Decision No. 355/TTg On the establishment of the Government Steering Committee for the comprehensive review and systematization of regulatory legal documents

Pursuant to …;

Regarding the establishment of the Government's Steering Committee for Comprehensive Review and Systematization of Legal Normative Documents

PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the Government Organization Law dated September 30, 1992;

Pursuant to the Law on Enacting Legal Normative Documents dated November 12, 1996;

In order to regularize, continuously implement the comprehensive review and systematization of legal normative documents, and fulfill the task of comprehensively reviewing legal normative documents in the two-year period of 1997-1998;

Approve the Program for Reforming the Work on Drafting, Issuing, and Improving the Quality of Regulatory Legal Documents.

DECISION:

Article 1. Establish the Government's Steering Committee for Comprehensive Review and Systematization of Legal Normative Documents comprising the following members:

1. The Minister of Justice, Chairman;

2. Deputy Director of the Government Office, Vice-Chairman;

3. Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, Member;

4. Deputy Minister of Finance, Member;

5. Deputy Head of the Organization-Cadre Department of the Government, Member;

The Chairman of the Steering Committee invites representatives from the National Assembly Office, State President's Office, Supreme People's Court, and Supreme People's Procuracy to participate in the Government's Steering Committee.

The Government's Steering Committee has a team of specialized staff assisting in its work, the composition of which is decided by the Steering Committee; the place of work is at the Ministry of Justice.

Article 2. The Government's Steering Committee for Comprehensive Review and Systematization of Legal Normative Documents has the following tasks and powers:

1. Organizing training and guiding the business of reviewing and systematizing legal normative documents for ministries, sectors, and localities;

2. Urging and inspecting the implementation of the comprehensive review and systematization plan of legal normative documents of the Prime Minister attached to this Decision and reporting periodically to the Prime Minister;

3. Compiling and processing the results of the comprehensive review conducted by ministries, sectors, and localities and reporting to the Prime Minister;

4. Deciding on the publication of the general table of contents, general volumes, and collections of legal normative documents;

Directing the publication of the systematized legal normative documents of ministries, sectors, and localities.

Article 3. The Minister, Heads of Ministries equivalent to Ministries, Heads of agencies under the Government, Chairmen of Provincial People's Committees directly under the Central Government have the responsibility to organize and implement the comprehensive review and systematization of legal normative documents according to the Prime Minister's plan attached to this Decision.

Article 4. The budget for the comprehensive review and systematization of legal normative documents of the Government's Steering Committee shall be provided by the state budget.

The Ministry of Finance shall coordinate with the Ministry of Justice and the Government Office to stipulate, guide, and inspect the use of these funds.

Article 5. The Minister, Heads of Ministries equivalent to Ministries, Heads of agencies under the Government, Chairmen of Provincial People's Committees directly under the Central Government, and members of the Government's Steering Committee for the comprehensive review of legal normative documents are responsible for implementing this Decision./.

PLAN

REGARDING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW AND SYSTEMATIZATION OF LEGAL NORMATIVE DOCUMENTS IN THE TWO-YEAR PERIOD OF 1996-1998
(Attached to Decision No. 355/TTg dated May 28, 1997 of the Government Prime Minister)

On November 12, 1996, the Ninth National Assembly at its tenth session adopted the Law on Enacting Legal Normative Documents. Article 8 of the Law provides that: "State agencies within their scope and authority are responsible for regularly reviewing and periodically systematizing legal normative documents; if they discover provisions contrary to the law, contradictory, overlapping, or no longer suitable for the country's development situation, they must themselves or propose to competent state agencies to promptly amend, supplement, replace, abolish, or suspend enforcement." To regularize the review and systematization of legal normative documents in accordance with the law, the Prime Minister decides the plan for the comprehensive review and systematization of legal normative documents as follows:

I. ON THE SCOPE AND OBJECTS OF LEGAL NORMATIVE DOCUMENTS TO BE REVIEWED

1. According to the Law on Enacting Legal Normative Documents, legal normative documents that need to be reviewed include:

- Laws, Resolutions of the National Assembly;

- Ordinances, Resolutions of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly;

- Orders, Decisions of the State President;

- Resolutions, Decrees of the Government; Decisions, Directives of the Prime Minister;

- Decisions, Directives, Circulars of Ministers, Heads of Ministries equivalent to Ministries, Heads of agencies under the Government;

- Resolutions, Joint Circulars between state agencies with political-social organizations;

- Resolutions of Provincial People's Councils directly under the Central Government;

- Decisions, Directives of Provincial People's Committees directly under the Central Government.

In administrative activities, ministries, sectors, and localities also issue other forms of documents such as announcements, plans, circulars... containing legal norms. Therefore, in this comprehensive review, legal norms currently being implemented but issued in the above forms of documents must also be reviewed.

2. Regarding the issuance date of documents to be reviewed: the issuance date of legal normative documents to be reviewed is calculated from July 2, 1976 to December 31, 1996.

II. OBJECTIVES AND TASKS OF THE COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW AND SYSTEMATIZATION OF LEGAL NORMATIVE DOCUMENTS

1. Objectives of the comprehensive review.

- Identifying legal normative documents that are contradictory, overlapping, or contrary to the Constitution, Laws, Ordinances, or issued beyond authority from July 2, 1976 to December 31, 1996, to handle according to authority or establish a list of documents to timely propose to competent state agencies to revoke, amend, or supplement;

- Establishing and publishing a list of legal normative documents, publishing volumes of systematized legal normative documents still in effect for uniform application throughout the country and in each locality.

2. Tasks of the comprehensive review.

To achieve the aforementioned objectives, ministries, agencies equivalent to ministries, agencies under the Government, and Provincial People's Committees directly under the Central Government (hereinafter referred to collectively as ministries, sectors, and localities) within their functions, duties, and authorities, organize the review and handling of legal normative documents according to authority and establish various types of lists of legal normative documents to be sent to the Government's Steering Committee for the Comprehensive Review of Legal Normative Documents.

a. For ministries, agencies equivalent to ministries, agencies under the Government:

- Compile a complete list of regulatory legal documents issued from July 2, 1976 to December 31, 1996 concerning sectors and fields under the purview of Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and government-affiliated agencies (Laws, Resolutions of the National Assembly; Ordinances, Resolutions of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly; Decrees, Decisions of the President; Resolutions, Decrees of the Government; Decisions, Directives of the Prime Minister; Decisions, Directives, Circulars of Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, and government-affiliated agencies; Joint Circulars between Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and government-affiliated agencies; Joint Circulars with the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuracy, or central agencies of political-social organizations);

Due to changes in functions, tasks, and organizational structures of Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and government-affiliated agencies (splitting, merging of Ministries and sectors), it is necessary to clearly note in the list those legal documents that previously regulated matters under the responsibility of other Ministries or sectors but now fall within the purview of the current Ministry or sector.

- Compile a list of regulatory legal documents that have expired and been abolished or replaced.

- Compile a list of regulatory legal documents that are still in effect.

- Compile a list of regulatory legal documents that are still in effect but contain provisions that need to be amended, supplemented, or abolished.

- Compile a list of documents issued beyond authority.

b. For Provincial People's Committees and Municipal People's Committees directly under the Central Government:

- Compile a complete list of regulatory legal documents issued by Provincial People's Committees and Municipal People's Committees directly under the Central Government from July 2, 1976 to December 31, 1996.

For provinces and cities that have just been separated, the list must clearly note the legal documents that were applied in the previous province or city and are still effective in the new province or city, as well as the legal documents newly issued by the People's Council and People's Committee of the new province or city.

- Compile a list of regulatory legal documents that have expired and been abolished or replaced by the People's Council and People's Committee of the province or city directly under the Central Government.

- Compile a list of regulatory legal documents issued by the People's Council and People's Committee of the province or city directly under the Central Government that are still in effect.

- Compile a list of regulatory legal documents issued by higher state agencies (National Assembly, Standing Committee of the National Assembly, President, Government, Prime Minister, Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and government-affiliated agencies) which, upon implementation at the local level, are found to no longer be appropriate and require recommendations for amendment, supplementation, or abolition.

c. For the Government Steering Committee on the comprehensive review and systematization of regulatory legal documents:

1. Aggregate and organize the lists of regulatory legal documents compiled by Ministries, sectors, Provincial People's Committees, and Municipal People's Committees directly under the Central Government and submit them to the Steering Committee. Depending on the lists of documents, the Steering Committee will organize seminars, seek opinions from relevant political-social organizations, and establish lists of regulatory legal documents to be submitted to the Government for handling within its jurisdiction or to be recommended to competent authorities for handling.

These lists include:

- A list of regulatory legal documents that have expired, been abolished, or replaced.

- A list of regulatory legal documents that are still in effect issued by the National Assembly, Standing Committee of the National Assembly, President, Government, and Prime Minister.

2. Coordinate with the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuracy to review and systematize regulatory legal documents within the functions, tasks, and powers of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuracy, as well as regulatory legal documents issued by these two agencies.

3. Examine and decide on the printing and publication of general indexes, compilations, and collections of regulatory legal documents; direct Ministries, sectors, and localities to publish compilations of regulatory legal documents of Ministries, sectors, and localities.

III. ON ORGANIZATION AND IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE

1. On organization of implementation:

a. At Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and government-affiliated agencies, establish a Steering Committee for the comprehensive review of regulatory legal documents headed by a Minister or Deputy Minister as Chairperson, and the Director of the Legal Department as Vice-Chairperson (in agencies without a Legal Department, the Head of the Office of the Ministry serves as Vice-Chairperson). The Steering Committee has a team of specialists comprising staff from the Legal Department and subordinate units of the Ministry or sector.

b. At Provincial People's Committees and Municipal People's Committees directly under the Central Government, establish a Steering Committee for the comprehensive review of regulatory legal documents headed by the Chairman or Vice-Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee or Municipal People's Committee directly under the Central Government as Chairperson, and the Director of the Justice Department as Vice-Chairperson. The Steering Committee has a team of specialists comprising staff from the Justice Department and the Office of the Provincial People's Committee or Municipal People's Committee directly under the Central Government.

c. Decisions to establish the Steering Committee for the comprehensive review of regulatory legal documents of Ministries, sectors, and Provincial People's Committees and Municipal People's Committees directly under the Central Government, as well as the comprehensive review plans of Ministries, sectors, and localities, must be sent to the Prime Minister and the Government Steering Committee before June 15, 1997 (Ministry of Justice, 25A Cat Linh, Hanoi).

2. On implementation schedule: To ensure timely, accurate, and high-quality comprehensive review and organization of regulatory legal documents, Ministries, sectors, and localities must strictly adhere to the following schedule:

- From June 15, 1997 to August 15, 1997, the Government Steering Committee will organize training sessions on the review and systematization of regulatory legal documents for specialized staff of Ministries, sectors, and localities involved in the review and systematization of regulatory legal documents.

- From September 1997 to December 1997, Ministries, sectors, and localities will compile and create a complete list of regulatory legal documents issued by Ministries, sectors, and localities from July 2, 1976 to December 31, 1996.

- From December 1997 to June 1998, ministries, sectors, and localities shall conduct reviews, compile lists of normative legal documents that need supplementation, amendment, or abolition, and lists of normative legal documents proposed for amendment, supplementation, abolition, or issuance of new ones, and submit them to the Government Steering Committee before June 30, 1998.

- From July to August 1998, ministries, sectors, and localities shall complete lists of current normative legal documents within their management scope.

- From September to December 1998, the Government Steering Committee on the Comprehensive Review and Systematization of Normative Legal Documents shall consolidate, revise, plan printing and publication of volumes of systematized normative legal documents still in effect, and report results to the Prime Minister.

- In June 1997, the Ministry of Justice shall prepare the budget for the comprehensive review of normative legal documents according to the content and progress schedule of the implementation plan for the period of 1997-1998, and proactively coordinate with the Ministry of Finance in accordance with Article 4 of Decision No. 355/TTg dated May 28, 1997.

Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government agencies, provincial People's Committees, and municipal People's Committees directly under the central government shall be responsible for organizing and implementing this plan and reporting periodically every three months to the Prime Minister and the Government Steering Committee on the Comprehensive Review and Systematization of Normative Legal Documents (address: 25A Cat Linh, Hanoi).