Laws of Vietnam

Chapter I

THE DEPUTY TO THE PEOPLE’S COUNCIL

Article 1.- The deputy to the People’s Council is the representative of the will and aspiration of the local constituency, who is exemplary in the observance of State laws and policies and who encourages the constituents to implement them and take part in the management of State affairs.

The deputy has the duty to attend all the sessions of the People’s Council and comply with the regulations for the sessions. In case of an unavoidable absence, the deputy has to state the reason through the chief of the group of deputies to the Standing Board of the People’s Council of that level if it is the People’s Council of a province or city directly under the Central Government (hereafter referred to as the provincial level), or of an urban or rural district or a provincial city (hereafter referred to as the district level); or to the Chairman of the People’s Council if it is the council of a rural commune or urban ward or district township (hereafter referred to as the communal level).

The deputy to the People’s Council has the duty to attend the sessions of the People’s Council, the debates at the group of deputies to the People’s Council, the sessions of the committees of the Council of which the deputy is a member, and take part in the other activities of the People’s Council. The deputy who is not able to attend a session must explain the reason to the chairman of the session.

1. Upon receiving the announcement of the projected timing and agenda of the session forwarded by the Standing Board of the People’s Council of the relevant level, or by the Chairman of the People’s Council at the communal level, the deputy to the People’s Council has to study the document, meet with his/her constituents and take part in the activities of his/her group of deputies to prepare for the session of the People’s Council.

2. During a session of the People’s Council, the deputy has the responsibilities:

a) To take part in the debates to decide the agenda for the session of the People’s Council;

b) To take part in the plenary debates and discussions in his/her group of deputies on matters related to the content and agenda of the session;

c) To vote by shows of hands to approve matters to be included in the agenda of the session.

The interventions of the deputy to the People’s Council shall be recorded in the minutes of the session.

1. The deputy to the People’s Council has the right to challenge the Chairman of the People’s Council, the President and other members of the People’s Committee, the Judge of the People’s Court, the Procurator of the People’s Procuracy, and the heads of the speicialized agencies of the People’s Committee of his/her level. The challenges of the deputy must clearly indicate the names and addresses of the challenged person(s) and the contents of the challenges. The challenged person has the responsibility to respond to the deputy on the matters in question.

2. During the session of the People’s Council, the challenges and responses shall be done according to the following procedure:

a) The deputy to the People’s Council shall forward his/her question(s) to the Standing Board of the People’s Council of his/her level; and, at communal level, to the Chairman of the People’s Council;

b) The Standing Board of the People’s Council, and the Chairman of the People’s Council at communal level, shall forward the question(s) to the challenged agency or person;

c) The challenged agency or person shall respond to the People’s Council on the matters raised by the deputy;

The response must be detailed and clear and must assert what is right and what is wrong, and suggest corrective measures.

In case an investigation or verification is needed, the People’s Council may decide to defer the response to its next session or allow the response to be made in writing and addressed to the challenging deputy and the Standing Board of the People’s Council of his/her level, and, at the communal level, to the Chairman of the People’s Council.

3. In the interval between the two sessions of the People’s Council, the challenges and responses shall be done according to the following procedure:

a) The deputy of the People’s Council shall forward his/her question(s) to the Standing Board of the People’s Council of his/her level; and, at the communal level, to the Chairman of the People’s Council;

b) The Standing Board of the People’s Council and, at the communal level, the Chairman of the People’s Council, shall forward the question(s) to the challenged agency or person;

c) The challenged agency or person has the responsibility to respond in writing to the challenging deputy to the People’s Council. The time for the response shall be decided by the Standing Board of the People’s Council of the challenging deputy and, at the communal level, by the Chairman of the People’s Council.

In case the response is not yet satisfactory to his/her challenge, the deputy may request the Standing Board of the People’s Council of his/her level and, at the communal level, the Chairman of the People’s Council, to submit the matter to debate at the session of the People’s Council.

When the need arises, the People’s Council shall adopt a resolution on the response to the challenge and the responsibility of the challenged.

Article 4.- The deputy to the People’s Council shall stay in a close contact with the voters of his/her constituency, be subject to their supervision, gather and truthfully reflect their opinions and aspirations, protect their legitimate rights and interests, and shall observe the regime for contact with voters and, at least once a year, report to the voters on his/her own activities and the activities of the People’s Council, and respond to the requests and recommendations put forth by the voters.

The deputy to the People’s Council shall receive voters as prescribed. Upon receiving requests, complaints and denunciations from citizens, the deputy to the People’s Council shall have to study and make recommendations through the Standing Board of the People’s Council of his/her level and, at the communal level, the Chairman of the People’s Council, to request the competent authorities to handle them while he/she monitors and promotes the handling. The competent authorities shall consider and handle the request, complaint and denunciation, respond to the person who makes them and inform in writing the result of the handling to the concerned deputy.

Article 5.- The deputy to the People’s Council has the right to request the State agency or socio-political organization, social organization, economic organization, or units of the people’s armed forces to put a timely end to the acts of violation of State law and policies committed by them or by their personnel.

The deputy to the People’s Council has the right to make recommendations to the State agencies on the implementation of State laws and policies and on matters of common interests. The concerned agencies have the responsibility to answer the recommendations of the deputy.

The heads of the State agencies, socio-political organizations, social organizations, economic organizations and units of the people’s armed forces have the responsibility to give audience at the request of the deputy to the People’s Council.

Article 6.- The deputy to the People’s Council may ask to be relieved of his/her duties on grounds of poor health or other reasons which make him/her unable to discharge his/her duties as a deputy.

The deputy to the People’s Council who no longer deserves the trust of the people shall, depending on the seriousness of his/her wrong doings, be dismissed by the People’s Council or voters. The Standing Board of the People’s Council and the People’s Committee of the same level and, at the communal level, the Chairman of the People’s Council and the People’s Committee, shall decide to submit the proposal to dismiss the deputy to the People’s Council or the voters, at the proposal of the Fatherland Front Committee of the same level.

The procedure and formality for the request of the deputy to the People’s Council to be relieved of his/her duties and for the dismissal of the deputy are prescribed in Chapter IX of this Regulation.

Article 7.- The deputies to the People’s Council are elected from one or many constituencies and together form groups of deputies to the People’s Council. The number and designation of deputies to a group of deputies shall be decided by the Standing Board of the People’s Council and, at the communal level, by the Chairman of the People’s Council. Deputies of each group shall elect a head and deputy heads of the group to conduct the group’s activities.

Article 8.- At least once every three months, the Group of Deputies to the People’s Committee shall meet to discuss work plans, arrange assignments to meet with voters, and study State laws and policies.

Prior to a session of the People’s Council, the Group of Deputies shall meet to study documents and prepare their opinions to contribute to the session; coordinate with the Standing Board of the Fatherland Front Committee and the People’s Committee of their constituencies to arrange meetings with voters to gather their opinions and aspirations. The Group of Deputies shall make reports on the results of these meetings and send them to the Standing Board of the People’s Council of their level and, at the communal level, to the Chairman of the People’s Council, at least three days before the opening of the session.

After the session, the Group of Deputies shall hold meetings in which the assigned deputies shall report to the voters on the results of the session of the People’s Council.

The meetings of the Group of Deputies shall be recorded in minutes. The minutes of the meetings of the Group of Deputies to the People’s Council shall be sent to the Standing Board of the People’s Council of their level and, at the communal level, to the Chairman of the People’s Council.

Chapter II

THE SESSION OF THE PEOPLE’S COUNCIL

Article 9.- The session of the People’s Council is its main form of activities.

The People’s Council at all levels shall meet twice a year in regular sessions. In case of necessity, at the request of the Chairmen of the People’s Councils at the provincial and district levels or of at least one third of the total number of deputies to a People’s Council, the Standing Board of that People’s Council shall convene an extraordinary session; at the communal level, at the request of the People’s Committee or at least one third of the total number of deputies to the communal People’s Council, the Chairman of the People’s Council shall call an extraordinary session.

The session of the People’s Council shall be convened only with the participation of at least two thirds of the total number of the deputies to the People’s Council.

The session of the People’s Council shall meet publicly. When the need arises, the People’s Council may meet in closed-door session at the proposal of the Chairman of the session or of the President of the People’s Committee of that level.

In case of a failure to convene the session of the People’s Council at the time provided by law, the Standing Board of the People’s Council of the provincial level shall report it to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly for consideration and approval; and the Standing Board of the district People’s Council and the Chairman of the communal People’s Council shall report to the Standing Board of the immediate higher People’s Council for consideration and approval.

Article 10.- The Standing Board of the People’s Council and, at the communal level, the Chairman of the People’s Council shall announce the projected time and agenda at least twenty-days in advance of a regular session of the People’s Council; and at least ten days in advance of an extraordinary session.

The first session of the newly-elected People’s Council shall be convened by the Chairman of the People’s Council of the previous tenure at least 30 days after the completion of the election of the deputies. In mountain areas difficult to access, the first session of the newly-elected People’s Council shall be convened at least forty-five days from the completion of the election of the deputies. In case of absence of the Chairman of the People’s Council, a Deputy Chairman shall convene the first session of the newly-elected People’s Council. In case of absence of both the chairman and the deputy chairmen, the Standing Board of the People’s Council of the immediate superior level shall appoint a convenor to convene and chair over the session until the newly-elected People’s Council has elected a Chairman; at the provincial level, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly shall appoint the convenor.

The draft agenda, convening notice, reports and proposals to be submitted to the People’s Council at the session and the other necessary documents must be sent to the deputies to the People’s Council at least seven days prior to the opening of the session.

The venue, date and draft agenda of the session of the People’s Council must be announced to the people at least five days prior to the opening of the session.

Article 11.- The Standing Board of the provincial People’s Council is responsible for sending invitations and the other documents related to the session of the People’s Council to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly and the Government, the deputies to the National Assembly from the local constituencies, the President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and the leaders of the people’s organizations of the same level.

The Standing Board of the district People’s Council and the Chairman of the communal People’s Council shall send invitations and the other documents related to the session of the People’s Council to the Standing Board of the People’s Council and the People’s Committee of the immediate higher level, the deputies to the National Assembly and the deputies to the People’s Council of the higher levels from the local constituencies, the President of the Fatherland Front Committee and the leaders of the people’s organizations of the same level.

The local information and press services shall be invited to attend the open sessions of the People’s Council.

Article 12.-

1. At the first session of its each tenure, the People’s Council shall on recommendation of the chairman of the session elect the Credentials Committee to verify the credentials of the members of the Council. Proceeding from the report of the Credentials Committee, the People’s Council shall issue a resolution certifying the credentials of the deputies or declaring that the election of a certain deputy is null and void. In the course of a tenure of the Council, if supplementary elections are held, the People’s Council shall establish a Credentials Committee to verify the credentials of the newly added deputies. The Credentials Committee shall expire when the verification of the credentials of the deputies is completed.

2. At the first session of its tenure, the People’s Council shall elect:

a) The Chairman of the Council from among the deputies, on recommendation by the Chairman of the session;

b) The Vice Chairmen of the Council, and the Heads and other members of the specialized committees from among the deputies on recommendation by the Chairman of the Council;

c) The President of the People’s Committee from among the deputies, on recommendation of the Chairman of the People’s Council;

d) The Vice Presidents and other members of the People’s Committee, on recommendation by the President of the People’s Committee;

e) The Secretary of each tenure of the People’s Council, on recommendation by the Chairman of the session.

3. The deputies to the People’s Council have the right to nominate candidates or themselves to positions specified in this Article. The elections to the positions specified in Item 2 of this Article shall be conducted by secret ballot to chose each post from the list of nominees.

Article 13.- At its regular sessions, the People’s Council shall decide the socio-economic development plan of the locality; take decisions on budget proposals and allocations and approve the budget, and decide the policies and measures to execute the budgetary plan for the locality; make changes to the local budget proposals when the need arises and in line with the provisions of law; take decisions on other matters under its jurisdiction; review the reports on the operations of the People’s Council, its Standing Board, the People’s Committee of the same level, (at the communal level, the reports of the Chairman of the People’s Council and the People’s Committee); and review the work reports of the People’s Court and People’s Procuracy of the same level. When the need arises, the People’s Council shall also review the reports of the concerned State branches and agencies and issue resolutions on the questions which it considers.

The last session of the tenure shall be convened at least sixty days prior to the election of the deputies to the People’s Council of the next tenure. At this session, apart from the contents to be settled at a regular session, the People’s Council and its Standing Board and the People’s Committee of the same level, (at the communal level, the People’s Council and its Chairman, and the People’s Committee) shall report on their operations during the tenure.

Article 14.- The Standing Board of the People’s Council and, at the communal level, the Chairman of the People’s Council, shall preside over the session of the People’s Council of the same level.

The first session of each tenure of the People’s Council shall be presided over the Chairman of the People’s Council of the previous tenure until the Chairman of the new tenure is elected.

Article 15.- The Secretary of each tenure of the People’s Council has the duties:

1. To draw a list of the deputies present or absent at each meeting throughout the session;

2. To make written record of the session;

3. To summarize the opinions and debates of the deputies at each group and plenary meeting;

4. To assist the Chairman of the session in conducting debates and voting;

5. To assist the Standing Board of the People’s Council and, at the communal level, the Chairman of the People’s Council, in coordinating with the concerned agencies to draft resolutions of the session and submit them to the People’s Council.

Article 16.- The People’s Council shall consider and approve the reports and plans in the following order:

1. The Representative of the organization or individual shall present the report or plan to the People’s Council;

2. The Representative of the People’s Council shall be assigned the task to evaluate the report or plan and submit an evaluation report;

3. The People’s Council shall debate the report or plan;

Prior to a plenary debate of the People’s Council, the report or plan may be debated at group discussions of deputies;

4. In the course of the debate at the plenary session, the Chairman of the session may bring up issues of which opinions are still divided so that the People’s Council as a whole may consider and decide. When the need arises, the People’s Council may request the concerned agencies to report to it about the issues of concern to the deputies. The Chairman or deputies of the People’s Council may propose to end the debate by a vote. When an issue has been recommended for a vote, the debate on it shall come to an end. The agency or individual that presents the report or plan shall then report on how the opinions have been accepted and changes have been made to the report or plan as suggested by the People’s Council.

5. The People’s Council shall then vote to pass the report or plan in either of the following two ways: voting on each issue and then voting on the whole report or plan, or voting for the whole report or plan. The decision of the People’s Council to approve the report or plan shall be included in its resolution.

Article 17.- The Resolution of the People’s Council must be approved by more than half of the number of the deputies. In case it involves a dismissal of a deputy, the resolution must have the approval of two thirds of the deputies. The People’s Council shall decide whether to take a vote by show of hands or secret ballot or by another manner to be recommended by the Chairman of the session.

The Resolution and other documents of the session of the People’s Council shall be endorsed by the Chairman of the People’s Council.

Within ten days at the latest from the closing day of the session, the Resolutions, minutes, reports and plans of the session of the provincial People’s Council session must be sent by its Standing Board to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly and the Government; the Resolutions, minutes, reports and plans adopted by the district People’s Council session must be sent by its Standing Board to the Standing Board of the provincial People’s Council and the provincial People’s Committee; the resolutions and documents adopted by the communal People’s Council session must be sent to the Standing Board of the district People’s Council and the district People’s Committee.

The resolution of the People’s Council must be sent to the concerned agencies for execution; the publication of the resolution of the People’s Council on the mass media shall be decided by the Standing Board of the People’s Council of the same level and, at communal level, by the Chairman of the People’s Council.

Article 18.- Within fifteen days at the latest from the closing day of the session, the Standing Board of the People’s Council, and the Chairman of the communal People’s Council, shall urge the groups of deputies to work together with the Standing Body of the Vietnam Fatherland Front committee of the same level so as to organize meetings for the deputies to report the results of the session to voters in their constituencies, popularize to them the resolutions of the People’s Council and motivate them to implement the resolutions.

Chapter III

THE STANDING BOARD OF THE PEOPLE’S COUNCIL, THE CHAIRMAN AND VICE CHAIRMEN OF THE COMMUNAL PEOPLE’S COUNCIL

Article 19.- The Standing Board of the People’s Council shall discharge its tasks and powers in accordance with the provisions of Article 36 of the (amended) Law on Organization of the People’s Council and People’s Committee and the detailed provisions of this Regulation. The Standing Board of the People’s Council shall work regularly and ensure the operations of the People’s Council, is responsible for its work and reports to the People’s Council of the same level.

The Chairmen of the People’s Councils at provincial and district levels shall conduct the work of the Standing Board of the People’s Councils of their respective levels and, on behalf of the Standing Board, maintain close relations with the People’s Committees, the State agencies, the Vietnam Fatherland Front and its member organizations, the other social organizations and the citizenry. The Chairmen of the People’s Councils shall assign concrete tasks to the Vice Chairmen of the People’s Councils to ensure that the Standing Boards of the People’s Council perform well their tasks and powers as defined by law.

Article 20.- In preparing for and convening a session of the People’s Council, the Standing Board of the People’s Council has the responsibilities:

1. To coordinate with the People’s Committee to draft the agenda for the session and the reports and plans to be submitted to the People’s Council for consideration and approval;

In thirty days at the latest prior to the convening of the regular session, the Standing Board of the People’s Council shall meet with the People’s Committee and the Heads and Deputy Heads of the committees of that People’s Council to decide the draft agenda and the issues related to the session and assign the concerned agencies to make preparations of the contents related to the session. The President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front committee of the same level shall be invited to this meeting;

2. To decide and announce the convening of the session of the People’s Council and make public its draft agenda;

3. To summarize the opinions and recommendations made by voters to report to the session of the People’s Council;

4. To ensure the preparations of the draft resolutions of the session of the People’s Council.

Article 21.- In presiding over the session of the People’s Council, the Standing Board has the responsibilities:

1. To conduct the session in accordance with the agenda already approved by the People’s Council;

2. To ensure democratic debate; to create conditions for the deputies, especially those serving at grassroots levels to contribute opinions; to call votes on issues brought up for debate if such a vote is deemed necessary;

3. To direct the summarizing of opinions from the deputies and to make adjustments to the plans on the basis of the recommendations of the deputies.

Article 22.- In urging and supervizing the People’s Committee of the same level and the other local State agencies to execute the resolutions of the People’s Council, the Standing Board of the People’s Council has the responsibilities:

1. To request the People’s Committee of the same level and the other local State agencies to make oral or written reports on the implementation of the resolutions of the People’s Council; to take the necessary measures to ensure the implementation of the resolutions of the People’s Council.

2. To organize supervision teams to control the implementation of the resolutions of the People’s Council.

3. In case there are errors and mistakes in the implementation of the resolutions of the People’s Council or errors and mistakes which seriously affect the life of local people, the Standing Board of the People’s Council has the right to request the local People’s Committee or concerned local agencies to review, handle and report the results of the handling to it within a time frame set by it. In case of necessity, the Standing Board of the People’s Council may submit the question to the People’s Council at its next or irregular session for consideration and decision;

4. To coordinate with the People’s Committee to handle problems which arise in the implementation of the resolution of the People’s Council on its yearly task between two sessions; to make adjustments and amendments to the measures to ensure the implementation of the resolutions of the People’s Council at the request of the People’s Committee or the committees of the People’s Council of the same level, and report the results to the next session of the People’s Council.

Article 23.- In arranging and coordinating the operations of the committees of the People’s Council, the Standing Board has the responsibilities:

1. To ask the committees of the People’s Council to evaluate the reports and plans to be submitted to the People’s Council for consideration and decision;

2. To ask the committees of the People’s Council to take part in urging and controlling the implementation of the People’s Council.

3. To arrange and coordinate the operations of the committees and urge them in their operations;

4. To participate in the sessions of the committees of the People’s Council when such a participation is deemed necessary;

5. To organize and chair the monthly meetings between the Standing Board of the People’s Council and the heads and deputy heads of the committees of the People’s Council of the same level; when the need arises, to invite the heads or deputy heads or other members of the committees to take part in the activities of the Standing Board of the People’s Council.

Article 24.- In its relations with individual deputies and groups of deputies of the People’s Council, the Standing Board of the People’s Council has the responsibilities:

1. To urge the groups of deputies of the People’s Council to organize meetings between their members and the voters, gather voters’ opinions and recommendations and report to them on the activities of the People’s Council and the discharge of their own duties.

2. To monitor and summarize opinions and recommendations of the deputies to the People’s Council and relay them to the concerned State agencies and organizations for consideration and settlement; to monitor and urge the settlement of the opinions and recommendations of the deputies; and to report to the People’s Council on those opinions and recommendations and the result of their settlement by the concerned agencies and organizations;

3. To monitor and urge the implementation of the policies and entitlements for the deputies to the People’s Council.

Article 25.- In meeting with voters and in monitoring and reviewing the settlement of the opinions, recommendations, complaints and denunciations lodged by voters, the Standing Board of the People’s Council has the responsibilities:

1. To organize the meetings with voters of the People’s Council, to receive letters, recommendations, complaints and denunciations sent by citizens;

2. To assist the People’s Council in considering and settlement recommendations, complaints and denunciations lodged by organizations and individual citizens and reports from the mass media about the operations of the People’s Council and its member deputies;

3. To receive letters, recommendations, complaints and denunciations lodged by citizens and relay them to competent agencies and organizations for settlement.

4. To urge and control the settlement of recommendations, complaints and denunciations by competent organizations and individuals. The competent organizations and individuals shall have to settle the recommendations, complaints and denunciations by citizens and report in writing the results of their settlement to the Standing Board of the People’s Council.

Article 26.- Apart from the responsibilities prescribed in Articles 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25 of this Regulation, the Standing Board of the People’s Council has the responsibilities:

1. To report on the organizational situation and operation of the local People’s Council to the People’s Council and People’s Committee of the immediate higher level; the Standing Board of the provincial People’s Council shall report to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly and the Government;

2. To exchange experience in the operation of the People’s Council and its committees and discuss measures to increase the efficiency of the operation of the local People’s Council;

3. To conduct studies of and implement the Laws on Organization and Operation of the People’s Council and the People’s Committee, the regulations on organization and operation of the People’s Councils of all levels, the other legal documents, and the policies and decisions of the State with regard to the People’s Council of its own level;

4. To maintain relations and work coordination with the local delegation of National Assembly deputies; to create conditions for the work of the fact-finding delegations of the National Assembly Standing Committee, the National Assembly Council of Nationalities and the National Assembly Committees, and the work teams of the Government, on their tours to the locality;

5. To coordinate with the People’s Committee to decide the bringing to the People’s council or the voters the question of dismissal of deputies of the People’s Council at the proposal of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of the same level;

The Standing Board of the provincial People’s Council also has the responsibility to consider and decide the supplementary election of deputies to the People’s Council of the district and communal levels in accordance with the provision of Article 60 of the Law on Election of the People’s Council deputies.

Article 27.- The Standing Board of the People’s Council shall meet at least once a month to review the implementation of the resolutions of the People’s Council and the decisions of the Standing Board of the People’s Committee and to set the tasks for the following month. The Heads and Deputy Heads of the committees of the People’s Council and the representatives of the People’s Committee and the Vietnam Fatherland Front Chapter of the same level shall be invited to attend and speak at the meeting but shall not vote. The representatives of the people’s organizations may be invited to the meeting if issues related to them are discussed.

Article 28.- The Chairman of the People’s Council at communal level has the responsibilities:

1. To work together with the People’s Committee of the same level to prepare the draft agenda, reports and plans to be submitted to the People’s Council and to convene meetings of the People’s Council:

a) To decide on and announce the convening of the meeting of the People’s Council and circulate convening announcements and the main documents of the meeting to the deputies to the People’s Council;

b) To make public the draft agenda of the meeting of the People’s Council;

c) To summarize the opinions and recommendations lodged by voters to the meeting;

d) To ensure the drafting of the resolutions of the People’s Council;

2. To chair the meetings of the People’s Council:

a) To conduct the meetings of the People’s Council;

b) To ensure that the debates are democratically conducted;

c) To call for a vote when it is deemed necessary;

3. To urge and control the implementation of the resolutions of the People’s Council:

a) To request the People’s Committee and other local State agencies to report on the situation of the implementation of the resolutions of the People’s Council and to take necessary measures to ensure the implementation of the resolutions of the People’s Council;

b) To organize the control of the implementation of the resolutions of the People’s Council;

c) When errors and mistakes are detected in the implementation of the resolutions of the People’s Council, to request the agencies or individuals responsible for the errors or mistakes to promptly correct them. In case of necessity, the Chairman of the People’s Council may submit the case to the immediate next meeting of the People’s Council or call a regular session of the People’s Council for consideration and decision;

d) To coordinate with the People’s Committee to solve the problems arising in the implementation of the resolutions of the People’s Council between two sessions; to adjust and complement the measures to ensure the implementation of the resolutions of the People’s Council at the request of the People’s Committee and report them to the immediate next meeting of the People’s Council for consideration;

4. To organize audiences for voters and to urge and control the settlement of the recommendations, complaints and denunciations by citizens:

a) To organize the audiences of the People’s Council for voters and to receive recommendations, complaints and denunciations by citizens.

b) To assist the People’s Council in its considering and handling the citizen recommendations, complaints and denunciations lodged to the People’s Council;

c) To convey citizens’ recommendations, complaints and denunciations to the competent agencies and individuals for settlement;

d) To urge and control the settlement of the recommendations, complaints and denunciations by citizens.

5. To maintain relations with the deputies and groups of deputies to the People’s Council, and report on the activities of the People’s Council to the People’s Council and People’s Committee of the immediate higher level. To organize the implementation of the Constitution, the Laws on Organization and Operation of the People’s Council and the People’s Committee, the Regulation on Organization and Operation of the People’s Councils of all levels, the other legal documents and the policies and decisions of the State with regard to the deputies to the People’s Council of its level;

6. To maintain relations and coordinate work with the People’s Committee in the implementation of the resolutions of the People’s Council and create conditions for the deputies and groups of deputies to operate efficiently.

7. To coordinate with the People’s Committee to decide to bring to the People’s Council or the voters the question of dismissal of deputies of the People’s Council at the request of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of the same level.

The Vice Chairman of the communal People’s Council shall join in chairing the meeting of the People’s Council; execute duties assigned by the Chairman of the People’s Council and act on behalf of the Chairman of the People’s Council in the absence of the Chairman. In case of a vacancy in the chairmanship of the People’s Council, the Vice Chairman of the People’s Council shall be the acting Chairman of the People’s Council until the People’s Council has elected a new Chairman.

Chapter IV

THE COMMITTEES OF THE People’s Council

Article 29.- The provincial People’s Council shall have three committees: The Economic and Budgetary Committee, the Social and Cultural Committee and the Legal Committee; in places where live many ethnic groups, a Committee for Ethnic Affairs may be established.

The district People’s Council shall have two committees: the Social and Cultural Committee and the Legal Committee:

Each committee shall be composed of a Head, a Deputy Head or a number of Deputy Heads, and Committee members. The number of members shall be decided by the People’s Council of that level. The members of the People’s Council shall not be concurrently the members of the People’s Committee of the same level. The Heads of the Committees of the People’s Council shall not be concurrently the heads of the specialised agencies of the People’s Committee or the Head of the People’s Procuracy or the Chief Judge of the People’s Court of the same level.

Article 30.- The committees of the People’s Council shall work collectively. The committee Heads shall conduct the execution of the work programs of their committees, and prepare, convene and preside over the meetings of their committees.

A Deputy Head shall assist the Head in the execution of the duties of their committee and shall be assigned a number of duties of the committee. In the absence of the Head, a Deputy Head shall be mandated by the Head to conduct the work of the committee.

The Head of the provincial People’s Council may work full time in that capacity. In case the Head of the Committee works half-time, a Deputy Head shall work full time. In case both the Head and the Deputy Head work half time, the People’s Council shall define the time which the Head or the Deputy Head must spend on conducting the operation of the Committee. Each committee shall have at least an assisting expert.

Article 31.- The committees of the People’s Councils at all levels must coordinate their work and share experience in operations of common concern. The committees of the People’s Councils shall coordinate with the National Assembly Council of Ethnic Affairs and Committees when they send teams to work in their localities. The National Assembly Council of Ethnic Affairs and Committees shall exchange experience with the committees of the People’s Councils in their fields of operation.

The People’s Council committees shall dispatch their staffs to join in the work teams of the Standing Board of the People’s Council of the same level at the request of the Standing Board.

Article 32.- The People’s Committee and its specialised committees, the People’s Court, the People’s Procuracy of the same level, the agencies and organizations which are responsible for providing information and documents on the matters that the committees of the People’s Council are concerned about and creating conditions for the committees to accomplish their tasks.

In conducting operations to assist the People’s Council in supervisory work, if they discover acts of violations of law, the committees of the People’s Council have the right to request the violating agencies, organizations and units to put an end to those acts of violation, and at the same time to report to the Standing Board of the People’s Council and to the People’s Council at its immediate next meeting.

Article 33.- On the basis of the programs of action of the People’s Council, the committees of the People’s Council shall design their own programs of work.

Each month, the committees shall meet to review their implementation of the programs of work; prepare and verify reports and plans assigned to them; discuss the work of the following month and make assignments to their members.

Article 34.- The Economic and Budgetary Committee of the provincial People’s Council has the responsibilities:

1. To take part in the preparation of the draft agenda for each meeting, and the contents of the reports and plans to be submitted to the People’s Council for consideration and approval at its meeting.

2. To verify the reports and plans related to the plan for socio-economic development; and encourage the development of agriculture, forestry, fishery, industry and small industries and handicrafts production, business and trade and services; the application of scientific and technological advances; and the protection and improvement of the environment;

3. To verify the report on the proposed budget and budget allocations of the locality; approve the budget statement and make the necessary changes to it; and verify the collection of dues, fees and other contributions from the population in accordance with the provision of law; and to ratify the policies and measures in the execution of the local budget.

4. To assist the People’s Council of the same level in supervizing the operation of the People’s Committee and its specialized agencies in implementing the assigned tasks and powers in the fields of economy, budget, science and technology and environment;

5. To assist the People’s Council of the same level in supervizing the State agencies, socio-political organizations, social organizations, economic organizations, units of the people’s armed forces and citizens in their observance of the Constitution, laws, the documents of the higher State agencies and the resolutions of the People’s Council of the same level related to their own fields of operation;

6. To organize surveys of the implementation of the legal provisions on economy, budget, science and technology and environment in the locality;

7. To recommend the People’s Council on issues related to the areas of operation of the committee.

Article 35.- The Social and Cultural Committee of the provincial People’s Council has the responsibilities:

1. To take part in the preparation of the draft agenda of each meeting and the contents of the report and plans to be submitted to the People’s Council for consideration and approval at its meeting;

2. To verify the reports, plans, undertakings and measures for the development of culture, arts, sports and physical culture; the building of a civilized life-style and cultured family, the prevention and combat against social evils; the development of education and training; the policies and measures for the allocation and use of labour, employment and the improvement of the people’s life; the protection of the people’s health; the prevention and combat against diseases and epidemics; and the implementation of the social policies and social relief;

3. To assist the People’s Council of the same level in supervizing the operation of the People’s Committee and its specialized agencies in their implementation of the assigned tasks and powers in the field of culture, education and life;

4. To assist the People’s Council of the same level in supervizing State agencies, socio-political organizations, social organizations, economic organizations, units of the people’s armed forces and citizens in their observance of the Constitution, laws, documents of the superior State agencies and the resolutions of the People’s Council of the same level related to the areas of operation of the committee;

5. To organize surveys of the implementation of the legal provisions on culture, education, society and life in the locality;

6. To recommend the People’s Council on issues related of the areas of operation of the committee.

In places where live many ethnic groups and where the provincial People’s Council does not have a committee for ethnic affairs, the operation of the Social and Cultural Committee shall include issues related to the policies concerning policies on ethnic affairs provided for in Article 37 of this Regulation.

Article 36.- The Legal Committee of the provincial People’s Council has the responsibilities:

1. To take part in the preparation of the draft agenda of each meeting and the contents to the reports and plans to be submitted to the People’s Council for consideration and approval at its meeting;

2. To verify the reports of the People’s Committee, the People’s Court and the People’s Procuracy of the same level; the reports and plans related to national security and defense, social security and order, the prevention and combat against crimes and other acts of violation against law; and the fight against corruption and illicit trade;

3. To verify reports to be submitted to the People’s Council on the revocation of the erroneous decisions made by the People’s Committee of the same level, revoke or request changes to the erroneous decisions made by the district People’s Council, dissolve the district People’s Council, approve the decisions of the district People’s Council to dissolve the communal People’s Council in case the communal People’s Council is found to have caused serious damage to the people’s interests; and verify the plans for delineation or adjustment of the geographical boundaries of the local administrative units.

4. To assist the People’s Council of the same level in supervizing the operations of the People’s Committee and its specialized agencies, and the People’s Court and People’s Procuracy of the same level;

5. To assist the People’s Council of the same level in supervizing State agencies, socio-political organizations, social organizations, economic organizations, units of the people’s armed forces and citizens in their observance of the Constitution, laws, documents of the higher State agencies and the resolutions of the People’s Council of the same level;

6. To conduct surveys of the implementation of the legal provisions on the areas of operation of the committee;

7. To take part in designing plans for popularization and education about laws, and monitor the observance of the Constitution, laws, the documents of the higher State agencies and the resolutions of the People’s Council of the same level;

8. To recommend the People’s Council on measures to ensure the implementation of laws in the locality.

Article 37.- The Committee for Ethnic Affairs of the provincial People’s Council has the responsibilities:

1. To take part in the preparation of the draft agenda of each meeting, and of the contents of the reports and plans to be submitted to the People’s Council for consideration and approval at its meeting;

2. To verify the reports and plans related to the implementation of the policies for ethnic affairs and the improvement of the material and spiritual life and educational standard for people of ethnic minority groups; and for ensuring the equality among the ethnic groups.

3. To assist the People’s Council of the same level in supervizing the operation of the People’s Committee and its specialized agencies in implementing ethnic policies;

4. To assist the People’s Council of the same level in supervizing State agencies, socio-political organizations, social organizations, economic organizations, units of the people’s armed forces and the citizens in their observance of the Constitution, laws, the documents of the higher State agencies and the resolutions of the People’s Council of the same level related to ethnic policies;

5. To conduct surveys on the implementation of the legal provisions on ethnicity policies;

6. To recommend to the People’s Council on issues related to the implementation of the ethnic policies.

Article 38.- The Committee for Socio-Economic Affairs of the district People’s Council has the responsibilities:

1. To take part in the preparation of the draft agenda for each meeting, and the contents of the reports and plans to be submitted to the People’s Council for consideration and approval at its meeting;

2. To verify the reports and annual plans for socio-economic development of the locality; labor and population distribution; the execution of the programs for promotion of agriculture, forestry, fishery and small industries and handicrafts; the building and development of cooperatives; the use and management of land; the protection of forests; the planning of water conservancy, the protection of dikes and irrigation works; the application of scientific and technological advances in service of production, life and environmental protection and improvement, and the prevention, combat against natural disasters and settlement of their consequences; the practice of economy in State management activities; the development of culture, arts, sports and physical culture; the development of education and training; the building of a civilized life-style and cultured family and the prevention and fight against social vices and the unhealthy practices in the local social life; and the implementation of social relief policies;

3. To verify the reports on budget proposals and allocations and approve the accounting reports and adjustments to the proposals of the local budget in case of necessity; and the policies and measures for the implementation of the local budget;

4. To assist the People’s Council of the same level in supervizing the operation of the People’s Committee and its specialized agencies in the implementation of their tasks and powers in the fields of economy, culture, society, life and science, technology and environment;

5. To assist the People’s Council of the same level and, together with it, maintain a supervision State agencies, socio-political organizations, social organizations, economic organizations, units of the armed forces and citizens in the observance of the Constitution, laws, documents of the superior State agencies and the resolutions of the People’s Council of the same level in the fields of economy, culture, society, life and science, technology and environment;

6. To conduct surveys on the implementation of the legal provisions on economy, culture, society, life and science, technology and environment;

7. To make recommendations to the People’s Council on issues related to the areas of operation of the Committee.

Article 39.- The Legal Committee of the district People’s Council has the responsibilities:

1. To take part in the preparation of the draft agenda of each meeting and the contents to the reports and plans to be submitted to the People’s Council for consideration and approval at its meeting;

2. To verify the reports of the People’s Committee, the People’s Court and the People’s Procuracy of the same level; the reports and plans related to national security and defense, social security and order, the prevention and combat against crimes and other violations against law; and the fight against illicit trade and corruption;

3. To verify reports to be submitted to the People’s Council on the revocation of the erroneous decisions made by the People’s Committee of the same level, revoke or request changes to the erroneous decisions made by the communal People’s Council, take decisions to dissolve the communal People’s Council if People’s Council is found to have caused serious damage to the people’s interests; and verify the plans for delineation or adjustment of the geographical boundaries of the local administrative units.

4. To assist the People’s Council of the same level in supervizing the operations of the People’s Committee and its specialized agencies, and the People’s Court and People’s Procuracy of the same level in the execution of their tasks and powers in implementing laws, national defense and security and social security and order;

5. To assist the People’s Council of the same level in supervizing State agencies, socio-political organizations, social organizations, economic organizations, units of the people’s armed forces and the citizens in the observance of the Constitution, laws, documents of the higher State agencies and the resolutions of the People’s Council of the same level in the implementation of laws, and the assurance of national defense and security and social security and order;

6. To conduct surveys of the implementation of the legal provisions on the areas of operation of the Committee;

7. To take part in designing plans for the popularization and education about laws, and monitor the observance of the Constitution, laws, the documents of the higher State agencies and the resolutions of the People’s Council;

8. To make recommendations to the People’s Council on issues related to the areas of operation of the Committee.

Article 40.- The committees of the People’s Council have the responsibility to verify the reports and plans related to their fields of operation. Besides, they must verify the other reports and plans as assigned by the People’s Council or the Standing Board of the People’s Council of the same level.

To prepare for the verification, the committees of the People’s Council may delegate their members to study the reports and plans; request the authors of the reports and plans and the concerned agencies to provide documents and report on the issues which they are studying, gather opinions from those who have a good knowledge of the issues, conduct surveys of the practical situation in their localities in relation to the reports and plans.

The verification of the reports and plans shall be conducted in accordance with the following proceedings:

a) The representative of the agency or individual that present the reports and plans shall elaborate their contents;

b) The representatives of the concerned agencies and individuals shall give their opinions;

c) The members of the Committee shall debate;

d) The chair shall wrap up the debates.

The verification reports of the committees of the People’s Council shall be presented by the Heads or Deputy Heads on behalf of their Committees to the People’s Council. The contents of the verification reports must bring up the judgements of the Committees on the reports and plans, the points on which the Committees have reached consensus, the points on which the Committees have not reached a consensus or are still having differences, and the recommendations for changes and adjustments to the People’s Council to consider and decide.

Chapter V

RELATIONS BETWEEN THE STANDING BOARD OF THE PEOPLE’S COUNCIL, THE CHAIRMAN OF THE COMMUNAL PEOPLE’S COUNCIL AND THE COMMITTEES OF THE PEOPLE’S COUNCIL, AND THE PEOPLE’S COMMITTEE

Article 41.- The Standing Board of the People’s Council and the Chairman of the communal People’s Council shall coordinate closely with the People’s Committee and its specialized agencies in the preparation of the draft agenda for a meeting and the reports and plans to be submitted to the People’s Council, in handling the issues emerging in the course of the implementation of the resolutions of the People’s Council between two session concerning the socio-economic tasks of the locality, and in monitoring the implementation of the resolutions of the People’s Council.

Article 42.- The Standing Board of the People’s Council and the Chairman of the communal People’s Council shall be invited to attend the monthly meetings of the People’s Committee to discuss the implementation of the economic, budgetary and other tasks which are related to the People’s Council, and the review meetings of the specialized agencies of the People’s Committee of the same level. The Heads and Deputy Heads of the People’s Council shall be invited to attend the meetings on the related issues of the People’s Committee of the same level and its specialized agencies.

The People’s Committee is invited to attend the monthly meetings of the Standing Board of the People’s Council to review the implementation of the resolutions of the People’s Council; to review the work in the month and work out the work program for the following month. The Heads of the specialized agencies of the People’s Committee shall be invited to attend the meetings on related issues of the Standing Board of the People’s Council.

The committees of the People’s Council shall invite representatives of the People’s Committee and its specialized agencies to attend the meetings to evaluate the reports and plans to be submitted to the People’s Council, take part in the supervisory teams of the Committees when necessary; and send their work programs to the People’s Committee and its specialized agencies.

Article 43.- The People’s Committee has the responsibility to provide the Standing Board of the People’s Council and its committees, the deputies of the People’s Council of the same level, and the Chairman of the People’s Council of the immediate lower level, with the documents and papers issued by the People’s Committee which are related to the operation of the People’s Council.

At the communal level, the People’s Committee has the responsibility to provide the Chairman and Vice Chairmen of the People’s Council and the deputies to the People’s Council with the documents and papers of the People’s Committee which are related to the operation of the People’s Council.

Chapter VI

RELATIONS BETWEEN THE PEOPLE’S COUNCIL AND THE VIETNAM FATHERLAND FRONT AND ITS MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS AND THE OTHER SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS

Article 44.- The People’s Council of all levels shall cooperate closely with the Vietnam Fatherland Front and its member organizations and the other social organizations in the locality, and build between themselves a working relation which will help them fulfil their tasks.

Twice a year, in the middle and at the end of the year, the Standing Board of the People’s Council, and the Chairman of the communal People’s Council, shall inform in writing the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of the same level of the activities of the People’s Council of one’s level and make recommendations in the name of the People’s Council to the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee.

During a regular meeting of the People’s Council, the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee shall make a report about its activities in building the administration, its recommendations to the People’s Council, the People’s Committee and the deputies to the People’s Council of the same level.

Article 45.- The Standing Board of the People’s Council, and the Chairman of the communal People’s Council, shall coordinate with the Standing Board of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee and the same level of the people’s organizations, in supervizing and assisting the activities of the deputies to the People’s Council in discharging their duties, organizing their meetings with voters, and in gathering the opinions and recommendations of the voters so as to report to the People’s Council.

The Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee and the people’s organizations shall exercise constant supervision over the deputies to the People’s Council in discharging their duties, and shall make recommendations on rewarding outstanding deputies and dismissing deputies who no longer deserve the people’s trust in accordance with the provisions of law.

Article 46.- The Standing Board of the People’s Council, and the Chairman of the communal People’s Council, shall make arrangements for the representative of the Vietnam Fatherland Committee to take part in supervision and control activities; and coordinate with the Standing Board of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of the same level in gathering opinions from the population on the draft laws and important issues in the locality.

Chapter VII

THE GUARANTIES FOR THE OPERATION OF THE PEOPLE’S COUNCIL

Article 47.- Funding for the operation of the People’s Council comes from the budget of the local government which is proposed by the Standing Board of the People’s Council, and the Chairman of the communal People’s Council and decided by the People’s Council of the same level in accordance with the guidance of the Government.

The Chairman of the People’s Council shall direct the use of the allocated budget for the operation of the People’s Council.

Article 48.- An incumbent deputy to the People’s Council is entitled to the following privileges:

1. To be provided with the periodical reports of the People’s Council and the People’s Committee of the same level and the other documents related to the operation of the People’s Council.

2. To receive a monthly allowance:

- An allowance to a deputy to the communal People’s Council is equivalent to 0.2 time the minimum salary;

- An allowance to a deputy to the district People’s Council is equivalent to 0.3 time the minimum salary;

- An allowance to a deputy to the provincial People’s Council is equivalent to 0.4 time the minimum salary;

3. A deputy who is not on the Government payroll or is a pensioner will be issued a health insurance card; and will be given a funeral fee when he/she dies, in accordance with the provision for the People’s Council of his/her level;

4. In discharging his/her duties, the deputy has the following benefits:

The deputy who is working in the State administrative sector or in units of the armed forces shall receive a salary and allowances paid by his/her unit for the days he/she discharges his/her deputy’s duties.

If the deputy works in a production or business unit or is not on the State payroll, he/she shall be given a work allowance as decided by the People’s Council of his/her level.

The budget for the deputy’s life and work allowances, health insurance and funeral fee comes from the operational budget of the People’s Council of the same level.

Article 49.- An incumbent deputy is issued, and entitled to the use of, a People’s Council deputy’s identity card. The form of the People’s Council deputy ID is set by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly. The People’s Council deputy ID shall be endorsed by the Chairman of the People’s Council of the same level.

In discharging his/her duties, the deputy shall produce his/her deputy ID.

Article 50.- The People’s Council, the Standing Board of the People’s Council, the Chairman of the communal People’s Council, the deputies and groups of deputies of the People’s Council, and the committees of the People’s Council that make outstanding accomplishments in the discharge of their duties shall be considered for rewards as provided for by law.

Article 51.- During a meeting of the People’s Council, without the consent of the chairman of the meeting, a deputy of the People’s Council shall not be detained. If a deputy is caught in action or is to be takes into emergency custody, the agency which issues the custody order shall have to report in writing immediately to the Chairman of the meeting.

Between two meetings of the People’s Council, if the competent State agency orders the temporary detention of a People’s Council deputy, this agency shall have to report in writing immediately to the Chairman of the People’s Council and the President of the People’s Committee of the same level.

Article 52.- When a People’s Council deputy who is a State employee commits an act of violation of discipline which warrants a dismissal, demotion or work suspension, the authority which is competent to order such sanction shall report in writing to the Standing Board of the People’s Council, and at the communal level, to the Chairman of the communal People’s Council, prior to issuing the order.

When a People’s Council deputy who is a State employee is to be transferred out of the locality where he/she is elected, the authority which is competent for effecting the transfer shall consult the Standing Board of the People’s Council of the same level and, at the communal level, the Chairman of the communal People’s Council, prior to deciding the transfer. The Standing Board of the People’s Council and, at the communal level, the Chairman of the communal People’s Council, shall report to the People’s Council and the constituency which elected the deputy about the transfer.

Article 53.- The People’s Council at all levels shall have a head office and an assisting staff. The organization of the assisting staff to the People’s Council shall be effected in accordance with the Government guideline.

The Standing Board of the People’s Council shall have an assisting staff which includes a number of competent and experienced experts in the fields of administration who are selected and managed by the Standing Board of the People’s Council. The number of experts at the Standing Board of the provincial People’s Council shall not be more than five; seven in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and two at the district level.

The People’s Council, the Standing Board of the People’s Council and the committees of the People’s Council shall use the seal of the People’s Council of the same level. The Chairman and Vice Chairmen of the communal People’s Council shall use the seal of the People’s Council of their level.

Chapter VIII

THE OPERATION OF THE PEOPLE’S COUNCIL IN CASE OF A CHANGE IN THE STATUS OR GEOGRAPHICAL BOUNDARY OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT AND IN SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES

Article 54.- In case of a change in the administrative status or geographical boundary of the administrative unit and in special circumstances, the People’s Council shall be organized and operated in accordance with the provisions specified in Chapter IV of the (amended) Law on Organization of the People’s Council and People’s Committee and the provisions in this Regulation.

Article 55.- In case a new administrative unit of the same level is formed by the merger of many different administrative units, the People’s Councils of the old units shall merge into a new People’s Council for the new administrative unit and continue to function until the end of its tenure.

In case an administrative unit is divided into many new administrative units of the same level, the People’s Council deputies already elected or working in a new administrative unit shall work together to form a new People’s Council for the new unit and continue to function until the end of its tenure.

The first meeting of a People’s Council in a new administrative unit as stipulated in this Article shall be convened by a convenor selected among the deputies to that new People’s Council who shall chair the meeting until the new People’s Council has elected a new Chairman. The Standing Board of the People’s Council of the immediate higher level shall select the convenor; for the provincial level, the selection is made by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly.

During a tenure, a constituency which has a vacancy in the membership of its People’s Council may call a supplementary election.

In case the newly-divided administrative unit has a number of previously-elected deputies from the old unit which is less than two-thirds of the number of deputies as defined by the Law on Election of Deputies to the People’s Council, a supplementary election shall be called prior to the first meeting of the new People’s Council; the supplementary election shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Election of the People’s Council.

Article 56.- In case an administrative unit changes its administrative status, or in case of an establishment of a new administrative unit, or in case a People’s Council is dissolved, the President of the People’s Committee of the immediate higher level shall appoint a People’s Committee at interim which shall function until a new People’s Council and a new People’s Committee are elected; for a provincial administrative unit, the Prime Minister shall appoint the People’s Committee at interim.

The Standing Committee of the National Assembly shall set and announce the date for election of the deputies to the People’s Council of the new administrative unit.

The first meeting of the newly-elected People’s Council in the new administrative unit as described in this Article shall be convened by the President of the People’s Committee at interim of the same level, who shall chair it until the People’s Council has elected a new Chairman.

Article 57.- The election and supplementary election of People’s Council deputies as described in Articles 55 and 56 of this Regulation shall be conducted six months at the latest from the effective date of the decision to merge or divide the administrative units or to change their administrative status.

In case the remaining tenure of the People’s Council of the new administrative unit, starting from the date the old administrative unit(s) changed its/their status to the date of the election of the next tenure, is less than a year, no election or supplementary election of deputies to the People’s Council shall be called.

Chapter IX

People’s Council DEPUTY WHO REQUESTS TO BE RELIEVED OF DUTIES, WHO IS DISMISSED, WHO IS STRIPPED OF THE RIGHTS OF DEPUTY, AND DISSOLUTION OF THE PEOPLE’S COUNCIL

Article 58.- The request of a deputy to the People’s Council to be relieved of duties shall be conducted in the following order:

1. The deputy to the People’s Council shall send his/her request to be relieved of duties to the Standing Board of the People’s Council of his/her level, and at the communal level, to the Chairman of the communal People’s Council;

2. The Standing Board of the People’s Council, and at the communal level, the Chairman of the communal People’s Council, shall submit the request to the People’s Council of the same level;

3. The People’s Council shall discuss and vote by show of hands to approve a resolution on the request of the requesting deputy to be relieved of duties.

Prior to the approval of the resolution, the requesting deputy may speak at the People’s Council.

The Chairman of the People’s Council shall notify the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of the same level and voters at the constituency which elected the deputy and the deputy him/herself the resolution of the People’s Council relieving the deputy of his/her duties.

The deputy to the People’s Council shall cease to function as a deputy as from the date the People’s Council approves the resolution to relieve him/her of his/her duties.

Article 59.- The dismissal of a deputy by the People’s Council shall be conducted in the following order:

1. The Standing Board of the People’s Council, and at the communal level, the Chairman of the communal People’s Council, shall bring to the People’s Council of the same level the question of dismissal of a deputy to the People’s Council at the proposal of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of the same level;

2. The People’s Council shall discuss and vote by show of hands to approve a resolution on the dismissal of the deputy to the People’s Council.

Prior to the vote to approve the resolution, the deputy of the People’s Council who has been proposed to be dismissed may speak to the People’s Council.

The resolution to dismiss a deputy to the People’s Council must be approved by two-thirds of the total number of the deputies to the People’s Council.

The Standing Board of the People’s Council, and at the communal level, the Chairman of the communal People’s Council, shall inform the voters in the constituency which elected the deputy of the dismissal of the deputy to the People’s Council to and also the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of the same level and the dismissed deputy him/herself.

Article 60.- In case the voters request the dismissal of a deputy to the People’s Council, the dismissal shall be conducted at the constituency which elected the subject deputy in the following order:

1. The Standing Board of the provincial People’s Council shall set and announce a date for a dismissal vote; if the dismissal concerns a deputy to the provincial People’s Council, the date shall be set and announced by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly;

2. Within 15 days at the latest prior to the dismissal vote, the Standing Board of the People’s Council, the People’s Committee and the Standing Board of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of the same level shall set up a dismissal committee which is composed of from 7 to 9 members; at the communal level, the Chairman of the communal People’s Council, the People’s Committee and the Standing Board of the Vietnam Fatherland Committee shall set up a dismissal committee comprising from 5 to 7 members; the membership of the dismissal committee includes a standing member of the People’s Council, and at the communal level, the Chairman of the communal People’s Council, and representatives of the People’s Committee, the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee and its local member organizations in order to direct the dismissal work. The dismissal committee shall appoint a head, a deputy head and a secretary. The dismissal committee shall work on the principle of democratic centralism. The decisions of the committee must be approved by more than half of the number of its members to be valid.

3. Within 7 days at the latest prior to the date of the dismissal vote, the Chairman of the People’s Council, the People’s Committee, the Standing Board of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of the communal level shall set up in the area of each polling station in the constituency which elected the deputy a dismissal work group comprising from 3 to 5 members representing social organizations and the electorate. The dismissal work group shall appoint a group head and a secretary;

4. The list of voters in the dismissal ballot shall be drawn up by the People’s Committees of the communal level and posted at the head offices of the communes and at polling stations at least 7 days prior to the date of the dismissal voting.

The eligibility for registration in the list of voters for the dismissal ballot are defined in Article 2 of the Law on Election of Deputies to the People’s Council;

5. The minutes on vote counts to be done by the dismissal work groups shall be made into three copies, each bearing the signatures of the group head and the secretary, and shall be sent to the Dismissal Committee, the Chairman of the People’s Council and the communal People’s Committee.

Basing itself on the record of vote counts turned in by the dismissal work groups, the Dismissal Committee shall file a minute endorsing the election return. There must be a turnout of at least more than half of the registered voters for the dismissal ballot to be valid, and there must be more than half of the cast votes for dismissal of the deputy.

The Dismissal Committee shall announce the election return 3 days at the latest from the date of the dismissal ballot.

The minutes endorsing the result of the dismissal vote of the Dismissal Committee shall be made into five copies, each bearing the signatures of the committee head, deputy committee head and the secretary, and shall be sent to the Standing Board of the People’s Council, the People’s Committee, the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of the same level, and the Standing Board of the People’s Council and People’s Committee of the immediate higher level. If the dismissal ballot concerns a deputy to the provincial People’s Council, the minutes shall be sent to the Standing Board of the provincial People’s Council, the People’s Committee, the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of the same level, and the Standing Committee of the National Assembly and the Government;

6. The expenditure on the dismissal ballot shall be covered by the local budget.

Article 61.- In case a deputy to the People’s Council is prosecuted, the prosecuting office must notify in writing the Standing Board of the People’s Council, at the communal level, to the Chairman of the communal People’s Council, prior to the issue of the prosecution decision. When a deputy to the People’s Council is prosecuted, the Standing Board of the People’s Council, and at the communal level, the Chairman of the communal People’s Council, shall issue a decision to temporarily suspend the deputy’s duties. The deputy shall return to his/her duties when the competent agency suspends the prosecution against him/her of after being acquitted by the Court.

The deputy to the People’s Council who is found guilty and convicted by the Court, the verdict of which has taken legal effect, shall lose the right as a deputy to the People’s Council.

The Court which has tried the deputy and found him/her guilty has the responsibility to send a copy or an abstract of the verdict which has taken legal effect to the Standing Board of the People’s Council, and at the communal level, the Chairman of the communal People’s Council, and notify the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of the same level.

The Standing Board of the People’s Council, and at the communal level, the Chairman of the communal People’s Council, shall report to the immediate next meeting of the People’s Council the stripping of the People’s Council deputy right of the convicted deputy. The Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of the same level shall together with the group of People’s Council deputies notify the case to the voters in the constituency which elected the deputy.

Article 62.- In case the People’s Council has caused serious losses to the interests of the people, it shall be dissolved by the immediate higher People’s Council; in case the concerned body is the provincial People’s Council, it shall be dissolved by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly.

The dissolution of the district and communal People’s Councils shall be conducted in the following order:

1. The Standing Board of the People’s Council shall work with the President of the People’s Committee to submit the proposal to dissolve the immediate lower People’s Council to the People’s Council of their level for consideration and approval;

2. The Head or Deputy Head of the Legal Committee of the People’s Council shall present to the People’s Council a verification report on the presentation by the Standing Board of the People’s Council and the People’s Committee proposing the dissolution of a People’s Council;

3. The People’s Council shall discuss and approve a resolution on dissolution.

The resolution to dissolve a communal People’s Council must be ratified by the provincial People’s Council; the resolution to dissolve a district People’s Council must be ratified by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly.

The consideration and resolution to dissolve a provincial People’s Council shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly.

When a People’s Council is dissolved, the deputies to the People’s Council shall cease to perform their duties.

Chapter X

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 63.- The People’s Council, the Standing Board of the People’s Council, the People’s Committee, and at the communal level, the Chairman of the communal People’s Council and the People’s Committee, the deputies to the People’s Councils and the State agencies are responsible for implementing this Regulation.

Article 64.- This Regulation replaces the Regulation on Organization and Operation of the People’s Council at all levels which was issued by the Council of State on May 5, 1990. The previous regulations and guidance which are contrary to this Regulation are now annulled.