Resolution No. 30/2004/QH11 on the Handling of Complaints and Petitions in Administrative State Management

RESOLUTION

On handling complaints and reports in the administrative management domain of the State
Administrative management of the State
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NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM

Pursuant to the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1992, amended and supplemented by Resolution No. 51/2001/QH10 dated December 25, 2001 of the National Assembly, tenth session;

Pursuant to the Law on Complaints and Reports;

Based on the examination of the Government's report, the reports of the National Assembly's agencies, and the opinions of National Assembly deputies;

RESOLUTION:

1. The National Assembly agrees with the assessments of the situation regarding complaints and reports and the work of handling complaints and reports from the time the Law on Complaints and Reports took effect until now, the results achieved, the causes and solutions presented in the Government's Report, the Audit Committee's Review Report, and the Standing Committee of the National Assembly's Report on supervising the handling of complaints and reports by National Assembly agencies, National Assembly Delegation, and National Assembly deputies from 1999 to the first quarter of 2004. In recent times, the Government, the Prime Minister, heads of administrative agencies, state inspectors at all levels, and various sectors have made efforts in leading, directing, and organizing the implementation of handling citizens' complaints and reports, contributing to maintaining political stability and social order and security. However, the current situation of complaints and reports remains complex with many cases being severe, prolonged, involving large groups of people making complaints, and bypassing jurisdictional levels; some cases are organized or involve multiple individuals collaborating, exerting pressure on central agencies to resolve them; there are instances of false complaints and reports, and in rare cases, complainants have violated the law, disrupted public order, and assaulted law enforcement officers.

Besides the reasons mentioned in the Government's report, such as some sectors and localities not paying sufficient attention to the work of handling complaints and reports; showing leniency, avoiding responsibility, and passing it off to others; due to incomplete and inconsistent policies and laws in certain areas, the fundamental cause also lies in some agencies and individuals with authority issuing incorrect decisions or infringing upon citizens' lawful rights and interests in some cases; when receiving complaints, many officials and civil servants still lack a sense of responsibility, failing to comply with legal provisions regarding deadlines, procedures, and processes for handling complaints and reports; they do not issue decisions to resolve complaints according to legal regulations; they do not pay enough attention to meeting, dialoguing, and listening to the people's opinions, especially those resolving initial complaints lack responsibility, thoroughness, and unwillingness to correct their own erroneous decisions and actions; subsequent handlers show leniency and cover up for subordinates; in rare cases, there are instances of harassment and challenging citizens to make complaints and reports; some agencies, officials, and civil servants, as well as complainants, do not strictly adhere to legally binding decisions; some individuals exploit complaints and reports to prolong the time of non-compliance with legally binding decisions on complaints resolution, complicating the situation further.

2. The Government needs to take effective measures to rectify discipline and administrative conduct in the work of handling complaints and reports, focusing on the following issues:

a) Directing state administrative agencies and officials in their management, operation, and performance duties to strictly comply with legal provisions; proactively proposing measures to resolve matters in accordance with legal provisions, suitable to the economic and social conditions of the locality and the situation of their own agency or unit, aiming to minimize errors and loopholes that lead to the emergence of complaints and reports;

b) State administrative agencies and officials must strictly comply with legal provisions regarding deadlines, procedures, and processes for handling complaints and reports, and other relevant legal provisions; promptly resolve cases within their jurisdiction; for cases outside their jurisdiction, guide complainants and reporters to the appropriate agencies or persons with authority to handle them; during the handling process, they must strictly follow legal provisions regarding direct meetings and dialogues with complainants;

c) Strengthening guidance, supervision, urging, and inspection of state administrative agencies at all levels in handling complaints and reports, enforcing legally binding decisions on complaint and report resolutions; promptly identifying and severely dealing with those who are irresponsible in handling complaints and reports, and do not strictly comply with legally binding decisions issued by higher-level administrative agencies; for complainants lacking knowledge about policies and laws, meet with them to explain so they can comply; for those exploiting their right to file complaints and reports to incite others to file illegal complaints and reports, causing disturbances or engaging in excessive behavior disrupting social order and security, they must be dealt with resolutely in accordance with the law; simultaneously, publicly announce the measures taken before the public;

d) Directing all levels, sectors, and localities to regularly perform the task of reviewing pending complaints and reports; in the short term, conduct a comprehensive review and focus on resolving pending complaints and reports fundamentally within the latest period of one year from the date this Resolution takes effect; for complaints arising from administrative decisions or actions or complaint resolution decisions that violate the law and affect citizens' lawful rights and interests, they must be resolved thoroughly;

đ) Effectively implementing the dissemination, popularization, and education on the law, particularly the law on complaints and reports, so that the people understand and exercise their right to file complaints and reports in accordance with the law, overcoming the situation of filing baseless complaints and reports or sending them to authorities without jurisdiction or bypassing jurisdictional levels.

3. Administrative state agencies shall closely coordinate with relevant agencies and organizations in the process of handling complaints and denunciations; they shall focus on thoroughly resolving complaints and denunciations that arise at the grassroots level; guide, encourage, and create conditions for the mediation of disputes among the people, contributing to limiting the emergence of complaints and denunciations.

4. In the annual report of the Government on the handling of complaints and denunciations, it shall be linked to the review and evaluation of the results of implementing this Resolution.

The Government Inspectorate shall be responsible for assisting the Government in monitoring, inspecting, and urging administrative state agencies to implement this Resolution.

The Government shall promptly conduct a comprehensive review of the implementation of the Law on Complaints and Denunciations 1998, serving as a basis for studying fundamental amendments to the Law on Complaints and Denunciations, establishing an effective mechanism for resolving administrative complaints in line with the actual situation of the country and international practices.

5. The Standing Committee of the National Assembly, the National Ethnic Council, the Committees of the National Assembly, the Delegations of the National Assembly, National Assembly deputies, People's Councils at all levels, the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee, and its member organizations shall strengthen supervision over the work of handling complaints and denunciations.

This Resolution was adopted by the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the eleventh session, fifth meeting, on June 15, 2004.