Decree No. 107/2006/NĐ-CP on handling responsibility of heads of agencies, organizations, and units when corruption occurs under their management and supervision

                        Chapter 1:

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Decree stipulates the handling of responsibility of heads of agencies, organizations, units when corruption occurs within agencies, organizations, units under their management and supervision.

Article 2. Applicability

1. This Decree applies to heads of agencies, organizations, units in state agencies, political organizations, socio-political organizations, people's armed forces units, public service units, state-owned enterprises, and other agencies, organizations, units using state budget funds or state assets.

2. Deputies of the heads of agencies, organizations, units specified in Clause 1 of this Article shall also be subject to responsibility handling when corruption occurs within their areas of work or units directly supervised by them.

Article 3. Level of Corruption Cases

1. The level of corruption cases serves as the basis for determining the responsibility of heads and deputies of heads of agencies, organizations, units.

2. Corruption cases are classified into the following levels:

a) Minor corruption is a case where the person committing the act of corruption has not reached the level of being criminally prosecuted or has been criminally prosecuted and sentenced to non-custodial reeducation for up to three years or imprisonment for up to three years;

b) Serious corruption is a case where the person committing the act of corruption is sentenced to imprisonment from three to seven years;

c) Very serious corruption is a case where the person committing the act of corruption is sentenced to imprisonment from seven to fifteen years;

d) Particularly serious corruption is a case where the person committing the act of corruption is sentenced to imprisonment for fifteen years or more, life imprisonment, or capital punishment.

Article 4. Principles for Handling Responsibility of Heads and Deputies of Heads of Agencies, Organizations, Units

1. If heads and deputies of heads of agencies, organizations, units must bear direct responsibility for allowing acts of corruption to occur within agencies, organizations, units under their management and supervision, they will be disciplined according to this Decree or if there are sufficient signs constituting a crime, they will be criminally prosecuted according to the provisions of the law.

2. If heads of agencies, organizations, units must bear joint responsibility for allowing acts of corruption to occur within agencies, organizations, units under their management and supervision, they will be disciplined according to this Decree.

3. In cases where corruption occurs involving multiple agencies, organizations, units, in addition to the agency, organization, unit where the corruption occurred, the head or deputy of the head of the related agency, organization, unit with offenders must also bear joint responsibility according to this Decree.

Article 5. Definitions

1. "Deputy of the head" of an agency, organization, unit referred to in this Decree is a person assigned to assist the head of the agency, organization, unit in managing and supervising a specific area of work within the agency, organization, unit or some subordinate units of the agency, organization.

2. "Direct responsibility" is the responsibility of the head or deputy of the head of an agency, organization, unit for the act of corruption committed by a person directly managed or assigned tasks by them or occurring within their area of work or agency, organization, unit directly managed and supervised by them.

3. "Joint responsibility" is the responsibility of the head of an agency, organization, unit for the act of corruption occurring within their area of work or unit directly supervised by their deputy; of the head or deputy of the head of the related agency, organization, unit with offenders in cases where corruption occurs involving multiple agencies, organizations, units.

Chapter 2:

DISCIPLINARY ACTION AGAINST HEADS OF ORGANIZATIONS AND UNITS

Article 6. Principles for Considering Disciplinary Action

The disciplinary action against heads and deputies of heads of organizations and units where corruption occurs under their management and responsibility, and those related as stipulated in Clause 3, Article 4 of this Decree, in addition to following the principles for considering disciplinary action for civil servants as prescribed in Decree No. 35/2005/NĐ-CP dated March 17, 2005 of the Government on disciplinary action for civil servants, shall also follow the following principles:

1. Based on the division of work and hierarchical management within the agency, organization, unit to determine the degree of direct responsibility or joint liability.

2. Based on the relationship between the management responsibility of the head and deputy head and the acts of corruption committed by subordinates.

Article 7. Forms of Disciplinary Action

If the head or deputy head of an organization or unit allows corruption to occur within the organization or unit under their management and responsibility, they will be subject to disciplinary action depending on the nature and severity of the incident as follows:

1. For heads and deputy heads who are civil servants as defined in Points b, c, d, đ, e, and h of Clause 1, Article 1 of the Civil Servant Ordinance (which has been amended and supplemented by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on April 29, 2003, hereinafter referred to as the Civil Servant Ordinance) and state enterprise managers, they will be subject to one of the following forms of disciplinary action:

a) Reprimand;

b) Warning;

c) Dismissal from position.

2. For heads and deputy heads who are civil servants as defined in Points a and g of Clause 1, Article 1 of the Civil Servant Ordinance, they will be subject to disciplinary action according to the provisions of the law and the charter of political organizations and political-social organizations.

3. For heads and deputy heads of organizations and units belonging to political-social-professional organizations, social-professional organizations, and social organizations, they will be subject to disciplinary action according to the provisions of the charter of such organizations.

4. For heads and deputy heads of units who are officers, non-commissioned officers, and professional military personnel in the People's Army and People's Public Security Force, they will be subject to disciplinary action according to the provisions of the law regarding officers, non-commissioned officers, and professional military personnel in the People's Army and People's Public Security Force.

Article 8. Application of Reprimand

The reprimand form is applied when the head or deputy head of an organization or unit allows serious cases of corruption or multiple less serious cases of corruption to occur within the organization or unit under their management and responsibility.

Article 9. Application of Warning

The warning form is applied when the head or deputy head of an organization or unit allows very serious cases of corruption or multiple serious cases of corruption to occur within the organization or unit under their management and responsibility.

Article 10. Application of Dismissal

The dismissal form is applied when the head or deputy head of an organization or unit allows extremely serious cases of corruption or multiple very serious cases of corruption to occur within the organization or unit under their management and responsibility.

Article 11. Cases Exempting Liability, Waiving, Mitigating, or Aggravating Disciplinary Measures

1. The head and deputy of the head of an agency, organization, or unit shall be exempted from liability if they could not have known or had applied necessary measures to prevent and stop acts of corruption.

2. The head and deputy of the head of an agency, organization, or unit who allow corruption to occur within their managed or responsible agencies, organizations, or units and are subject to disciplinary action in the form of reprimand, if they voluntarily requested resignation prior to such disciplinary action and received approval from the competent authority, shall be exempted from such disciplinary action.

3. The head and deputy of the head of an agency, organization, or unit who allow corruption to occur within their managed or responsible agencies, organizations, or units may have their disciplinary measure mitigated by one level if they fall under any of the following circumstances:

a) They have submitted a resignation request and received approval from the competent authority;

b) They have taken necessary measures to prevent and mitigate the consequences of acts of corruption; strictly dealt with and promptly reported the acts of corruption to the competent authorities.

4. The head and deputy of the head of an agency, organization, or unit who allow corruption to occur within their managed or responsible agencies, organizations, or units, if they fail to take necessary measures to prevent and mitigate the consequences of acts of corruption or if they discover acts of corruption but fail to deal with them strictly or report them promptly to the competent authorities, shall have their disciplinary measure increased by one level.

Article 12. Disciplinary Action Against Heads of Ministries, Agencies Equivalent to Ministries, Government Agencies, and Equivalent, Chairpersons of People's Councils, and Chairpersons of Provincial People's Committees   

The Minister, Head of an Agency Equivalent to a Ministry, Head of a Government Agency, and Equivalent; Chairperson of a People's Council, and Chairperson of a Provincial People's Committee, if allowing particularly serious cases of corruption that cause adverse political, economic, and social impacts within their managed or responsible sectors or localities, shall bear responsibility and be subject to disciplinary actions as stipulated in Clause 1 or Clause 2 of Article 7 of this Decree.

Chapter 3:

AUTHORITY, PROCEDURE, AND PROCEDURES FOR DISCIPLINARY ACTION

Article 13. Responsibility for Considering and Implementing Disciplinary Actions

Within thirty days from the date of the official conclusion of the competent authority on the case of corruption or from the date when the judgment on the corruption case becomes legally effective, the head of the superior agency, organization, or unit has the responsibility to consider and implement disciplinary actions or report to the competent authority for consideration and implementation of disciplinary actions against the head and deputy of the head of the agency, organization, or unit directly or jointly responsible for allowing corruption to occur.

Article 14. Authority to Decide on Disciplinary Actions

The authority to decide on disciplinary actions against the head of an agency, organization, or unit where corruption occurs shall be implemented according to the current classification of management of cadres and civil servants.

Article 15. Disciplinary Board

1. The head of the superior agency, organization, or unit where corruption occurs must establish a Disciplinary Board to consider and implement disciplinary actions against the head and deputy of the head of the agency, organization, or unit where corruption occurs.

2. Members of the Disciplinary Committee include:

a) The Chairman of the Committee is the head or deputy head of the superior agency, organization, unit of the agency, organization, unit where corruption occurs;

b) One member representing the direct superior Party Committee of the Party Committee of the agency, organization, or unit where corruption occurs;

c) One member representing the Trade Union Executive Committee of the agency, organization, or unit where corruption occurs.

3. The Disciplinary Board operates in a collective manner, voting by secret ballot. The Disciplinary Board only convenes when all members are present.

4. The establishment of a Disciplinary Board for the Minister, Head of an Agency Equivalent to a Ministry, Head of a Government Agency, and Equivalent; Chairperson of a People's Council, and Chairperson of a Provincial People's Committee and Equivalent shall be decided by the competent authority according to the provisions of the law.

Article 16. Disciplinary Review Process

1. The head of the agency, organization, unit, and their deputies who cause corruption shall prepare a self-criticism report and accept disciplinary measures.

2. The immediate superior leader shall organize and chair a meeting for self-criticism with the heads and deputies of the heads as specified in Clause 1 of this Article. The participants invited to attend the self-criticism meeting are officials and civil servants holding leadership positions within the agency, organization, or unit. The determination of the participants invited to attend the meeting is decided by the immediate superior leader. The minutes of the self-criticism meeting shall include the disciplinary measures recommended by the agency, organization, or unit.

3. The disciplinary council of the immediate superior agency, organization, or unit shall review and vote on the disciplinary measures through secret ballots, recommending that the head of the agency, organization, or unit decide on the disciplinary action or propose that the competent authority decide on the disciplinary action.

Article 17. Other Provisions Related to the Disciplinary Review Process

Other provisions related to the disciplinary review process for the heads and deputies of the heads of agencies, organizations, and units, such as the statute of limitations for disciplinary actions; temporary suspension from work; management of disciplinary records; termination of the effectiveness of disciplinary decisions; complaints and resolution of complaints against disciplinary decisions; and other provisions related to officials and civil servants subject to disciplinary actions shall be implemented according to Decree No. 35/2005/NĐ-CP dated March 17, 2005 of the Government on the handling of disciplinary actions against officials and civil servants.

Chapter 4 :

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 18. Effective Date

This Decree shall take effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette.

Article 19. Guidance on Implementation

1. The Minister of Home Affairs shall be responsible for guiding the implementation of this Decree in state-owned enterprises, public service units, and social and occupational organizations using state budget funds and assets.

2. The competent authorities shall base the guidance on the provisions of this Decree for application to agencies, organizations, and units under political organizations, political-social organizations, and political-social-occupational organizations.

Article 20. Responsibility for Implementation

Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of government agencies, Chairmen of provincial People's Committees directly under the Central Government, and relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals shall be responsible for implementing this Decree./.