Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Articles of the Law on Military Service No. 43/2005/QH11

LAW

Amending and Supplementing Certain Articles of the Law on Military Service Obligation

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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;
This Law amends and supplements certain articles of the Law on Military Service Obligation adopted by the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on December 30, 1981, which was amended and supplemented for the first time on December 21, 1990, and for the second time on June 22, 1994.

Article 1. Amending and supplementing certain articles of the Law on Military Service Obligation:

1. Clause 12 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 12

Male citizens who have reached eighteen years of age may be called up for military service; the age range for call-up during peacetime is from eighteen to twenty-five years old."

2. Clause 14 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 14

The term of service in peacetime for non-commissioned officers and soldiers is eighteen months.

The term of service in peacetime for non-commissioned officer commanders, non-commissioned officers and soldiers with specialized technical training provided by the military, and soldiers on naval ships is twenty-four months."

3. Article 16 is amended and supplemented as follows:

“Article 16

The calculation of the start and end points of the term of service for non-commissioned officers and soldiers shall be regulated by the Minister of National Defense.

Time spent deserting shall not be counted towards the term of service."

4. Clause 22 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 22

Citizens called up for military service must appear at the time and place specified in the call-up order; if there is a legitimate reason preventing them from appearing at the specified time and place, they must present a confirmation letter issued by the People's Committee of the commune, ward, or town (hereinafter referred to as the People's Committee of the commune) where they reside."

5. Clause 24 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 24

1. People's Committees at all levels shall establish Military Service Councils at their respective levels to assist the People's Committees in organizing and implementing military service work in their localities.

2. The composition of Military Service Councils at all levels shall be defined as follows:

a) The Military Service Council of provinces, centrally governed cities, districts, towns, and provincial-level cities shall consist of the Chairman being the Chairman of the People's Committee, the Vice-Chairman being the Commander of the local military office, members being those responsible for public security, judicial affairs, planning, labor - invalids and social affairs, health, education, culture - information, finance, and representatives of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, Youth Union, Women's Union, Farmers' Association, Veterans' Association;

b) The Military Service Council of communes, wards, and towns shall consist of the Chairman being the Chairman of the People's Committee, the Vice-Chairman being the head of the commune defense team, members being those responsible for public security, judicial affairs, health, finance, and representatives of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, Youth Union, Women's Union, Veterans' Association, and other members decided by the Chairman of the People's Committee at the same level.

3. The Military Service Council shall operate under the principle of collective decision-making; resolutions of the Council must be approved by more than half of the total number of Council members."

6. Clause 29 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 29

1. The following citizens shall be temporarily exempted from call-up for military service during peacetime:

a) Those who are not fit for service according to the conclusion of the Health Examination Board;

b) The sole breadwinner directly supporting family members who are no longer able to work or have not yet reached working age;

c) Having a brother, sister, or half-brother/half-sister serving in the military;

d) Teachers, medical staff, volunteers working in remote areas, border regions, islands, and particularly difficult regions; civil servants, officials, and employees dispatched to work in these regions;

đ) Engaged in state-level scientific research projects certified by the Minister, Head of a ministerial-level agency, or equivalent;

e) Currently studying at secondary schools, vocational schools, junior colleges, colleges, and universities as prescribed by the Government;

g) Participating in economic development zones for the first three years.

Each year, citizens temporarily exempted from call-up as stipulated in this clause must be reviewed; if they no longer meet the exemption criteria, they will be called up for military service.

2. The following citizens shall be permanently exempted from call-up for military service during peacetime:

a) Children of martyrs, children of first-class disabled veterans, and children of first-class war invalids;

b) One brother or sister of a martyr;

c) One son of a second-class disabled veteran;

d) Volunteers, civil servants, and officials as stipulated in point d of clause 1 of this Article who have served for twenty-four months or more.

3. Citizens eligible for temporary exemption or permanent exemption from call-up as stipulated in clauses 1 and 2 of this Article may volunteer to be selected and called up for military service if they wish.

4. The Government shall specify the remote areas, border regions, islands, and particularly difficult regions."

7. Clause 37 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 37

Reserve non-commissioned officers and soldiers are divided into first-class reserves and second-class reserves.

First-class reserves include non-commissioned officers and soldiers who have completed their service term or exceeded the limit; non-commissioned officers and soldiers discharged before their term but having served over six months; non-commissioned officers and soldiers who have participated in combat; male second-class reserves who have undergone centralized training for at least six months.

Second-class reserves include non-commissioned officers and soldiers discharged before their term but having served less than six months; male citizens aged twenty-six or older who have not served and are transferred to reserve status; female citizens who have registered for military service as prescribed in Article 4 of this Law."

8. Clause 39 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 39

Based on age, reserve non-commissioned officers and soldiers in each category are divided into two groups:

Group A: Men up to thirty-five years old; women up to thirty years old;

Group B: Men from thirty-six to forty-five years old; women from thirty-one to forty years old."

9. Clause 52 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 52

Professional military reservists, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers in reserve during concentrated training, exercises, and combat readiness inspections, themselves and their families shall enjoy benefits and policies as prescribed by the Government."

10. Clause 3 of Article 53 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"3. From the nineteenth month onwards, they shall receive an additional 200% of the current monthly rank allowance; from the twenty-fifth month onwards, they shall receive an additional 250% of the current monthly rank allowance;"

Article 2. Amend and supplement certain Articles of the Law on Military Service regarding terminology as follows:

1. Delete the word "giới" in the phrase "nam giới" in Articles 3, 13, 17, 19, 20, and 38; delete the word "giới" in the phrase "nữ giới" in Article 38;

2. Replace the phrase "phụ nữ" in Article 4 with the phrase "công dân nữ"; replace the word "người" in Articles 20, 26, 28, 31, 58, 59, 60, and 62 with the phrase "công dân"; replace the word "người" in the phrase "người sẵn sàng nhập ngũ" in Article 61 with the phrase "công dân";

3. Delete the word "về" in the phrase "Luật về sĩ quan Quân đội nhân dân Việt Nam" in Articles 6 and 7;

4. Supplement the phrase "(hereinafter referred to as Chairman of the People's Committee of the Commune)" after the phrase "Chairman of the People's Committee of the commune, ward, town" in Article 17; replace the phrase "Chairman of the People's Committee of the commune, ward, town" in Articles 19 and 61 with the phrase "Chairman of the People's Committee of the Commune";

5. Replace the phrase "People's Committee of the commune, ward, town" in Articles 23, 36, 54, and 64 with the phrase "People's Committee of the Commune";

6. Supplement the phrase "(hereinafter referred to as People's Committee of the District)" after the phrase "People's Committee of the district, town, town under province, provincial city" in Article 19; replace the phrase "People's Committee of the district, town, town under province, provincial city" in Articles 27, 31, and 32 with the phrase "People's Committee of the District";

7. Replace the phrase "at point 2 and point 3 Article 29 of this Law" in Article 33 with the phrase "at point b Clause 1, points a, b, and c Clause 2 Article 29 of this Law".

Article 3. The Government shall provide detailed implementation regulations for this Law.

This Law was adopted by the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the eleventh session, seventh meeting, on June 14, 2005.