Directive No. 32/2005/CT-TTg on Strengthening Inspection and Handling of Regulatory Legal Documents

DIRECTIVE
On Strengthening the Inspection and Handling of Regulatory Legal Documents

The inspection and handling of regulatory legal documents as stipulated in the Law on Enacting Regulatory Legal Documents and Decree No. 135/2003/NĐ-CP dated November 14, 2003 of the Government on inspecting and handling regulatory legal documents have been implemented since 2004, achieving some initial results, contributing positively to ensuring the constitutionality, legality, consistency of the legal system, gradually restoring order and discipline, and improving the quality of drafting and enacting regulatory legal documents by ministries, sectors, and localities.

However, the inspection and handling of regulatory legal documents still have shortcomings: regulatory legal documents in many fields of state management and in many localities have not been organized for inspection and handling by ministries, sectors, and localities; timely detection and handling of the situation where localities issue documents on administrative violations, preferential incentives for investment, and illegal tax exemptions for the benefit of local interests have not been achieved; there is a widespread phenomenon of recording individual decision numbers and signs into the format of regulatory legal documents and vice versa, causing confusion about the legal nature of the documents; some administrative circulars containing regulatory provisions have not been detected and handled; there are signs of avoiding and delaying the handling of unlawful documents that have been inspected and discovered... The reasons for the above situation are: some ministries, sectors, and localities have not fully recognized the importance of the inspection and handling of regulatory legal documents; sending documents to competent authorities for inspection has not been timely and in accordance with the law; the cadre working on document inspection has not been promptly established, lacking in quantity and limited in professional expertise; funding and equipment for work have not met the requirements of document inspection and handling; construction of information systems serving document inspection has not been prioritized; laws on inspecting and handling regulatory legal documents are incomplete.

To strengthen the inspection and handling of regulatory legal documents in the future, the Prime Minister issues the following directive:

1. Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of government agencies, Chairpersons of People's Councils, and Chairpersons of People's Committees of centrally governed cities and provinces shall be responsible for:

a) Completing organizational structures, assigning competent cadres with adequate capacity, qualifications, and integrity to perform the inspection and handling of regulatory legal documents according to the authority granted, forming a cadre team and cooperative inspectors for document inspection by the end of the fourth quarter of 2006, organizing training and professional development for the cadre team and cooperative inspectors of the legal department of ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government agencies, provincial Departments of Justice, and district Justice Offices;

b) Allocating funds, equipment, and other necessary conditions for inspection work; mobilizing resources, including international cooperation project funding, to build and gradually computerize the database of regulatory legal documents of ministries, sectors, and localities;

c) Organizing self-inspection and inspection of documents according to authority; timely and properly handling documents with illegal content discovered during the inspection and handling process; promptly proposing amendments, supplements, abolition, or replacement of conflicting or outdated provisions in higher-level state agency documents; applying measures to mitigate the consequences caused by issuing and implementing unlawful documents;

d) The Minister of Justice shall take the lead and coordinate with the Chairman of the Government Office and Heads of relevant ministries and sectors to establish inter-ministerial inspection teams to organize inspections of regulatory legal documents in certain fields and areas with significant concerns;

đ) Every six months and annually, Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of government agencies, Chairpersons of People's Councils, and Chairpersons of People's Committees of centrally governed cities and provinces shall report to the Prime Minister; Chairpersons of lower-level People's Councils and People's Committees shall report to their respective higher-level People's Councils and People's Committees on the situation of drafting, enacting, and inspecting and handling regulatory legal documents according to the model specified in Appendix I of this Directive;

e) From now until June 30, 2006, ministries, sectors, and localities shall focus on directing the inspection and handling of regulatory legal documents currently in force in the fields and areas specified in Appendix II of this Directive. The inspection of documents specified in Appendix II of this Directive must be completed and reported to the Prime Minister on the results of inspection and handling before July 15, 2006.

2. The Minister of Justice:

a) Shall take the lead and coordinate with the Chairman of the Government Office to draft and promulish in 2006 joint documents guiding specific procedures for inspecting and handling regulatory legal documents to ensure timely, effective, and rigorous handling of unlawful documents of ministries, sectors, and localities;

b) Shall take the lead and coordinate with the Chairman of the Government Office, the Minister of Home Affairs, the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Planning and Investment, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of government agencies, and People's Committees of localities to develop a "Plan to Enhance Capacity in Inspecting and Handling Regulatory Legal Documents," to be submitted to the Prime Minister for approval in the first quarter of 2006.

c) Strengthen training and guidance on inspection work and the construction of database systems for inspection purposes for cadres, civil servants, and collaborators involved in inspection work at legal institutions of Ministries, agencies equivalent to Ministries, agencies under the Government, Departments of Justice, and Justice Offices of localities.

d) Organize and implement effectively the guidance and inspection of the review and systematization of regulatory legal documents by Ministries, sectors, and localities.

e) Closely cooperate with mass media organizations to promptly grasp information about documents containing illegal content and the results of their handling.

3. The Minister of Home Affairs:

Shall take the lead and coordinate with the Minister of Justice to direct and inspect the organization and staffing of civil servants engaged in legal affairs and regulatory document inspection work at legal institutions of Ministries, agencies equivalent to Ministries, agencies under the Government, specialized agencies under provincial People's Committees, and state-owned enterprises, in accordance with Decree No. 122/2004/NĐ-CP dated May 18, 2004 of the Government on the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of legal institutions of Ministries, agencies equivalent to Ministries, agencies under the Government, specialized agencies under provincial People's Committees, and state-owned enterprises.

4. The Minister of Public Security:

Shall take the lead and coordinate with the Minister of National Defense, the Chairman of the Government Office, and the Minister of Justice to draft and submit to the Prime Minister for issuance a Decision on the procedure for inspecting and handling regulatory legal documents containing state secrets in the second quarter of 2006.

5. The Minister of Finance:

Shall guide and organize inspections of the use of funds to ensure the inspection and handling of regulatory legal documents by Ministries, agencies equivalent to Ministries, agencies under the Government, and localities in accordance with the provisions of the law; provide necessary material conditions for inspection work, including funding for the construction of a regulatory legal document inspection database.

6. The Minister of Planning and Investment:

Shall take the lead and coordinate with the Minister of Justice to seek and mobilize support and sponsorship from individuals and organizations abroad to implement the Project to enhance capacity in the inspection and handling of regulatory legal documents after approval by the Prime Minister.

7. The Chairman of the Government Office:

a) Shall take the lead and coordinate with Ministers, Heads of agencies equivalent to Ministries, Chairmen of People's Councils of centrally governed cities and provinces to promptly examine petitions for the handling of illegal regulatory legal documents within the Prime Minister's authority and report to the Prime Minister for decision;

b) Organize reviews of regulatory legal documents issued by the Government and the Prime Minister; timely compile information from Ministries, sectors, localities, agencies, organizations, mass media, and individuals regarding contents in regulatory legal documents issued by the Government and the Prime Minister that are inconsistent with the provisions of laws, ordinances, or higher-level state agency documents or with the country's economic and social development situation to report and petition the Government and the Prime Minister.

8. The Chairmen of People's Committees of centrally governed cities and provinces:

a) Regularly direct, urge, and inspect the implementation of regulatory legal document inspection work at the local level; establish inter-sectoral inspection teams to inspect the issuance of documents at the local level;

b) Promptly examine and handle according to their authority or petition relevant agencies or persons with authority to handle illegal regulatory legal documents issued by People's Councils and People's Committees at various levels in the locality;

c) Emphasize discipline and compliance with the principle of rule of law in the work of drafting and issuing regulatory legal documents; shall not base decisions on the specific characteristics of the locality to issue documents contrary to higher-level state agency regulatory legal documents.

9. The Minister of Justice shall be responsible for coordinating with the Chairman of the Government Office to urge and inspect the implementation of this Directive, and periodically compile reports every six months and annually to report to the Prime Minister.

Ministers, Heads of agencies equivalent to Ministries, Heads of agencies under the Government, Chairmen of People's Councils, and Chairmen of People's Committees of centrally governed cities and provinces are responsible for implementing this Directive. Any difficulties or new developments during implementation shall be promptly reported to the Prime Minister for consideration and resolution./.