Directive No. 18-TTg on the organization of receiving citizens and handling complaints and denunciations of citizens

 DIRECTIVE

ON THE ORGANIZATION OF RECEIVING CITIZEN PETITIONS AND COMPLAINTS AND HANDLING CITIZEN COMPLAINTS AND REPORTS

After the Law on Citizen Complaints and Reports was issued by the State Council on May 2, 1991, the Council of Ministers issued Decree No. 38-HĐBT on January 28, 1992 to guide its implementation. In the current situation, handling citizen complaints and reports is one of the urgent and important requirements to enhance the people's trust in the Party and the Government, as well as in state functional agencies; thereby contributing to preventing and eliminating corruption, smuggling, wasteful public spending, and other social evils. After one year of implementing these two documents, the Prime Minister has observed:

The organization of receiving citizens by ministries, sectors, and People's Committees at all levels generally still focuses heavily on formality; they have not sufficiently prioritized the allocation of staff for receiving citizens and handling their complaints and reports; the capacity, professional skills, and political level of staff involved in this work are limited; the handling process is slow and not timely; the quality of examination and conclusion of many cases lacks reliable evidence. The conclusions and requirements for resolution from higher-level agencies or competent authorities are not promptly and fully implemented, thus reducing the effectiveness of resolution, causing many pending cases; the implementation of inspection and reporting systems on the results of handling citizen complaints and reports is incomplete.

To improve the organization of receiving citizens and handling citizen complaints and reports in accordance with the law and achieve practical effects, the Prime Minister issues the following directive:

1. It is necessary to improve the organization of receiving citizens to ensure that complaints and reports are examined, resolved, and concluded seriously and in accordance with the law in a timely manner. When decisions on resolving citizen complaints and reports become legally binding, all state agencies, social organizations, mass organizations, and citizens related to such decisions must strictly comply.

2. By the first quarter of 1993, all ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-affiliated agencies, provincial and municipal People's Committees directly under the central government, district and town People's Committees must immediately improve their organization of receiving citizens. Reception rooms must be courteous and solemn; the time and rules for receiving citizens must be clearly displayed in the reception room, and the staff receiving citizens must clearly display their names and positions so that everyone can see them. Staff responsible for receiving citizens must be assigned, who are capable, professionally skilled, politically sound, and have good conduct, to ensure timely resolution of citizens' complaints and reports in accordance with the law. The attire of staff responsible for receiving citizens shall be implemented according to Notification No. 11-TB dated February 18, 1992 of the Council of Ministers Office (now the Government Office).

3. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, government-affiliated agencies, chairpersons of provincial and municipal People's Committees directly under the central government, and chairpersons of district and town People's Committees must allocate at least half a day each week to personally receive citizens and address their complaints and reports regarding issues within their management responsibility and authority.

4. Heads of agencies and units must immediately review pending complaints and reports within their jurisdiction to resolve and conclude them promptly and definitively in accordance with the law.

5. Every three months, ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, government-affiliated agencies, and chairpersons of provincial and municipal People's Committees directly under the central government must report to the Prime Minister, while also sending the State Inspector General about the work of organizing citizen receptions, the results of handling citizen complaints and reports within their sectoral and local jurisdictions, and the results of resolving citizen complaints and reports transferred by the central Party and state reception agencies. The State Inspectorate will cooperate with relevant agencies to urgently establish a central Party and state reception agency in the southern region located in Ho Chi Minh City and put it into operation in the first quarter of 1993.

6. The State Inspector General is responsible for inspecting and urging ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-affiliated agencies, and provincial and municipal People's Committees directly under the central government to implement this directive, and every three months, report the results to the Prime Minister.

It is requested that the Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court and the Prosecutor General, within their respective responsibilities, cooperate in implementing this directive./.