Law amending the Law on military service duty, No. 35-L/CTN

LAW

ON AMENDMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTS TO A NUMBER OF ARTICLES OF THE LAW ON MILITARY SERVICE DUTY

Pursuant to Articles 44,46,48,77 and 84 of the 1992 Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;
This Law amends and supplements a number of articles of the Law on Military Service Duty passed by the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on the 30th of December 1981, and amended and supplemented on the 21st of December 1990.

Article 1.- The following amendments and supplements are made to the Law on Military Service Duty:

1. Article 10 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 10.-

The State agencies, the Vietnam Fatherland Front and its member organizations, economic organizations, social organizations, schools and families shall, within the scope of their functions, have the responsibility to motivate, educate and create conditions for citizens to fulfill their military service duty."

2. Article 11 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 11.-

The localities, agencies, units, economic organizations, social organizations, schools, families and individuals with good records in the implementation of the military service regime shall be commended according to prescriptions of the State".

3. Article 17 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 17.-

Male citizens, before reaching their military service age and before joining the armed forces, shall be trained according to the general military training program, including political education, military training, training in the sense of organization and discipline, and physical training.

The training of students in general military practice in formal programs in State schools shall be made according to a program jointly formulated by the Minister of Defense and the Minister of Education and Training.

The training in general military practice for young men not enrolled in schools shall be organized by the Chairmen of the People's Committees of communes, wards or townships, and the Heads of State agencies. The training program shall be formulated by the Minister of Defense.

The Minister of Defense shall, in collaboration with the Heads of the concerned State agencies and social organizations, provide guidance for the training in general military practice.

The Presidents of the People's Committee of provinces and of the cities directly under the Central Government and the Presidents of the People's Committees in the districts, towns and cities under the province shall, within the scope of their functions, provide guidance for training in general military practice for the youth in their localities. Economic organizations and social organizations have the responsibility to create conditions for the youth working in their establishments to take part in general military training".

4. Article 19 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 19.-

The People's Committees of districts, towns and cities under the province have the responsibility to prepare citizens to enlist in the armed forces and to call up citizens.

In January each year, the Presidents of the People's Committees of the communes, wards and townships, the Directors of vocational schools and secondary schools, the Heads of State agencies, the Heads of economic organizations, social organizations and other grassroots units, must report the list of male citizens who would reach 17 years of age in that year, to the Military Commander of the districts, towns and cities under the province as prescribed by the Minister of Defense.

5. Paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 21 are amended and supplemented as follows:

"Every year the call-up is done once or twice, the time frame for the call-up and the number of citizens to be called up in the year shall be decided by the Government".

6. Article 23 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 23.-

The People's Committees of communes, wards, townships, the State agencies as well as economic organizations, social organizations and other grassroots units have the responsibility to organize see-offs and to ensure that the citizens under the call-up in their establishments are present at the prescribed time and the prescribed places.

The people's administrations at all levels have the responsibility, within the limit of their duties and powers, to carry out the regimes and policies regarding the families of armymen".

7. Article 24 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 24.-

The People's Committees at all levels shall set up the Military Service Duty Council at their level to help the People's Committees to organize and implement military service work in their localities.

The Military Service Duty Council comprises a Chairman who is the President of the People's Committee, a Deputy Chairman who is the military commander, and members who are the Heads of the planning, labor, public security, public health care, culture-information agencies, the Vietnam Fatherland Front, the Labor Confederation, the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, the Women's Union, the Peasants' Association and the Veterans' Association.

The Military Service Duty Council shall work according to the collective principle, any resolution of the Council must have the consent of the majority of its members.

8. Points 2, 3, 4 and 5 of Article 25 are amended and supplemented as follows:

"2 To urge citizens to register for military service and to get physical checks and examinations, and to verify this process.

3. To propose the list of citizens to be enlisted, to receive temporary postponement from military call-up in peace time or definitive exemption from military service.

4. To urge citizens to obey the call-up order, the order for military training, take part in military exercises and the order to standby for mobilization and stand combat-ready. To verify their observance of these orders.

5. To urge State agencies and concerned organizations to implement the home - front policies and to manage citizens due for military service in their localities."

9. Points 2 and 3 of Article 26 are amended and supplemented as follows:

"2. To draw up the list of citizens who are called up for military service, who are temporarily exempt from call-up in peace time, or who are exempt from military service duty.

3. To urge and inspect the related agencies and organizations in their implementation of the policy toward the home front and management of citizens eligible for military service duty in the locality."

10. Article 29 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 29.-

1. The following persons are temporarily exempt from military call-up in peace time:

a/ Persons not yet physically fit to serve in the army according to the conclusion of the Health Examination Board.

b/ Persons who are the sole laborers who must directly support other members of their families who have lost their capacity to work or who have not reached the working age.

c/ Persons having siblings living in the same household, who are non-commissioned officer or soldier in active service in the army.

d/ Teachers, medical personnel, members of the Youth Volunteers Organization working in difficult highlands, remote areas, border areas, or remote offshore islands as defined by the Government; Government employees in other services and branches, and cadres of political and social organizations sent to work in the above-mentioned areas.

e/ Persons engaged in scientific research projects of State level certified by a minister, ahead of ministerial-level agency, or a person in equivalent positions;

f/ Students in general education schools, vocational schools, vocational secondary schools, colleges and universities as defined by the Government.

g/ Settlers in a newly opened economic area in the first three years.

The persons in the above-mentioned categories shall be subject to annual checks. If the reasons for temporary exemption no longer exist, they would be called up for military service duty. If a man is not called up before he reaches 27 years of age, his name shall be transferred to the reserve force.

2. The following persons are exempt from military call-up in peace time:

a/ Sons of fallen combatants, war invalids or diseased combatants of first degree invalidity with especially serious wounds or diseases.

b/ One of his elder or younger brothers is a fallen combatant.

c/ Sons of first or second-degree war invalids or first degree diseased soldiers.

d/ Members of the Youth Volunteers' Organizations, Government officials or employees, cadres of political or social organizations having served for more than 24 months in the highlands with special difficulties, remote areas, border areas, remote islands as defined by the Government.

In case the persons defined at Item 1, Item 2 of this Article volunteer to enlist, they may be selected and called up."

11. Article 40 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 40.-

The training of non-commissioned officers and soldiers in the reserve force is defined as follows:

1. The maximum time of training for non-commissioned officers and first class reservists is 12 months.

The number of times and the duration of training is to be defined by the Minister of Defense.

2. The training of second-class reservists is to be defined by the Government on the proposal of the Minister of Defense."

12. Article 42 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 42.-

The assembly of the reservists for training or checking for combat readiness according to the time schedule stipulated at Articles 40 and 41 of this Law, is to be decided by the Minister of Defense.

When necessary, the Minister of Defense is entitled to retain the reservists for further training, but not for more than two months, and the total duration of the training periods shall not exceed the time stipulated at Article 40 of this Law".

13. Article 51 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 51.-

During their military service, professional armymen receive their pay, other allowances corollary to their pay and other benefits prescribed by the Government.

14. Article 52 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 52.-

During the period of concentration for training and checking combat readiness, the professional militarymen, non-commissioned officers and reservists, the families of the professional militarymen and non-commissioned officers and first class reservists shall enjoy the regime to be defined by the Government".

15. Point 3 of Article 53 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"3. From the 25th month onward, he shall receive an allowance equal to 200% of the monthly salary; and from the 37th month he shall receive additional monthly allowance to be specified by the Government."

16. Article 55 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 55.-

Professional militarymen, non-commissioned officers and armymen after demobilization shall be supplied with transport expenses and accommodation cost, demobilization allowances, and job-generation allowance to be defined by the Government.

Demobilized professional militarymen, non-commissioned officers and armymen shall be exempt from public utility labor duty after they are registered in the reserve force.

The time during which the second-class reservist is concentrated for training and checking for combat readiness shall be counted as the time he would spend annually in doing his public utility service duty."

17. Point 2 of Article 56 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"2. After demobilization, the non-commissioned officers and armymen shall return to the agencies and economic establishments from which they joined up the army. These agencies and establishments have the responsibility to reinstate them. If the former agencies or establishments had been dissolved, closed down or had gone bankrupt, the immediate higher level has the responsibility to provide jobs for them.

In the event the immediate higher level had also been dissolved or if there is no such agency, the provincial Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Office has the responsibility to cooperate with State agencies and economic and social organizations in providing jobs and carry out the regimes and policies with regard to those non-commissioned officers and armymen as prescribed by legislation on labor and other related domains."

18. Article 61 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 61.-

The Presidents of the People's Committees at the communes, wards and townships, the directors of the vocational schools, vocational secondary schools, colleges and universities, the heads of offices, the persons in charge of economic organizations, social organizations and other grassroots units have to draw up the list of reservists and those ready to enlist at their establishments to report to the Military Command of the districts, towns and cities in the province as prescribed by the Minister of National Defense."

19. Article 64 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 64.-

When the order of general mobilization or partial mobilization is issued:

1. All demobilization is halted;

2. All leaves of armymen are halted. Armymen on leave must return immediately to their units;

3. The military commanders of the districts, towns and cities in the province shall call up each citizen according to the decision of the People's Committee of the same level.

The citizens who are called up must be present on the time and at the place written in the call-up summon.

The People's Committees of communes, wards, townships and the economic and social organizations have the responsibility to make arrangements for the citizens to seriously carry out the call-up order.

Article 2.- Some terms in the Law on Military Service Duty are changed as follows:

a/ The term "Council of the State" is changed to "Standing Committee of the National Assembly"

b/ The term "Council of Ministers" is changed to "Government".

c/ "Article 72" is changed to "Article 70"

d/ "Article 73" is changed to "Article 71"

Article 3.- The Government shall amend and supplement the documents detailing the implementation of the Law on Military Service Duty to make them conform to this Law.

This Law was passed by the Ninth National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam at its Fifth Session, on the 22nd of June, 1994.