Civil Servants Following Superior's Orders: Are They Subject to Disciplinary Action?

Based on Article 4 of Decree 112/2020/ND-CP on cases exempt from disciplinary liability, including:

- Confirmed by the competent authority as having lost the capacity for civil conduct when a violation occurs.

- Must comply with the decision of a superior as stipulated in Clause 5, Article 9 of the Law on Cadres and Public Officials.

- Confirmed by the competent authority as violating in an urgent situation, due to force majeure events or objective obstacles per the provisions of the Civil Code while performing official duties.

- Officials and public employees commit violations severe enough to warrant disciplinary action but have passed away.

Thus, in some cases where it is mandatory to comply with the decision of a superior, disciplinary liability will be exempted.

Clause 5, Article 9 of the Law on Cadres and Public Officials 2008 stipulates as follows:

Compliance with superior’s decisions. If there are grounds to believe that the decision is unlawful, it must be promptly reported in writing to the decision-maker; if the decision-maker still insists on the execution of the decision, a written document must be obtained, and the executor must comply but will not be responsible for the consequences of the execution, while also reporting to the direct superior of the decision-maker. The decision-maker must bear legal responsibility for their decision.

In your case, although you discovered violations in land management, you did not report it in writing, and continued to follow the superior's instructions. Therefore, you do not meet the conditions to be exempt from disciplinary liability. Hence, you will still be disciplined as usual.

Respectfully!