Vietnam: Where is citizen reception done? Who shall personally manage citizen reception work at the commune level?

Main Content

• Who shall personally manage citizen reception work at the commune level?
• Are citizen reception boards established in citizen reception work at the commune level or is the citizen reception organized in another form?
• Where is citizen reception done?

Who shall personally manage citizen reception work at the commune level?

Pursuant to Article 15 of the 2013 Law on Reception of Citizens in Vietnam stipulating as follows:

Citizen reception in communes, wards and townships

1. Citizen reception by the Party Committees, People’s Councils and People’s Committees of communes, wards or townships shall be conducted at the offices of the People’s Committees of communes, wards or townships (below referred to as commune-level People’s Committees).

2. The commune-level People’s Committee chairperson shall personally manage citizen reception work at the commune level and perform the following tasks:

a/ To issue rules on citizen reception;

b/ To arrange a convenient place and other necessary conditions for receiving citizens at the office of the commune-level People’s Committee;

c/ To appoint citizen reception officers;

d/ To receive in person citizens at the office of the commune-level People’s Committee office at least 1 day a week and irregularly receive citizens in the cases specified in Clause 3, Article 18 of this Law;

dd/ To closely coordinate with related agencies, organizations and units in receiving citizens and handling cases involving many people making complaints, denunciations, petitions or reports on the same matter; to ensure safety and order for citizen reception activities;

e/ To review the situation and results of citizen reception work and periodically and irregularly report thereon to competent agencies and organizations.

Thus, the commune-level People’s Committee chairperson shall personally manage citizen reception work at the commune level.

Vietnam: Where is citizen reception done? Who shall personally manage citizen reception work at the commune level?

Are citizen reception boards established in citizen reception work at the commune level or is the citizen reception organized in another form?

Pursuant to Article 9 of Decree No. 64/2014/ND-CP stipulating as follows:

Structure and organization of citizen reception boards of all levels

1. Structure and organization of the Central Citizen Reception Board

a/ The Central Citizen Reception Board has its head, deputy heads and citizen reception civil servants. The post of head of the Central Citizen Reception Board is equivalent to that of director of a ministerial department and the post of deputy head of the Central Citizen Reception Board is equivalent to that of deputy director of a ministerial department, which are appointed and relieved from duty by the Inspector General of the Government Inspectorate of Vietnam.

The Central Citizen Reception Board replaces the Department of Citizen Reception and Handling of Written Requests provided in Article 3 of the Government’s Decree No. 83/2012/ND-CP of October 9, 2012, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Government Inspectorate of Vietnam;

b/ The Citizen Reception Board has professional divisions to receive citizens, process written requests, monitor, urge and review the work of citizen reception and handling of written complaints, denunciations, petitions and reports.

2. Structure and organization of provincial-level citizen reception boards

A provincial-level citizen reception board has its head, deputy head and citizen reception civil servants. The head of a provincial-level citizen reception board is a deputy chief of the Office of the People’s Committee. The post of deputy head of a provincial-level citizen reception board is equivalent to that of head of a division. The head and deputy head of a provincial- level citizen reception board shall be appointed and relieved from duty by the chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee.

3. Structure and organization of district-level citizen reception boards

A district-level citizen reception board has its head and citizen reception civil servants. The head of a district-level citizen reception board is a deputy chief of the Office of the People’s Council and People’s Committee. The head of a district-level citizen reception board shall be appointed and relieved from duty by the chairperson of the district-level People’s Committee.

4. Chairpersons of commune-level People’s Committees shall assign civil servants to receive citizens on a part-time basis.

5. Citizen reception boards of all levels have their own seals to serve citizen reception work.

The Inspector General of the Government Inspectorate of Vietnam, the Minister of Public Security and the Minister of Home Affairs shall prescribe specimen seals and the use of seals of citizen reception boards of all levels.

According to the above regulations, the establishment of Citizen Reception Boards will be organized at central, provincial and district levels. The composition of the Citizen Reception Board will include the head, deputy head and citizen reception civil servants, especially the district level Citizen Reception Board will not have a deputy head.

For citizen reception activities at the commune level, it is not necessary to establish a Citizen Reception Board like the superiors. Instead, the chairperson of the commune-level People's Committee will arrange part-time civil servants to do the task of receiving citizens instead of the Citizen Reception Board.

Where is citizen reception done?

Pursuant to Article 10 of the 2013 Law on Reception of Citizens in Vietnam stipulating as follows:

Citizen reception offices

1. A citizen reception office is a place where citizens may directly come to make complaints, denunciations, petitions or reports to leaders of the Party and the State at central or local level, where representatives of a number of central or local agencies and organizations regularly participate in citizen reception and where leaders of the Party and the State at central or local level receive in person citizens in necessary cases.

2. Citizen reception offices include:

a/ Central citizen reception offices;

b/ Citizen reception offices in provinces and centrally run cities (below referred to as provincial-level citizen reception offices);

c/ Citizen reception offices in urban and rural districts and provincial cities and towns (below referred to as district-level citizen reception offices).

3. Citizen reception boards shall be formed to directly manage citizen reception offices at each level and coordinate with representatives of concerned agencies and organizations in regularly receiving citizens at citizen reception offices, and shall perform the following tasks and powers:

a/ To organize the reception of citizens making complaints, denunciations, petitions or reports at citizen reception offices;

b/ To give explanations and instructions for citizens to make complaints, denunciations, petitions or reports in accordance with law;

c/ To classify and process complaints, denunciations, petitions or reports received at citizen reception offices; to forward those which fall outside the scope and responsibility of settlement of the agencies or organizations that regularly participate in receiving citizens at citizen reception offices;

d/ To monitor and urge competent agencies, organizations and units to handle, and reply on the settlement of, complaints, denunciations, petitions or reports forwarded by citizen reception boards;

dd/ To review the situation and results of citizen reception work at citizen reception offices; to periodically and irregularly report them to competent agencies and organizations.

4. Agencies and organizations that participate in receiving citizens at citizen reception offices shall send their representatives to regularly participate in receiving citizens at citizen reception offices to receive complaints, denunciations, petitions and reports under their responsibilities.

5. The Government shall detail the tasks, powers and organizational structures of citizen reception boards; and the arrangement of physical foundations of citizen reception offices; and issue the regulation on coordination of citizen reception activities at citizen reception offices.

Thus, the reception of citizens on issues such as complaints, denunciations, petitions or reports to leaders of the Party and the State at central or local level will be carried out at the citizen reception office.