Laws of Vietnam

DECREE No.11/1998/ND-CP OF JANUARY 24, 1998 PROMULGATING THE WORKING REGULATION OF THE GOVERNMENT

THE GOVERNMENT

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

At the proposal of the Minister-Head of the Government Office,

DECREES:

Article 1.- To promulgate together with this Decree the Working Regulation of the Government.

Article 2.- This Decree takes effect 15 days after its promulgation and replaces Decree No. 13-CP of December 1st, 1992 promulgating the Working Regulation of the Government.

The ministries, the ministerial-level agencies, the agencies attached to the Government, the People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government shall issue specific working regulations of their agencies in conformity with this Regulation.

Article 3.- The Minister-Head of the Government Office shall have to regularly promote and inspect the execution of this Regulation at all levels and in all branches and report to the Government and the Prime Minister.

Article 4.- The members of the Government, the heads of the agencies attached to the Government, thechairmen of the People's Councils, the presidents of the People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government and the heads of the related agencies shall have to implement this Decree.

On behalf of the Government

The Prime Minister

PHAN VAN KHAI

WORKING REGULATION OF THE GOVERNMENT PROMULGATED TOGETHER WITH DECREE No.11/1998/ND-CP OF JANUARY 24, 1998

Chapter I

SCOPE AND COORDINATION RELATIONS IN HANDLING WORK

Article 1.- Scope and mode of handling work of the Government

1- The Government shall take collective decisions on the following issues:

1.1- The annual work schedule of the Government;

1.2- The program of action to carry out the resolutions of the Party;

1.3-The draft laws and ordinances to be submitted to the National Assembly and the Standing Committee of the National Assembly;

1.4- The resolutions and decrees of the Government;

1.5- The strategies, long term, five-year and annual general plans for socio- economic development; the important national projects;

1.6- The annual draft State budgets and the Final State budget statements;

1.7- Important issues concerning the undertakings, policies and the mechanism of socio economic development; national defense, security, domestic and external relations;

1.8- Issues concerning the founding, merger, splitting, and dissolution of ministries, ministerial-level agencies, agencies attached to the Government; the founding, merger and splitting and the readjustment of the boundaries of the local administrative units;

1.9- The reports of the Government to be submitted to the National Assembly, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly and the President of the State;

1.10- Other issues which come under the competence of the Government as defined by law;

1.11- Issues which the Prime Minister deems necessary to be submitted to the Government.

2. The collective decisions of the Government defined in Item 1 of this Article which must get approval of more than half of the votes of the members of the Government. For a number of questions which are not necessarily subject to collective debate or which the Government needs to decide quickly but has no conditions to organize a Government meeting, then upon the instruction of the Prime Minister the Government Office or the project sponsoring agency shall send the whole dossier of the project (as stipulated in Point 1.3, Article 8 of this Regulation) and opinion polling forms to each member of the Government. If more than half of the members of the Government agree, the Government Office shall submit the project to the Government for decision and report to the Prime Minister at the nearest meeting.

During the voting at the meeting as well as when using opinion polling forms, if the numbers of yes and no votes are equal, the side which is supported by the Prime Minister shall prevail.

3. The Government members and the heads of the agencies attached to the Government must scrupulously carry out the decisions of the Government and the Prime Minister. They still have to carry out these decisions even if they do not agree with them but are entitled to continue to present their opinions to the Government and the Prime Minister.

Article 2.- Scope of the Prime Minister's action in handling work.

1. The Prime Minister shall handle the following work:

1.1- The questions which are defined by the Constitution, the Law on Organization of the Government and other legal documents pertaining to the handling competence of the Prime Minister and the questions which are defined by the Constitution, the Law on Organization of the Government and other legal documents pertaining to the competence of the Government but not to be handled collectively by the Government;

1.2- The important issues involving many branches which have been handled through the coordination by the ministers, the heads of ministerial agencies and the heads of the agencies directly under the Government but over which opinions still differ;

1.3- The questions proposed by the presidents of the People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government, the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and the heads of the mass organizations which are beyond the handling competence of the ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies and the heads of the agencies attached to the Government, or questions related to many branches, many localities and in which there is still divergence of views among these agencies;

1.4- Questions which, though pertaining to the competence of the ministers, the presidents of the People's Committees of the provinces or cities directly under the Central Government, in view of their importance, the Prime Minister deems it necessary to be directly guided by him for a definite settlement in a given period;

1.5- Questions which arise unexpectedly or newly arise, serious incidents such as natural calamities, epidemics, accidents... which are beyond the handling capacity of the ministries, ministerial-level agencies or agencies attached to the Government or the People's Committees of the provinces or cities under the Central Government.

2. During his activities, the Prime Minister shall constantly maintain the relations between the Government and the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party, the President of the State, the Chairman of the National Assembly, the Head of the Supreme People's Inspectorate, the President of the Supreme People's Court, the Chairman of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and the heads of the central agencies of the people's organizations.

3. At least once every year the Prime Minister shall work with the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and the leading committee of the central agency of each mass organization to review the coordination of work and discuss the proposals of the Fatherland Front and other mass organizations with regard to the Government work and create conditions for these organizations to work efficiently.

Article 3.- Scope of work handling of the Deputy Prime Ministers, and the working relations between the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Ministers.

1. The Deputy Prime Ministers shall be assigned by the Prime Minister to handle work on his behalf on the following principles:

1.1- Each Deputy Prime Minister shall be assigned to take charge of a number of domains of work and monitor the activities of a number of ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and agencies attached to the Government;

1.2- The Deputy Prime Ministers are entitled to use the powers of the Prime Minister or act on his behalf to handle affairs in the domain under their assignment and shall be answerable to the Prime Minister;

1.3- The Deputy Prime Ministers shall take the initiative in handling the work under their assignment; in case the work is related to the domain of another Deputy Prime Minister, he shall directly coordinate with the latter to handle the work. In case the work needs to be subject to the Prime Minister for comment, or there still is divergence of views between the Deputy Prime Ministers, the affair shall be reported to the Prime Minister for decision;

1.4- The Prime Minister is responsible for the decisions of the Deputy Prime Ministers who discharge the tasks assigned by the Prime Minister;

1.5- As may be required by the need to run affairs in each period, the Prime Minister may directly handle a number of tasks already assigned to the Deputy Prime Ministers or readjust the assignments to different Deputy Prime Ministers.

2. Within the scope of the work assigned, the Deputy Prime Ministers have the following tasks and powers:

2.1- To direct the ministries, the ministerial-level agencies, the agencies attached to the Government, the People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government in working out regulatory and legal documents, the strategies, general plans and plans for development of the branches, domains, regions and localities and submit them to the Government and the Prime Minister;

2.2- To inspect and urge the ministries, ministerial-level agencies, the agencies attached to the Government, the People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government in organizing the execution of the decisions of the Government and the Prime Minister, the undertakings, policies and legal matters in the domain under their charge; detect and propose the necessary supplements and amendments. In case they detect law-breaking documents issued by or acts of the ministries, the ministerial-level agencies, the agencies attached to the Government and the People's Councils or People's Committees of the provinces or cities directly under the Central Government, they may represent the Prime Minister to decide to suspend the enactment of these documents or these wrong acts, and put forth measures of handling;

2.3- To handle specific affairs arising daily under the competence of the Prime Minister; consult the Prime Minister in handling affairs concerning mechanisms or policies not yet defined by the Government and other important issues;

2.4- To monitor on the organizational plane the mechanism and personnel up to the department and equivalent level; direct the handling of internal affairs in the agencies within the domain they are assigned to follow.

3. The Standing Deputy Prime Minister, besides the above tasks, shall have to discharge the following tasks:

3.1- To effect the coordination of action among the Deputy Prime Ministers, use the apparatus of the Government Office to permanently maintain the common activities of the Government;

3.2- He may be empowered by the Prime Minister to sign a number of Government documents;

3.3- To represent the Prime Minister in handling the work of the Prime Minister in his absence;

3.4- To handle the work of another Deputy Prime Minister when the latter is absent.

4. In the absence of the Standing Deputy Prime Minister, the Prime Minister shall appoint another Deputy Prime Minister to replace him temporarily in discharging the standing task.

5. A Deputy Prime Ministers may solve a number of questions under the competence of a subaltern level stated in Point 1.4, Article 2 of this Regulation;

6. The Deputy Prime Ministers shall devote Monday each week to meeting with the Prime Minister to report to him and consult him in the settlement of affairs.

7. All decisions of each Deputy Prime Ministers must be notified in time by the Government Office to the Prime Minister and the other Deputy Prime Ministers.

Article 4.- Scope of work handling of the ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level sgencies and the heads of the agencies attached to the Government

1. The Ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies and the heads of the agencies attached to the Government shall solve the following affairs:

1.1- Affairs under their competence stipulated in the Constitution, the Law on Organization of the Government and other legal documents;

1.2- To solve or consider for submission to the Government or the Prime Minister for settlement according to the corresponding competence proposals of the ministries, ministerial-level agencies, the agencies attached to the Government, the People's Committees of the provinces or cities directly under the Central Government, the Vietnam Fatherland Front and other mass organizations questions within the scope of their State managerial responsibility;

1.3- To give recommendations to the Heads of other agencies of the Government, the Presidents of the People's Committees of the provinces or cities attached to the Central Government on handling issues which come under the competence of these agencies but related to the functions or the branches or domains under their managerial responsibility;

1.4- To take part in solving collectively common affairs of the Government and to solve a number of concrete affairs by delegation of the Prime Minister;

2. The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies and the heads of the agencies attached to the Government shall uphold their sense of personal responsibility, make right use of their assigned powers, and shall not refer affairs under their function and competence to the Prime Minister or to other agencies. Neither shall they solve affairs under the competence of the lower levels or other agencies.

3. When necessary, the ministers or the heads of ministerial-level agencies or the heads of agencies attached to the Government shall directly work with the Prime Minister (or Deputy Prime Ministers) to ask for guiding ideas about questions under their branches or domains, make suggestions to the Prime Minister (or Deputy Prime Ministers) concerning the common work of the Government.

4. The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the agencies attached to the Government shall take personal responsibility before the Government and the Prime Minister for all the work under their functions and competence even after they have assigned or delegated powers to their deputies.

Article 5.- Scope of work handling of the Minister-Head of the Government Office.

1. To integrate and submit to the Government and the Prime Minister for adoption the working programs of the Government; to monitor and urge the related agencies to implement these programs; to prepare the projects, and annual reviewing reports of the Government and other reports as assigned by the Prime Minister.

2. To help the Prime Minister maintain and review the observance of the Working Regulation of the Government.

3. To help the Prime Minister and the Standing Deputy Prime Minister to coordinate the activities of the Government, the ministries, the ministerial-level agencies, the agencies attached to the Government, the People's Councils and People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Governmen********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************cils, the People's committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government to prepare the projects; to analyze and integrate and put forth independent evaluations about the projects before submitting them to the Prime Minister.

6. To organize service for the sessions of the Government and meetings of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers.

7. To organize the announcements, popularization, monitoring and inspection of the various branches and levels in the implementation of the decisions of the Government and the Prime Minister.

8. To assume the unified management of the issue of the documents of the Government and the Prime Minister and the publication of the legal and statutory documents on the Official Gazette of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

9. To assume the unified management and use of the information network of the Government, to use modern information technology in the management and information work among the administrative agencies of the State.

10. To submit to the Government and the Prime Minister for promulgation or to promulgate according to their competence the stipulations on administrative procedures in the handling of the work and in the management of documents and paperwork in the administrative agencies of the State.

11. To give professional and skill guidance on office work for the offices of the Ministries, the ministerial-level Agencies, the Agencies attached to the Government, the People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government.

12. To help the Prime Minister and the Standing Deputy Prime Minister work out and implement the regulation on the coordination of work between the Government and the agencies of the Party, the National Assembly, the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Inspectorate, the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and the central agencies of the people's organizations.

13. To assure the working conditions for the common activities of the Government and the Prime Minister.

14. To solve a number of specific affairs by delegation of the Prime Minister (to be specified in each delegation document of the Prime Minister).

Article 6.- Relations of coordination in handling work among the ministers, the heads of ministerial level agencies and the heads of the agencies attached to the Government

1. The ministers, the heads of ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the agencies attached to the Government, when settling affairs under their competence which are related to the functions of other agencies, must necessarily consult the heads of these agencies; the heads of the consulted agencies have the duty to answer and take responsibility for these answers. The opinion poll shall be effected as stipulated in Item 3, Article 12 of this Regulation.

2. For those questions which go beyond their competence and capabilities of handling, the ministers, the heads of ministerial level agencies and the heads of the agencies attached to the Government shall have to take the initiative in discussing with the related agencies in order to complete the dossier and submit to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision.

3. For a number of important issues related to many branches, many localities, the Prime Minister may set up organizations as consultants for the Prime Minister to resolve them. The tasks, mode of activity, composition and duration of these consulting organizations shall be defined by the Prime Minister in the founding documents.

Article 7.- Working relations between the ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of agencies attached to the government and the Chairmen of the People's Councils and the presidents of the People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government.

1. The chairmen of the People's Councils, the presidents of the People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government who need to work with the ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies and the heads of the agencies attached to the Government in the domain of branch management in their localities, must make careful preparations about the contents and inform the related agency in advance. The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the agencies attached to the Government must directly (or delegate their deputies) to meet and work with the chairmen (or vice chairmen) of the People's Councils or the presidents (or vice Presidents) of the People's Committees of the provinces or cities directly under the Central Government.

2. The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the agencies attached to the Government have the responsibility to settle the proposals of the Presidents of the People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government in their respective competence and must answer in writing within 15 days from the date of the receipt of the written proposals (even if the question is beyond their competence or if the question is not solved). Past this time limit, if no written answer is available, the chairman of the People's Council or the president of the People's Committee of the province or city directly under the Central Government shall inform the Prime Minister so that the latter may direct the responsible agency to solve, or the Prime Minister shall directly solve in the order provided for in Chapter III of this Regulation.

3. In case the suggestions of the localities though coming under the handling competence of the ministries, the ministerial-level sgencies or the agencies attached to the Government but related to many branches, the chairmen of the People's Council or the Presidents of the People's Committees of the provinces or cities directly under the Central Government shall propose that an agency related to the main content of their petition act as the main coordinator in the settlement. The agency proposed by the locality to act as coordinator shall have to coordinate with the related agencies in handling the petition of the locality. The related agencies shall have to give clear answers for each question raised by the locality. In case the related agencies cannot reach consensus in the settlement, the coordinating agency shall report clearly the different views for the Prime Minister to consider and decide. At the same time, it must inform the related locality. The time limit from the receipt of the proposal of the locality till the completion of the dossier for submission to the Prime Minister shall not exceed 15 days.

4. The Government Office shall act as main agency to coordinate with the related agencies, complete the dossier and submit it to the Prime Minister for decision on questions proposed by the localities which are beyond the competence of the ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies or the heads of the agencies attached to the Government.

5. The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the agencies attached to the Government shall regularly coordinate with the chairmen of the People's Councils, the presidents of the People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government and provide professional guidance, inspect and urge specialized agencies of the People's Councils and People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government to carry out legislation and the regulations of the branches and domains; closely manage the units directly under the Central Government located in their territories and rectify, correct and timely handle the wrong doings of their lower levels.

Article 8.- Procedures of sending official dispatches and proposals to handle affairs.

1. Necessary procedures when submitting proposals to the Government and the Prime Minister on handling a question:

1.1- All official dispatches and reports to the Government and Prime Minister must be signed and sealed according to the respective competence by the ministers, the heads of ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the agencies attached to the Government, the chairmen of the People's Councils and the presidents of the People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government, heads of the agencies and mass organizations at the central level, the chairmen of the Managing Boards of the State corporations of which the foundation has been decided by the Prime Minister (or by delegation to his deputies).

1.2- If the question is related to the function of other agencies, the dossier of the report must have the official written opinion of these agencies.

1.3- With regard to the projects mentioned in Point 2.2, Article 9, they must be accompanied with:

1.3.1- The report to the Government and the Prime Minister clearly explaining the main contents of the projects, the foundations of the petition and the different views;

1.3.2- The document of the agency evaluating the project as prescribed by law;

1.3.3- The report on the opinions of the related agencies, including the Scientific Council or the Consulting Council (if any);

1.3.4- The draft of the main document and the draft of the document guiding the implementation of this document. These drafts must give concrete specifications so that when the main documents are ratified, work can proceed immediately;

1.3.5- The plan of organization for implementation when the project is ratified and the document is issued;

1.3.6- Other necessary documents.

1.4- The dossier sent to the Government and the Prime Minister must be entered into the files of the Government Office in Hanoi.

2. All the official dispatches and written proposals for handling questions shall be sent in one copy and to an only address which is the competent agency (or the agency which is requested to act as coordinator) for settlement; if the need arises to send them to the related agencies for information or coordination, there needs only to list the names of these agencies at the low end of the dispatches or proposals (in the column on the receiving addresses).

Chapter II

WORKING OUT AND IMPLEMENTING THE WORKING PROGRAM OF THE GOVERNMENT AND THE PRIME MINISTER

Article 9.- Different kinds of working programs.

1- The Government shall have annual, quarterly and monthly working programs. The Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Ministers shall have weekly working programs.

2.1- The annual working program of the Government is in two parts: Part one represents the general line of the orientations, and the major tasks and solutions of the Government in all domains of work; Part two comprises the contents of the regular Government sessions and the List of the projects to be submitted to the Government and the Prime Minister in the year.

2.2- The projects defined in this Regulation and included in the working program of the Government include:

2.2.1- The reports, projects, draft documents on regulatory and legal matters reflecting the contents collectively decided by the Government as defined in Article 1 of this Regulation;

2.2.2- Draft documents on regulatory and legal matters under the issuing competence of the Prime Minister (excluding special documents stipulated in Item 2, Article 1, Decree No.101-CP of September 23, 1997 of the Government);

2.2.3- The reports and projects related to the policies, mechanisms, strategies, general plans, plans already evaluated by the competent State agencies and coming under the power of decision and ratification of the Prime Minister.

2.3- The contents of the regular meetings of the Government comprises a number of projects stipulated in Point 2.2.1 of this Article and collectively debated and decided by the Government.

2.4- The projects listed in the yearly working program of the Government must state clearly that they will be decided by the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Ministers and prepared by the agency (or by the subcommittee or the group of specialists founded by the Prime Minister) as well as the expertizing agency and the time limit for reporting each project.

2.5-The time limit for reporting the projects mentioned in the annual working program must be projected down to each quarter and each month.

3. The quarterly working program comprises only the list of projects to be submitted to the Government and the Prime Minister, and the contents of the meetings of the Government in the quarter aimed at supplementing and readjusting in order to correct and adjust the contents and time of the proposed projects (except the program for the first quarter which is already defined in the yearly program).

4. The monthly working program shall comprise the list of the projects submitted to the Government and Prime Minister and the contents of the Government meeting in the month aimed at supplementing and adjusting with a view to determining accurately the contents and time of the submitted projects (except the program for the first month in the quarter which is already defined in the quarterly program).

5. The weekly working programs of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers shall comprise the activities of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers for each day in the week.

Article 10.- Order in the elaboration of the working program of the Government.

1. The yearly working program:

1.1- On the 15th day of November each year at the latest, the ministries, the ministerial-level agencies and the agencies attached to the Government shall send to the Government Office the list of projects that need to be submitted to the Government and the Prime Minister in the coming year. The list must specify the following: names of the projects, the deciding level (the Government, the Prime Minister), the expertizing agency, the time limit for the submission of each project. The provinces and cities directly under the Central Government and the mass organizations at the central level shall have to register the time table to work with the Prime Minister on the contents defined in Item 3, Article 2 and Item 1, Article 30 of this Regulation.

1.2- The Government Office shall draft the working program for the following year of the Government and shall return it to the related office and organization on the 25th day of November at the latest for consultation.

1.3- Within 7 days from the date of reception of the draft working program of the Government, the agencies and organizations must send their comments in writing to the Government Office in order to integrate into a general report to the Prime Minister for consideration and guidance and completion before submitting it to the Government for ratification at the regular year-end meeting.

1.4- Within no more than 10 days from the date the Government adopts the yearly working program, the Government Office shall submit to the Prime Minister for signing and promulgating the program and send to the members of the Government, the heads of the agencies attached to the Government, the chairmen of the People's Councils and the presidents of the People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government and the related agencies and organizations for information and implementation.

2. Quarterly working program:

2.1- In the last month of each quarter, the agencies must evaluate the situation in the implementation of the working program of this quarter, revise the projects for the subsequent quarter already listed in the yearly program and examine the newly arising questions in order to propose adjustments in the working program of the next quarter.

On the 15th day of the last month of the quarter at the latest, the agencies shall send the projected adjustments of the program for the next quarter to the Government Office. Past this time limit it is deemed that there is no need of readjustment.

2.2- The Government Office shall integrate the quarterly programs of the Government (the projects shall be arranged according to the domains and shall be handled by the Prime Minister and each Deputy Prime Minister) and submit it to the Prime Minister for decision and on the 20th day of the last month of each quarter at the latest it has to send the working program of the next quarter to the related agencies and organizations for information and implementation.

3. Monthly working program:

3.1- Each month the agencies shall base themselves on the tempo of preparation for the projects already listed in the Quarterly program, the remaining questions and newly arising questions and propose readjustment to the program for the next month. This proposal must be sent to the Government Office not later than the 20th day of each month. Past this time limit, it shall be deemed that the agencies have no proposal to readjust the program.

3.2- The Government Office shall integrate the monthly working program of the Government arranged according to domains under the handling competence of the Prime Minister and each Deputy Prime Ministers and submit to the Prime Minister for decision, and not later than the 25th day of each month it must send the working program of the next month to the related agencies and organizations for information and implementation.

4. The weekly working program:

Basing itself on the monthly working program and under the guidance of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers, the Government Office shall coordinate with the related agencies in working out the Weekly programs of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers and submit it to the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers for decision and inform the related agencies and organizations on the saturday of the previous week at the latest.

5. The Government Office must regularly coordinate with the Office of the Central Committee of the Party, the Office of the National Assembly and the Office of the President of the State in order to work out the working programs of the Government, the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers.

6. When the working program is readjusted, the Government Office must inform in time the Government members and the heads of the related agencies.

7. Order in the making of the draft program for elaboration of laws, ordinances, resolutions and decrees shall comply with the stipulations in Decree No.101-CP on September 23, 1997 of the Government detailing the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on the Promulgation of Legal Documents.

Article 11.- Plan of preparing projects.

1. Basing themselves on the yearly working program of the Government, the head of the agency (or a group of specialists assigned by the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister) has to draw up the plan for preparing the project in which it has to determine the list of questions which need guidance for implementation when the document or the main question is ratified, as well as the scope of each project and the agencies of coordination; ensure the time limit for presenting the project already determined and send the plan of preparation for the projects to the Government Office for monitoring and promoting their implementation.

2. In case the project owner wants to change the requirement and the scope of settling the question of the project or the time limit for presenting it he/she must report and get the consent of the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister in charge of that domain.

Article 12.- Coordinative relations in preparing the project.

1. To assure coordination in the preparation of the project to be submitted to the Government and the Prime Minister is the right and responsibility of the members of the Government and the heads of the related agencies.

2. The project owner shall invite the heads of the related agencies to come and discuss the preparation of the project or send their cadres to take part in the preparation of the project. The invited agency has the responsibility to appoint its personnel to take part at the request of the project owner. The appointee is the representative of the agency taking part in preparing the project. He must regularly report to and ask the opinion of the head of the agency in the process of taking part in the elaboration of the project.

The activities of coordination in elaborating the project as mentioned above shall not replace the procedures of asking for formal opinion defined in Item 3 of this Article.

3. After preparations for the project are completed, the project owner must ask for the formal opinion of the related agencies through the following forms:

3.1- Organizing meetings: the project owner must send documents to the invited agencies five days before the date of the meeting at the latest. The Head of the agency owner of the project shall chair the discussions, present the content and collect opinions to complement and complete the project. The opinions in the discussion must be recorded in the minutes and signed by the chairman of the meeting.

The invited agency must send its competent representative to the meeting, present the opinion of the head of the agency and fully report the conclusions of the meeting to the head of the agency. In the absence of the representative of the invited agency, the project owner shall send the relevant part of the conclusion to that agency. Within 5 days after receiving the official dispatch, the head of the consulted agency shall send a written answer. Past that time limit, if the head of the consulted agency does not answer, he is deemed to have agreed to the project and must take responsibility for the related contents.

3.2- Use of the form of official dispatch: the project owner shall send the final draft of the project and the attached dossier to the head of the related agency for consultation. The head of the consulted agency shall have to make his official opinion known in a document sent to the project owner within seven days at the latest from the reception of the proposal together with the full necessary dossier. The official dispatch on recommendations must point out what has been agreed upon and what not, the suggestions on modification and supplement. If the project dossier is not clear enough or if the issue is complicated which needs more time for study, the consulted agency is entitled to ask the project owner to clarify or to supply more necessary documents and to reschedule the time for answer but for not more than 15 days.

Past that time limit if the head of the consulted agency does not answer, he is deemed to have agreed to the project and must take responsibility for the related contents.

3.3- In particular for the draft laws and ordinances, they still have to comply with Item 1, Article 18 of Decree No.101-CP of September 23, 1997 of the Government.

Chapter III

ORDER IN THE HANDLING OF THE WORK OF THE PRIME MINISTER

Article 13.- Modalities in the handling of day-to-day work of the Prime Minister.

1. The Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers shall examine and handle their day-to-day work chiefly on the basis of the reports of the Government Office.

2. The Government Office shall report to the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers only questions under the handling competence of the Government, the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers defined in Article 1, Article 2 and Article 3 and according to the procedures stipulated in Article 8 of this Regulation.

Article 14.- The Government Office prepares the report.

Upon receipt of the dossier of the agency reporting to the Government and the Prime Minister, the Government Office shall have the task of:

1. Checking the procedures: if the official dispatch does not comply with the provisions in Article 8 of this Regulation, within two days the Government Office shall have to return to the reporting agency and ask for more preparation. For questions requiring urgent settlement, the Government Office shall make a bill to ask the reporting agency to complement the procedure, it shall at the same time report to the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Ministers for information.

2. Checking the content:

2.1- If the content of the reported question does not fall under the competence of the Government, the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister, within 3 days the Government Office shall have to return the report to the reporting agency and specify the reason for the return.

2.2- If the content of the reported question still has unclear points or divergent opinions, the Government Office shall request the project owner to give additional explanations or organize a meeting with the project owner and the related agencies in order to handle before reporting to the Prime Minister for decision.

3. Three days at the latest (or 7 days if these are projects defined in Point 2.2, Article 9 of this Regulation) from the date of reception of the valid dossier, the Government Office shall have to complete the reporting bill to the Prime Minister (or Deputy Prime Minister) for settlement. The reporting bill must clearly and faithfully record the opinions of the agencies, including diverging views and the proposals of the specialist directly monitoring the question and the leadership of the Government Office attached with necessary documents.

Article 15.- Handling the reporting bill and reporting the result.

1. For the reported contents not belonging to the projects mentioned in Point 2.2, Article 9 of this Regulation, within 2 days from the date of reporting by the Government Office, the Prime Minister (or Deputy Prime Minister) shall give his official opinion in the reporting bill.

2. For the reported contents which are projects stated in Point 2.2, Article 9 of this Regulation, if the Prime Minister (or Deputy Prime Minister) needs to consult the specialists or to ask the project owner and the related agency to give more explanation before deciding, the Government Office shall have to make careful preparations about the contents and arrange working sessions between the Prime Minister (or Deputy Prime Minister) and the specialists and project owner and these agencies. The time for the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister to issue the final decision on settlement of these projects shall not exceed 10 days.

3. In particular for the projects which come under the right of collective decision of the Government mentioned in Point 2.2.1 Article 9 of this Regulation, after examination, depending on the character and the extent of preparation of each project, the Prime Minister (or Deputy Prime Minister) shall decide on the following:

3.1- To allow the project to be presented to a government session;

3.2- To postpone the submission of the project to the government session in order to have more preparation if they deem that the project falls below the requirement;

3.3- To apply the modality of issuing polling forms to the members of the Government stipulated in Item 2, Article 1 of this Regulation.

4. Within 5 days after receiving the final decisive opinion of the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister, the Government Office shall have to complete the draft document to submit to the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Ministers for signing for promulgation.

For cases where it is not necessary to issue a document of the Government or the Prime Minister, under the guidance of the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister, within the above-said 5 days the Government Office shall inform in writing the reporting agency and the relevant agencies.

5. Within 20 days at the latest after receiving the full dossier of the reporting agency to be submitted to the Prime Minister, pending the final decision of the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister the Government Office shall send an official dispatch to the reporting agency to notify it of the reason.

Chapter IV

GOVERNMENT MEETING

Article 16.- Preparing and convening the meeting.

1. The Prime Minister shall convene the regular meetings of the Government. When he deems it necessary or at the request of at least one third of the total of Government members, the Prime Minister shall convene an irregular meeting.

2. A regular monthly meeting of the Government shall begin on the last Wednesday of the month. Depending on the need to settle the work, the Prime Minister may decide to change the date of the meeting but he must inform in advance the Government members at least 5 days before the meeting begins.

3. Ten days at the latest (five days for special meetings) before the meeting of the Government, the project owner must send to the Government Office the dossier of the project already examined and allowed by the Prime Minister (or Deputy Prime Minister) to be presented to the meeting as stipulated in Point 3.1, Article 15 of this Regulation. The number of dossiers submitted to the Government for approval at the regular meeting is 100 (unless otherwise informed by the Government Office).

4. The Government Office has the following tasks:

4.1- Checking and synthesizing the dossiers of projects submitted to the meeting;

4.2- Preparing the Agenda of the meeting, the projected participants and submit them to the Prime Minister for decision;

4.3- Sending invitations and documents for the meeting to the members of the Government and the invited guests at least 5 days before the meeting, except for the irregular meetings.

Article 17.- Participants in a Government meeting .

1. The members of the Government have to take part in all meetings of the Government. A Government member who is absent for health reason or who is sent by the Prime Minister on mission, may delegate his (her) deputy to attend the meeting on his/her behalf but this delegated must be approved by the Prime Minister and he/she shall take responsibility for the opinion of his/her delegate. The delegated participant must speak out the opinion of the delegating person and must report the result of the meeting to him/her. He/she is not entitled to vote at the meeting.

2. A meeting of the Government can take place when at least two thirds of the members of the Government take part.

3. The Prime Minister shall invite the President of the State to take part in the Government meetings. The Chairman of the Nationalities Council of the National Assembly, the Chairman of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, the President of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, the Head of the Supreme People's Inspectorate, the President of the Supreme People's Court, the heads of the central agencies of the people's organizations, the representatives of the Commissions of the Party and of the Commissions of the National Assembly shall be invited to take part in the Government meetings which deliberate related questions.

4. The Minister-Head of the Government Office acting on order from the Prime Minister shall invite the heads of the agencies attached to the Government, the chairmen of the People's Councils and the presidents of the People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government and other delegates shall attend Government meetings when necessary.

The delegates who are not members of the Government shall be invited to speak but shall not take part in voting.

Article 18.- Order in a meeting of the Government:

1. The Prime Minister shall preside over a Government meeting. In the absence of the Prime Minister, the Standing Deputy Prime Minister shall replace him in presiding over the meeting.

2. The Deputy Prime Ministers shall preside over the debates on the projects submitted to the Government according to the assigned domains.

3. A Government meeting shall proceed in the following order:

3.1- The Minister-Head of the Government Office shall report on the number of Government members present, absent, the proxy delegates and the invited persons, and report on the decision of the Prime Minister on the agenda of the meeting;

3.2- The Chairman shall direct the meeting;

3.3- The Government shall debate the issues one by one in the following order:

3.3.1- The project owner presents a summary of the project, points out the questions which need the opinion of the Government; he shall not read the whole text of the project. If the question that needs consultation has been clearly presented in the report, the project owner shall not have to further elaborate;

3.3.2- The members of the Government shall make known their opinions, whether they are for or against any point in the project. Each speech shall not exceed 15 minutes;

3.3.3- The project owner shall make the final statement on the points where opinions still vary;

3.3.4- The Deputy Prime Minister shall chair the debate on the project shall draw conclusions and take the votes of the Government;

3.3.5- If he deems that the debate is not clear enough, the Prime Minister shall propose that the Government do not yet approve the project and ask for more preparation;

3.4- In case of necessity, the Prime Minister shall decide that the Government member(s) or the Head of an agency attached to the Government report to the Government the necessary information, and the Minister-Head of the Government Office shall report on the work of the Government between two sessions;

3.5- The Minister-Head of the Government Office shall submit to the Government for approval the resolution of the Government meeting. The resolution shall have to record the questions which have been passed at the meeting, those which have not, the responsibility of the Government members and the heads of the related agencies in the implementation of the resolution;

3.6- The chairman delivers his speech to conclude the meeting of the Government.

Article 19.- Minutes of the Government meeting

1. The minutes of a Government meeting must record fully the speeches and the developments of the meeting, the concluding opinion of the chairman of the debate and of the chairman of the session, the results of the votes, the Minister-Head of the Government Office shall organize the writing of the minutes and shall either directly sign or delegate his deputy to sign the minutes of the Government meeting.

2. The minutes of the meeting together with the documents circulated at the meeting shall be included in the State archives and preserved according to the regime of security protection.

Article 20.- Making public the resolution of the Government meeting.

1. Immediately after the meeting, the Minister-Head of the Government Office shall have to complete the draft resolution, submit it to the Prime Minister for signing and issue, and send it to the members of the Government, the heads of the agencies attached to the Government, the chairmen of the People's Councils and the presidents of the People's Committees of the provinces and cities under the Central Government for implementation, and also to the related agencies and organizations, and make it public on the mass media (except for the contents classified as state secrets).

2. The publication of the documents already adopted by the Government at its meetings shall comply with the provisions of Chapter V of this Regulation.

Chapter V

PROMULGATION AND PUBLICATION OF THE DOCUMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT AND PRIME MINISTER

Article 21.- Time-limit for publication.

1. Five days at the latest after conclusion of the Government meeting or after the Prime Minister decides on the projects mentioned in Item 4, Article 15 of this Regulation, the Minister-Head of the Government Office together with the project owner shall have to complete the draft to submit to the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister for signing and issue.

2. The documents guiding the implementation of the resolutions and decrees of the Government must be prepared at the same time with the drafts of the resolution and decrees, and must be issued within 10 days after the issue of the documents of the Government. In case the agencies have to coordinate in issuing a joint guiding document, the maximum time limit is 20 days after the issue of the documents of the Government.

Article 22.- Competence in signing the documents

1. The Prime Minister shall sign the resolutions and decrees of the Government and the resolutions and instructions of the Prime Minister on the important undertakings and policies, on the organization of the apparatus and personnel.

2. The Deputy Prime Minister in charge of specific domains shall sign on behalf of the Prime Minister the decisions, instructions and documents to handle specific questions arising in the domain assigned to him by the Prime Minister.

3. In addition to the documents mentioned in Item 2 of this Article, the Standing Deputy Prime Minister shall sign a number of documents mentioned in Item 1 of this Article when delegated by the Prime Minister .

4. The ministers, the heads of the ministerial level agencies shall sign a number of administrative documents when delegated by the Prime Minister.

5. Apart from signing to documents with authorization of the Prime Minister, the Minister-Head of the Government Office shall sign documents to inform the related agencies of the guiding opinion of the Prime Minister (or Deputy Prime Minister) so that they know and carry it out. These documents have only an informative and reminding character. They shall not replace the regulatory and legal documents.

6. The guiding opinions of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers on the policies and regimes must be reflected in the documents signed by the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers.

Article 23.- Publication of the documents.

1. The resolutions and decrees of the Government, the decisions and instructions of the Prime Minister, the decisions, instructions and circulars issued by the ministers, the heads of ministerial level agencies or the Heads of agencies attached to the Government, the regulatory and legal documents jointly issued by the agencies at the center shall be published according to the Law on the Promulgation of Legal Documents and Decree No.101-CP of September 23, 1997 of the Government. At the same time, they shall be loaded on the broadband informatic network of the Government.

2. The Minister-Head of the Government Office shall organize the loading of the documents on the broadband informatic network of the Government and their publication in the Official Gazette as stipulated by the Law on the Promulgation of Legal Documents, Decree No.101-CP and this Regulation.

Chapter VI

INSPECTING, CHECKING AND SETTLING COMPLAINTS AND DENUNCIATIONS

Article 24.- Responsibility of 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.

1. To organize the inspection and control of the branches and levels in the implementation of the decisions of the Government and Prime Minister; to directly solve and direct the agency under their authority to receive the citizens, consider and solve the petitions, complaints and denunciations by citizens, cadres and personnel concerning affairs in their branches, domains and areas under their jurisdiction.

2. To effect the competence of proposing, temporarily suspending, suspending or annulling documents contrary to law; to issue decisions and conclusions on solving the complaints and denunciations of citizens as prescribed by law, and take responsibility before the Government, the Prime Minister and law for these decisions and conclusions on the settlement of these complaints and denunciations.

3. To settle in time the affairs under inspection and checking, the letters of complaint and denunciation of citizens that come under their jurisdiction, and affairs directly assigned by the Prime Minister or sent by the State Inspectorate or Party and State agencies.

4. To send the decisions and conclusions on the inspection, the decisions and conclusions on solving the complaints and denunciations of citizens handled by themselves.

5. To directly examine and settle the letters of denunciation from cadres and organizations of the lower level, not to transfer these dossiers to that level for self- settlement.

6. To organize and direct the thorough implementation of the conclusions of the State Inspector, the inter-ministerial conclusions and the guiding opinion of the Prime Minister; to report the results to the General State Inspector and the Prime Minister.

Article 25.- Responsibility of the General State Inspector

1. To directly inspect, check and guide the ministries and ministerial level agencies and agencies attached to the Government, the People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government to carry out their inspectoral work; to receive the people and settle the petitions, complaints and denunciations and other affairs assigned by the Prime Minister; to examine and issue decisions to solve complaints concerning the decisions of 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.

2. At the regular meetings of the Government in the first month of each quarter, the General State Inspector shall present a general report on the inspection, the solving of the complaints and denunciations of citizens throughout the country; assess the good and weak points, the remedial measures and proposals of settlement concerning the ministries, branches and localities which have committed many mistakes.

3. To propose to the Prime Minister to call a meeting of the leaderships of the central and local agencies in order to suggest measures for the Prime Minister to examine and guide the settlement of the complicated cases involving many branches and localities.

Article 26.- Responsibility of the Minister-Head of the Government Office.

1. To coordinate with the State Inspectorate in receiving and classifying the letters of complaint sent by citizens to the Prime Minister and send them to the competent agencies for solution or report to the Prime Minister for examination and guidance or assignment to the ministries, branches and localities for solution; directly examine the affairs assigned him by the Prime Minister (or Deputy Prime Minister).

2. To urge and inspect the central and local agencies to report on the result of settling the affairs assigned by the Prime Minister and the decisions of the General State Inspector which have taken legal effect but are not yet implemented. When they detect that although a decision on solving the complaint has taken legal effect it is contrary to law or there have appeared new elements that make the decision no longer compatible with law, they shall submit them to the Prime Minister so that the latter might assign them to the General State Inspector for examination and settlement according to his competence then to report to the Prime Minister about the result of the settlement within 30 days.

3. Acting on order of the Prime Minister in replying to the complainants in necessary cases.

Chapter VII

RECEIVING FOREIGN GUESTS, ATTENDING MEETINGS, GOING ON MISSION

Article 27.- Receiving foreign guests.

1. Apart from the reception of high-level delegations of the Party, National Assembly and Government of foreign countries or international organizations according to the regulations and programs of the Party and the State, the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers shall receive other foreign guests and delegations including protocol receptions, working receptions (formal or informal) at the proposal of the agencies and the direct proposals of the guests to the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers.

1.1- When they deem that a foreign guest or delegation needs to be received by the Prime Minister (or Deputy Prime Minister), the ministers, the heads of ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the agencies attached to the Government, the Chairmen of the People's Councils and the Presidents of the People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government shall have to conduct the following tasks:

1.1.1- To send an official dispatch to propose reception of the guests to the Government Office at least 7 days before the projected reception day attached with these necessary dossiers: contents and form of the reception; composition of the delegation and resumes of the head delegate and a number of the most noteworthy members of the delegation; activities of the delegation as well as of the higher level of the delegation in the foreign country, composition of the Vietnamese party at the reception; proposals and suggestions;

1.1.2- If the foreign guest is the head of the diplomatic representative office of a foreign country or an international organization in the United Nations Organization or an intergovernmental organization and the content of the meeting is related to external political relations, the agency which proposes the reception must discuss with and get an official comment in writing from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

1.1.3- To coordinate with the Government Office in preparing the contents of the reception and organize the implementation of the results of the reception.

1.2- The Government Office has the tasks:

1.2.1- To ask the Prime Minister (or Deputy Prime Minister) to receive the guest at the proposal of the agencies as defined in Point 1.1 of this Article or at the direct request of the guest, and inform in time the related agencies of the opinion of the Prime Minister (or Deputy Prime Minister);

1.2.2- To coordinate with the related agencies in preparing the contents of the reception and organize the service for the reception;

1.2.3-To coordinate with the related agencies in organizing the implementation of the results of the reception.

1.2.4- To make concrete decisions on the video shooting and photographing and news reporting by press correspondents in each reception as directed by the Prime Minister (or Deputy Prime Minister).

1.3- The Ministry of the Interior shall have to assure security for the reception.

1.4- The Ministry for Foreign Affairs shall have to coordinate in serving the reception, assure the political, external relations requirements and the formalities and habits in receiving international guests.

2. Reception of foreign guests by the Ministers, the Heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the Heads of the agencies attached to the Government and the Chairmen of the People's Councils and the Presidents of the People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government:

2.1- The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the agencies attached to the Government, the chairmen of the People's Councils, the presidents of the People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government shall decide to receive foreign guests proposed by attached units or central and local agencies but such proposals must clearly specify the contents, time and composition of the reception;

2.2- If the guest is a foreign businessman, before the reception, the chairman of the People's Council, the president of the People's Committee of the province or city directly under the Central Government must consult the President of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the heads of the related central agencies.

2.3- After the reception, if there is a question that needs to be solved but does not come under the competence of his agency, he must send an official dispatch to the competent agency to consider a solution then report to the Prime Minister and also to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the head of the related agency.

2.4- The expenditures on the reception of foreign guests must conform with the current stipulations of the Government and the guidance of the Ministry of Finance.

Article 28.- Organizing meetings at the central agencies

1. At least once a year, the Prime Minister (or Deputy Prime Minister) shall meet with the leadership of each Ministry, ministerial-level Agency, Agency attached to the Government to review the implementation of the undertakings and policies of the Party and State; guide the organization for the implementation of the newly issued undertakings and policies.

2. When they need to organize conferences where the leadership of many ministries, ministerial-level agencies, agencies attached to the Government and People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government, or conferences to review the work (yearly or for some years) throughout the country, or in major regions, the ministries, ministerial-level agencies and agencies attached to the Government shall have to get prior consent of the Prime Minister or Government concerning the contents, composition, time and site of the conference. The ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies and heads of the agencies attached to the Government are entitled to decide to organize meetings of cadres in the branch to discuss professional matters or to conduct professional training. All these meetings must be short, neat, practical and economical.

3. While the National Assembly or the Government is in session, the Government members are not allowed to go on mission abroad or to distant localities. In special cases, they must report to the Prime Minister, and if the latter agrees they must inform the Government Office about the address, telephone number of the place where they come so that they may be contacted when necessary.

Article 29.- Meeting of the Prime Minister with the chairmen of the People's Councils and presidents of the People's Committees in the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government.

1. At least once a year, the Prime Minister shall meet with the chairmen of the People's Councils, the presidents of the People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government throughout the country to discuss the implementation of the socio-economic plans, the State budgets and a number of undertakings and measures to manage the State.

1.1- The office directors of the People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government and a number of ministers, the heads of a number of ministerial-level agencies, the heads of a number of agencies attached to the Government and the directors of the related services are allowed to take part in the meetings.

1.2- The reports at the meeting must be prepared in the same way as the projects to be submitted to the Government and must be sent to the participants at least 5 days before the meeting.

1.3- At the meeting, the project owner shall present only the summarized reports and the questions where divergence of views still remain for the meeting to discuss and decide.

1.4- After the meeting, the Presidents of the People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government shall look after the popularization of the contents on which conclusions have been reached at the meeting and also after the implementation of the related work in the localities.

2. When necessary, the Prime Minister shall convene the chairmen of the People's Councils and the presidents of the People's Committees in a number of provinces and cities directly under the Central Government to coordinate in settling a number of important specialized jobs related to many localities:

2.1- The Prime Minister shall appoint a Deputy Prime Minister or a minister or the head of a ministerial-level agency, the head of an agency attached to the Government to assume the main responsibility and coordinate with the related agencies and localities to organize the investigation and survey of the situation, to study the elaboration of concrete projects to be submitted to the Prime Minister for consideration before organizing a conference;

2.2- The dossiers of the conference must be sent to the delegates at least 5 days before the date of the conference, and only a summarized report with concrete conclusions shall be presented at the conference;

2.3- The Chairmen of the People's Councils, the Presidents of the People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government shall take part in preparing the projects, appoint the right persons as required by the composition of the conference, and organize the implementation the conclusions of the conference in their localities.

3. When the need arises to solve an unexpected or urgent question or problems of the localities not related to the central agencies, the chairmen of the People's Councils and the presidents of the People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government may directly work with or report to or ask for the guiding idea of the Prime Minister (or Deputy Prime Minister).

Article 30.- Going on mission to the localities.

1. Under the guidance of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers and at the proposal of the presidents of the People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government, the Government Office shall draw up a program for the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers to pay official working visits to the leaderships of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government in order to inspect the implementation of the policies and laws of the State; and the direction of the central and local agencies, in order to help the localities overcome difficulties; survey the real situation , contact the people, study the experiences and models of advanced units and rectify the deviations (if any).

1.1- The Government Office shall closely coordinate with the Office of the Central Committee of the Party, the Office of the National Assembly and the Office of the President of the State in arranging the time tables for the high leaders of the Party and the State to visit and work in the localities.

1.2- The agency that is related to the contents of the working session with the Prime Minister shall have to prepare for the session. If the locality wants to petition the Government or the Prime Minister about an affair to ask for a solution, it shall have to send the petition to the Prime Minister and at the same time to the related agencies at least 20 days before the Prime Minister comes to work according to the registered date in the annual working Program mentioned in Item 1, Article 10 of this Regulation.

1.3- The official visits and working sessions must be announced by the Government Office to the locality at least 5 days in advance.

1.4- The Government Office shall coordinate with the related agencies of the Government and of the People's Committee of the province or city directly under the Central Government in preparing the working program of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers with the locality, and submit it to the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister for decision on the contents, time and composition of the working delegation.

1.5- The total number of persons taking part in the working delegation (including service personnel) of the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister shall not exceed 30.

1.6- If the delegation goes on mission by car to a locality outside Hanoi, the Government Office shall arrange a common car for the delegation.

1.7- When the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister comes to work in the locality, the latter shall absolutely not organize a welcome ceremony or a welcome or see-off at the administrative boundary of the province or city directly under the Central Government.

1.8- The Ministry of the Interior shall have to ensure security for the working delegation of the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister going to work in the localities.

2. The Government members, the Heads of agencies attached to the Government shall spare time to conduct unnotified inspection of units, wards, communes..., and survey the reality in order to draw conclusions on models, meet and talk with the people, listen to their opinions and aspirations.

Depending on the content of each mission, they shall adopt the suitable form of the trip and to ensure the practicality and economy of the trip which may be notified or not to the locality.

3. When the localities meet with natural disasters or epidemics or unexpected accidents causing heavy losses in human lives and property, the Prime Minister shall decide the following forms:3.1- Sending messages of sympathy, instructing the branches and different levels to organize the overcoming of the consequences, to restore production and stabilize the people's life.

3.2- The Prime Minister personally goes to the site and direct the work or found an inter-ministerial working group headed by a Deputy Prime Minister or a Minister to direct the prevention and fight and the overcoming of the losses and damage. The Prime Minister may delegate the Head of the inter-ministerial working group to decide on the spot a number of measures to provide emergency aid of the Central Government. The working group shall have to report on the situation and propose subsequent solutions.The working groups of the Government must be compact and effective and must work efficaciously, avoid causing nuisances to the local leadership and population.

Article 31.- Missions abroad.

1. The Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Ministers shall go on mission abroad:

1.1- At the proposal of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Government Office shall work out the program of the visit and work in the foreign country of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers and submit it to the Prime Minister for decision.

1.2- The Ministry for Foreign Affairs shall coordinate with the Government Office and other related agencies to prepare the content of the working program of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers in the foreign country and the composition of the working delegation and submit it to the Prime Minister for decision.

1.3- The Ministry for Foreign Affairs shall have to assume the main responsibility in organizing and servicing the visits and working visits to foreign countries by the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers. The related agencies shall, as required by their functions and tasks, coordinate with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in carrying out well this task according to the assignment by the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Ministers.

1.4- The Ministry for Foreign Affairs shall coordinate with the related agencies to make the report on the result of the visit and make suggestions on the work ahead in order to materialize the results already achieved and submit them to the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Ministers.

2. The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the agencies attached to the Government, the chairmen of the People's Councils and the presidents of the People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government who pay a visit or go on a working mission in a foreign country shall have to comply with the following prescriptions:

2.1- They must write an official dispatch to ask for permission from the Prime Minister, clearly stating the goal and aim of the trip, the place of the visit, the composition and number of participants in the delegation, the time spent in the foreign country, the questions that may arise and the direction for their solution; the written opinion of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the related agencies (if any). This document must be sent to the Prime Minister and to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the related agencies at least 15 days before the scheduled departure.

2.2- The current regulations on the assignment of responsibilities in managing delegations going in and out of the country must be strictly abidden by;

2.3- Five days at the latest from the date of conclusion of the visit, they must file a written report to the Prime Minister, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the heads of the related agencies.

2.4-The expenses for the visits and working visits to a foreign country must comply with the prescriptions of the Government and the guidance of the Ministry of Finance.

Chapter VIII

THE SYSTEM OF REPORTING AND INFORMATION

Article 32.- The system of reporting and information within the administrative apparatus.

1. The ministers, the heads of 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 the task:

1.1- To strengthen the specialized sectors in the information and reporting work in order to help the leading agencies have a firm grasp of the main daily developments in the whole branch, domain and locality under their charge.

1.2- To send to the Prime Minister the periodical reports (monthly, quarterly, six-month, yearly), specialized reports, and irregular reports as prescribed by the Prime Minister;

1.3- To empower permanently the Director of the office of the agency to sign the irregular reports and weakly reports; to organize the loading into the broadband informatic network of the Government various kinds of reports, operating information, working programs and information on the daily activities of the leadership of the agency, the regulatory and legal documents issued by their agency (except classified information).

1.4- To prepare the reports of the Government and the Prime Minister to submit to the higher agencies as assigned by the Prime Minister;

1.5- To regularly exchange information with the related central and local agencies. To discharge the duty of supplying information when they receive valid requests of the other agencies and localities. To invite specialized cadres of the Government Office to attend the briefings when necessary, attend the meetings to conduct half-term and full-term reviews of the work at their agencies and in their localities.

2. The contents, time limit and modalities for sending reports shall be prescribed by the Prime Minister.

3. In addition to his task as other ministers, the Minister-Head of the Government Office shall have to accomplish the following tasks:

3.1- To organize the supply of daily information to the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Ministers regarding the questions which have been or are being settled by the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers; important issues submitted by the central and local agencies to the Prime Minister and some information on the economic and social situation, national security and defense, external relations and prominent international events in the day;

3.2- To organize the daily press reviews to be sent to the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers, to communicate the guiding idea of the Prime Minister (or Deputy Prime Ministers) in handling issues raised in the press for the related agencies and follow their realization, then report to the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Ministers;

3.3- To organize the exchange of information and take part in the weekly briefings with the Office of the Central Committee of the Party, the Office of the President of the State, the Office of the National Assembly and the Commissions of the Party;

3.4- To make a synthetic report every half month on the activities of the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Ministers for the leadership of a number of high level agencies of the Party and State;

3.5- To make a synthetic report every month on the guidance and operation of the Government, the Prime Minister and the prominent situation in economic and social affairs, security, national defense and external relations and send it to the members of the Government. The heads of the agencies attached to the Government, the chairmen of the People's Councils and the presidents of the People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government and the leaderships of a number of other agencies of the Party and the State, the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and people's organizations at the central level.

3.6- To guide, follow and promote the agencies to strictly observe the regime of information and reporting, and organize the exploitation of these sources of information in service of the direction and operation of the Government and the Prime Minister.

4. Apart from the tasks set in Item 1 of this Article, the Minister of Planning and Investment shall also have to make a synthetic report on the implementation of the State plan at the regular meetings of the Government. The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the agencies attached to the Government, the chairmen of the People's Councils, the presidents of the People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under to the Central Government shall have to supply information adequately and in time to the Minister of Planning and Investment so that he may make the communiqué in service of the direction and guidance of the Government and the Prime Minister.

Article 33.- Information on the activities of the administration to the people.

1. The members of the Government, the heads of the agencies attached to the Government, the chairmen of the People's councils, the presidents of the People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government must inform the press agencies and the people about important decisions under their issuing competence and the implementation of the undertakings and policies and legislation of the State through different forms.

1.1- The Prime Minister (or Deputy Prime Ministers) either directly holds or delegates the Minister-Head of the Government Office or the Spokesman of the Prime Minister to hold regular monthly press conferences or press conferences after a Government meeting, or after the meetings of the Prime Minister with the ministries, the ministerial-level agencies, agencies attached to the Government, the localities, the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, the central agencies of the people's organizations, or after the reception of international guests...

1.2- The Minister-Head of the Government Office or the Spokesman of the Prime Minister shall regularly supply information to the press about the activities of the Government and the Prime Minister according to the regulations.

1.3- The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the agencies attached to the Government and the presidents of the People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government have the following tasks:

1.3.1- To maintain regular contact and create all favorable conditions for the mass media in the supply of accurate and timely information about the developments in their branches, domains and localities;

1.3.2- To hold periodically monthly press conferences, press conferences before or after issuing important documents or implementing major policies of the Party and State, or when other noteworthy events take place;

1.3.3- To organize the posting up or distribution free of charge of documents and regulations related to the interests and obligations of citizens;

1.3.4- To make regular press reviews and answers in the press at the proposal of the press agencies or at the request of the Prime Minister; to request the press agencies which have carried or broadcast news and stories inconsistent with truth, or distortions and slanders to issue corrections, or to enact the right to take legal action to the Court as prescribed by law;

1.3.5- To strengthen the management of information and press work and to adopt a regulation on press conferences, to supply information within their agencies, branches or localities; not to divulge classified information of the State;

1.4- The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the agencies attached to the Government, the spokesman of the Prime Minister, the Presidents of the People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government shall inform the Culture and Information Services of the same level about their plan for annual press conferences without having to ask for permission for each press conference.

2. The chairmen of the People's Councils, the presidents of the People's Committees at all levels, the heads of the agencies and organizations of the State and people's organizations shall have to adopt forms to make public the situation about the collection and use of the funds to which the people have contributed (except the tax obligation to the State). When signs of corruption or wrong or wasteful use of the funds are detected, the contributors and press correspondents in the country are entitled to ask the managers and the heads of the agency that has decided to mobilize the people's contributions to supply fully the data and explain them without any limitation whatsoever.

3- If the need arises to report over the radio and in the newspapers about the meetings, working sessions and receptions of the Government agencies and agencies of the local administration, press correspondents may be invited to shoot films and take photographs five minutes before the opening. After the meetings, the agency shall hold press briefings to report on the result of the meeting (if the sponsor of the meeting agrees).

Article 34.- Information for external audiences.

1. The Vietnam News Agency shall together with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs carry excerpts from foreign newspapers and regularly supply information from abroad to the Prime Minister and the other members of the Government.

2. The Minister for Foreign Affairs shall assume the main responsibility and cooperate with the central and related local agencies in organizing regular information about the situation in the country to the permanent foreign press agencies in Vietnam.

3. The Minister-Head of the Government Office or the Spokesman of the Prime Minister shall assume the main responsibility and cooperate with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Culture and Information in organizing regular quarterly press conferences or irregular press conferences to inform the press agencies of foreign countries about the economic, cultural and social situation and the activities of the Government and Prime Minister.

4. The Ministry of Culture and Information shall assume the main responsibility and coordinate with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the General Post Office, the Vietnam News Agency, the Voice of Vietnam Radio, the Vietnam Television and other information and press agencies in broadening the information to foreign countries about the situation in the country in all respects (except the information on the list of State secrets).

On behalf of the Government

The Prime Minister