Law Amending Law on Promulgation of Legal Documents, Law No. 63/2020/QH14

LAW

Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Promulgation of Legal Documents^[1]

Pursuant to the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;

The National Assembly promulgates the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of Law No. 80/2015/QH13 on Promulgation of Legal Documents.

Article 1. To amend and supplement a number of articles of the Law on Promulgation of Legal Documents

1. To amend and supplement a number of clauses of Article 4 as follows:

a/ To amend and supplement Clause 3 as follows:

“3. Ordinances and resolutions of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly; joint resolutions of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly and the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front; joint resolutions of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, the Government, and the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front.”;

b/ To amend and supplement Clause 8 and add Clause 8a below Clause 8 as follows:

“8. Circulars of the Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court; circulars of the Procurator General of the Supreme People’s Procuracy; circulars of ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies; decisions of the State Auditor General.

8a. Joint circulars of the Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court, the Procurator General of the Supreme People’s Procuracy, the State Auditor General, ministers, and heads of ministerial-level agencies. Joint circulars of ministers and heads of ministerial-level agencies shall not be promulgated.”.

2. To amend and supplement Article 6 as follows:

“Article 6. Contribution of opinions on the formulation of legal documents; making of social criticism on draft legal documents

1. The Vietnam Fatherland Front, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, member organizations of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, and other agencies and organizations and individuals are entitled and shall be provided with conditions to contribute their opinions on proposals for formulation of legal documents and on draft legal documents.

2. The Vietnam Fatherland Front shall make social criticism on draft legal documents in accordance with this Law and the Law on the Vietnam Fatherland Front.

Social criticism shall be made during the period agencies, organizations or National Assembly deputies in charge of drafting legal documents collect opinions on the draft legal documents. For draft legal documents for which social criticism has been made, dossiers of draft legal documents sent for appraisal or verification or submitted to competent agencies must comprise the social criticism paper.   

3. During the formulation of legal documents, agencies, organizations or National Assembly deputies in charge of drafting the legal documents and related agencies and organizations shall create conditions for other agencies, organizations and individuals to contribute opinions on proposals for formulation of legal documents and on draft legal documents and for the Vietnam Fatherland Front to make social criticism on draft legal documents; and collect opinions from subjects directly affected by legal documents.

4. Contributed opinions on proposals for formulation of legal documents and on draft legal documents and critical opinions on draft legal documents shall be studied, explained and accepted in the process of revising draft legal documents.”.

3. To amend and supplement Article 12 as follows:

“Article 12. Amendment, supplementation, replacement, annulment or suspension of implementation of legal documents

1. A legal document may only be amended, supplemented, replaced, or annulled by another legal document promulgated by the very state agency that has promulgated the previous one, or may be suspended from implementation or annulled by a document promulgated by a competent state agency or person. The document amending, supplementing, replacing, annulling, or suspending the implementation of, another document must clearly state the name of the document, part(s), chapter(s), section(s), sub-section(s), article(s), clause(s) or point(s) of the document that is amended, supplemented, replaced, annulled, or suspended from implementation.

The document that annuls a legal document shall be published on Cong Bao (Official Gazette) and posted as prescribed.

2. When promulgating a legal document, the promulgating agency shall concurrently amend, supplement or annul document(s) or part(s), chapter(s), section(s), sub-section(s), article(s), clause(s) or point(s) of the legal document(s) it promulgated that contravene(s) the new document; in case of impossible to make such amendments and supplementations immediately, the promulgating agency shall include in the new document a list of document(s) or part(s), chapter(s), section(s), sub-section(s), article(s), clause(s) and point(s) of the legal document(s) it promulgated that contravene(s) the new document, and shall make amendments and supplementations before the new document takes effect.

In case the promulgated document(s) or part(s), chapter(s), section(s), sub-section(s), article(s), clause(s) or point(s) of the legal document(s) differ(s) from the new document but need(s) to be further implemented, such shall be clearly stated in the new document.

3. A legal document may be promulgated to amend, supplement, replace and annul provisions of different legal documents promulgated by the same agency in the following cases:

a/ To implement a relevant treaty to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a contracting party;

b/ To ensure synchronism and consistency with the new document as the to-be-amended, -supplemented, -replaced or -annulled provisions are closely interrelated;

c/ To implement an approved plan on simplification of administrative procedures.”.