the ministries, ministerial-level agencies and agencies attached to the Government, inter-disciplinary resolutions and circulars issued jointly by various competent State agencies at the central level or by competent State agencies at the central level and socio-political organizations, legal documents of the People's Councils and People's Committees of various levels, which are in contravention of the Constitution, laws and documents of the higher-level agencies must be suspended and annulled by the competent State agencies in accordance with the provisions of law currently in force.

Article 3.- Numbers and signs of legal documents

1. When issued, a legal document shall be numbered according to the year of its issuance and bears a particular sign for each type of document.

2. For each type of document, the numbering shall start from 01 in the year of issuance of such type of document.

The year of issuance must be indicated in full figure.

3. The signs of legal documents issued by the Government, the Prime Minister, the ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies and the heads of the agencies attached to the Government, inter-disciplinary legal documents issued jointly by various competent State agencies at the central level or by competent State agencies and socio-political organizations are prescribed as follows:

a/ Resolutions and decrees issued by the Government: No.../199.../NQ-CP; No.../199.../ND-CP;

b/ Decisions and directives issued by the Prime Minister: No.../199.../QD-TTg; No.../199.../CT-TTg;

c/ Decisions, directives and circulars issued by the ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies or the heads of the agencies attached to the Government: No.../199.../QD-(the abbreviated name of the issuing agency), for example: Decision No. 01 of January 20, 1997 issued by the Ministry of Justice is numbered as: No. 01/1997/QD-BTP; No.../CT-(the abbreviated name of the issuing agency), for example, Directive No. 01 issued by the Ministry of Finance on January 25, 1997 is numbered: No. 01/1997/CT-BTC; No.../199.../TT- (the abbreviated name of the issuing agency), for example: Circular No. 01 issued by the Ministry of Industry on August 25, 1997 is numbered : No. 01/1997/CT-BCN;

d/ Inter-disciplinary resolutions and inter-disciplinary circulars: No.../199.../NQLT-(the abbreviated names of the agency(ies) and organization(s), for example: Inter-disciplinary Resolution No. 05 jointly issued by the Vietnam General Federation of Labor and the Ministry of Finance on September 18, 1997 is numbered: No. 05/1997-NQLT-TLDLD-BTC; No..../199/TTLT- (the abbreviated names of the issuing agencies), for example: Inter-disciplinary Circular No. 01 issued jointly by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs on September 15, 1997 is numbered: No. 01/1997/TTLT-BTC-BLDTB&XH.

Article 4.- Dispatching legal documents

1. Within two days from the date of promulgation or signing for issuance, the Office of the Government shall have to dispatch the legal documents issued by the National Assembly, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, the State President, the Government and the Prime Minister to the ministries, the ministerial-level agencies, the agencies attached to the Government, concerned socio-economic organizations, the People's Councils, the People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government.

2. Within two days from the date of signing for issuance, the ministries, the ministerial-level agencies and agencies attached to the Government must send the legal documents issued by themselves to the Government, central State agencies, concerned socio-political organizations, People's Councils and People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government.

3. Within two days from the date of signing for issuance, the People's Councils and the People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government shall have to send the legal documents issued by themselves to the Government, the concerned agencies and socio-political organizations, and the lower-level People's Councils and People's Committees.

4. The legal documents issued by the central State agencies and by the People's Councils and the People's Committees must be sent and put onto the widely covered computerized network of the Government and they shall be as valid as the originals.

5. Upon receiving legal documents, including receiving from the widely covered computerized network of the Government, the State agencies and concerned organizations shall have to organize the enforcement thereof.

6. The Office of the Government shall stipulate in detail the organization, management, use and control of the Government's widely covered computerized network.

Article 5.- Publication in the Official Gazette

1. Legal documents issued by the central State agencies must be published in the Official Gazette of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam within fifteen days from the date of promulgation or signing for issuance.

2. Legal documents issued by the central State agencies must be sent to the Office of the Government within two days from the date of promulgation or signing for issuance for prompt publication in the Official Gazette.

3. The Official Gazette shall be publicized and widely distributed among the State agencies, social organizations, economic organizations, people's armed forces units and among the population as well as including foreign individuals, organizations and agencies.

4. The documents published in the Official Gazette shall be as valid as the originals.

5. The Office of the Government shall be in charge of publishing the Official Gazette of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Article 6.- Reporting, publishing and broadcasting of the contents of legal documents

Legal documents must be reported on the mass media.

The central and local press agencies, the Vietnam television station, the Voice of Vietnam radio station and the local television and radio stations shall have to report, publish or broadcast the full text or principal contents of legal documents so as to widely disseminate them.

Article 7.- Translation of legal documents into foreign language(s)

1. Legal documents which have been promulgated or signed for issuance may be translated into a foreign language (foreign languages).

2. Agencies, organizations and individuals that translate legal documents into a foreign language(s) shall be accountable for their translations.

The translation of legal documents into a foreign language(foreign languages) must be done in such a way that their contents are truthfully ensured, and terms used in the translation text are accurate.

The foreign-language translations of legal documents shall have the value of reference only.

8. The Ministry of Justice shall coordinate with the Ministry of Culture and Information in selecting a number of publishing houses for publication and distribution of the foreign-language translations of legal documents.

Article 8.- Observance of the regulations on the protection of State secrets

The dispatch of legal documents as prescribed in Article 4, their publication in the Official Gazette as prescribed in Article 5, the reporting, publishing and broadcasting thereof as prescribed in Article 6, the translation into a foreign language (foreign languages) as prescribed in Article 7 of this Decree must comply with the regulations on the protection of State secrets.

Chapter II

DRAWING UP THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY'S TENTATIVE PROGRAM ON THE ELABORATION OF LAWS

AND ORDINANCES AND THE GOVERNMENT'S TENTATIVE PROGRAM ON THE ELABORATION OF RESOLUTIONS AND DECREES

Article 9.- Proposing the programs on the elaboration of laws, ordinances, government resolutions and decrees

1. Pursuant to Clause 1, Article 22 and Article 59 of the Law on the Promulgation of Legal Documents and the management requirements of the branches and fields under their charge, the ministers and the heads of the ministerial-level agencies and agencies attached to the Government shall propose on the elaboration of laws, ordinances, resolutions and decrees for submission to the Government.

The legal departments under the ministries, ministerial-level agencies and agencies attached to the Government shall have to assist the ministers and the heads of these agencies in proposing the elaboration of laws, ordinances, resolutions and decrees for submission to the Government.

2. The annual written proposals on the elaboration of laws and ordinances made by the ministries, the ministerial-level agencies and the agencies attached to the Government must be decided by the ministers and the heads of these agencies and submitted to the Ministry of Justice and the Office of the Government, which clearly state the necessity to issue the documents, their objects and scope of application, time limit for submission and the conditions required for ensuring their drafting.

3. The annual written proposals on the elaboration of laws and ordinances shall be submitted to the Ministry of Justice and the Office of the Government not later than July 17 of the preceding year. The proposals on the elaboration of laws and ordinances according to the National Assembly's term shall be sent to the Ministry of Justice and the Office of the Government not later than July 15 of the ending year of the last National Assembly's term.

The annual written proposals of the ministries, the ministerial-level agencies and the agencies attached to the Government on the elaboration of government resolutions and decrees shall be sent to the Office of the Government and the Ministry of Justice not later than October 15 of the preceding year, which clearly state the necessity to issue these documents, their objects and scope of application, time limit for their issuance and the plans for organizing their enforcement once they are issued.

4. On the basis of the sum-up of the annual proposals on the elaboration of government resolutions and decrees made by the ministries, the ministerial-level agencies and the agencies attached to the Government, the Office of the Government shall make quarterly, biannual and annual programs on the elaboration government resolutions and decrees and submit them to the Government for decision.

Article 10.- Summing up of proposals and submitting to the Government for decision the tentative programs on the elaboration of laws, ordinances and the tentative programs on the elaboration of government resolutions and decrees

1. Within ten days from the deadline for sending a tentative program on the elaboration of laws and ordinances, the Ministry of Justice shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the Office of the Government in making the Government's tentative program on the elaboration of laws and ordinances. The tentative program shall be sent to the ministries, the ministerial-level agencies and the agencies attached to the Government for comments. Within seven days from the date of receipt of the tentative program, the ministries, the ministerial-level agencies and agencies attached to the Government shall have to send their written comments to the Ministry of Justice and the Office of the Government.

Under the direction of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Justice shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the Office of the Government in revising the tentative program on the elaboration of laws and ordinances before submitting it to the Government for decision at its annual August meeting.

2. Within ten days from the deadline for sending proposals on the program on the elaboration of resolutions and decrees, the Office of the Government shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the Ministry of Justice in preparing the Government's tentative program and send it to the ministries, the ministerial-level agencies and the agencies attached to the Government. Within seven days from the date of receipt of the tentative program, the ministries, the ministerial-level agencies and the agencies attached to the Government must send their written comments to the Office of the Government and the Ministry of Justice.

Under the direction of the Prime Minister, the Office of the Government shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the Ministry of Justice in revising the tentative program on the elaboration of resolutions and decrees before submitting it to the Government for decision at its regular year-end meeting.

3. The Office of the Government shall have to send to the cabinet members and the heads of the agencies attached to the Government the program on the elaboration of laws and ordinances and the program on the elaboration of government resolutions and decrees.

Article 11.- The Government's comments on the law- and ordinance-making proposals made by other agencies and organizations and on the law- and ordinance-making proposals and recommendations on laws and ordinances, made by National Assembly deputies.

1. The Office of the Government shall have to collect fully the law- and ordinance-making proposals made by other agencies and organizations and law- and ordinance-making proposals as well as recommendations regarding laws and ordinances made by National Assembly deputies.

2. Within ten days from the date of receipt of the list of the proposals and recommendations regarding laws and ordinances sent by the Office of the Government, the Ministry of Justice shall have to send their written comments thereon to the Office of the Government.

3. The Government shall make written comments on the proposals on the elaboration of laws and ordinances made by other agencies and organizations, on the law- and ordinance-making proposals as well as recommendations on laws and ordinances made by National Assembly deputies on the basis of the report of the Office of the Government and the comments of the Ministry of Justice.

Article 12.- Tentative revision of the program on the elaboration of laws and ordinances and the program on the elaboration of government resolutions and decrees

1. Under the direction of the Prime Minister, at the proposals of the ministries, the ministerial-level agencies and the agencies attached to the Government, the Ministry of Justice shall make a tentative revision of the program on the elaboration of laws and ordinances and submit it to the Government for consideration and submission to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly.

2. Under the direction of the Prime Minister and at the proposals of the ministries, the ministerial-level agencies and the agencies attached to the Government, the Office of the Government shall make a tentative revision of the program on the elaboration of resolutions and decrees for submission to the Government.

The Office of the Government shall have to notify the Ministry of Justice, and concerned ministries, ministerial-level agencies and agencies attached to the Government of the decision of the Government regarding the revision of the program on the elaboration of laws and ordinances and the revision of the program on the elaboration of resolutions and decrees.

Article 13.- Assurance of implementation of the program on the elaboration of laws and ordinances and the program on the elaboration of government resolutions and decrees.

1. The Government shall direct the implementation of the program on the elaboration of bills and draft ordinances submitted by the Government to the National Assembly and the Standing Committee of the National Assembly and the program on the elaboration of government resolutions and decrees.

2. The Office of the Government shall have to urge and oversee the agencies assigned the drafting responsibility to ensure the drafting schedule and the time limit for their submission.

3. The Ministry of Justice, within the scope of its functions, tasks and powers, shall have to take part in the process of drafting and evaluating bills, draft ordinances, and draft resolutions and decrees to be issued by the Government, and give written comments on draft decisions and directives to be issued by the Prime Minister.

4. The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies and the heads of the agencies attached to the Government shall have to regularly direct and give opinions in time on the implementation of the program on the elaboration of laws and ordinances and the program on the elaboration of government resolutions and decrees which they assume the prime responsibility for drafting.

The legal departments under the ministries, the ministerial-level agencies and the agencies attached to the Government shall have to assist the ministers and the heads of these agencies in implementing the program on the elaboration of legal documents, ensuring their legal coherence, good quality and their submission on time as prescribed.

5. Expenditures for elaborating legal documents shall be covered by the State budget.

Within 60 days from the effective date of this Decree, the Minister of Finance shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the Minister of Justice and other concerned agencies in submitting to the Prime Minister a regulation on the use of the funding for elaborating legal documents.

Chapter III

ELABORATION OF BILLS, DRAFT ORDINANCES, AND DRAFT LEGAL DOCUMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT, THE PRIME MINISTER, MINISTRIES, MINISTERIAL-LEVEL AGENCIES AND AGENCIES ATTACHED TO THE GOVERNMENT

Article 14.- Establishment of drafting boards

1. The Government shall authorize the agency assigned the prime drafting responsibility to set up a board for drafting a law or ordinance to be submitted by the Government to the National Assembly or the Standing Committee of the National Assembly or for drafting the type of decree prescribed in Point b, Clause 2, Article 56 of the Law on the Promulgation of Legal Documents, except for cases where the Government itself sets up a drafting board.

2. The agency assigned the prime drafting responsibility shall set up a drafting board for other draft government resolutions and decrees.

3. The drafting board shall undertake the drafting of bills, ordinances, resolutions or decrees. Each drafting board shall be composed of competent representatives of the concerned ministries, ministerial-level agencies and agencies attached to the Government; the head of the agency assigned the prime drafting responsibility shall be the head of the drafting board.

The drafting board shall be assisted by an editing group whose members are appointed by the head of the drafting board. These members include lawyers, scientists and experts knowledgeable about specialized matters mentioned in draft legal documents.

4. When the Prime Minister deems it necessary, he/she may set up an experts' group working under his/her personal direction to perform the tasks of a drafting board or to revise a bill, draft ordinance, draft government resolution or decree before he/she signs it for submission or issuance.

5. All agencies which have their representatives in the drafting board shall have to give their written comments on the contents of the draft document related to the branch or field under their management.

6. The drafting of legal documents of the Prime Minister, the ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies and the heads of the agencies attached to the Government shall comply with Article 65 and Article 66 of the Law on the Promulgation of Legal Documents.

Article 15.- Responsibilities of the drafting board

To ensure the quality and time limit for submission of a bill, draft ordinance, draft resolution or decree, the drafting board shall fully abide by the provisions in Article 26 and Article 61 of the Law on the Promulgation of Legal Documents and, at the same time, have the following responsibilities:

1. Periodically notifying the Office of the Government and the Ministry of Justice of the drafting tempo and quality of the bill, draft ordinance, draft resolution or decree;

2. Promptly reporting to the Government and the Prime Minister any new and complicated matters as well as divergent ideas for direction;

3. Ensuring the quality of the draft document; ensuring that the provisions therein must be specifically and explicitly defined so that the document can be promptly enforced as soon as it becomes effective.

In cases where a bill or another draft legal document requires documents detailing or guiding its implementation, the drafting board shall have to draft or urge, oversee and guide the agencies assigned by the Government to draft such documents so that they can be submitted simultaneously with the bill, draft ordinance, draft resolution or decree to the Government.

4. Determining the names of documents expected to be annulled (wholly or partly: chapters, sections, articles, clauses and points to be annulled).

Article 16.- Collection of comments on bills, draft ordinances, draft government resolutions and decrees

In the course of drafting a bill, a draft ordinance, a draft resolution or decree, the agency assigned the prime drafting responsibility shall have to collect commends from the concerned agencies, organizations and individuals.

Within seven days from the date of receipt of a bill, a draft ordinance, a draft resolution or decree, the consulting agencies, organizations and individuals shall have to give their written comments to the agency with the prime drafting responsibility. The written comments of the ministries, agencies and organizations must be signed by their ministers and heads. The agency assigned the prime drafting responsibility shall study such comments and revise the draft legal document and send the revised document to the Office of the Government and the Ministry of Justice.

Article 17.- Solicitation of opinions from the National Assembly Standing Committee on the decrees that provide for urgent matters which are essential but not to the extent to be made into law or ordinance

Before drafting the decrees prescribed in Point b, Clause 2, Article 56 of the Law on the Promulgation of Legal Documents, the Government shall send the written explanation on the necessity to issue such a decree and propose its fundamental contents to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly for opinions.

Chapter IV

EVALUATION AND SUBMISSION TO THE GOVERNMENT OF BILLS, DRAFT ORDINANCES, DRAFT GOVERNMENT RESOLUTIONS AND DECREES AND THE CONTRIBUTION OF COMMENTS TO THE PRIME MINISTER'S DRAFT DECISIONS AND DIRECTIVES

Article 18.- Preparation for the submission of bills, draft ordinances and draft government resolutions and decrees to the Government.

The Office of the Government shall coordinate with the Ministry of Justice and the agency assigned the prime drafting responsibility in considering bills, draft ordinances, draft resolutions or decrees before submitting them to the Government.

In cases where unanimity is reached on the submission of a bill, draft ordinance, draft resolution or decree to the Government, the subsequent process is prescribed as follows:

1. For bills and draft ordinances

The Office of the Government shall, in coordination with the agency assigned the prime drafting responsibility, hold a meeting to present the contents of the bill or draft ordinance to the competent representatives of the concerned ministries, ministerial-level agencies, agencies attached to the Government and other concerned agencies and organizations.

Within seven days from the date such meeting is organized, the agencies and organizations shall have to study and give their written comments to the agency assigned the prime drafting responsibility, the Office of the Government and the Ministry of Justice.

The agency assigned the prime drafting responsibility shall have to study and accept the comments of the agencies and organizations for revising the draft and send the revised document to the Ministry of Justice for evaluation.

2. For draft resolutions and decrees.

The agency assigned the prime drafting responsibility shall revise a draft document on the basis of the opinions of the Office of the Government and the Ministry of Justice and send the revised document to the Ministry of Justice for evaluation.

Article 19.- Evaluation of bills, draft ordinances, draft government resolutions and decrees

1. The bills, draft ordinances, draft government resolutions and decrees to be evaluated include:

a/ Bills and draft ordinances to be submitted by the Government to the National Assembly and the Standing Committee of the National Assembly;

b/ Bills and draft ordinances to be submitted by other agencies, organizations and National Assembly deputies to the National Assembly and the Standing Committee of the National Assembly;

c/ Draft resolutions and decrees to be submitted to the Government.

2. The Government shall consider bills and draft ordinances only for decision to submit them to the National Assembly and the Standing Committee of the National Assembly or for giving comments with regard to bills and draft ordinances submitted by other agencies, organizations and National Assembly deputies or consider draft resolutions and decrees for issuance only after there are evaluation reports of the Ministry of Justice.

Article 20.- Responsibilities of the agencies drafting bills, ordinances, government resolutions and decrees

The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies and the heads of the agencies attached to the Government which are assigned the prime responsibility for drafting bills, ordinances, resolutions and decrees shall have to:

1. Send a written request for evaluation and the dossier of the bill, draft ordinance, resolution or decree to the Ministry of Justice according to the time limit prescribed in Article 22 of this Decree.

2. Provide necessary information and documents related to the bill, draft ordinance, resolution or decree for the evaluating agency;

3. Make an exposition of the bill, draft ordinance, resolution or decree, if so requested by the Ministry of Justice.

Article 21.- Dossier of a bill, draft ordinance, draft government resolution or decree to be sent for evaluation

1. The dossier of a bill, draft ordinance, draft government resolution or decree to be sent for evaluation includes:

a/ A written request for evaluation;

b/ The presentation to the Government on the bill, draft ordinance, resolution or decree;

c/ The final draft which the drafting agency decide to submit to the Government for consideration and the list of comments made by the ministries and branches thereon;

d/ A detailed exposition of the bill, draft ordinance, resolution or decree and draft documents guiding its implementation (if any).

2. There must be at least 10 sets of the dossier to be sent for evaluation.

Article 22.- Time limit for sending the dossier of a bill, draft ordinance, draft government resolution or decree for evaluation

Within twenty days before a government meeting, the agency drafting a bill, a draft ordinance, a resolution or a decree must send to the Ministry of Justice the dossier thereof for evaluation.

Article 23.- Responsibilities of the Ministry of Justice in the evaluation of bills, draft ordinances, draft government resolutions and decrees

1. After receiving the dossier of a bill, a draft ordinance, a resolution or a decree, the Ministry of Justice shall have to promptly organize the evaluation thereof. In case of necessity, it may request the drafting agency to make an exposition of the draft and provide the information and materials related thereto.

2. When necessary, it may invite lawyers, scientists and experts knowledgeable about the specialized matters contained in the draft to take part in the evaluation.

3. It shall prepare and send the evaluation report according to the time limit stipulated in Article 26 of this Decree.

Article 24.- Scope of evaluation

The Ministry of Justice shall evaluate the objects and the scope of application of every document, its feasibility, documentation techniques, legal terms and take responsibility for its constitutionality, legality and uniformity in the legal system.

In cases where the drafting agency and the ministries as well as branches have different opinions on matters contained in a bill, draft ordinance, draft government resolution or decree, the Ministry of Justice shall have to clearly present its own viewpoints and propose a solution to such divergence of opinion.

Article 25.- Organization of evaluation

1. The Minister of Justice shall organize the evaluation of bills, draft ordinances, draft government resolutions and decrees, ensuring the evaluation quality and timetable.

In case of necessity, the Minister of Justice shall decide to set up a council for evaluation of a bill, a draft ordinance, a resolution or a decree.

For a bill, a draft ordinance, a resolution or a decree which is drafted by the Ministry of Justice, the evaluation council set up by the Minister of Justice must be joined by the representatives of the Office of the Government and the concerned ministries and branches.

2. The concrete procedure and order for evaluating legal documents shall be defined by the Minister of Justice.

Article 26.- Sending of evaluation reports

Not later than five days before the start of a government meeting, the Ministry of Justice shall send the report on the evaluation of the bill, draft ordinance, resolution or decree to the agency in charge of the drafting and the Office of the Government.

For a bill, a draft ordinance, a resolution or a decree drafted by the Ministry of Justice, not later than five days before the start of a government meeting, the Ministry of Justice must send the opinions of the evaluation council together with the draft document to the Office of the Government for preparation for the government meeting.

Article 27.- Dossiers of bills, draft ordinances, resolutions and decrees to be submitted to the Government

The agency assigned the prime drafting responsibility must prepare the full dossier of the bill, draft ordinance, resolution or decree for submission to the Government. This dossier includes:

1. The presentation to the Government on the bill, draft ordinance, resolution or decree;

2. The bill, draft ordinance, resolution or decree;

3. The Ministry of Justice's written evaluation of the bill, draft ordinance, resolution or decree;

4. The concerned ministries' and branches' comments on the draft document;

5. Related documents (if any);

The number of the dossier sets shall be determined according to the request of the Office of the Government.

Article 28.- Responsibilities of the Office of the Government

After receiving the presentation on the bill, draft ordinance, resolution or decree, the evaluation report of the Ministry of Justice and documents related to the draft document, sent by the agency with the prime drafting responsibility, the Office of the Government shall examine the procedures and the contents of the draft legal document. In cases where there are different opinions on the draft document it shall solicit the direction from the Prime Minister and hold a meeting with the agency with the prime drafting responsibility, the Ministry of Justice and the concerned ministries and branches for handling and proposing matters to the Government for discussion and decision.

The Office of the Government shall have to report on the matters which the ministries and branches have agreed upon and matters which still see the divergence of opinions to the Government for discussion and decision.

Article 29.- The Government's comments on bills and draft ordinances made by other agencies, organizations and National Assembly deputies

1. Within two days from the date of receipt of a bill or draft ordinance and the related documents sent by the drafting agency, organization or National Assembly deputy(ies) to the Government for comments, the Office of the Government shall have to send them to the concerned ministries, ministerial-level agencies and agencies attached to the Government for comments and to the Ministry of Justice for evaluation.

2. The Ministry of Justice shall have to evaluate bills or draft ordinances in accordance with the provisions in Articles 23, 24 and 25 of this Decree. The concerned ministries, ministerial-level agencies and agencies attached to the Government shall have to give their written comments on the contents of the draft documents directly related to their branch-managing functions and tasks.

Within ten days from the date of receipt of a bill or draft ordinance, the Ministry of Justice shall send its evaluation report to the Office of the Government.

3. On the basis of the Ministry of Justice's evaluation report and the written comments of the ministries, ministerial-level agencies and agencies attached to the Government, the Office of the Government shall summarize, finalize and submit to the Prime Minister for consideration the Government's written comments on such bill or draft ordinance and send to the agency, organization or National Assembly deputy(ies) that has drafted such bill or ordinance.

Article 30.- Comments on draft decisions and directives of the Prime Minister

1. The Ministry of Justice shall have to contribute written comments and take responsibility for the constitutionality, legality and uniformity of draft decisions and directives of the Prime Minister in the legal system before submitting them to the Prime Minister for consideration and issuance.

2. Not later than fifteen days before the date of submission to the Prime Minister, the agency that drafts a decision or directive shall have to send to the Ministry of Justice the dossier of such draft decision or directive.

3. The dossier of a draft decision or directive to be sent for comments includes:

a/ A written request for comments;

b/ The presentation to the Prime Minister on the draft decision or directive;

c/ The draft decision or directive and the summary of comments of the ministries and branches thereon;

4. The number of dossier sets sent for comments shall be at least 5.

5. Within seven days after the date of receipt in full of the dossier, the Ministry of Justice shall make written comments thereon and send them to the agency which is assigned the prime drafting responsibility.

6. The agency assigned the prime drafting responsibility shall have to revise the draft decision or directive before submitting it to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision.

The dossier to be submitted to the Prime Minister includes:

a/ The presentation to the Prime Minister on the draft decision or directive;

b/ The draft decision or directive;

c/ Comments of the concerned agencies and organizations;

d/ Comments of the Ministry of Justice.

Chapter V

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 31.- Effect of the Decree

This Decree takes effect 15 days from the date of its signing.

Article 32.- Responsibility for implementation

The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the agencies attached to the Government, the presidents of the People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government shall have to implement this Decree.

On behalf of the Government

For the Prime Minister

Deputy Prime Minister

PHAN VAN KHAI