Decree No. 103/2002/ND-CP stipulates compensation and assistance for individuals, families, agencies, and organizations participating in drug prevention and control activities that suffer losses to life, health, or property.

DECREE

Regulations on compensation and allowances for individuals, families, agencies, and organizations participating in the prevention and control of drug-related activities that have suffered losses to life, health, and property are hereby stipulated.n

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THE GOVERNMENT

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated December 25, 2001;

Pursuant to Article 14 of the Law on Prevention and Control of Drugs dated December 9, 2000;

At the proposal of the Minister of Public Security and the Minister of Justice,

DECREE

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. This Decree stipulates the compensation for individuals, families, agencies, and organizations that have suffered losses (hereinafter referred to as the affected parties) regarding property; allowance provisions for individuals who have suffered losses to life, injuries, and damage to health due to participation in the prevention and control of drugs.

Article 2.

1. The allowance system for losses implemented by the State according to this Decree is the allowance system for losses to life and health of those affected by participating in the prevention and control of drugs.

2. The compensation for losses implemented by the State according to this Decree is the compensation for property losses suffered by the affected parties not directly caused by criminals involved in drug offenses; in cases where property losses are caused by criminals involved in drug offenses, they shall be resolved according to the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code.

Article 3. Individuals, families, agencies, and organizations from foreign countries and international organizations that have suffered property losses, foreigners who have suffered losses to life, injuries, and damage to health due to participation in the prevention and control of drugs on Vietnamese territory shall be compensated or provided with allowances according to this Decree by the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. If there are different provisions in relevant international treaties to which Vietnam is a party, such treaties shall apply.

Article 4.

1. The affected party or their lawful representative has the right to request competent state authorities to compensate for property losses and implement allowance systems when the individual suffers injuries or damage to health due to participation in the prevention and control of drugs; in cases of loss of life, the family or the lawful representative of the deceased has the right to request implementation of the allowance system.

2. The State has the responsibility to examine and resolve compensation for property losses for the affected parties and implement allowance systems for individuals who have suffered losses to life and health according to relevant laws and this Decree. The implementation of compensation or allowances must be decided in writing.

Chapter II

COMPENSATION FOR PROPERTY DAMAGE

Article 5.

1. Losses to be compensated include property lost, destroyed, or damaged due to participation in the prevention and control of drugs and reasonable expenses to prevent, limit, and mitigate losses.

2. The value of the damaged property is determined based on the market price of the property at the local level at the time of the loss, including depreciation of the property.

3. If the damaged property can be restored to its original condition, it shall be restored. If the property is lost or cannot be restored to its original condition, it shall be compensated.

Article 6.

1. Investigative agencies, specialized agencies under the Ministry of Public Security responsible for combating drug-related crimes, border guard units, customs agencies are responsible for resolving compensation for property losses in cases handled by them. In cases where the crime is discovered and apprehended by other agencies or organizations, these agencies or organizations are responsible for transferring related documents concerning the incident causing property losses to the investigative agency or specialized agency (the agency receiving the case for investigation) to consider and resolve the compensation issue.

2. People's Committees of districts, towns, cities under provinces (hereinafter referred to as district level), People's Committees of provinces, centrally governed cities (hereinafter referred to as provincial level) are responsible for resolving compensation for losses outside the cases stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article occurring in their locality.

3. The affected party may submit a petition to the investigative agency or specialized agency handling the case, or the People's Committee where the loss occurred, requesting compensation for losses. The petition should clearly state the content of the incident causing the loss, the damaged properties, the value of the loss, the compensation amount, and evidence proving the value of the property and the loss to serve as a basis for the responsible agency to consider and resolve the matter.

4. Upon receipt of a petition for compensation from the affected party, within the latest period of 15 days, the investigative agency or specialized agency handling the case, or the People's Committee where the loss occurred, shall be responsible for considering and deciding on compensation or proposing the competent authority to decide on compensation according to Article 7 of this Decree.

5. When necessary, the head of the agency responsible for compensation may establish an Advisory Council to examine and resolve compensation issues. The Advisory Council includes: A representative of the agency responsible for compensation as the Chairman of the Council, a representative of the financial and pricing agency, and a representative of the relevant scientific and technical agency. The affected party or their lawful representative may be invited to attend the meeting of the Council to express opinions; these opinions shall be recorded in the minutes.

The Advisory Council for examining and resolving compensation issues is tasked with reviewing, inspecting, evaluating losses, and recommending compensation amounts. The Advisory Council discusses and concludes by majority vote; the minutes of the Advisory Council meeting are transferred to the authorized person specified in Article 7 of this Decree to decide on compensation.

Article 7.

1. The head of the Investigation Police Department under the Public Security Office at the district level, the head of the Criminal Investigation Department under the Military Command at the provincial level decides on compensation for property losses up to VND 2,000,000 (two million) for cases handled by their unit.

2. The head of the Investigation Department under the Public Security Office at the provincial level or higher, the head of the Criminal Investigation Department under the General Corps and equivalent levels in the Military, and the head of the specialized agency under the Ministry of Public Security responsible for combating drug-related crimes decide on compensation for property losses up to VND 5,000,000 (five million) for cases handled by their unit.

3. The Director of Provincial Public Security, the General Director of the National Police Corps, the Head of the Criminal Investigation Agency under the Ministry of Defense, the Provincial Customs Bureau Chief, the Border Guard Force Commander at the provincial level and equivalent positions shall decide to compensate for property damage with a value up to less than 10,000,000 (ten million) VND in cases handled by investigative agencies, specialized agencies responsible for preventing and combating drug-related crimes, border guard units, or customs agencies.

4. The Chairman of the People's Committee at the district level shall decide to compensate for property damage with a value up to less than ten million VND in other drug-related incidents occurring in their locality.

5. The Minister of Public Security, the Minister of Defense, and the Minister of Finance shall decide to compensate for property damage with a value of 10,000,000 (ten million) VND or more in cases handled by investigative agencies, specialized agencies responsible for preventing and combating drug-related crimes, border guard units, or customs agencies.

6. The Chairman of the People's Committee at the provincial level shall decide to compensate for property damage with a value of 10,000,000 (ten million) VND or more in other drug-related incidents occurring in their locality.

Chapter III

COMPENSATION REGIME FOR PERSONS INJURED IN TERMS OF LIFE AND HEALTH

Article 8.

1. Damage due to injury and harm to health includes:

a) Reasonable costs for medical treatment, rehabilitation, recovery of health and lost or diminished functions of the injured person;

b) Actual income losses of the injured person; if the actual income of the injured person is unstable and cannot be determined, then the average income of workers in the same category shall be applied.

2. Persons injured due to injury and harm to health shall be considered and decided by the authorized body specified in Article 7 of this Decree to receive a one-time monetary compensation; the amount of compensation includes the actual costs as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article. Cases of compensation of 10,000,000 (ten million) VND or more must establish an Advisory Board to review the compensation but shall not exceed 20,000,000 (twenty million) VND for one injured person.

Article 9.

1. Damage to life includes:

a) Reasonable costs for medical treatment, care for the deceased before death.

b) Reasonable costs for funeral expenses.

2. The family or the lawful representative of the deceased shall receive a one-time monetary compensation; the amount of compensation includes the actual costs as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article, but shall not exceed 50,000,000 (fifty million) VND for one death.

Article 10.

1. The Director of the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs of the province or centrally governed city shall decide on compensation for damages not exceeding 10,000,000 (ten million) VND.

2. The Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs shall decide on compensation for damages of 10,000,000 (ten million) VND or more.

Article 11.

1. Persons injured due to injury and harm to health, or the families of persons who have suffered damage to life, or their lawful representatives may submit a request to the Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs agency handling the case to request compensation for damages. The request should clearly state the content of the incident causing the damage, injuries, harm to health, death certificate in the case of death, relevant documents, receipts, and invoices confirming actual costs... to serve as a basis for the responsible agency to consider and resolve.

2. Upon receiving a request for compensation from the injured party, the agency responsible for resolving compensation must promptly consider and decide on compensation according to the provisions of this Decree and related laws.

3. In cases where the injured person has died or when necessary, the Head of the agency responsible for resolving compensation shall establish an Advisory Board to review and resolve compensation. The Advisory Board to review and resolve compensation includes: A representative of the agency responsible for resolving compensation as Chairperson, a representative of the financial and price control agency, a representative of the scientific and technical specialized agency, and a relevant health agency. The injured person, the family of the injured person, or their lawful representatives may be invited to attend the meeting of the Advisory Board to express their opinions; these opinions shall be recorded in the minutes.

4. The Advisory Board to review and resolve compensation is tasked with assessing the degree of harm to health and life based on forensic medical conclusions, forensic psychiatric conclusions, injury assessment conclusions, relevant documents and materials, and the standards set by the competent authority regarding disability levels to assess damage and recommend compensation amounts. The Advisory Board discusses and concludes by majority vote; the minutes of the Advisory Board meeting are transferred to the authorized body specified in Article 10 of this Decree to decide on compensation.

Chapter IV

EXPENSES FOR COMPENSATION AND ASSISTANCE

Article 12. The funds for compensation and assistance mentioned above shall be drawn from a portion of the Anti-Drug Fund and guaranteed by the state budget at all levels.

Article 13.

1. Agencies and units responsible for resolving compensation shall prepare a budget for expenses within their agency's budget and submit it to the finance department at the same level for consolidation and submission to the competent authority for decision.

2. The Ministry of Finance shall be responsible for guiding relevant agencies, units, and organizations to implement this provision.

Chapter V

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 14. This Decree shall take effect fifteen days from the date of signature.

The Ministry of Public Security shall be responsible for leading and coordinating with relevant ministries and sectors to inspect and urge the implementation of this Decree.

Article 15. Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of government-affiliated agencies, Chairpersons of provincial and centrally governed city People's Committees are responsible for implementing this Decree.