Decree No. 08/2012/ND-CP dated February 16, 2012 of the Government promulgating the working regulation of the Government

DECREE

PROMULGATING THE WORKING REGULATION OF THE GOVERNMENT

THE GOVERNMENT

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

At the proposal of the Minister-Chairman of the Government Office,

DECREES:

Article 1.To promulgate together with this Decree the Working Regulation of the Government.

Article 2.This Decree takes effect on April 15, 2012, replacing the Government s Decree No. 179/2007/ND-CP of December 3, 2007.

Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-attached agencies and People s Committees of provinces and centrally run cities shall promulgate their Working Regulations in conformity to the Working Regulation of the Government.

Article 3.The Minister-Chairman of the Government Office shall urge and inspect the implementation of the Working Regulation of the Government.

Government members, heads of government-attached agencies, chairpersons of People s Councils and People s Committees of provinces and centrally run cities and heads of related agencies shall implement this Decree.-

WORKING REGULATION

OF THE GOVERNMENT
(Promulgated together with the Government s Decree No. 08/2012/ND-CP of February 16, 2012)

Chapter 1

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope and subjects of regulation

1. This Regulation prescribes the principles, responsibility regime, working style, working relationships and order of handling affairs of the Government and the Prime Minister.

2. Government members, ministries, ministerial-level agencies and government-attached agencies (below referred to as ministries and agencies for short), People s Councils and People s Committees of provinces or centrally run cities (below referred to as provincial-level People s Councils and People s Committees) and agencies, organizations and individuals having working relations with the Government and the Prime Minister are all governed by this Regulation.

3. In case documents promulgated by the Government or the Prime Minister before this Regulation prescribe the order of handling affairs different from that prescribed by this Regulation, the order prescribed by this Regulation applies.

Article 2. Working principles of the Government

1. The Government works according to the regime of combining the responsibility of the Government collective with the heightening of the personal responsibility of the Prime Minister and every member of the Government. All activities of the Government and its members shall submit to the Party leadership, comply with the law and guarantee the rights and legitimate interests of people.

2. To heighten the personal responsibility. with one person taking charge of and responsibility for a task. If a task is assigned to an agency, the head of such agency shall take the main responsibility.

3. To handle affairs strictly within the scope of assigned jurisdiction and responsibility and according to the order and procedures prescribed by law and to the work programs and plans and the Working Regulation of the Government; ensuring publicity, transparency and effectiveness.

4. To satisfy the requirements of working coordination and information exchange in the handling of affairs and in all activities according to the functions, tasks and powers defined by law.

Chapter II

AFFAIR-HANDLING RESPONSIBILITY, SCOPE AND METHODS

Article 3. Affair-handling scope and methods of the Government

1. Within the scope of its law-prescribed powers and responsibilities, the Government shall discuss on a collegial basis and vote on important issues specified in Article 19 of the Law on Organization of the Government; and review the direction, administration and the implementation of the Working Regulation of the Government and other law-prescribed matters falling under the jurisdiction of the Government.

2. Affair-handling methods of the Government

a/ To discuss and resolve on issues and projects one by one at regular or irregular meetings of the Government;

b/ For a number of issues which are not necessary for discussions at Government meetings or issues which need to be decided urgently but there arc no conditions for holding a Government meeting, the Government Office shall, under the direction of the Prime Minister, send the whole dossier of the project (as defined at Point b, Clause I, Article 16 of this Regulation) and comment-gathering cards to every Government member. If the majority of Government members agree, the responsible ministry shall finalize the documents and the Government Office shall verify and submit them to the Prime Minister for decision and report on the result to the Government at its nearest meeting. If the majority of Government members disagree, the Government Office shall report thereon to the Prime Minister for decision to bring the issue to the nearest Government meeting for discussion.

3. The Government s collective resolutions must be adopted by more than half of the total number of Government members. Upon voting at a meeting as well as using comment-gathering cards, if the number of pro-votes is equal to the number of con-votes, the issue shall be decided according to the Prime Minister s vote. Government members may discuss democratically and reserve their opinions but may not speak and act in contravention of the Government s resolutions.

Article 4. Affair-handling responsibility and scope of Government members

1. To participate in handling common affairs of the Government collective; to join the Government collective in deciding on matters falling under the jurisdiction and responsibility of the Government; to study and propose to the Government and the Prime Minister necessary undertakings, policies, mechanisms and legal documents falling under the jurisdiction of the Government and the Prime Minister inside and outside the fields under their respective charges; to lake the initiative in working with the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Ministers on the Government s affairs and relevant affairs.

Government members being ministers or heads of ministerial-level agencies shall take responsibility for the whole contents and submission schedules of projects and legal documents prepared by their respective agencies.

2. To attend all Government meetings and promptly and fully fill in the comment-gathering cards of Government members instead of voting at Government meetings.

3. To perform specific tasks according to the sectors or fields under their respective charge and under the assignment or authorization of the Government or the Prime Minister, such as monitoring and directing government-attached agencies; preparing and submitting projects and reports to the leading bodies of the Party and the National Assembly; monitoring and directing activities of localities and grassroots units; heading the Government s working missions; presiding over meetings with related ministries, sectors, localities, agencies, organizations or individuals to report on affair-handling decisions to the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers and take responsibility before the Prime Minister; and presiding over press conferences, citizen receptions and other affairs.

4. To implement plans on working trips to localities and grassroots units, plans on receptions of citizens and dialogs with citizens on matters under their respective charge or under the Government s charge if so assigned; to regularly inspect and guide the implementation of policies and laws, the implementation of plans and programs as well as decisions of the Government and the Prime Minister regarding the sectors or fields under their respective charge; to firmly grasp the practical situation so as to raise their working quality and effectiveness.

5. The Government and every Government member shall take the initiative in closely coordinating with agencies of the Party, the National Assembly, the Supreme People s Court, the Supreme People s Procuracy, the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee and central bodies of mass organizations; to fully perform their tasks under relevant regulations; to study, solve and take the initiative in reporting on, dialoging, and replying recommendations of the Nationality Council and Committees of the National Assembly, questions of National Assembly deputies, petitions of voters and recommendations of the Fatherland Front and mass organizations on matters under their respective charge.

6. Not to speak and act against decisions of the Government or the Prime Minister. If having opinions different from such decisions, they shall still obey the decisions but can express their opinions to the Government collective and the Prime Minister on those matters. All violations shall, depending on their nature and seriousness, be examined for clear responsibility before the Government collective.

7. Every Government member has his/her own email account to receive and send information, documents, letters and written invitations to meetings, to exchange opinions on relevant affairs; and is provided with equipment to handle affairs, share information and participate in online meetings.

Article 5. Affair-handling responsibility, scope and methods of the Prime Minister

1. The Prime Minister shall fully perform the tasks and exercise the powers according to the Constitution and the Law on Organization of the Government; lead activities of the Government, Government members, heads of government-attached agencies and chairpersons of People s Committees at all levels; personally direct and administer major and important affairs and strategic issues in all working fields falling within the functions, tasks and powers of the Government.

2. The Prime Minister has the responsibility and power to handle affairs defined in Article 20 of the Law on Organization of the Government and other law-prescribed affairs falling under the jurisdiction of the Prime Minister.

3. When considering it necessary due to the importance and urgency of affairs, the Prime Minister may personally direct the handling of affairs which fall under the jurisdiction of ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies or chairpersons of provincial-level People s Committees.

4. Affair-handling methods of the Prime Minister

a/ To personally handle or assign Deputy Prime Ministers to handle on his/her behalf affairs on the basis of dossiers and documents submitted by related agencies, organizations or individuals and summarized in the affair handling reports of the Government Office under Article 18 of this Regulation;

b/ In case of necessity, the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister may directly handle an affair on the basis of dossiers and documents submitted by related agencies, organizations or individuals, without requiring the Government Office s submission card;

c/ When being absent and considering it necessary, the Prime Minister may authorize a Deputy Prime Minister to lead on his/her behalf activities of the Government and handle affairs under the Prime Minister s charge as provided in Article 4 of the Law on Organization of the Government:

d/ When a Deputy Prime Minister is absent, the Prime Minister may directly handle or assign another Deputy Prime Minister to handle affairs assigned to the absent Deputy Prime Minister;

e/ To directly meet or have working meetings or assign a Deputy Prime Minister to work or have working sessions, on his/her behalf, with leaders of agencies, organizations or related individuals for consultation before decision;

f/ To establish inter-sector coordination organizations to direct a number of complicated and important issues which are related to many sectors, fields and/or localities and take a long duration to handle;

g/ To authorize the Minister-Chairman of the Government Office or another Government member to preside over working sessions with leaders of agencies, organizations or related individuals for handling matters under the Prime Minister s jurisdiction on which ministries still hold divergent opinions and report them to the Prime Minister for decision. The invited agencies and organizations shall appoint fully competent representatives to attend and their statements shall be considered official viewpoints of the invited agencies or organizations;

h/ Other methods prescribed by law and this Regulation such as personally directing matters under his/her jurisdiction when considering it necessary; making working trips to handle affairs in localities and grassroots units and receiving citizens and guests.

Article 6. Affair-handling responsibility and scope of Deputy Prime Ministers

1. The Prime Minister shall assign Deputy Prime Ministers to assist him/her in handling affairs on the following principles:

a/ Each Deputy Prime Minister is assigned by the Prime Minister to direct and regularly handle specific affairs which fall under the jurisdiction of the Prime Minister in a number of working fields of the Government; to monitor and direct a number of ministries, ministerial-level agencies and government-attached agencies;

b/ Within the scope of his/her assigned tasks, a Deputy Prime Minister may use the powers of the Prime Minister and act on his/her behalf when handling affairs and is answerable to the Prime Minister and law for his/her decisions.

c/ A Deputy Prime Minister takes the initiative in handling his/her assigned affairs; if major, important and sensitive matters arise, he/she shall promptly report them to the Prime Minister; in performing his/her tasks, if there appear matters related to the fields of another Deputy Prime Minister, he/she shall directly coordinate with the latter in handling these matters. In case Deputy Prime Ministers hold divergent opinions on a matter, the Deputy Prime Minister in charge of handling such affair shall report them to the Prime Minister for decision.

2. Within the scope of his/her assigned tasks, a Deputy Prime Minister has the powers and responsibilities:

a/ To direct ministries, agencies and provincial-level People s Councils and People s Committees to formulate strategic, master plans and plans; to draw up mechanisms, policies and draft laws, ordinances and legal documents for promulgation according to his/ her competence or submission to the Government or the Prime Minister;

b/ To monitor, direct, inspect and urge the implementation of undertakings, policies, laws and tasks by ministries, agencies and localities under his/her charge; to detect and handle according to his/her competence and propose matters to be revised or supplemented. If detecting a ministry, agency, provincial-level People s Council or People s Committee promulgate a legal document or implement an activity in contravention of laws of the State or regulations of the Government or the Prime Minister, to suspend the enforcement thereof and direct the implementation strictly according to law;

c/ To assume the prime responsibility for handling matters which require inter-sector coordination and consider and handle proposals of ministries, agencies or localities which fall under the jurisdiction of the Prime Minister and within his/her assigned scope;

d/ To regularly monitor and handle specific matters which fall under the jurisdiction of the Prime Minister; to sign on behalf of the Prime Minister documents which fall under the jurisdiction of the Prime Minister and within the scope of the fields or tasks assigned by the Prime Minister;

e/ To supervise organizational and personnel work and direct the handling of internal matters which fall under the jurisdiction of the Prime Minister and within ministries or agencies under his/her assigned management.

Article 7. Affair-handling responsibility and scope of ministers and heads of ministerial-level agencies

1. Ministers and heads of ministerial-level agencies shall handle the following affairs:

a/ Affairs falling under their jurisdiction as provided in the Constitution, the Law on Organization of the Government and other legal documents, and their tasks assigned by the Government or the Prime Minister;

b/ Settlement according to their competence and taking responsibility for their decisions on the settlement of proposals of related ministries, agencies, organizations or individuals on matters falling within the scope of their responsibility and jurisdiction, including matters on which related ministries still hold divergent opinions;

c/ Consideration for submission to the Government or the Prime Minister for settlement of" affairs falling under the jurisdiction of the Government or the Prime Minister:

d/ Contribution of their opinions to other ministries, agencies or provincial-level People s Committees on the handling of matters falling under the jurisdiction of the latter but related to their functions, sectors or fields.

2. Ministers and heads of ministerial-level agencies shall heighten their personal responsibility and strictly perform their assigned powers and tasks (including authorized tasks) and may not transfer affairs under their tasks and jurisdiction to the Prime Minister or to other agencies; and may not handle affairs falling under the jurisdiction of other agencies or organizations.

3. Ministers or heads of ministerial-level agencies shall assign their deputies to monitor, direct and handle a number of affairs falling under the jurisdiction of their ministries or ministerial-level agencies. When being absent and considering it necessary, ministers or heads of ministerial-level agencies may authorize one of their deputies to lead the activities and handle affairs of their ministries or agencies strictly according to Article 29 of the Law on Organization of the Government, and may not appoint a standing deputy.

Ministers or heads of ministerial-level agencies shall take personal responsibility before the National Assembly, the Government and the Prime Minister for all affairs falling under their responsibility and jurisdiction, even when they have already assigned or authorized their deputies to handle these affairs.

4. In order to ensure strictness and consistency, before complying with requests for reporting, providing information or performing tasks related to the jurisdiction of the Government or the Prime Minister from agencies and organizations outside the Government, ministers or heads of ministerial-level agencies (including cases of assignment or authorization to their deputies) shall report these requests to and get the consent of the Government or the Prime Minister.

Article 8. Working relationships among ministers and heads of ministerial-level agencies

1. Ministers or heads of ministerial-level agencies shall, when handling affairs which fall under their jurisdiction but are related to the functions and tasks of other ministries or agencies, consult with the heads of such ministries or agencies.

a/ In case of written consultation, if there is a law-prescribed time limit for consultation and reply for such affairs, the consulting agency shall clearly set a deadline for reply within the prescribed time limit. If there isn t any law-prescribed lime limit, the consulting agency shall set a time limit for reply which, however, must not be less than 5 working days from the date of sending the written consultation, except for cases of urgency. Ministers or heads of the consulted agencies shall clearly state their viewpoints in their written replies within the lime limit set by the consulting ministry or agency and take responsibility for the contents of their replies. For special cases, a consulted ministry or agency may request extension of such time limit which must not exceed 5 working days. Past the time limit (including the extension duration), if the minister or head of the consulted agency does not reply, he/she shall be considered having agreed with the consulted contents and lake full responsibility for such agreement;

b/ When invited to a meeting for comments, the minister or head of an agency shall personally attend or appoint a fully competent person to attend the meeting. Opinions of the participant are official opinions of his/her ministry or agency;

c/ The minister or head of an agency who is assigned to perform the task of appraising and verifying a project or document shall perform the assigned task with quality and strictly according to the set time limit.

2. For matters which fall beyond their jurisdiction or even within their jurisdiction but they have no capability and conditions to settle, ministers or heads of ministerial-level agencies shall lake the initiative in working with related ministers or agency heads to finalize the dossiers to be submitted to the Government or the Prime Minister for consideration and decision.

Article 9. Working relationships between ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies and chairpersons of provincial-level People s Councils and People s Committees

1. Ministers or heads of ministerial-level agencies shall settle according to their jurisdiction proposals of chairpersons of provincial-level People s Councils or People s Committees and reply in writing within no more than 10 working days after the receipt of written proposals, if opinions of other agencies are not required, or within no more than 20 working days, if opinions of other agencies on relevant contents are required. Past such time limit, if receiving no written replies, chairpersons of provincial-level People s Councils or People s Committees shall report thereon to the Prime Minister for directing responsible agencies to settle.

2. When chairpersons of provincial-level People s Councils or People s Committees request to work directly with ministers or heads of ministerial-level agencies, they should properly prepare the contents and send documents in advance. Ministers and heads of ministerial-level agencies shall personally (or assign their deputies to) work with chairpersons of provincial-level People s Councils or People s Committees.

3. Ministers or heads of ministerial-level agencies shall direct, guide and inspect the People s Committees at different levels in performing the working tasks within the sectors or fields under the charge of their ministries or agencies; and shall strictly manage their units based in localities and promptly correct, address and handle their wrongful activities.

4. Chairpersons of provincial-level People s Councils and People s Committees shall observe the regime of reporting, preparing contents, arranging working timetables and attending meetings with ministers or heads of ministerial-level agencies, when so requested.

5. In case a minister or the head of a ministerial-level agency organizes the gathering of comments of chairpersons of provincial-level People s Committees and vice versa, the time limits for questions and replies comply with the provisions of Point a, Clause 1, Article 8 of this Regulation.

6. In case agencies or organizations other than ministries and ministerial-level agencies or provincial-level People s Committees are assigned by the Government or the Prime Minister to act as project managers, the gathering of comments by project managers and the reply of consulted agencies comply with the provisions of Clause 1, Article 8 of this Regulation.

Chapter III

WORK PROGRAMS OF THE GOVERNMENT AND THE PRIME MINISTER

Article 10. Types of work programs

1. Work programs include annual, quarterly and monthly work programs of the Government and the Prime Minister; and weekly work programs of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers.

a/ The projects defined in this Regulation and included in the work program of the Government or the Prime Minister include:

- Contents stated in Clause 1, Article 3 of this Regulation;

- Draft legal documents; projects and matters related to policies, mechanisms, strategies, master plans or plans which fall under the deciding, approving and promulgating competence of the Prime Minister;

- Projects and contents to be reported to the Political Bureau, the Secretariat, the Government and the Prime Minister.

b/ Lists of projects to be submitted to the Government or the Prime Minister must be made on the basis of:

- The direction of the Political Bureau, the Secretariat, the National Assembly, the National Assembly Standing Committee, the Government and the Prime Minister;

- Provisions detailing the implementation of laws and resolutions of the National Assembly; ordinances and resolutions of the National Assembly Standing Committee;

- Action programs of the Government:

- Proposals of ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-attached agencies, provincial-level People s Committees and other agencies and organizations.

2. An annual work program of the Government or the Prime Minister contains two parts: part one stating orientations, tasks and major solutions of the Government in all work fields: part two containing the list of projects to be submitted to the Government or the Prime Minister.

a/ The projects included in an annual work program must clearly determine whether they are decided by the Government or the Prime Minister, preparing agencies and submission deadlines;

b/ The time limits for submission of projects in annual work programs must be projected for every month and quarter.

3. A quarterly work program contains a part on the list of projects to be submitted to the Government, the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Ministers and a part on contents of Government meetings in the quarter.

a/ The Government s regular meetings deal with the projects and reports stated in Clause 1 of Article 3 and Article 39 of this Regulation;

b/ The projects in quarterly work programs are categorized for submission to the Prime Minister and each Deputy Prime Minister-according to their assigned fields. The time limits for submission of projects in a quarterly work program are set for every month;

c/ The work program of quarter I is determined in the annual work program.

4. A monthly work program covers the list of projects lo be submitted to the Government, the Prime Minister, each Deputy Prime Minister and the contents of Government meetings in the month. The work program of the first month of a quarter is identified in the quarterly work program.

5. A weekly work program covers activities of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers, determined for every day in the week.

Article 11. Work program-formulating order

1. Order of formulating annual work programs:

a/ Annually before October 15. the Government Office shall send official letters requesting ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-attached agencies and provincial-level People s Committees to review their direction and administration in that year, propose orientations, tasks and major solutions of the Government and lo register projects in the following year s work program and determine the work programs of quarter 1 of the year of registration.

Before November 30, ministries and agencies shall send their reports reviewing the direction and administration of their ministries and sectors and the lists of projects to be submitted to the Government and the Prime Minister in the following year.

Such lists must clearly define:

- The projects falling under the deciding scope and jurisdiction of the Government and the Prime Minister as defined at Point a, Clause 1, Article 10 of this Regulation.

- Summarized plan on preparation of each project: Each registered project should clearly express the preparation orientation and idea, scope of regulation, coordinating agencies, evaluating agencies and deciding authority and projected schedule for its implementation.

b/ On the basis of requirements and tasks of the Government and the Prime Minister and the lists of registered projects of ministries and agencies, the Government Office shall verify the lists of projects and preparation plans of ministries and agencies, summarize them and draft the following year s work programs of the Government and the Prime Minister, submit them to the Prime Minister for consideration and opinion before submission to the Government for adoption at its year-end regular meeting.

c/ Within no more than 10 working days after the adoption by the Government, the Government Office shall finalize the annual work programs and submit them to the Prime Minister for permission lo promulgate them, and send them to the Government members and related agencies and organizations for implementation.

2. Order of formulating quarterly work programs:

a/ In the last month of each quarter, ministries and agencies must assess the implementation of their work programs of such quarter, review projects of the following quarter already included in their annual work programs and consider newly arising matters in order lo propose adjustments lo the following quarter’s work programs.

On the 15th of the quarter s last month at the latest, the agencies shall send their proposals on adjustments to the work programs of the following quarter lo the Government Office (enclosed with the adjusted plans for implementation of each project).

b/ The Government Office shall draft the quarterly work programs of the Government and the Prime Minister and submit them lo the Prime Minister for decision. On the 30th of the last month of the preceding month at the latest, the Government Office shall send the work programs of the following quarter to the Government members and related agencies and organizations for information and implementation.

3. Order of formulating monthly work programs:

a/ Based on the progress of preparing projects already included in their quarterly work programs and existing and newly arising problems, ministries and agencies shall send proposals on adjustments to their work programs of the following month to the Government Office on the 20th of every month at the latest:

b/ Based on the quarterly work programs, the direction and administration of the Government and the Prime Minister and the adjustment proposals of ministries and agencies, the Government Office shall draft monthly work programs of the Government and the Prime Minister and submit them to the Prime Minister for permission lo promulgate them; on the last day of every month at the latest, the Government Office shall send them to the Government members and related agencies and organizations for information and implementation.

4. Order of formulating weekly work programs: The Government Office shall coordinate with related agencies in formulating weekly work programs of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers and send them to the Government members and related agencies and organizations on the preceding week s Thursday afternoon.

5. The order of formulating tentative law-and ordinance-making programs complies with the law on promulgation of legal documents. The Government decree-formulating programs are incorporated into the Government s work programs.

6. Work programs may be adjusted on the basis of the direction of the Government or the Prime Minister and the proposals of ministries and agencies. The Government Office shall report such adjustments to the Prime Minister for decision and promptly notify them to the Government members and heads of related agencies.

7. The Government Office shall manage the work programs of the Government and the Prime Minister, advise the Government and the Prime Minister on formulating and adjusting, and organizing the implementation of, work programs to ensure their feasibility and conformity with the direction and administration of the Government and the Prime Minister.

8. The Government Office shall regularly coordinate with the Office of the Party Central Committee, the Office of the National Assembly, the Office of the President and related agencies in formulating and organizing the implementation of work programs of the Government and the Prime Minister.

Article 12. Preparation of projects

1. Based on the annual work programs of the Government and the Prime Minister, the head of an agency sponsoring a project shall formulate a project preparation plan clearly defining the scope of the project; activities to be carried out; coordinating agencies; and the time limit for submission of the project, and send it to the Government Office for monitoring and urge of implementation.

The time limit for sending a plan is 10 working days, for projects in the first quarter s work program, or 30 days for remaining projects, after the promulgation of the annual work program.

2. For draft laws and ordinances, the formulation of implementation plans complies with the Law on Promulgation of Legal Documents.

3. If a project manager wishes to change the requirements and scope of handling matters of the project or the submission time limit, it must report thereon to and get the consent of the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister in charge of the relevant field.

Article 13. Monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of work programs

1. Monthly, quarterly, biannually and annually, ministries and agencies shall review and evaluate the implementation of projects in their work programs, notify the Government Office of the implementation of projects, existing and newly arising problems and handling orientations, and concurrently propose adjustments and supplements to the projects in the forthcoming work programs.

2. The Government Office shall assist the Prime Minister in regularly monitoring, inspecting and urging the preparation of projects of ministries and agencies; periodically report to the Government and the Prime Minister on the results of implementation of the work programs of the Government and the Prime Minister: and notify such results to ministries, agencies and localities.

3. The evaluation of results of implementation of quarterly and annual work programs shall be summarized on the basis of results of implementation of monthly work programs.

4. The results of implementation of work programs constitute a criterion for evaluating the task performance by the Government members, ministries and agencies.

Chapter IV

ORDER AND PROCEDURES FOR HANDLING REGULAR AFFAIRS

Article 14. Types of regular affairs and handling methods of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers

1. For draft legal documents and major projects and reports under work programs: The Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers shall consider and handle them based on the submitted dossiers and contents and draft documents of ministers or heads of sponsoring agencies, opinions of appraising agencies and related agencies and verification opinions of the Government Office.

2. For other regular affairs falling under the jurisdiction of the Prime Minister, excluding those defined in Clause 1 of this Article:

a/ The Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers shall consider and settle them on the basis of suggestions of proposing agencies. organizations or persons while all submitted dossiers and contents, proposals and draft documents arc prepared by the Government Office. In case there remain divergent opinions on submitted matters, the Government Office may hold meetings with the participation of competent representatives of related ministries and agencies to reach agreement before submission to the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Ministers for consideration and decision;

b/ In case of necessity, the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister may personally direct or handle an affair based on the submitted dossier and documents of related agencies, organizations or persons without requiring a report from the Government Office. The Government Office shall complete all procedures for promulgation of documents and archive dossiers according to regulations. If detecting any problems or irregularities, it shall report them to the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister.

3. The Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister shall preside over meetings (or authorize a Government member lo preside over meetings and report thereon later) to settle affairs which cannot be handled immediately based on the submitted dossiers stated in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article.

4. The Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister may handle affairs through inspection visits; direct working with agencies, grassroots units or localities; and reception of guests. The Government Office shall review and compare affairs against current regulations and finalize dossiers to issue written notices of opinions of the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister. If detecting any problems or irregularities, it shall report them to the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister.

Article 15. Responsibility for preparation of projects and affairs

1. For projects being legal documents or major projects or reports under the work programs of the Government and the Prime Minister:

a/ Ministers or heads of the sponsoring agencies shall bear full responsibility for the submitted contents and dossiers; proactively carry out all procedures to gather official comments (via meetings or sent dossiers) and receive comments of related ministries and agencies; assess the impacts of projects or draft legal documents; impacts of administrative procedures, for projects or draft legal documents containing administrative procedures; explain and assimilate comments of appraising agencies and comments of Government members for finalization of draft projects or documents before submission; complete the dossiers, directly sign the submission reports and initial the draft documents for submission to the Government or the Prime Minister; and lake responsibility for the time limit of submission to the Government or the Prime Minister;

b/ Heads of coordinating agencies shall appoint participants at the request of project managers. Representatives of coordinating agencies shall heighten their responsibility to participate in the formulation of projects and regularly report to, and ask for opinions of, their agency heads in the course of formulating the projects;

c/ Agencies assigned to conduct appraisal shall appoint officers to participate in the whole process of project formulation; organize the appraisal of projects or legal documents before the ministers or heads of the sponsoring agencies officially sign for submission to the Government or the Prime Minister. The appraisal must not exceed the permitted duration;

d/ The Government Office shall monitor the whole process of project formulation provided for in Clause 1, Article 12 of this Regulation; constantly coordinate with the sponsoring agencies in urging and inspecting the process of project preparation and contribute opinions in order to ensure the project preparation be carried out strictly according to set schedule, order and procedures, in an objective manner and strictly according to the direction of the Government and the Prime Minister; urge the appraising agencies to perform their tasks; directly verify the order and procedures and provide general advice on the submitted contents (including administrative procedures); and send cards to gather the Government members comments on projects to be submitted to the Government;

e/ For the preparation of draft laws and ordinances, the preparation procedures must also comply with the Law on Promulgation of Legal Documents.

2. For other regular affairs (other than projects and affairs defined in Clause 1 of this Article):

Ministries, localities, agencies, organizations and individuals shall submit to the Prime Minister for settlement only affairs falling under his/her powers and responsibility. The submitted documents and reports must be clear and enclosed with relevant documents (if any).

- The Government Office shall assume the prime responsibility for. and coordinate with related ministries and agencies in. finalizing the dossiers, procedures and drafting to-be-promulgated documents for submission to the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister for decision.

- In case the report and dossier submitted by a ministry, agency, locality, organization or individual to the Prime Minister lacks bases or grounds, the Government Office shall gather comments of related agencies either by sending documents or holding meetings before submission thereof to the Prime Minister.

- Ministers and heads of related agencies, when consulted by the Government Office, shall reply in writing, clearly stating their consent or dissent to or other comments on relevant contents.

Article 16. Procedures for sending official letters and reports for handling affairs

1. Necessary procedures for reporting to the Government or the Prime Minister to handle affairs:

a/ An official letter or a report sent to the Government or the Prime Minister proposing the handling of an affair must be clear in content and strictly comply with the handling jurisdiction of the Government or the Prime Minister. If it is made by a ministry or an agency or organization, it must be duly signed and stamped;

b/ For a project submitted to the Government or the Prime Minister which, as required by law. must be enclosed with a dossier. it must comply with applicable law. For a project which is not required by law to be enclosed with a dossier, the procedures cover:

- A report to the Government or the Prime Minister clearly stating the major contents of the project and grounds of proposals and divergent opinions;

- The document of the project-appraising agency as provided by law;

- The evaluation of the impacts of administrative procedures in the project or draft legal document, for those providing administrative procedures;

- The explanatory report on assimilation of comments of related agencies, including the appraisal opinions;

- The drafts of the principal document and guiding documents (if any). The drafts must be clear and specific in content so that the principal document can be implemented immediately after it is adopted;

- The implementation plan of the project or document once it is adopted or promulgated.

- Other necessary documents.

2. For agencies and organizations outside the state administrative system, the procedures for sending official letters comply with current law on clerical work. Foreign agencies and organizations may send official letters according to common practices.

3. Dossiers submitted to the Government or the Prime Minister must be listed by the Government Office for monitoring the handling process and systematically archived.

Article 17. The Government Office s receipt and finalization of submitted dossiers

1. The Government Office shall only receive for submission to the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Ministers projects and affairs falling within the handling scope, responsibility and jurisdiction of the Government or the Prime Minister and affairs staled in Clause 3. Article 5 of this Regulation.

2. For legal documents and major projects and reports under the work, programs of the Government or the Prime Minister:

a/ Within 7 working days after the receipt of a complete and valid dossier, the Government Office shall verify the order and procedures, and provide general advice on its content (including administrative procedures) and finalize a submission report. The Government Office s verification opinion shall be expressed in the submission card or a separate document, with clear remarks on the order, procedures and content of the project or legal document and administrative procedures, including the explanation on the assimilation of comments of the appraisal agency and related agencies, together with the Government Office s specific proposal, which can be:

- Proposal on the signing or non-signing for promulgation (if the affair falls under the jurisdiction of the Prime Minister);

- Request for permission to send comment-gathering cards to Government members, for affairs falling under the jurisdiction of the Government when the draft has been basically agreed upon between the sponsoring agency, appraisal agency and related agencies;

- Proposal to table the draft at a Government meeting or meeting of the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister for comment, if the draft still sees divergent opinions among the sponsoring agency, appraisal agency and related agencies;

- Proposal to return the draft to the sponsoring agency and assign the latter to make additional preparations, when the prepared draft fails to meet the requirements, has been made in contravention of the prescribed process, scope or direction of the Government or the Prime Minister.

b/ The Government Office shall take responsibility for its verification but not for the contents of documents submitted by sponsoring agencies and does not directly make corrections on such documents;

c/ When the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister requests change of contents of a submitted draft document, the Government Office shall transfer the dossier to the sponsoring agency for change and re­submission;

d/ The Government Office shall issue a written notification when returning and transferring the dossier in a case defined at Points a and c of this Clause.

3. For regular affairs other than those defined in Clause 2 of this Article:

a/ If the submitted affair dossier falls beyond the handling jurisdiction of the Prime Minister and outside the affairs defined in Clause 3, Article 3 of this Regulation, the Government Office shall, on a case-by-case basis, return it within 2 working days at most and clearly state the reason therefor; or transfer the dossier to an agency with handling competence and notify the sender thereof;

b/ If the submitted affair or dossier falls within the handling jurisdiction of the Prime Minister:

- For cases in which a complete dossier is provided or the content of the submitted matter is clear and does not requires any additional comments of related agencies, the Government Office shall, within 5 working days at most after the receipt of the dossier, give its advisory opinion (clearly proposing the pros or cons) for the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister to consider and decide;

- For cases in which comments of related agencies are required: Within 2 working days at most after the receipt of a dossier, the Government Office shall assume the prime responsibility for handling, issue documents to gather comments of related ministries and agencies for finalization of the required procedures and the dossier, and bear full responsibility for its general advice to the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister on the handling of the affair. For proposals of ministries, ministerial-level agencies, provincial-level People s Committees or state-run economic groups or corporations, after summarizing the comments of related ministries and agencies, the Government Office shall exchange opinions with the submitting agency on the contents to be submitted to the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister.

Within 20 working days after the receipt of proposals of agencies, organizations and individuals sent to the Prime Minister, the Government Office shall finalize and submit the dossier and report to the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister for decision. The submitted affair-handling report must clearly, fully and honestly express the opinions of agencies, including divergent opinions and the opinions of the proposing agency after the Government Office has exchanged ideas and proposals of direct monitoring specialists, leaders of the related departments and leaders of the Government Office. This report must be enclosed with all dossiers and draft documents to be promulgated.

If finding contents which are important, complicated or related to mechanisms or policies, requiring additional preparation, the Government Office shall provide advice so that the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister assigns a ministry or specialized agency the prime responsibility for making preparations for submission;

c/ For urgent affairs to be expeditiously handled or affairs personally directed by the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister, the Government Office shall handle them as fast as possible, without having to comply with the above-defined order and procedures. After handling them, the Government Office shall finalize the procedures and dossiers as provided for.

Article 18. Handling of submitted dossiers and issue of documents

1. The Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Ministers shall handle the submitted dossiers and give their official opinions on the affair-handling cards of the Government Office within 3 working days after they are submitted by the Government Office.

2. Upon handling submitted dossiers, for projects or affairs which the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister finds it necessary to hold a meeting before decision, the Government Office shall coordinate with related agencies in fully preparing the contents and organizing a meeting for the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister may authorize the Minister-Chairman of the Government Office or another Government member to preside over such meeting and report in writing on the result of the meeting to the Prime Minister or the Deputy Prime Ministers.

3. For projects to be decided by the Government collective as defined in Article 19 of the Law on Organization of the Government, the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister shall consider the contents and nature of each project before decision:

a/ To permit the discussion thereof at a Government meeting;

b/ To assign the Government Office to send comment-gathering cards to the Government members after reaching agreement with the project manager on contents to be commented. The comment-gathering cards must be sent together with the complete dossier and documents of the project, including the document of the appraisal agency and verification opinion of the Government Office with the contents as specified at Point a, Clause 2, Article 17 of this Regulation. The sponsoring ministry or agency shall explain the assimilation of comments of the Government members. If the majority of the Government members agree. the sponsoring ministry or agency shall assume the prime responsibility for finalizing the document for submission to the Prime Minister for decision; if it is not consented by the majority of the Government members, the sponsoring ministry or agency shall coordinate with the Government Office in submitting it to the Government for discussion at the nearest meeting. In case the majority of the Government members agree but the project-sponsoring ministry or agency still sees any irregularities, it shall report thereon to the Prime Minister; the presentation to the Government for re-discussion shall be considered and decided by the Prime Minister.

The time limit for the Government members to give their replies in the comment-gathering cards is 7 working days. The time limit for the sponsoring agency to assimilate and explain the results of the collection of comment of the Government members through comment-gathering cards and to re-submit them to the Prime Minister is 10 working days;

c/ To request the project manager to make additional preparations if seeing that the project s content is unsatisfactory.

4. Based on the decision of the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister on the project content or affair, the Government Office shall coordinate with the sponsoring agency in finalizing the draft document for signing to promulgate it:

a/ The content falling under the deciding jurisdiction of the Government or the Prime Minister must be expressed in a document to be signed by the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister;

b/ For cases in which it is not necessary to issue a document of the Government or the Prime Minister, the Government Office shall draft an official letter or a notice and submit it to the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Ministers for approval before it is signed for promulgation by the Minister-Chairman of the Government Office for information and compliance by related agencies.

5. Within 30 working days, for affairs staled in Clause 1, Article 14, or 15 working days, for affairs stated in Clause 2, Article 14, after the receipt of a complete and valid dossier of the submitting agency, if the final decision of the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister is not yet available, the Government Office shall notify the submitting agency, organization or individual of the reason therefor.

6. Within 3 working days after the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister signs the document or gives his/her direction on the handling of an affair, the Minister-Chairman of the Government Office shall promulgate and publicize the document according to law.

Chapter V

GOVERNMENT MEETINGS AND OTHER MEETINGS AND CONFERENCES OF THE GOVERNMENT AND THE PRIME MINISTER

Article 19. Meetings and conferences of the Government, the Prime Minister and the Government members.

1. Meetings and conferences of the Government, the Prime Minister and the Government members include:

a/ Regular Government meetings and irregular Government meetings;

b/ Conferences (including conferences for launching socio-economic development and state budget plans and symposiums);

c/ Periodical meetings with ministries, agencies and localities;

d/ Meetings to handle regular affairs and briefings of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers;

e/ Meetings presided over by Government members to handle the Government s affairs;

f/Other meetings.

2. In addition to face-to-face meeting, meetings and conferences of the Government and the Prime Minister may be organized via television or online.

Article 20. Regular and irregular Government meetings

1. The Government shall hold its regular meetings once a month.

2. The Government may hold irregular meetings under decisions of the Prime Minister or at the request of at least one-third of the total number of the Government members to handle urgent or certain affairs.

The preparation for, convening and organization of affairs related to irregular meetings comply with the direction of the Prime Minister.

3. The Prime Minister shall preside over Government meetings. When necessary, the Prime Minister may assign a Deputy Prime Minister to preside over such meetings on his/ her behalf.

Article 21. Preparations for Government meetings

1. The Prime Minister shall decide on the contents, invited participants, time and agendas of Government meetings. Monthly regular Government sessions shall be organized before the 5th of the following month, or decided by the Prime Minister in special cases.

2. The Government Office is tasked:

a/ To verify the order and dossier procedures and provide general advice on the contents of projects to be presented at a meeting;

b/ To project the contents, agenda, time and participants of a meeting and submit them to the Prime Minister for decision and notify the Government members of the above-said matters at least 5 working days before the meeting opens;

c/ The Minister-Chairman of the Government Office shall sign invitations to a meeting;

d/ To send invitations to and documents of a meeting to the Government members and invited participants at least 5 working days before the meeting opens, except for special cases;

e/ If ministries and agencies still hold divergent opinions on a project or report to be submitted at a Government meeting, under the direction of the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister, the Government Office shall convene a meeting between the leaders of the drafting agency and related agencies to reach agreement before submission to the Government for consideration and decision.

Article 22. Participants in Government meetings

1. The Government members shall attend all Government meetings; for special cases, if they are absent from a meeting or for some time during a meeting, they shall report to and get the consent of the Prime Minister.

When absent from a meeting. Government members being ministers or heads of ministerial-level agencies may appoint their deputies to attend the meeting on their behalf. The latter may present before the Government the opinions of the absent Government members but may not vote.

A session will proceed if it is attended by at least two-third of the total number of the Government members.

2. The Government may invite the following participants in its meetings:

a/ The President, for all Government meetings:

b/ The Chairman of the Nationality Council of the National Assembly, the President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee, heads of the central bodies of mass organizations, the President of the Supreme People s Court and the Director of the Supreme People s Procuracy, for meetings to discuss relevant matters;

c/ Heads of government-attached agencies, leaders of the committees of the Party Central Committee, committees of the National Assembly, the Stale Auditor General and other delegates, when necessary;

d/ Chairpersons of provincial-level People s Councils and People s Committees, for attending and following online Government meetings at the request of the Prime Minister.

Participants who are not Government, members may present opinions but are not entitled to vote.

Article 23. Sequence of a Government meeting

1. The Minister-Chairman of the Government Office reports on the contents and tentative agenda of the meeting; present and absent Government members, participants on behalf of the absent Government members and invited participants.

2. The meeting chairperson conducts the meeting.

3. The Government discusses projects one by one in the following order:

a/ The project manager presents briefly the project and matters requiring opinions of the Government; the presentation must not exceed 15 minutes;

b/ The Minister-Chairman of the Government Office presents the report summarizing the opinions of Government members or the verification report of the Government Office, clearly staling the opinions of the Government members, issues already agreed upon, issues not yet agreed upon and proposing issues to be discussed and adopted by the Government;

c/ The Government members take the floor, clearly stating their approval or disapproval of every point in the issues specified above, not speaking about issues already agreed upon within the scope of the project. The duration of each statement is 10 minutes at most;

d/ The Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister presides over the discussion of projects one by one, the Prime Minister makes conclusions and the Government votes; if seeing that the discussed issues are not clear enough, the Prime Minister proposes the Government not to vote thereon and requests the project manager to make additional preparations.

4. If necessary, the Prime Minister requests the Government members or heads of other agencies to submit to the Government reports on a number of relevant matters, apart from the periodical reports as prescribed.

5. The meeting chairperson wraps up the meeting.

6. The Minister-Chairman of the Government Office submits to the Government for adoption a resolution of the meeting. If the draft resolution of a meeting is sent directly to the Government members for comment, the written approval (or disapproval) of the draft is considered a form of voting.

Article 24. Minutes of a Government meeting

1. The minutes of a meeting must express the composition, order and proceedings of the meeting, a list of Government members and participants who take the floor at the meeting (not necessarily to detail their opinions), the Prime Minister s conclusions on each project and voting results, and be enclosed with a tape (disc) recording the meeting.

The Minister-Chairman of the Government Office shall organize the writing of minutes and recording of Government meetings, and sign the minutes.

2. The minutes of the meetings and documents circulated in the meetings are archived as state records and preserved and used according to the confidentiality regime. The use of these minutes shall be decided by the Minister-Chairman of the Government Office.

Article 25. Resolutions of Government meetings

1. A meeting resolution must fully and clearly express the Government s resolutions at meetings; responsibilities of the Government members and related agencies, organizations and individuals in the implementation of the resolution.

2. The Minister-Chairman of the Government Office shall organize the drafting of resolutions; issue official letters to be sent to related agencies for deploying the implementation of tasks concluded by the Prime Minister but not mentioned in the resolutions: and organize the monitoring, inspection and expedition of the implementation of tasks assigned to ministries, agencies in the resolutions and official letters mentioned above.

Article 26. Meetings of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers to handle regular affairs

Meetings of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers to handle regular affairs include:

1. Meetings of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers with project managers and representatives of related agencies before deciding to handle affairs.

a/ Responsibilities of the Government Office:

- To urge project managers to fully prepare documents for meetings, to send invitations together with the meeting s documents to invited participants at least 3 working days before the meeting opens (except for special cases in which such documents can be sent later);

- To prepare locations and conditions for meetings and ensuring their safety (if meetings are organized at the Government s headquarters); to coordinate with related agencies in performing these tasks if meetings are organized outside the Government s headquarters;

- To write minutes of meetings under Clause 1, Article 24 of this Regulation;

- To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related ministries and agencies in, drafting the notices of conclusions of the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Ministers at the meetings; to submit them to the meetings chairpersons for approval before distribution; to monitor and expedite the compliance of such notices.

b/ Responsibilities of project managers:

- To attend meetings as invited, to prepare adequate documents as notified by the Government Office and present them at meetings;

- To prepare explanations on necessary matters related to the contents of meetings.

- After the meetings, to finalize the projects or submitted documents according to conclusions of the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Ministers.

c/ Responsibilities of related agencies:

To attend meetings as invited and speak on relevant matters. If the leader of an agency cannot attend a meeting, he/she shall report such to the meeting chairperson and appoint a fully competent person to attend and address the meeting on behalf of the leader.

2. Briefings of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers

a/ The briefing contents cover matters and affairs which the Prime Minister sees it necessary to discuss collectively, and affairs which have not yet been handled through examination of dossiers and submission cards or via meetings of the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Ministers;

b/ The Minister-Chairman of the Government Office shall attend the briefings. When requested, Vice-Chairmen of the Government Office shall attend a briefing to directly report on tasks assigned to them for monitoring. If necessary, under the direction of the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister, the Government Office shall additionally invite project managers or other participants to the meeting;

c/ At a briefing, the Minister-Chairman or a Vice-Chairman of the Government Office directly monitoring the affair shall report on matters to be commented; if invited to attend, the project manager may present additional explanations at the request of the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister. The Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers shall exchange ideas and the Prime Minister shall give conclusions for thoroughly handling matters or affairs one by one;

d/ Briefings are held weekly, unless otherwise decided by the Prime Minister;

e/The Government Office shall perform the tasks defined at Point a, Clause 1 of this Article.

Article 27. The Government s meetings with chairpersons of provincial-level People s Councils and People s Committees

1. Annually, the Government shall organize conferences with chairpersons of provincial-level People s Councils and People s Committees to deploy and discuss measures for implementation of socio-economic development and state budget plans and other necessary contents and tasks.

a/ The Government Office shall submit to the Prime Minister for decision the contents, participants, time and location of a conference;

b/ Related ministries and agencies shall prepare contents and reports at the conference as assigned by the Prime Minister;

c/ At the conference, the project manager shall briefly present the contents and matters to be discussed;

d/ Participants shall attend the conference as invited and speak on relevant matters;

e/ After the conference, chairpersons of provincial-level People s Councils and People s Committees and ministries and agencies shall organize the performance of relevant tasks according to the documents adopted and conclusions of the Prime Minister at the conference.

2. When necessary, the Prime Minister may summon the chairpersons of the People s Councils and People s Committees of a number of provinces and centrally run cities to meetings to discuss the settlement of issues related to their localities.

a/ When assigned, ministers or heads of agencies shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with chairpersons of provincial-level People s Councils and People s Committees in, preparing reports which fall within the scope of their functions, tasks and fields of management for submission to the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister for consideration before organizing a meeting;

b/ Reports at a meeting must be sent to participants at least 5 working days before the meeting opens; at the meeting, only summarized contents are presented, including matters to be commented, suggestions and proposals;

c/ Participants shall attend a meeting as invited and speak on relevant matters:

d/ After the meeting, the chairpersons of provincial-level People s Councils and People s Committees shall organize the performance of relevant tasks as concluded by the Prime Minister.

Article 28. Symposiums

1. Symposiums shall be organized to launch or review the implementation of resolutions of the Party, resolutions of the National Assembly, major legal documents, mechanisms and policies or important tasks in the direction and administration by the Government and the Prime Minister, which are related to the whole nation, a number of localities or a number of certain sectors.

2. Symposium-organizing order:

a/ Based on the direction of the Prime Minister, a Deputy Prime Minister or the proposal of the ministry or agency assigned to prepare the contents of the symposium, the Government Office shall submit to the Prime Minister for decision the contents, participants, time and location of the symposium;

b/ Related ministries and agencies shall prepare contents and reports at the symposium as assigned by the Prime Minister;

c/ At the symposium, the project manager shall only present the summarized contents and matters to be discussed:

d/ Participants shall attend the symposium as invited and speak on relevant matters:

e/ Under the conclusions of the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister, the Government Office or the symposium content-preparing ministry shall finalize the drafts of relevant documents and submit them to the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister for decision on their promulgation.

Article 29. Meetings of Government members to handle affairs of the Government and the Prime Minister

1. When necessary, the Prime Minister may authorize a Government member to preside over a meeting to discuss an affair or a project before submission to the Government or the Prime Minister.

2. For a meeting taking place at the Government s headquarters, it shall be organized under Clause 1, Article 26 of this Regulation. For a meeting taking place at the headquarters of a ministry, the authorized ministry shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Government Office in, preparing conditions for the meeting.

Chapter VI

INSPECTION OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF DOCUMENTS AND ASSIGNED TASKS

Article 30. Inspection purposes

1. To expedite and guide the implementation of legal documents and directive and administration documents of the Government or the Prime Minister, assigned tasks under the direction of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers; to promptly detect and handle problems arising in reality.

2. To ensure smooth direction and administration; to firmly maintain discipline in the state administrative system, combat corruption, waste and all negative practices in the state management.

3. To heighten the sense of discipline and personal responsibility of heads of agencies as well as cadres and civil servants.

4. To enhance close contacts with the grassroots, review and draw experiences in direction and administration activities to ensure that policies are implemented and exert good impacts in all areas of the socio-economic life.

Article 31. Inspection principles

1. Inspection must be conducted in a regular and planned manner and be coordinated lo avoid overlapping. Heads of agencies with inspection competence shall decide on inspection plans and forms.

2. Inspection must ensure democracy, publicity and lawfulness and must not trouble and obstruct normal operations of inspected subjects.

3. Upon conclusion of an inspection, there must be clear conclusions and any detected errors and violations must be properly handled.

4. Through inspection, positive improvements must be made in stale management, direction and administration work and in administrative discipline.

Article 32. Scope and subjects of inspection and inspection competence

1. The Government and the Prime Minister shall comprehensively inspect the enforcement of legal documents of the National Assembly, the National Assembly Standing Committee, the President, the Government and the Prime Minister as well as the performance of tasks assigned to ministries, sectors and localities.

2. Deputy Prime Ministers shall assist the Prime Minister in inspecting the implementation of the above-mentioned legal documents and tasks according to the scope and working areas assigned to them by the Prime Minister; other Government members shall inspect the implementation of legal documents and tasks as assigned by the Prime Minister.

3. The Minister-Chairman of the Government Office shall assist the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers in inspecting the implementation of the above- mentioned documents and tasks in ministries, sectors and localities as assigned by the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Ministers; and shall concurrently advise the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers on the implementation of regular and irregular inspection plans according to the requirements of the direction and administration of the Government and the Prime Minister.

4. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies and chairpersons of provincial-level People s Committees shall inspect the implementation of documents and assigned tasks within the scope of state management in the sectors or geographical areas under their management.

Article 33. Methods of inspection

1. The Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Ministers, ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies and chairpersons of provincial-level People s Committees shall regularly, periodically or irregularly inspect according to plans the implementation of documents and tasks within their assigned scope and competence.

2. The Prime Minister may assign Government members to sponsor inspections or may decide to form teams to inspect the implementation of documents, direction and administration opinions and assigned tasks.

3. The Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers shall conduct inspections via direct working sessions with ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies or chairpersons of provincial-level People s Councils and People s Committees or via direct working sessions at grassroots units when necessary.

4. The Government may form inspection teams when necessary.

Article 34. Reporting on inspection results

1. Upon conclusion of an inspection, the inspection leader shall report on inspection results; if detecting errors and violations, he/ she shall handle them according to competence or propose competent authorities to handle them according to law.

2. Periodically in the last month of each quarter, ministries, agencies and provincial-level People s Committees shall report to the Prime Minister on the inspection of the implementation of documents and assigned tasks in the sectors or localities under their management.

3. The Government Office shall summarize the situation and report to the Government on the inspection of the implementation of legal documents at the June and December regular meetings of the Government.

Chapter VII

GUEST RECEPTIONS AND WORKING TRIPS

Article 35. Provisions on guest receptions

1. In addition to the receptions of foreign high-level delegations under Decree No. 82/ 2001/ND-CP of November 6, 2001, the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers shall also receive guests under this Regulation.

2. The Prime Minister may personally receive or assign a Deputy Prime Minister or a Government member to receive on his/her behalf guests of the Government or the Prime Minister (both domestic and foreign guests) at the headquarters of the Government.

3. Under the direction of the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister, the Government Office shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related ministries and agencies in, serving guest receptions by the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister or Government member, when:

a/ It is so requested by a ministry, agency, organization or a competent person or by the guests and consented by the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister;

b/ It is directed by the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister.

4. The Government Office is tasked:

a/ To present to the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister guest reception proposals stated at Point a. Clause 3 of this Article; to promptly notify the opinion of the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister to related agencies:

b/ To coordinate with related agencies in preparing contents of the guest reception. If finding it necessary and being requested by the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister, the Government Office shall issue official letters to request related ministries and agencies to prepare some contents and participate in the guest reception (in terms of ceremonies and interpretation):

c/ To invite necessary news and press agencies to cover the guest reception;

d/ To serve and ensure security and safety for the reception;

e/ To issue written notices on results of the guest reception under the direction of the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister and coordinate with related agencies in organizing the performance of necessary tasks. Draft notices must be approved by the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister before issuance.

Article 36. Working trips to localities and grassroots units

1. Under the direction of the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Ministers and at the proposal of provincial-level People s Committees, the Government Office shall formulate programs for the Prime Minister s or Deputy Prime Ministers" working visits to localities.

a/ A locality that has petitions to the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister for handling shall prepare and submit reports thereon to the Prime Minister at least 15 working days before the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister pays a working visit to the locality;

b/ As notified by the Government Office, related agencies shall prepare the contents and report them to the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister at least 3 working days before the working visit;

The Government Office shall submit to the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister for decision the working program, contents, time, ceremony and composition of the working team; and notify at least 3 working days in advance the plan to the locality and related agencies.

After the working trip, the Government Office shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related ministries and agencies in, issuing a notice of the conclusions of the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister. The draft notice must be approved by the leader of the working visit before issuance. The Government Office shall urge the implementation of tasks stated in the notice.

2. In extraordinary or urgent cases, when a locality is hit by a natural disaster, epidemic or unexpected accident, which causes heavy material and human losses, the Prime Minister shall decide on the following forms:

a/ Directing related sectors and authorities at all levels to overcome the consequences, restore production and re-stabilize people s life;

b/ Forming an inter-sector working team of the Government, appointing its head who is a Government member and delegating him/her the power to decide on spot on certain matters;

c/ Personally visiting or authorizing a Deputy Prime Minister to visit the scene and direct the prevention and remedy of damage.

3. The Prime Minister s working teams to visit and work at localities shall be organized under Regulation No. 60/QD-TW of February 11, 2003 of the Political Bureau.

4. Government members and heads of government-attached agencies shall spare time for paying inspection visits to localities and grassroots units and field surveys in order to review models and contact and listen to the opinions and aspirations of people. Depending on its contents, each working trip may be organized in an appropriate form to ensure practicality and thrift, and with or without advance notice.

Article 37. Overseas working trips

1. Overseas working trips of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers:

a/ The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Government Office in, formulating the program, composition of the working delegation and preparing contents of activities and protocols for overseas working trips of the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister, and submit them to the Prime Minister for decision.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall take full responsibility for the contents, work programs and protocol activities of the overseas working trips;

b/ The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related agencies in, reporting to the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister on results of every working trip and propose documents to be promulgated and activities to be carried out;

c/ The Government Office shall verify and submit to the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister for promulgation necessary documents for carrying out activities following each trip; and monitor and urge the implementation of such documents and activities.

2. Apart from the working trips under program approved by the Prime Minister, other Government members overseas working trips must be permitted and agreed by the Prime Minister.

Chapter VIII

INFORMATION AND REPORTING ACTIVITIES

Article 38. Information and reporting to serve the direction and administration by the Government and the Prime Minister

1. Ministries, agencies and provincial-level People s Committees shall submit to the Government and the Prime Minister the following reports:

- Periodical reports (monthly, quarterly, biannual and annual) summarizing the economic, cultural and social situation, state management, security, defense, external relations, administrative reform, corruption prevention and fighting and other necessary issues;

- Topical reports and extraordinary reports at the request of the Prime Minister;

- Draft reports of the Government and the Prime Minister to be submitted to the leading bodies of the Party, the National Assembly, the National Assembly Standing Committee and the President, as assigned by the Prime Minister.

2. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall provide foreign-relation information and daily reviews of foreign mass media to the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Ministers and other Government members. The Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Public Security shall send daily reports to the Prime Minister on the defense, security and social order situation.

3. Ministries and agencies shall step up the application of information technology to their information and reporting activities to ensure fastness, accuracy and effectiveness.

4. In addition to the tasks assigned to other ministers, the Minister-Chairman of the Government Office shall also perform the following tasks:

a/ To organize the building of information infrastructure at the Government Office to effective serve the direction and administration by the Government and the Prime Minister and other Government members; step up the application of information technology to Government meetings, working sessions and the handling of regular affairs of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers; to send documents and invitations to meetings via the computer network;

b/To ensure the timely provision of accurate information for the direction and administration by the Government, the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers with daily fast reports on issues of special concern: press review reports; monthly, biannual and annual summary reports on the Government s direction and administration, and other reports at the request of the Prime Minister;

c/To perform the tasks of the Government s and the Prime Minister s spokesperson, to organize press briefings to inform the results of Government meetings, and press conferences when necessary to inform important matters in the direction and administration by the Government or the Prime Minister;

d/ To prepare reports and coordinate and exchange information and participate in briefings with the Party Central Committee s Office, the President Office, the National Assembly Office and the Party s Committees;

e/ To guide, inspect and urge agencies within the administrative system to strictly observe the information and reporting regime.

Article 39. Reporting at Government meetings

1. Monthly, the Minister of Planning and Investment shall report on the socio-economic situation and propose solutions to direct and administer the performance of plan tasks.

2. Quarterly, the Government Inspector General shall report on activities of corruption prevention and combat, inspection, and settlement of complaints and denunciations; the Minister of Home Affairs shall report on administrative reform; and the Minister-Chairman of the Government Office shall report on the implementation of work programs and resolutions of the Government at Government meetings.

3. At June and December meetings, the Minister-Chairman of the Government Office shall report on the review of the direction and administration by the Government and the Prime Minister and the implementation of the Working Regulation of the Government.

4. Other topical and extraordinary reports as directed by the Prime Minister.

Article 40. Public information on the Government s activities

1. The Prime Minister and other Government members shall implement the regime of reporting to the public on important issues through their reports before the National Assembly, answers to questions of National Assembly deputies, petitions of voters, press conferences and addresses with the mass media as provided for in Clause 9, Article 20 of the Law on Organization of the Government.

2. The Minister-Chairman of the Government Office shall organize periodical or extraordinary press conferences to inform press agencies and people of important policies and decisions of the Government and the Prime Minister. When requested, related ministries and agencies shall attend press conferences. directly address the conferences and take responsibility for the contents falling under their specialized management.

3. Ministers, heads of agencies and chairpersons of provincial-level People s Committees have the following tasks:

a/ To well observe the regulations on the regime of making statements and providing information to the press, creating favorable conditions for the mass media agencies to access accurate and timely information on incidents occurring in their sectors or localities:

b/ To organize direct dialogs with people in appropriate forms; to organize periodical press briefings, press conferences upon the promulgation of important documents, implementation of major policies of the Party and the State or occurrence of other significant events;

c/ To regularly review the press and answer the press as provided for by law.

4. The Minister of Information and Communications shall sponsor weekly press briefings, invite competent leaders and spokespersons of ministries and agencies to attend, taking the initiative in providing information for the public; and assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with other ministers, heads of agencies and chairpersons of provincial-level People s Committees in stepping up the application of information technology and increasing in various appropriate forms information on all aspects of the national situation.

Article 41. Foreign service information

The Minister of Foreign Affairs shall assume the prime responsibility for. and coordinate with the Minister-Chairman of the Government Office and the Minister of Information and Communications in, organizing press conferences to regularly provide information on the socio-economic situation and activities of the Government, the Prime Minister to Vietnam-based foreign press agencies and the overseas Vietnamese community.-