Which agency has the authority to request inspection of assets and income of office holders in Vietnam?
When are office holders’ assets and income verified?
Pursuant to Clause 1, Article 41 of the 2018 Law on Anti-corruption in Vietnam, a person’s assets and income shall be inspected in any of the following situations:
- There is a clear sign of untruthful declaration of assets and income;
- There is an increase of at least VND 300.000.000 in the property or income compared to the previous declaration and the declarant fails to provide a reasonable explanation for such increase;
- There is an information about untruthful declaration of assets and income as prescribed by the Law on Denunciation;
- Inspection of assets and income of a randomly selected individual under the annual inspection plan;
- The inspection is requested or proposed by a competent authority specified in Article 42 of this Law.
Which agency has the authority to request inspection of assets and income of office holders in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)
Which agency has the authority to request inspection of assets and income of office holders in Vietnam?
In Article 42 of the 2018 Law on Anti-corruption in Vietnam, the authority to request or propose inspection of assets and income is as follows:
Authority to request or propose inspection of assets and income
1. In any of the situations mentioned in Point a, b and c Clause 1 Article 41 of this Law, or additional information is necessary for personnel management, the following organizations and persons are entitled to request the asset surveillance authority to issue a decision on assets and income inspection:
a) Standing Committee of the National Assembly is entitled to request inspection of assets and income of the persons who are expected to be elected, approved or designated by the National Assembly or Standing Committee of the National Assembly as Deputy State Auditor General;
b) The President is entitled to request inspection of assets and income of the persons who are expected to be designated as Deputy Prime Minister, Head of a ministerial agency, Deputy Executive Judge of the People’s Supreme Court, Judge of the People’s Supreme Court, Deputy Director of the People’s Supreme Procuracy or Procurator of the People’s Supreme Procuracy;
c) The Prime Minister is entitled to request inspection of assets and income of the persons who are expected to be designated as Deputy Ministers or holders of equivalent positions of Ministries, ministerial agencies, the head and deputies of the heads of Governmental agencies; the persons who are expected to be elected or designated as President or Deputy President of the People’s Committees of provinces;
d) The Executive Judge of the People’s Supreme Court is entitled to request inspection of assets and income of the persons who are expected to be designated as executive judge or deputy executive judge of People’s Courts; The Director of the People’s Supreme Procuracy is entitled to request inspection of assets and income of the persons who are expected to be designated as directors and deputy directors of the People’s Procuracies, except for the cases mentioned in Point b of this Clause;
dd) Standing Committee of the People’s Council is entitled to request inspection of assets and income of the persons who are expected to be elected or approved by the People’s Council or Standing Committee of the People’s Council;
e) President of the People’s Committees of provinces and Presidents of the People’s Committees of districts are entitled to request inspection of assets and income of the persons who are expected to be elected or designated as Presidents and Vice-Presidents of the People’s Committees of inferior levels;
g) National Election Council, election committees or committees of Vietnamese Fatherland Front are entitled to request inspection of assets and income of candidates for delegates of the National Assembly or the People’s Council;
h) Standing agencies of political organizations and socio-political organizations are entitled to request inspection of assets and income of the persons who are expected to be elected during their general assemblies;
i) The head of the organization or supervisor of the individuals required to declare assets and income is entitled to request inspection of their assets and income, except for the cases specified in Points a, b, c, d, đ, e, g and h of this Clause.
2. Inspection agencies, state audit agencies, investigation agencies, the People’s Procuracies, People’s Courts, other competent organizations are entitled to request asset surveillance authority to carry out assets and income if such an inspection is deemed necessary for during the process of inspection, audit, investigation, prosecution, trial or judgment execution.
Thus, agencies and organizations under the above provisions will have the authority to request and propose inspection of assets and income of office holders depending on specific cases.
Rights and obligations of office holders to have assets and income verified?
The rights and obligations of office holders to have their assets and income verified are specified in Article 47 of the 2018 Law on Anti-corruption in Vietnam including:
- Explain the truthfulness and adequacy of the declaration, and origins of the increase in assets and income.
- Provide information about assets and income at the request of the inspectorate and take responsibility for the accuracy of the information provided.
- Comply with requests of the inspectorate and competent organizations during the inspection process.
- Comply with decisions of the inspecting entities.
- Appeal against decisions or actions of the inspecting entities if there are reasonable ground for considering that such decisions or actions are illegal or infringing upon the declarant’s lawful rights and interests.
- Denounce illegal actions committed by the inspecting entities during the inspection.
- Have honor, lawful rights and interests restored; receive compensation for illegal actions committed by the inspector.
Nguyễn Thị Hồng Nhung
