Decree No. 55/2022/NĐ-CP on the National Database for Citizen Reception Work, Handling Petitions, Resolving Complaints and Appeals, Suggestions, and Reflections

DECREE

Regarding the National Database on Citizen Reception Work, Complaint Handling, Grievance Resolution, Suggestions, and Reflections

On the basis of the Law on Information Technology dated June 29, 2006;

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Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated June 19, 2015; the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Law on Organization of the Government and the Law on Organization of Local Administration dated November 22, 2019;

Pursuant to the Law on Receiving Citizens dated November 25, 2013;

Pursuant to the Law on Petition dated November 11, 2011;

Pursuant to the Law on Complaints dated June 12, 2018;

Pursuant to the Law on Electronic Transactions dated November 29, 2005;

The Government issues this Decree to stipulate the National Database on Citizen Reception Work, Complaint Handling, Grievance Resolution, Suggestions, and Reflections.

||| Pursuant to the Cybersecurity Law dated November 19, 2015;

Pursuant to the Law on Access to Information dated April 6, 2016;

At the proposal of the Government Inspectorate;

GENERAL PROVISIONS

PART I

This Decree stipulates the construction, updating, management, exploitation, and use of the National Database on Citizen Reception Work, Complaint Handling, Grievance Resolution, Suggestions, and Reflections; the responsibilities of agencies, organizations, and individuals related to the construction, updating, management, exploitation, and use of the National Database on Citizen Reception Work, Complaint Handling, Grievance Resolution, Suggestions, and Reflections.

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Decree applies to ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-affiliated agencies, People's Committees at all levels, state inspection agencies, agencies, organizations, and individuals with authority and responsibility for citizen reception work, complaint handling, grievance resolution, suggestions, and reflections, and other agencies, organizations, and individuals related to the construction, updating, management, exploitation, and use of the National Database on Citizen Reception Work, Complaint Handling, Grievance Resolution, Suggestions, and Reflections.

Article 2. Applicability

Article 3. National Database on Citizen Reception Work, Complaint Handling, Grievance Resolution, Suggestions, and Reflections

1. The National Database on Citizen Reception Work, Complaint Handling, Grievance Resolution, Suggestions, and Reflections (hereinafter referred to as the Database) is a collection of information about complaints, accusations, suggestions, and reflections from agencies, organizations, and individuals, and information and data about citizen reception work, complaint handling, grievance resolution, and suggestion and reflection handling by competent authorities, standardized, digitized, stored, and managed through information infrastructure in accordance with this Decree and relevant laws.

2. The Database is centrally constructed and managed at the Government Inspectorate and organized for updates and exploitation at ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-affiliated agencies, and People's Committees at all levels to serve state management of citizen reception work, grievance resolution, complaint handling, suggestion, and reflection handling.

Article 4. Principles for Construction, Updating, Management, Exploitation, and Use of the Database

1. Compliance with legal provisions on citizen reception work, complaint handling, grievance resolution, suggestion, and reflection handling, protection of state secrets, protection of personal information, and other relevant legal provisions.

2. Ensuring compatibility with the national information system architecture, meeting database standards, and technical and information technology standards.

3. Ensuring timeliness, completeness, accuracy, and compliance with legal authority and purpose.

4. Ensuring strict, safe, stable, and smooth management and operation.

1. Intentionally failing to update or updating incomplete or inaccurate information and data; distorting information, changing, deleting, or destroying data illegally in the Database.

3. Ensuring state secrets and operational secrecy as prescribed by law and internal regulations of each agency.

2. Unauthorized access to the Database.

3. Illegally exploiting, using, or disclosing information in the Database, or taking advantage of information provision for personal gain.

4. Destroying, damaging, or ruining the information infrastructure system or obstructing the operation and continuous maintenance stability of the Database.

CONSTRUCTION, MANAGEMENT, AND EXPLOITATION OF THE DATABASE

Chapter II

INFORMATION IN THE DATABASE

Section 1

INFORMATION IN THE DATABASE

Article 6. Information updated in the Database

1. Information on receiving citizens:

a) Name and address of the citizen;

b) Content and results of receiving citizens.

2. Information on handling petitions:

a) Type of petition: complaint petition, accusation petition, suggestion petition, reflection petition, petition with multiple contents;

b) Petition meeting conditions for handling;

c) Petition within the jurisdiction to resolve;

d) Petition to be transferred to competent authorities: National Assembly, agencies of the National Assembly, agencies under the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, People's Councils at all levels; administrative state agencies; judicial agencies, enforcement agencies; State Audit Agency; political organizations, political-social organizations, political-social-professional organizations, social organizations, social-professional organizations, religious organizations; public service units, state-owned enterprises; other agencies, organizations, units;

đ) Returned petition and guidance on submitting petition;

e) Withdrawn petition;

g) Stored petition.

3. Information on complaints:

a) Name and address of the complainant;

b) Name and address of the agency, organization, individual being complained against;

c) Summary of the complaint content and situation of complaint resolution;

d) Decision on initial complaint resolution; decision on second-level complaint resolution;

đ) Results of implementing the complaint resolution decision with legal effect.

4. Information on accusations:

a) Name and address of the accuser;

b) Name and address of the agency, organization, individual being accused;

c) Summary of the accusation content and situation of accusation resolution;

d) Conclusion on the accusation content; decision on handling the violation behavior reported;

đ) Results of implementing the conclusion on the accusation content.

5. Information on suggestions and reflections:

a) Name and address of the suggester, reflector;

b) Summary of the suggestion and reflection content;

c) Results of handling suggestions and reflections.

6. Periodic reports, case reports, specialized reports, sudden reports on receiving citizens, handling petitions, resolving complaints and accusations, handling suggestions and reflections updated according to the requirements of the Government Inspectorate.

Article 7. Sources of information updated in the Database

1. Receiving citizens, handling petitions; receiving and handling suggestions and reflections directly related to the rights and legitimate interests of the suggesters and reflectors; complaint cases with notification of complaint acceptance, accusation cases with decision to accept and resolve accusations from the date this Decree takes legal effect.

2. Cases already having effective legal complaint resolution decisions, cases already having conclusions on accusation content from March 15, 2018 to before the date this Decree takes legal effect.

3. Complex and prolonged complaint and accusation cases not falling under the provisions of Clause 1 and Clause 2 of this Article are updated according to the request documents of the Government Inspectorate.

Article 8. Time of entering information into the Database

1. For cases stipulated in Clause 1 of Article 7 of this Decree, responsible agencies shall start updating immediately after receiving the complaint acceptance notice, accusation acceptance decision, or receiving and handling suggestions and reflections, and update during the process of receiving citizens, handling petitions, resolving complaints and accusations, handling suggestions and reflections.

2. For cases stipulated in Clause 2 of Article 7 of this Decree, responsible agencies shall update within 12 months from the date this Decree takes legal effect.

3. For cases stipulated in Clause 6 of Article 6 and Clause 3 of Article 7 of this Decree, responsible agencies shall update within 15 days from the date of receipt of the request document of the Government Inspectorate.

Article 9. Updating and Adjusting Information in the Database

Within five working days from the date of discovering that information in the database is incomplete, inaccurate, or there is a discrepancy in content between electronic data and paper records, the agency responsible for updating the data must conduct a review and update or adjust the information.

Section 2

RESPONSIBILITIES FOR CONSTRUCTION, MANAGEMENT, AND EXPLOITATION OF THE DATABASE

Article 10. Responsibilities of the Government Inspectorate

1. Organizing the construction and operation of technical infrastructure, managing the system of the database.

2. Assigning the Central Citizen Reception Office to timely update information and data on citizen reception work, handling complaints and denunciations, suggestions, and reflections into the database. Other units under the Government Inspectorate have the responsibility to promptly update information and data on cases assigned to them for resolution into the database.

3. Providing information on citizen reception work, complaint handling, and resolution from the database they manage according to the requirements of authorized agencies, organizations, and individuals as stipulated by law.

4. Organizing, directing, and guiding the updating, exploitation, and use of the database nationwide; standardizing and guiding the connection and synchronization with related databases.

5. Inspecting and auditing the responsibilities of Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of government-affiliated agencies, and Chairpersons of provincial People's Committees in organizing the updating, management, exploitation, and use of the database as prescribed.

6. Implementing standardization and digitization of reporting systems; coordinating with the Government Office to connect the database with the government’s reporting system, the Government Information and Directive Center.

7. Performing other tasks assigned by the Government and the Prime Minister.

Article 11. Responsibilities of Ministries, Ministerial-Level Agencies, Government-Affiliated Agencies, and People's Committees at all levels

1. Timely updating information and data on citizen reception work, complaint handling, and resolution within their jurisdiction into the database.

2. Organizing and directing the timely updating and notification when there are changes or errors in information and data on citizen reception work, complaint handling, and resolution.

3. Organizing and guiding agencies, units, and individuals under their management to provide information for updating into the database.

4. Managing, exploiting, and using information and data on citizen reception, complaint handling, and resolution updated into the database by their own agency.

5. Providing information on citizen reception work, complaint handling, and resolution from the database they manage according to the requirements of authorized agencies, organizations, and individuals as stipulated by this Decree and relevant laws.

6. Ensuring resources for activities related to collecting, updating, exploiting, managing, and using information and data within their jurisdiction.

7. Inspecting and auditing the responsibilities of heads of agencies and units and individuals under their management in updating, managing, exploiting, and using the database according to their authority.

Article 12. Responsibilities of State Inspection Agencies at all levels

1. Assist the Heads of State Management Agencies at the same level to organize the updating, management, exploitation, and utilization of information and data on citizen reception, handling of petitions, complaints, suggestions, and reflections within the scope of management of the Head of the State Management Agency at the same level.

2. Assist the Heads of State Management Agencies at the same level to direct, guide, urge, inspect, and audit the updating, management, exploitation, and utilization of information and data on citizen reception, petition handling, complaint resolution, suggestion processing, and reflection addressing within their respective management scopes.

Article 13. Responsibilities of agencies, organizations, and individuals with authority for citizen reception, complaint and appeal resolution, and suggestion and reflection handling

1. Provide information and data on citizen reception, petition handling, complaint resolution, suggestion processing, and reflection addressing to responsible agencies when requested, and implement updates according to the requirements of authorized agencies; bear responsibility for the accuracy of the provided information.

2. Utilize information and data on citizen reception, petition handling, complaint resolution, suggestion processing, and reflection addressing collected and provided by themselves for management purposes.

Article 14. Authority and Scope of Data Exploitation

1. Agencies responsible for updating information into the Database may exploit information and data within their own update scope.

2. Agencies, organizations, and individuals have the right to request provision of information and data from the Database including:

a) The General Secretary, President, Prime Minister, Chairman of the National Assembly, Standing Member of the Secretariat, Vice President, Deputy Prime Ministers, Members of the Government, Vice Chairmen of the National Assembly, and Members of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly have the right to request provision of information and data nationwide;

b) The Central Inspection Commission, the Central Party Office, and Party Committees at the central level, the Office of the President, the Office of the Government, the Office of the National Assembly, the Ethnic Council, and Committees of the National Assembly, the People's Petitions Committee, and the Deputies' Work Committee under the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee, and National Assembly Deputies have the right to request provision of information and data nationwide;

c) Committees of the Provincial People's Councils, Offices of the Delegation of National Assembly Members and Provincial People's Councils, Provincial People's Committee Offices, Provincial Party Committee Offices, and Committees under Provincial Party Committees, Provincial Vietnam Fatherland Front Committees, and Provincial People's Council Deputies have the right to request provision of information and data within the management scope of the Provincial People's Committee;

d) Offices and Committees of the County People's Councils, County People's Committee Offices, Offices and Committees under District Party Committees, County Party Committees, City Party Committees, County Vietnam Fatherland Front Committees, and County People's Council Deputies have the right to request provision of information and data within the management scope of the County People's Committee;

đ) Other agencies, organizations, and individuals with the authority to request provision of information in accordance with the law.

3. The exploitation and use of state secrets in the Database shall be carried out in accordance with the laws on protecting state secrets.

Article 15. Procedures for Requesting and Implementing Requests to Provide Information and Data from the Database

1. Authorities, organizations, and individuals with the authority to request information and data shall make such requests in writing, clearly specifying the content of the required information and data, as well as the purpose of utilizing the information and data.

2. The agency responsible for providing information and data shall examine and implement the provision of information and data according to the request, ensuring accuracy and compliance within five working days from the date of receipt of the request. In cases where it is objectively impossible to provide the requested information and data, they must notify the requesting authority, organization, or individual in writing and specify the reasons.

3. The entity requested to provide information and data has the right to refuse the request in the following cases:

a) When it does not fall under the circumstances stipulated in Clause 2, Article 14 of this Decree;

b) When there is evidence that the request contravenes the law, violates regulations on protecting state secrets, personal privacy, and infringes upon the legitimate rights and interests of authorities, organizations, and individuals.

Article 16. Responsibility for Providing Information from the Database

1. The Government Inspectorate is responsible for providing information according to the requirements at points a, b, and đ of Clause 2, Article 14 of this Decree.

2. Inspectors of ministries and agencies equivalent to ministries are responsible for providing information within their jurisdiction according to the requests of the Minister, Head of the agency equivalent to a ministry.

Units assigned to update information into the database at the Office of the Government and government agencies have the responsibility to provide information within their jurisdiction according to the requests of the Minister, Director of the Office of the Government, Head of the government agency.

3. Provincial Inspectors are responsible for providing information according to the requirements at point c and point đ of Clause 2, Article 14 of this Decree.

4. District Inspectors are responsible for providing information according to the requirements at point d and point đ of Clause 2, Article 14 of this Decree.

Article 17. Management and Protection of the Database

1. The database is strictly managed and protected according to the provisions of the law.

2. The agency entrusted with managing the database is responsible for developing technical solutions, operational procedures, and regulations on managing the database, operating the system, storing data, inspecting the system, and ensuring information security and safety.

Article 18. Connection and Sharing of Data

1. The connection and sharing of information and data between the national database on citizen reception work, complaint handling, and petition resolution and other national databases and specialized databases to serve the management needs of competent authorities shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the law.

2. Ministries, sectors, and localities standardize relevant data from their own databases to update into the database in accordance with the provisions of the law.

Article 19. Investment in Building and Maintaining the Database

1. Funding for investment in building, upgrading, and expanding the database is allocated from the state budget and other sources in accordance with the provisions of the law.

2. Funding for managing, maintaining, and updating information and data is allocated from the current regular budget allocation.

Chapter III

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 20. Effective Date

This Decree takes effect from October 10, 2022.

Article 21. Responsibility for Implementation

1. The Chief Inspector General of the Government within the scope of its functions, tasks, and powers shall be responsible for organizing the implementation and guiding and supervising the enforcement of this Decree.

2. Ministers, Heads of agencies equivalent to ministries, Heads of government agencies, Chairpersons of People's Committees at all levels, Heads of state inspection agencies, persons authorized to receive citizens, handle complaints, resolve petitions, and respond to suggestions and feedback, and other related agencies, organizations, and individuals are responsible for enforcing this Decree.