Directive No. 31/2006/CT-TTg on Strengthening the Work of Drafting and Issuing Detailed Regulations and Guidelines for Implementing Laws and Ordinances

DIRECTIVE
Accelerating the work of drafting and promulgating detailed regulations and guidance for the implementation of laws and ordinances
guidelines for implementing the Law, Ordinance

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In recent years, the legislative work of the Government, including the drafting and promulgation of detailed regulations and guidance for the implementation of laws and ordinances, has made positive contributions to the country's renewal process, building a socialist rule-of-law state in Vietnam, and promoting international economic integration. However, the implementation of this work remains slow, with low quality, and many detailed regulations and guidance for implementation have not been promulgated in a timely manner, causing some laws and ordinances to be delayed in entering into force and failing to effectively manage state administration and social life.

The main reasons for the above situation are that some ministries and sectors have not fully fulfilled their responsibilities in directing the drafting of documents, some draft proposals submitted to the Government have low quality and require significant time for revision and supplementation; coordination among ministries and sectors in the construction of regulatory documents is still not tight, and effectiveness is not high; the level and skills of many officials and civil servants in drafting regulatory documents are weak and do not meet requirements; the review and examination of draft regulatory documents are still slow, with low quality, and do not meet the requirements to assist the Prime Minister and members of the Government in making important decisions related to multiple administrative fields or issues with differing opinions between ministries and sectors.

To address the shortcomings and problems mentioned above, and to improve the quality and accelerate the progress of drafting detailed regulations and guidance for the implementation of laws and ordinances (hereinafter referred to collectively as draft documents), the Prime Minister instructs:

1. Ministries, agencies equivalent to ministries, and government agencies:

a) Must consider the work of drafting detailed regulations and guidance for the implementation of laws and ordinances as a key task in the Ministry’s program of work.

b) Strictly adhere to the schedule for drafting draft documents listed in the Government’s and Prime Minister’s program of work. If unable to prepare the draft in time for submission, a report must be submitted to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision at least 30 working days before the submission deadline. The report must clearly state the reasons, measures to rectify, and the submission date, which shall not exceed the effective date of the law or ordinance being detailed and guided.

c) Closely coordinate with the Government Office to review and establish a list of draft documents according to the following guidelines:

Draft documents detailing and guiding the implementation of laws and ordinances that became effective on or before July 1, 2006, must complete their files and submit them to the Prime Minister no later than November 30, 2006;

Draft documents detailing and guiding the implementation of laws and ordinances that become effective after July 1, 2006, must complete their files and submit them to the Prime Minister no later than 30 days before the effective date of the law or ordinance;

This list must clearly specify the submission deadlines for each document to be issued in priority order, and must be reported to the Prime Minister by September 5, 2006;

d) Strictly adhere to the deadlines for providing comments on draft documents sent by the lead drafting agency according to the Government's operational regulations. After the deadline, if the agency asked for comments does not provide feedback, it will be considered as agreeing with the draft document;

đ) Prioritize training, enhancing, and improving the skills of officials and civil servants involved in legal affairs and legislative work within ministries and sectors in drafting regulatory documents;

e) Inspect and review within ministries and sectors the implementation of Directive No. 14/2006/CT-TTg dated April 10, 2006, of the Prime Minister on implementing Decree No. 161/2005/NĐ-CP dated December 27, 2005, of the Government "Detailed Regulations and Guidance for Implementing Certain Provisions of the Law on Enacting Regulatory Documents and the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Law on Enacting Regulatory Documents." Immediate rectification and improvement must be made if implementation is unsatisfactory;

g) Ministers, heads of agencies equivalent to ministries, and heads of government agencies:

Directly oversee the drafting of documents and bear responsibility before the Government and Prime Minister for the quality and timeliness of submitting draft documents;

Actively coordinate with relevant agencies to resolve issues with differing opinions, and promptly report and propose solutions to the Prime Minister in cases where consensus cannot be reached or major, complex issues arise during the drafting process;

Monthly inspections of the drafting of draft documents must be conducted, and strict action taken against subordinate agencies and units that fail to meet deadlines, while also inspecting participation in commenting on draft documents from other agencies;

Take individual responsibility before the Government and Prime Minister for failing to ensure the timely submission of draft documents by their ministry or sector;

Bear responsibility for projects of laws and ordinances being returned according to point d, Clause 4 of this Directive.

2. Lead agencies and drafting boards of law and ordinance projects:

a) During the drafting of laws and ordinances, minimize to the greatest extent possible the need for detailed regulations and guidance for implementation;

b) Promptly request the Prime Minister to assign relevant ministries and sectors to take the lead in drafting detailed regulations and guidance for implementation for matters within their functions and responsibilities;

Draft regulations and guidance for implementation must be submitted simultaneously with the law and ordinance project;

c) In cases where issues requiring detailed regulations and guidance for implementation arise during the National Assembly's or Standing Committee of the National Assembly's consideration and approval of laws and ordinances, they must promptly coordinate with National Assembly agencies, the Ministry of Justice, and the Government Office to incorporate representatives' opinions, organize the drafting of detailed regulations and guidance for implementation.

3. Ministry of Justice:

a) Review draft documents within the prescribed time limit and ensure quality. For draft documents that have exceeded the issuance deadline, the review period shall be seven (7) working days from the date of receipt of the document requesting review from the drafting agency;

b) Take the lead and coordinate with the Government Office and relevant agencies to urgently prepare the content of recommendations for the development of the Law Project on Issuing Legal Normative Documents (based on amending and supplementing the Law on Issuing Legal Normative Documents, the Law on Issuing Legal Normative Documents of People's Councils and People's Committees, and consolidating these two Laws), submit it to the Government for consideration, and propose to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly to include it in the legislative program of the National Assembly for the year 2007;

4. The Government Office:

a) Take the lead and coordinate with relevant ministries and sectors in establishing the Program for developing legal normative documents within the jurisdiction of the Government and the Prime Minister, including the Program for developing guiding documents for implementing laws and ordinances;

b) Take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Justice to regularly monitor and urge the implementation of the aforementioned Program, report to the Prime Minister on progress, difficulties, and obstacles in drafting and submitting draft documents;

c) Process draft documents submitted by ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and agencies under the Government to the Government and the Prime Minister within the prescribed time limits and procedures according to the Government's Work Regulations;

d) Return to the drafting agency any draft laws or ordinances that do not simultaneously include draft detailed regulations and guiding documents if such drafts require detailed regulations and guiding documents;

e) Monthly prepare a report summarizing the work of developing detailed regulations and guiding documents for implementing laws and ordinances for the Minister and Head of the Office to report at the Government meeting;

5. The Ministry of Finance:

Take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Justice, the Government Office, and related agencies to immediately implement the directives of the Prime Minister in Circular No. 4447/VPCP-KTTH dated August 16, 2006 of the Government Office, aimed at increasing funding for the development of legal normative documents for the year 2006 and subsequent years, to accelerate the progress and improve the quality of legal normative document development, and report on implementation to the Prime Minister;

6. Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, and Heads of related agencies are responsible for implementing this Directive;

The Government Office takes the lead and coordinates with the Ministry of Justice to monitor, urge, and inspect the implementation of this Directive, promptly reporting to the Prime Minister./.