Decree No. 38/2005/NĐ-CP on certain measures to ensure public order

DECREE

Regulations on Certain Measures to Ensure Public Order

THE GOVERNMENT

To maintain public order and contribute to ensuring citizens' rights to freedom and democracy as prescribed by law;

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated December 25, 2001;

Considering the proposal of the Minister of Public Security,

DECREE:

Chapter I:

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of application

This Decree stipulates certain measures to ensure public order; the tasks and authorities of ministries, sectors, People's Committees at all levels, and the responsibilities of organizations and individuals in ensuring public order.

Article 2. Responsibilities for Ensuring Public Order

1. Agencies, organizations, and individuals shall strictly comply with legal provisions on ensuring public order; respect common social rules; detect and report any acts violating laws on public order or infringing upon citizens' rights to freedom and democracy; participate and support competent agencies in detecting, preventing, and handling violations of laws on public order.

2. Foreign individuals and organizations residing and operating within the territory of Vietnam shall strictly comply with this Decree and other relevant legal provisions on ensuring public order.

Article 3. Propaganda, Dissemination, and Legal Education on Public Order

1. Agencies, organizations, and local authorities at all levels shall be responsible for propagandizing and educating members and persons under their agencies, organizations, and localities about the awareness of complying with the law, implementing grassroots democratic regulations, and democratic regulations in each field of work; promptly take measures to eliminate causes and conditions that adversely affect public order.

2. Information and propaganda agencies shall be responsible for regularly organizing the dissemination of legal provisions on ensuring public order, complaints, and denunciations, and the rights and obligations of citizens in ensuring public order so that everyone knows and voluntarily complies.

Article 4. Supervision and Inspection of Law Enforcement on Ensuring Public Order

1. People's Councils at all levels shall be responsible for coordinating with the same-level Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee and its member organizations to supervise the enforcement of laws on ensuring public order by organizations and individuals.

2. Heads of state agencies and Chairpersons of People's Committees at all levels within their scope of management shall be responsible for regularly inspecting and urging the enforcement of laws on ensuring public order; promptly take measures to prevent, educate, and strictly handle any acts violating laws on ensuring public order.

Article 5. Prohibited acts

1. Exploiting citizens' rights to freedom and democracy to carry out or incite, induce, bribe, or coerce others to gather in large numbers to disrupt public order or to commit other illegal acts.

2. Gathering in large numbers contrary to the law on roads, sidewalks, before the offices of agencies and organizations, in areas where international conferences, National Assembly sessions, People's Council meetings, or other important political activities of the Party, State, Vietnam Fatherland Front, and social-political organizations, or other public places.

3. Conducting activities as stipulated in Article 7 of this Decree without permission from the competent People's Committee.

4. Obstructing the normal operations of agencies and organizations, leaders of the Party, State, Vietnam Fatherland Front, and social-political organizations, or obstructing and opposing law enforcement officers.

5. Using positions and powers to shield, cover up, or handle leniently acts violating laws on ensuring public order.

6. Other acts seriously affecting public order, the normal lives of people, or contravening good customs, civilized behavior in public places.

Article 6. Principles for Handling Violations of Laws on Ensuring Public Order

1. All acts violating laws on ensuring public order must be detected promptly and handled strictly according to the provisions of the law.

2. The handling of violations of public order laws must be carried out according to the provisions of this Decree and other relevant legal provisions; must be based on the nature, degree of violation, personal circumstances of the violator, and other related circumstances to decide appropriate forms and measures of handling.

3. Coercive measures shall only be applied after applying guiding, educational, and persuasive measures but the violator still does not comply or deliberately violates, opposes, and disrupts public order.

Chapter II

SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

Article 7. Provisions on Gathering in Large Numbers in Public Places

Gathering in large numbers in public places must be registered in advance with the competent People's Committee where the activities take place and must be implemented according to the registered content. This provision does not apply to activities organized by Party, State, Vietnam Fatherland Front, and social-political organizations.

Article 8. Procedures for Registering Gatherings in Large Numbers in Public Places

1. Before conducting gatherings in large numbers in public places, the organization or person organizing such activities must submit a registration form to the competent People's Committee. The registration form must include the following basic contents:

a) Name, age, address of the registrant; name, headquarters, and other information of the registering organization;

b) Content and purpose of gathering in large numbers;

c) Date, time of activity, end time;

d) Gathering location, route taken, route map;

đ) Names of organizations expected to participate and the names, ages, addresses of representatives of those organizations;

e) Expected number of participants; flags, images, equipment brought along, content of banners, slogans (if any);

g) Commitment to implement the registered content and scope of activities and comply with legal provisions on ensuring public order.

2. Within seven working days from the date of receipt of the registration form, the Chairman of the competent People's Committee shall be responsible for examining and resolving the registration of gatherings in large numbers.

3. The Chairman who has approved or the Chairman of the directly superior People's Committee may temporarily suspend, stop, or revoke the gathering when it is deemed to seriously affect public order or violate the permitted content.

4. The Ministry of Public Security shall provide detailed guidance on the procedures, formalities, and authorities of People's Committees at all levels in receiving, handling applications for registration, temporary suspension, suspension, or cancellation of public gatherings.

Article 9. Measures to ensure public order

1. Specify protected areas, areas prohibited from gathering large crowds; prohibit audio recording, video recording, and photography.

2. Implement traffic flow management, prohibiting or restricting people and vehicles from entering or leaving certain areas.

3. In case of situations seriously affecting public order, competent agencies shall take measures as follows to stabilize the situation, ensure public order, and handle violators according to specific circumstances:

a) Persuade and require everyone to strictly comply with laws on ensuring public order and immediately cease illegal acts.

b) Set up barriers and checkpoints at key intersections.

c) Temporarily suspend the operation of transportation means.

d) Check personal identification documents; search persons and means of transport; temporarily detain persons and means of transport that violate regulations; confiscate weapons and dangerous items as prescribed by law.

đ) Force persons who commit violations to leave unlawful assembly sites.

e) Use support tools and other tools and means to ensure public order.

g) Temporarily requisition means and facilities of agencies, organizations, and citizens as prescribed by law to serve urgent measures to restore public order.

h) Other measures prescribed by law.

4. The Ministry of Public Security shall provide detailed implementation guidance on applying the measures stipulated in Clauses 1, 2, and 3 of this Article.

Article 10. Authority to apply measures to ensure public order

1. Police officers, commanders of units directly performing tasks to ensure public order within their functions, duties, and powers are authorized to implement measures to ensure public order as stipulated in Clauses 2 and 3 of Article 9 of this Decree.

2. The Director of the General Department of Security, the Director of the General Department of Police, the Commander of the Border Guard Command, the Director of the Police Protective Service and Judicial Support Bureau, the Director of the Administrative Management Bureau for Social Order, the Director of the Highway Traffic Police Corps, the Director of the Waterway Traffic Police Corps, the Provincial Police Chief, the City Police Chief under the Central Government, the Motorized Infantry Regiment Commander within their functions, duties, and powers are authorized to decide on and organize the implementation of measures to ensure public order as stipulated in Clauses 2 and 3 of Article 9 of this Decree.

3. In cases of urgency and upon the request of the Provincial Police Chief, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee may decide to apply necessary measures and mobilize forces to participate in ensuring public order as prescribed by law.

4. In cases where local capacity is exceeded, upon the request of the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, the Minister of Public Security shall take the lead and coordinate with relevant ministries, agencies, and provincial people's committees to direct resolution and issue decisions to apply necessary measures as prescribed by law to maintain and ensure public order.

5. In cases of particularly serious public order issues, the Minister of Public Security shall report to the Prime Minister for decision.

Article 11. Handling Violations of Laws on Public Order

1. For cases of unlawful gatherings, disrupting public order, or committing prohibited acts as stipulated in Article 5 of this Decree, competent agencies shall apply necessary measures as prescribed by this Decree and related laws to prevent and strictly deal with violations.

2. In cases of unlawful gatherings due to complaints or denunciations, competent agencies shall guide citizens to exercise their rights to complain and denounce in accordance with the law; simultaneously, they shall educate, persuade them to disperse voluntarily and return to their place of residence. For those who intentionally violate, refuse to comply with the requirements of law enforcement officers, or engage in acts of resistance, disruption of public order, or harm to the lives, health, dignity, reputation, or property of others, competent agencies are authorized to apply necessary measures as prescribed by law to prevent, handle, and compel violators to return to their place of residence.

Article 12. Responsibilities of Ministries, Sectors, and People's Committees at All Levels in Organizing the Implementation of Public Order Assurance

1. Ministries, sectors, and People's Committees at all levels, within their functions, duties, and powers, are responsible for issuing or proposing the issuance of normative legal documents on public order assurance and strictly implementing these provisions; promptly informing and exchanging information with People's Committees and relevant agencies when incidents occur to proactively coordinate in handling situations related to public order assurance; when formulating and issuing policies, laws, programs, and plans for economic and social development, they must pay attention to requirements for public order assurance; at the same time, they must have specific plans and measures to guide and effectively implement, preventing gaps and shortcomings that could lead to complaints, denunciations, disturbances, and negative impacts on public order.

2. The Ministry of Public Security is responsible for:

a) Study, propose, and issue guiding documents within their authority and organize the implementation of legal provisions on public order assurance.

b) Take the lead and coordinate with ministries, sectors, and organizations to direct People's Committees at all levels to implement measures to ensure public order as stipulated in this Decree and related legal documents.

c) Organize and direct the implementation of measures as prescribed by law to ensure public order.

d) Organize and direct investigations and handling of acts violating public order as prescribed by law.

3. The Government Inspectorate within the scope of its functions, tasks, and authorities shall be responsible for taking the lead and coordinating with relevant agencies to organize the implementation of inspection work, handling complaints and reports in accordance with the provisions of the law, ensuring the rights and legitimate interests of agencies, organizations, and individuals; coordinating with the Ministry of Public Security to ensure public order at places where there are mass complaints and reports.

4. The Ministry of National Defense shall be responsible for guiding and directing agencies and units in the Military to have plans to coordinate with local authorities where they are stationed to promote propaganda and mobilize the people to strictly implement the Party's guidelines and State laws, contributing to ensuring public order; coordinating with local authorities and competent agencies in implementing measures to ensure public order when required by authorized agencies.

5. The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications shall be responsible for ensuring secure and uninterrupted information, coordinating with authorized state agencies in controlling information to serve the requirements of ensuring public order.

6. People's Committees at all levels, within the scope of their tasks and authorities, shall be responsible for:

a) Proactively grasping the situation, taking preventive measures, detecting, preventing, and strictly dealing with acts that abuse the right to file complaints and reports, freedom of belief and religion, and other civil freedoms to incite, instigate, or coerce others to illegally gather in large numbers, disrupt public order, obstruct public officials in the performance of their duties, or other acts affecting public order, infringing upon or threatening to infringe upon the interests of the State, the rights and legitimate interests of organizations and individuals; taking specific measures to prevent and eventually eliminate the causes and conditions leading to such situations;

b) Having proactive plans, closely coordinating with the same-level Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee and member organizations of the Front in promoting education, guidance to the people to comply with the Party's guidelines and State laws, having a sense of protecting and abiding by the law, building civilized public life; supervising and handling according to their authority cases where individuals abuse mass gatherings to commit excessive acts that harm public order, infringing upon the rights and legitimate interests of organizations and individuals;

c) Organizing the implementation of measures to ensure public order within their jurisdiction; coordinating with ministries, sectors, and related agencies to properly handle illegal mass gatherings and actions violating public order that negatively impact the local area;

d) Promptly and thoroughly resolving complaints and reports within their authority in accordance with the law. When there is a situation where residents from their locality illegally gather in large numbers, adversely affecting public order in another locality, they must coordinate with the People's Committee of the locality where the gathering occurs to resolve the issue and organize the return of those individuals to their place of residence;

đ) Specifying protected areas, areas prohibited from mass gatherings, prohibiting audio and video recording and photography, and organizing the implementation of placing signs for these purposes.

Chapter III

REWARD AND VIOLATION HANDLING

Article 13. Commendation and handling of violations

1. Agencies, organizations, and individuals who achieve outstanding results in implementing the legal provisions on ensuring public order shall be rewarded in accordance with the law.

2. Organizations and individuals who violate the provisions of this Decree and other legal provisions on ensuring public order shall be subject to administrative penalties or criminal prosecution depending on the nature and severity of the violation and whether the violator is an organization or individual; if damage is caused, compensation must be provided in accordance with the law.

3. Any person who abuses their position or power in performing tasks to ensure public order to infringe upon the interests of the State, the rights and legitimate interests of organizations and individuals shall be subject to disciplinary action or criminal prosecution depending on the nature and severity of the violation; if damage is caused, compensation must be provided in accordance with the law.

4. The head of an agency or organization who fails in their responsibility in organizing, managing, and inspecting the implementation of regulations on ensuring public order, or engages in harassment, tolerance, cover-up, causing difficulties and inconvenience to organizations and individuals exercising their right to file complaints and reports, resulting in illegal mass gatherings and adverse effects on public order, shall be subject to disciplinary action or criminal prosecution depending on the nature and severity of the violation.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 14. Effectiveness

This Decree shall take effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette. All previous Government regulations on ensuring public order that conflict with this Decree are hereby abolished.

Article 15. Responsibility for Implementation

The Minister of Public Security shall provide detailed guidance on the implementation of this Decree. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of agencies under the Government, Chairpersons of Provincial People's Committees, and directly affiliated cities under the Central Government, and related organizations and individuals are responsible for implementing this Decree./.