Duties, Powers, and Organizational Structure of the Ministry of Justice

The Ministry of Justice is an agency of the Government of Vietnam, performing the function of state management on: drafting and enforcing laws, reviewing legal normative documents, disseminating and educating the law, executing civil judgments, executing administrative judgments, judicial support, judicial administration, state compensation; managing the law enforcement operations on handling administrative violations; and managing public service operations within the scope of state management of the ministry.

The Ministry of Justice performs the tasks and powers as prescribed by Decree 123/2016/ND-CP dated September 1, 2016, of the Government of Vietnam, which stipulates the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and specific tasks and powers.

Regarding legislative work, the Ministry of Justice evaluates, participates in drafting, and provides feedback on proposals for drafting laws and ordinances submitted by the Government of Vietnam and proposals for drafting decrees; submits proposals of the Government of Vietnam on the legislative and ordinance drafting program for issues under the scope of functions, tasks, and powers of the Government of Vietnam; assumes the main responsibilities and coordinates with relevant agencies to draft legislative and ordinance projects for submission to the Prime Minister of the Government of Vietnam for decision; evaluates, participates in drafting, and provides feedback on draft projects and documents as prescribed by law.

In addition, the Ministry of Justice takes the lead and cooperates with ministries and ministerial-level agencies to prepare opinions of the Government of Vietnam on proposals for drafting laws and ordinances not submitted by the Government of Vietnam and opinions of the Government of Vietnam on legislative and ordinance proposals by National Assembly deputies as prescribed by law; prepares opinions of the Government of Vietnam on draft laws and ordinances not submitted by the Government of Vietnam as assigned by the Prime Minister of the Government of Vietnam.

It prepares a list of detailed regulation documents for laws, resolutions of the National Assembly, ordinances, resolutions of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, orders, and decisions of the President to be submitted to the Prime Minister of the Government of Vietnam for decision; notifies People's Councils and People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities (provincial-level People's Councils and People's Committees) about the list of contents assigned to localities for detailed regulations; guides, monitors, urges, and inspects the legislative work of ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and localities as prescribed by law.

Regarding law enforcement monitoring, the Ministry of Justice guides, inspects, urges ministries, ministerial-level agencies, agencies under the Government of Vietnam, and provincial-level People's Committees in implementing law enforcement monitoring tasks; takes the lead and cooperates with ministries, ministerial-level agencies, agencies under the Government of Vietnam, and relevant agencies and organizations to monitor law enforcement nationwide; monitors law enforcement in fields within the scope of state management of the ministry or as assigned by the Government of Vietnam, the Prime Minister of the Government of Vietnam, and in inter-sectoral fields particularly challenging in actual enforcement.

Regarding reviewing legal normative documents, the Ministry of Justice assists the Government of Vietnam in reviewing legal normative documents issued by ministries, ministerial-level agencies, provincial-level People's Councils and People's Committees, and local governments in special administrative-economic units; recommends handling of unlawful documents as prescribed by law; directs, guides, inspects, and urges the review of legal normative documents by ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and provincial People's Committees.

Organizational Structure

Regarding the organizational structure, the Ministry of Justice has 27 units, including: 1- Department of General Issues on Law Drafting; 2- Department of Criminal - Administrative Law; 3- Department of Civil - Economic Law; 4- Department of International Law; 5- Department of Legal Dissemination and Education; 6- Department of Personnel Organization; 7- Department of International Cooperation; 8- Department of Emulation and Commendation; 9- Inspectorate; 10- Office; 11- General Department of Civil Judgment Enforcement; 12- Department of Review of Legal Normative Documents; 13- Department of Administrative Violation Handling and Law Enforcement Monitoring; 14- Department of Civil Status, Nationality, and Authentication; 15- Department of Adoption; 16- Department of Legal Aid; 17- Department of National Registration of Secured Transactions; 18- Department of State Compensation; 19- Department of Judicial Support; 20- Department of Planning - Finance; 21- Department of Information Technology; 22- Southern Affairs Department; 23- National Center for Criminal Records; 24- Institute of Legal Science; 25- Judicial Academy; 26- Journal of Democracy and Law; 27- Vietnam Law Newspaper.

The organizations mentioned from 1 to 22 above are administrative units assisting the Minister in performing state management functions; the organizations mentioned from 23 to 27 above are public service units serving state management under the ministry.

Source: Government of Vietnam Electronic Newspaper

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