Nghị định 138/2016/ND-CP

DECREE

PROMULGATING THE WORKING REGULATION OF THE GOVERNMENT

Pursuant to the June 19, 2015 Law on Organization of the Government;

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

The Government promulgates the Decree on the Working Regulation of the Government.

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

Article 2. This Decree takes effect on the date of its signing, replacing the Government’s Decree No. 08/2012/ND-CP of February 16, 2012, promulgating the Working Regulation of the Government.

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

Article 3. The Minister-Chairperson of the Government Office shall supervise 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. 138/2016/ND-CP of October 1, 2016)

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope and subjects of regulation

1. This Regulation establishes the working principles; responsibility regime; working relationships; and methods and processes of handling affairs of the Government and Prime Minister.

2. Government members, ministries, ministerial-level agencies and government- attached agencies and provincial-level People’s Councils and People’s Committees (below referred to as ministries, agencies and localities) and agencies, organizations and individuals having working relations with the Government and Prime Minister are all regulated by this Regulation.

Article 2. Working principles of the Government

1. The Government shall work according to the regime of combining the power and responsibility of the Government collective with the power and responsibility of the Prime Minister and every member of the Government. The Government shall make decision according to the majority rule on matters falling within the competence of the Government. All activities of the Government and its members must submit to the Party leadership and comply with the Constitution and law.

2. To heighten the personal responsibility of the head, with one task only assigned to a person who shall take primary responsibility for it. For a task assigned to a ministry, ministerial-level agency or provincial-level People’s Committee, the minister, the head of the ministerial-level agency or chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee shall assume the responsibility for it.

3. To proactively handle affairs within assigned competence according to the order and procedures prescribed by law and the Working Regulation of the Government. To ensure coordination and information exchange in handling affairs and all activities according to legally established functions, tasks and powers; subordinates shall obey the leadership and direction of superiors.

4. To rationally assign and delegate power to local administrations in accordance with law, ensuring the unified management by the Government as well as promoting the proactiveness, responsibility and creativity of local administrations in performing state management tasks.

5. To publicize, transparentize and modernize activities of the Government, ministries, ministerial-level agencies and state administrative agencies at all levels; to implement a unified, uninterrupted, continuous, democratic, modem, and upright administration that serves the People and submits to their examination and supervision.

Chapter II

AFFAIR-HANDLING RESPONSIBILITY, SCOPE AND METHODS

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

1. The Government shall uniformly manage the state administrative system from central to local level; and fully perform its tasks and powers prescribed by the Constitution and law.

2. Affair-handling methods of the Government:

a/ To discuss and resolve at Government meetings;

b/ To send opinion collection cards to Government members.

3. The Government’s decisions shall be voted for by more than half of the total number of Government members. When voting on an issue at meetings as well as using opinion collection cards, if the numbers of votes for and votes against are equal, the issue shall be decided according to the Prime Minister’s vote.

4. The Government shall assign the Prime Minister to consider and decide on its behalf unexpected, urgent matters to be promptly settled within its competence or matters on which the Government has agreed in principle. The Prime Minister shall report on matters he/she has decided on at the nearest Government meeting.

5. The Government shall assign or delegate power to local administrations to decide or perform certain state management tasks within the sectors and fields in their localities in accordance with law and their conditions and capability.

Article 4. Issues to be discussed and resolved by the Government

1. The Government’s proposals on formulation of laws, ordinances and resolutions to the National Assembly and National Assembly Standing Committee; draft laws and resolutions to be submitted to the National Assembly, and draft ordinances and resolutions to be submitted to the National Assembly Standing Committee.

2. Long-term and annual socio-economic development strategies, master plans and plans; state budget estimates and annual central budget allocation plans; state budget final accounts.

3. Monthly, biannual and annual socio-economic situations and tasks and solutions to direct and manage the implementation of socio-economic development plans.

4. Organizational structure of the Government; establishment and abolition of ministries and ministerial-level agencies; establishment, consolidation and dissolution of government-attached agencies; establishment, dissolution, consolidation, division and adjustment of administrative boundaries of provinces, centrally run cities and special administrative-economic units.

5. Annual work programs of the Government; review of direction and management activities of the Government and Prime Minister and implementation of the Working Regulation of the Government.

6. Issues required by law to be discussed and resolved by the Government.

7. Other necessary issues as decided by the Prime Minister.

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 prescribed by the Constitution and law; lead the work of the Government; direct, moderate and coordinate activities among Government members; lead, direct and inspect activities of ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, local administrations, and heads of agencies and units within the state administrative system from central to local level; personally direct and administer important, strategic issues in all areas of work falling within the scope of the Government’s tasks and powers.

2. Affair-handling methods of the Prime Minister:

a/ To decide on and direct the formulation of legal documents, strategies, master plans, plans and policies within the deciding competence of the Government and Prime Minister, or propose and formulate policies and draft laws and ordinances to be submitted to the National Assembly or National Assembly Standing Committee for consideration and decision;

b/ To decide on the pilot implementation of mechanisms and policies on necessary issues according to regulations, serving as the basis for adjustment of mechanisms and policies or adoption of new ones;

c/ To personally handle or assign Deputy Prime Ministers to handle on his/her behalf affairs on the basis of dossiers submitted by ministries, agencies, localities, organizations or individuals and summarized in the affair-handling submission papers of the Government Office prescribed in Chapter III of this Regulation. In case of necessity, the Prime Minister may personally handle an affair on the basis of the dossier submitted by a ministry, an agency, a locality, an organization or an individual without requiring an affair-handling submission paper from the Government Office;

d/ To convene, preside over, and decide on matters put up for discussion at, Government meetings;

dd/ To personally or assign Deputy Prime Ministers to chair on his/her behalf over meetings and working sessions with leaders of related ministries, agencies or localities for consideration before decision;

e/ When considering it necessary on grounds of the importance and urgency of affairs, to personally direct the handling of affairs within the competence of ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies or government-attached agencies or chairpersons of provincial- level People’s Committees;

g/ To authorize the Minister-Chairperson of the Government Office to chair meetings and working sessions with leaders of related ministries, agencies or organizations or individuals for handling matters on which there remain divergent opinions among these ministries and agencies before submission to the Government or Prime Minister for decision;

h/ To decide on matters on which there remain divergent opinions among ministers and heads of ministerial-level agencies before submission to the Government;

i/ To promulgate legal documents according to his/her competence; to sign on behalf of the Government documents of the Government; to issue documents to direct and administer the performance of tasks and exercise of powers according to regulations;

k/ To authorize a Government member to submit on behalf of the Government a scheme, a project, a draft document or a report of the Government before the National Assembly, President and other agencies according to regulations;

l/ To authorize a Deputy Prime Minister or a minister or the head of a ministerial- level agency to perform one or several tasks within the competence of the Prime Minister;

m/ To establish interdisciplinary coordination organizations to direct a number of complicated, important issues which are related to different sectors, fields and/or localities and take a long period to handle;

n/ When being absent and considering it necessary, to authorize the standing Deputy Prime Minister or another Deputy Prime Minister to lead on his/her behalf the Government’s work and handle affairs under the Prime Minister’s charge according to regulations;

o/ When a Deputy Prime Minister is absent, to personally handle or assign another Deputy Prime Minister to handle affairs already assigned to the absent Deputy Prime Minister;

p/ In addition to the above methods, to handle affairs through making working trips; examining and pressing for the implementation of mechanisms, policies and laws in localities and grassroots establishment; giving explanations and answer inquiries of National Assembly deputies and voter petitions; holding press conferences; and receiving citizens, and other methods.

Article 6. Affair-handling responsibility, scope and methods 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 shall assist the Prime Minister in performing the latter’s tasks in the working areas and scope of power assigned by the latter;

b/ Within the scope of his/her assigned working areas, 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 before law for his/her decisions;

c/ A Deputy Prime Minister shall proactively handle his/her assigned affairs and promptly report to the Prime Minister any major, important and sensitive matters that arise; in performing his/her tasks, should there arise matters related to the areas under the charge of another Deputy Prime Minister, he/she shall directly coordinate with the latter in handling these matters or handle these matters through affair-handling submission papers of the Government Office. In case Deputy Prime Ministers hold divergent opinions on an affair, the Deputy Prime Minister in charge of handling such affair shall report them to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision.

2. Affair-handling methods of Deputy Prime Ministers:

a/ To personally handle affairs on the basis of dossiers submitted by ministries, agencies, localities, organizations or individuals and summarized in the affair-handling submission papers of the Government Office prescribed in Chapter III of this Regulation. In case of necessity, a Deputy Prime Minister may personally handle an affair on the basis of the dossier submitted by a ministry, an agency, a locality, an organization or an individual without requiring an affair-handling submission paper from the Government Office;

b/ To assume the prime responsibility for handling matters which require interdisciplinary coordination and consider and handle proposals of ministries, agencies or localities which fall within the competence of the Prime Minister and within his/her assigned scope;

c/ To chair meetings and working sessions with leaders of related ministries, agencies and localities for consideration before decision;

d/ To direct, monitor and handle specific matters which fall within the competence of the Prime Minister; to sign on behalf of the Prime Minister documents which fall within the competence of the Prime Minister and within the scope of the working areas assigned by the Prime Minister;

dd/ Affair-handling methods prescribed at Point p, Clause 2, Article 5 of this Regulation.

Article 7. Affair-handling responsibility, scope and methods of Government members being ministers and heads of ministerial-level agencies

1. To fully perform the tasks and exercise the powers prescribed in the Constitution and law; to participate in handling common affairs of the Government collective; to join the Government collective in deciding on and taking joint responsibility for matters falling within the scope of the tasks and powers the Government.

2. To strictly implement decisions of the Government and Prime Minister, refraining from speaking and acting against these decisions. If having opinions different from such decisions, they shall still obey the decisions but may express their opinions on those matters to the Government collective and Prime Minister and reserve their opinions. If committing any violations, they shall, depending on their nature and severity, make self-criticisms and clearly determine their responsibility before the Government collective.

3. Affair-handling methods of Government members:

a/ To proactively and timely propose to the Government and Prime Minister undertakings, mechanisms, policies and legal documents that need to be promulgated or revised falling within the competence of the Government and Prime Minister;

b/ To proactively work with the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Ministers or other Government members on affairs falling within the competence of the Government and Prime Minister and other relevant affairs;

c/ To direct, monitor, guide and inspect the enforcement of policies and laws and implementation of strategies, master plans, programs, plans and decisions of the Government and Prime Minister on the sectors or fields assigned or authorized by the Government or Prime Minister;

d/ To attend, discuss and vote at all Government meetings, and timely and fully fill their opinions in the opinion collection cards;

dd/ To chair meetings with related ministries, agencies, localities, organizations or individuals to handle assigned affairs according to their competence or to discuss and agree on matters on which there remain divergent opinions among ministries and agencies before submitting them to the Government or Prime Minister;

e/ Affair-handling methods prescribed at Point p, Clause 2, Article 5 of this Regulation; g/ Every Government member has his/her own official email account which shall be connected to the online administrative network to receive and send information, documents, and invitations to meetings, and to exchange opinions and handle affairs.

Article 8. Affair-handling responsibility, scope and methods of ministers and heads of ministerial-level agencies

1. To heighten their personal responsibility to fully perform their tasks and exercise their powers prescribed by the Constitution and law, as well as perform the tasks assigned by the Government and Prime Minister, including affairs authorized to them; to take personal responsibility for every activity of their ministries or agencies, even for tasks assigned or authorized to their deputies.

2. Affair-handling methods of ministers and heads of ministerial-level agencies:

a/ To personally handle affairs within the scope of management of their ministries or agencies, to assign their deputies to monitor, direct and handle certain affairs falling within the competence of their ministries or agencies;

b/ When being absent and considering it necessary, to authorize one of their deputies to lead the work and handle affairs of their ministries or agencies;

c/ To decide according to their competence or submit to the Government or Prime Minister for consideration and decision according to the latter’s competence matters related to their functions and tasks and within the sectors or fields under their management; not to refer affairs within their tasks and competence to the Prime Minister or other ministries or agencies; not to handle affairs within the competence of other ministries or agencies, except those directed or authorized by the Prime Minister;

d/ To submit to the Government or Prime Minister for consideration and handling matters falling beyond their competence or matters falling within their competence but involving complicated, interdisciplinary contents which they could not handle despite of their coordination;

dd/ To contribute opinions at meetings or working sessions or give written opinions on matters related to their functions and tasks within the sectors or fields under their management at the proposal of other ministers and heads of other ministerial-level agencies, chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees, or related agencies, organizations and individuals;

e/ To promulgate legal documents and administrative documents intra vires to perform their state management functions regarding their assigned sectors or fields;

g/ To decide to delegate power to local administrations to perform certain tasks related to their assigned territory-based sectors or fields;

h/ Affair-handling methods prescribed at Point p, Clause 2, Article 5 of this Regulation.

Article 9. Working relationships between the Government, ministers and heads of ministerial-level agencies and agencies and organizations within the political system

1. The Government, ministers and heads of ministerial-level agencies shall take the initiative in closely coordinating with agencies of the Party, National Assembly, Supreme People’s Court, Supreme People’s Procuracy, Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and central bodies of socio-political organizations in performing their tasks and powers; fully perform the tasks defined in the work coordination and relevant regulations; proactively report on and explain matters of concern to the Ethnic Council and Committees of the National Assembly; study, settle and answer inquiries of National Assembly deputies, answer petitions of voters and recommendations of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and socio-political organizations on matters under their respective management.

2. The Government shall guide, inspect and create conditions for the People’s Councils to perform their tasks and exercise their powers according to regulations; lead, direct, guide, inspect and examine activities of the People’s Committees at all levels; and consider and settle proposals of the People’s Councils and People’s Committees.

Article 10. Working relationships between ministers and heads of ministerial-level agencies with ministries, ministerial-level agencies and government-attached agencies

1. To guide, inspect and coordinate with ministries, ministerial-level agencies and government-attached agencies in performing the tasks in their assigned sectors or fields.

2. To propose other ministers and heads of other ministerial-level agencies to stop the implementation of, or cancel, regulations issued by the latter’s ministries or agencies which are contrary to the Constitution, laws or documents of superior state agencies or of the ministries or ministerial-level agencies regarding the sectors or fields under their management. In case their proposals are declined, to submit them to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision.

3. Ministers and heads of ministerial-level agencies shall, when handling affairs within their competence but related to the functions and tasks of other ministries or agencies, consult the ministers of such ministries or heads of such agencies.

a/ In case of written consultation on an affair, if there is a time limit prescribed by law for consultation and reply for such affair, the consulting ministry or agency shall clearly state the deadline for reply according to regulations. If there is not any time limit prescribed by law for consultation and reply, the consulting agency shall clearly state the deadline for reply which, however, must not be fewer than 7 days from the date of sending a written consultation, except unexpected, urgent matters;

b/ Ministers or heads of the agencies consulted shall clearly state their opinions in their written replies according to the deadline stated by the consulting ministry or agency and take responsibility for their replies. Past the deadline, if the minister or head of the agency consulted does not reply or is late in reply, he/she shall be considered having agreed to the consulted contents, except the case prescribed at Point c of this Clause, and take personal responsibility before the Government and Prime Minister. The consulting ministry or agency shall report to the Prime Minister at a regular Government meeting on the responsibility of ministers or heads of agencies who fail to give replies or are late in reply;

c/ If receiving no reply from a ministry or an agency that directly manages the consulted issue, the consulting ministry or agency shall ask such ministry or agency to give its reply so that it can complete the dossier for submission to the Government or Prime Minister. If the consulted ministry or agency still gives no reply, this shall be reported to the Prime Minister according to Point b of this Clause;

d/ When being invited to a meeting for consultation, the minister or head of a ministerial- level agency shall participate or appoint a fully competent person to participate in the meeting on his/her behalf. The participant’s opinions are official opinions of his/her ministry or agency.

Article 11. Working relationships between ministers or heads of ministerial-level agencies and local administrations

1. Ministers or heads of ministerial-level agencies shall settle according to their competence proposals of provincial-level People’s Councils or People’s Committees and give written replies within 7 days after the receipt of written proposals, if they do not have to further consult other ministries and agencies, or within 15 working days, if they have to consult other ministries and agencies, except unexpected, urgent matters on which they have to give replies earlier as requested. If consulted ministries or agencies do not give replies or are late in reply, chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Councils or People’s Committees shall report thereon to the Prime Minister.

2. Ministers or heads of ministerial-level agencies shall direct, guide and inspect the People’s Committees at all levels in performing the tasks within the sectors or fields under their charge or assigned by the Government or Prime Minister; propose the Prime Minister to stop the implementation of resolutions of provincial-level People’s Councils that are contrary to the Constitution, laws or documents of superior state agencies concerning the sectors or fields under their management; request provincial-level People’s Committees or their chairpersons to stop the implementation of, or annul, legal documents of the provincial-level People’s Committees or their chairpersons which are contrary to documents concerning the sectors or fields under their assigned management. If provincial-level People’s Committees or their chairpersons decline to comply with their requests, ministers or heads of ministerial-level agencies shall report thereon to the Prime Minister for decision.

3. When chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Councils or People’s Committees request to work directly with ministers or heads of ministerial-level agencies on necessary affairs related to the sectors or fields under the latter’s management, they should carefully prepare the contents and send relevant documents at least 3 working days in advance to ministers or heads of ministerial-level agencies, who shall personally or assign their deputies to work with chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Councils or People’s Committees.

4. Chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Councils and People’s Committees shall make reports, prepare documents, arrange work timetables and participate in 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 collection of opinions from chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees, the time limits for reply must comply with the provisions of Clause 1 of this Article.

Chapter III

AFFAIR-HANDLING RESPONSIBILITY AND PROCESSES

Article 12. Types of affairs to be submitted to the Government or Prime Minister

1. Draft laws, ordinances and legal documents.

2. Projects, reports and other written proposals.

3. Affairs directed personally by the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister or proposed by the Government Office.

Article 13. Dossiers to be submitted to the Government or Prime Minister

1. A dossier to be submitted to the Government or Prime Minister must comprise a presentation report or a document or another report enclosed with a project or draft document (if any) and other necessary documents. Dossiers which are required by a law to be enclosed with relevant documents must comply with such law.

2. A dossier to be submitted to the Government or Prime Minister must clearly state the content of the submitted issue, opinions of related ministries, agencies and localities, and proposals; the submitted issue or affair must be within the settling competence of the Government or Prime Minister, and its dossier shall be duly signed and sealed.

3. For a dossier to be submitted to the Government or Prime Minister by an agency within the state administrative system, both hard and soft copies shall be sent. For a confidential document, only a hard copy shall be sent.

4. A dossier to be submitted to the Government or Prime Minister shall be concurrently sent to the Government Office, which shall receive, process and make a list to monitor the processing, and systematically store both paper and electronic dossiers according to regulations.

5. The Government Office shall only process dossiers submitted to the Government or Prime Minister when they receive both paper and electronic dossiers from ministries, agencies or localities. If receiving only either type of dossier for a case that needs to be urgently processed, the Government Office shall handle it as follows:

a/ If receiving only an electronic dossier, the Government Office shall itself prepare an affair-handling submission paper and request a complete paper dossier according to regulations. Only when receiving the paper dossier shall the Government Office submit it to the Prime Minister;

b/ If receiving only a paper dossier, the Government Office shall prepare an affair- handling submission paper to the Prime Minister while requesting the addition of the electronic dossier within 24 hours after the Government Office issues its written request for completion of the dossier for handling online.

6. Dossiers and documents submitted by agencies, organizations or individuals outside the state administrative system shall be sent according to regulations on official correspondence.

Article 14. Responsibilities of ministries, agencies and localities in handling affairs of the Government or Prime Minister

1. Ministers and heads of ministerial-level agencies shall take responsibility for the contents, submission schedule of, and initial documents which are submitted by their ministries and agencies and fall within the promulgating competence of the Government or Prime Minister.

2. Ministers or heads of coordinating agencies and appraising agencies shall appoint competent and qualified officials to participate m the process of drafting legal documents at the proposal of the drafting agencies, and to fulfill their assigned tasks with quality and on time.

3. The Government Office shall receive and check submitted dossiers and notify supplementations if they are incomplete according to regulations; study these dossiers and prepare affair-handling submission papers according to the process and time limit prescribed in this Regulation. It shall verify the order, procedures and handling competence and give general advice on the contents (below refereed to as verification opinions); and take responsibility for their verification.

4. Ministries, agencies and localities shall coordinate with one another in the processing of dossiers submitted to the Government or Prime Minister according to this Regulation and at the request of the Prime Minister or his/her deputies.

Article 15. Process of handling draft laws, ordinances and legal documents

The process of handling draft laws, ordinances or legal documents (below referred to as draft legal documents) must comply with the order prescribed in the Law on Promulgation of Legal Documents and Decree No. 34/2016/ND-CP of May 14, 2016, and the following provisions:

1. For a dossier that is incomplete, improperly prepared or lacks conditions for submission as concluded by the Ministry of Justice, within 3 working days after receiving the dossier, the Government Office shall send a written notice to the drafting agency for supplementing the dossier or completing the submission procedures and conditions according to regulations.

2. For a dossier that is complete and properly prepared and the content of the draft legal document concerned has received unanimous approval, within 5 working days after receiving the dossier, the Government Office shall prepare an affair-handling submission paper clearly stating its verification opinion and submit it to the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Ministers for consideration and decision.

3. For a dossier that is complete and properly prepared but there remain divergent opinions among ministries, ministerial-level agencies and/or government-attached agencies on major issues in the draft legal document concerned:

a/ Within 5 working days after receiving the dossier, a leader of the Government Office shall convene a meeting with representatives of the leaderships of the drafting ministry or agency, the Ministry of Justice and related ministries and agencies to discuss and clarify the issues before submission to the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister;

b/ Within 5 working days after the end of the meeting, the drafting ministry or agency shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Government Office and related ministries and agencies in, further revising and finalizing and initialing the draft document for submission to the Government or Prime Minister; the Government Office shall prepare an affair-handling submission paper clearly stating its verification opinion and submit it to the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister for consideration and decision.

4. The Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister shall give his/her opinions in the affair-handling submission paper within 3 working days after receiving it from the Government Office, except special cases.

5. For a draft legal document within the competence of the Government, depending on the content and nature of the document, the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister shall consider and decide on one of the following options:

a/ Asking the drafting ministry or agency to make additional preparation if seeing that the content of die draft document is unsatisfactory, and fixing a deadline for re-submission;

b/ Organizing a meeting of the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister or a briefing of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers for consideration before submission to the Government;

c/ Sending opinion collection cards to Government members;

d/ Putting up for discussion and vote at a Government meeting;

dd/ Other options as decided by the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister.

6. In case of sending opinion collection cards to Government members:

a/ The Government Office shall coordinate with the drafting agency in identifying contents on which Government members should be consulted; and send opinion collection cards enclosed with the whole dossier of the draft document;

b/ Government members shall fill in opinion collection cards within 7 days after receiving these cards;

c/ In case a majority of Government members vote for and there are no divergent opinions, the Government Office shall coordinate with the drafting ministry or agency in finalizing the document, then submit it to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision;

d/ In case only a minority of Government members vote for or a majority of Government members vote for but there remain divergent opinions, a leader of the Government Office shall hold a meeting with the drafting agency, Ministry of Justice and related ministries and agencies to exchange opinions and reach agreement. Within 5 working days after the end of the meeting, the drafting agency shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Government Office in assimilating and giving explanations on collected opinions, and finalizing and initialing the draft document; the Government Office shall make an affair-handling submission paper to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision;

dd/ In case of collecting opinions from Government members for summarization and reporting to the Government at its meeting, the Government Office shall summarize opinions of Government members and clearly state issues to which Government members have agreed and still disagreed, and recommend issues to be discussed at the Government meeting.

7. For draft documents discussed and voted at a Government meeting, right after the end of the meeting, pursuant on the Government’s resolution, the drafting ministry or agency shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Government Office and related ministries and agencies in, giving explanations to and assimilating opinions of Government members, revising and finalizing the draft documents, and submit them to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision.

8. For draft legal decisions of the Prime Minister, the Prime Minister shall consider and decide on one of the following options:

a/ Agreeing to the draft decision and signing it for promulgation;

b/ Organizing a meeting of the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister for consideration before decision;

c/ Requesting revision of the draft decision. The drafting ministry or agency shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Government Office and related ministries and agencies in, finalizing the draft document, and submit it to the Prime Minister for consideration and signing;

d/ Other options as decided by the Prime Minister.

9. No later than the working day following the date the Prime Minister signs a document, the Government Office shall distribute it and publicly post it on the Government Portal according to regulations.

Article 16. Process of handling projects, reports and other proposals submitted to the Government or Prime Minister

1. For a dossier that is incomplete or improperly prepared, or falls outside the handling competence of the Government or Prime Minister, within 3 working days after receiving the dossier, the Government Office shall return it to the sender, clearly stating the reason, or notify the sender of the reference of the dossier to a competent agency for processing.

2. For a dossier that is complete and properly prepared and it is unnecessary to consult related ministries and agencies, within 5 working days after receiving the dossier, the Government Office shall prepare an affair-handling submission paper clearly stating its verification opinion, and submit it to the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister for consideration and decision.

3. For a dossier on which related ministries and agencies should be consulted, within 3 working days after receiving the dossier, the Government Office shall process it as follows:

a/ It shall send opinion collection cards to related ministries and agencies, clearly stating the deadline for reply as prescribed at Point a, Clause 3, Article 10 of this Regulation. Within 3 working days after such deadline, the Government Office shall prepare an affair- handling submission paper and submit it together with the draft document (if any) to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision;

b/ In case of necessity, a leader of the Government Office shall convene a meeting with related agencies to clarify matters before submission to the Prime Minister. Within 5 working days after the end of the meeting, the drafting ministry or agency shall coordinate with the Government Office in finalizing the dossier, and submit it to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision.

4. The Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister shall consider the submitted dossier and write his/her opinions in the Government Office’s affair-handling submission paper within 3 working days after receiving it from the Government Office, except special cases.

5. The subsequent settlement of issues within the competence of the Government must follow the processes stated in Clauses 5, 6 and 7, Article 15 of this Regulation.

6. For issues within the deciding competence of the Prime Minister, the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister shall write his/her opinions in the affair-handling submission paper and sign the draft document, if agreeing to the document. If the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister holds a different opinion, the drafting ministry or agency shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Government Office in, assimilating such opinion and finalizing the document, and submit it to the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister for consideration and signing.

If it is unnecessary to promulgate a document of the Prime Minister, the Government Office shall draft a notice of opinion and submit it to the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister for approval before It is signed by the Minister-Chairperson of the Government Office and sent to related ministries and agencies for information and compliance.

7. No later than the working day following the date the Prime Minister signs a document or gives his/her opinion on the handling of an affair, the Government Office shall distribute and publicize it according to regulations.

8. The Government Office shall monitor, supervise, speed up and inspect the performance of tasks assigned to ministries, agencies and localities and stated in the directing documents of the Government or Prime Minister as prescribed in Chapter VI of this Regulation.

9. For specific affairs that need to be handled promptly or affairs personally directed by the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister, the Government Office shall process them as soon as possible, without having to follow the above process.

Article 17. Process of handling affairs personally directed by the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Ministers or proposed by the Government Office

1. For an affair on which there is no dossier submitted by a ministry, an agency or a locality but the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister personally gives his/her direction, the Government Office shall give advice and propose how to handle it.

2. When discovering a newly arising affair to be directed by the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister on which there is neither a report or a proposal from a ministry, an agency or a locality, the Government Office shall take the initiative in studying the affair, give advice to and propose the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister to consider the affair and give direction.

3. For affairs within the handling competence of ministries, agencies or localities on which the Government Office finds it necessary to seek directing opinions from the Government or Prime Minister, the Government Office shall give advice and propose the Prime Minister to consider and decide to issue a written direction for timely handling.

4. For an affair within the handling competence of the Government or Prime Minister:

a/ The Government Office shall directly consult or send opinion collection cards to related ministries, agencies and localities for their opinions, summarize these opinions, make proposals and send them to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision;

b/ If the affair is important, complicated and related to mechanisms and policies, the Government Office shall propose the Prime Minister to assign ministries and specialized agencies to prepare a report or project thereon to the Prime Minister.

Chapter IV

WORK PROGRAMS OF THE GOVERNMENT AND PRIME MINISTER

Article 18. Types of work programs

1. Work program is a list of projects, draft legal documents, strategies, master plans, plans, resolutions, reports and other projects (below referred to as projects) within the deciding competence of the Government or Prime Minister or to be presented to the Government or Prime Minister for opinion before being submitted to competent authorities for decision; activities and affairs expected to be presented to or implemented in a year, quarter, month and week of the Government, Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers.

2. Work programs include:

a/ Annual, quarterly and monthly work programs of the Government and Prune Minister;

b/ Weekly work programs of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers.

3. Content of a work program:

a/ An annual work program is a list of projects to be submitted to the Government or Prime Minister in a year. Every project incorporated in an annual work program must clearly state the authority competent to consider and decide it, preparing ministry or agency, and submission deadline. The deadlines of submission of projects in an annual work program shall be set in quarter or month;

b/ A quarterly work program is a list of projects to be submitted to the Government, Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers and agendas of monthly Government meetings in a quarter. A quarterly work program shall be divided into lists of projects to be submitted to the Prime Minister and to Deputy Prime Ministers according to their assigned fields. The deadlines for submission of projects in a quarterly work program shall be set in month;

c/ A monthly work program is a list of projects to be submitted to the Government, Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers and the agenda of the Government meeting in the month. A monthly work program shall be divided into lists of projects to be submitted to the Prime Minister and to Deputy Prime Ministers according to their assigned fields;

d/ A weekly work program is a timetable of daily activities of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers in a week.

Article 19. Responsibilities of Government members for preparing, implementing, and evaluating the implementation of, work programs

1. The Prime Minister shall direct and assume overall responsibility for the preparation and implementation of the work programs of the Government and Prime Minister; evaluate and supervise ministries and agencies in implementing the work programs at monthly Government meetings.

2. Implementation of work programs shall be used as a criterion for assessing the performance of tasks of Government members, ministries, agencies and localities. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies and government-attached agencies, and chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees shall take personal responsibility before the Government and Prime Minister for the implementation of the work programs annually assigned by the Government and Prime Minister, ensuring quality, timeliness and conformity with the direction and administration of the Government and Prime Minister; shall report to the Government at monthly and year-end Government meetings on the implementation of the work programs and clearly explain why projects (if any) under their charge cannot be fulfilled.

3. The Government Office shall manage the work programs of the Government and Prime Minister and summarize and advise the Government and Prime Minister on the preparation, adjustment and implementation of the work programs, ensuring their feasibility and conformity with the direction and administration of the Government and Prime Minister; review and evaluate the implementation of the work programs of the Government and Prime Minister and report the results at monthly and year-end Government meetings.

Article 20. Grounds for preparing work programs

A list of projects to be included in a work program shall be drawn up on the following grounds:

1. Directions of the Party Central Committee, Political Bureau, Secretariat, National Assembly, National Assembly Standing Committee, Government and Prime Minister.

2. Requirements to detail laws and resolutions of the National Assembly, and ordinances and resolutions of the National Assembly Standing Committee.

3. Written specific proposals of ministries, agencies and localities approved by the Prime Minister.

4. Particularly, weekly work programs shall be prepared based on the monthly work program and the practical requirements of direction and administration work, and domestic and external activities of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers.

Article 21. Order of preparing work programs

1. Annual work programs:

a/ Annually before September 30, the Government Office shall send official letters requesting ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-attached agencies and provincial- level People’s Committees to register projects for the following year’s work program.

b/ Before November 15, ministries, agencies and localities shall send to the Government Office their official documents registering projects to be submitted to the Government and Prime Minister in the following year, specifying monthly work programs in the first quarter.

A registered project must clearly state:

- Grounds for its formulation;

- Summarized plan on the project preparation: The registered project should clearly express the necessity, content orientation, scope of regulation, coordinating agencies, appraising agencies and deciding authority, and tentative schedule for its implementation, and its end-products.

c/ On the basis of requirements and tasks of the Government and Prime Minister and the lists of registered projects of ministries, agencies and localities, the Government Office shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the ministries, agencies and localities in, scrutinizing, verifying and agreeing to the projects to be included in the work program, and at the same time summarizing and drafting the subsequent year’s work program of the Government and Prime Minister and submit it to the Prime Minister for opinion before December 15 every year before submission to the Government for consideration and adoption;

d/ Within 10 days after the adoption by the Government, the Government Office shall finalize the annual work program and send it to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision to promulgate it.

2. Quarterly work programs:

On the basis of the annual work program and results of implementation of the work program since the beginning of the year, direction and administration of the Government and Prime Minister, and adjustment proposals (if any) of the ministries, agencies and localities approved by the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Ministers in charge of relevant fields, the Government Office shall draft a quarterly work program of the Government and Prime Minister and submit it to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision so that it can be circulated no later than the first working day of the first month of the quarter.

3. Monthly work programs:

Based on the quarterly work program, results of implementation of the monthly and quarterly work programs, direction and administration of the Government and Prime Minister, and adjustment proposals (if any) of the ministries, agencies and localities approved by the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Ministers in charge of relevant fields, the Government Office shall draft a monthly work program of the Government and Prime Minister and submit it to the Prime Minister for issuance no later than the first working day of the month.

4. Weekly work programs:

Based on the directions of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister on handling projects and affairs submitted by the ministries, agencies and localities and work requirements of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers, the Government Office shall draw up a weekly work program of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers and send it to the Government members and related agencies and organizations on Friday of the preceding week.

5. The preparation of a tentative program on making laws, ordinances, Government decrees and legal decisions of the Prime Minister must comply with the process established by the law on promulgation of legal documents. These programs shall be incorporated into the Government’s work program.

Article 22. Implementation of work programs

1. Based on the annual work program of the Government and Prime Minister, ministries, agencies and localities in charge of projects shall organize the making of detailed preparation plans for each project and elaborate the projects for submission to the Government and Prime Minister, ensuring their quality and schedule.

2. For draft laws and ordinances, their planning must comply with the law on promulgation of legal documents.

3. In case of necessity, ministries, agencies and localities shall send detailed reports to the Government and Prime Minister for direction on the change of name, requirements and scope of settlement or orientations on the projects’ contents.

4. The supplementation and adjustment of a work program shall be effected on the basis of directions of the Government and Prime Minister or written proposals of ministries, agencies and localities. The supplementation and adjustment of a program on making of legal documents must comply with the law on promulgation of legal documents. The deadlines for submission of projects may not be adjusted, except for external reasons which shall be reported to the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Ministers in charge of relevant fields for consideration and decision.

Article 23. Monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of work programs

1. Monthly, quarterly, biannually and annually, ministries, agencies and localities shall proactively review and evaluate the implementation of projects in their work programs and send reports thereon to the Government Office before the 25^th of every month for summarization and reporting at monthly Government meetings.

The Government Office shall notify results of implementation of the work programs of the Government and Prime Minister and the list of delayed projects to the ministries, agencies and localities.

2. The Government Office shall assist the Prime Minister in regularly monitoring, inspecting and speeding up the preparation and submission of projects of related ministries, agencies and localities; monthly or irregularly assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related ministries, agencies and localities in reviewing and evaluating the implementation of the work programs of the Government and Prime Minister, providing timely advice and proposing solutions and orientations for handling difficulties and problems, and at the same time proposing adjustments to and addition of projects when necessary.

3. The Government shall evaluate the implementation of monthly, quarterly and annual work programs on the basis of the number of projects to be submitted; number of projects already submitted and promulgated; number of projects returned; number of projects requested to be withdrawn or delayed by ministries, agencies and localities, and report them to the Government and Prime Minister.

Chapter V

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

Article 24. Meetings and conferences of the Government and Prime Minister

1. Government meetings include:

a/ Regular Government meetings;

b/ Irregular Government meetings;

c/ Specialized Government meetings.

2. Conferences of the Government and Prime Minister include:

a/ Conferences to implement socio-economic development plans and state budget;

b/ Specialized conferences.

3. Meetings of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers with leaders of ministries, agencies and central mass organizations;

4. Briefings of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers.

5. Working sessions of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers with local leaders at the Government’s headquarters or in localities.

6. Meetings presided over by Government members authorized by the Prime Minister to handle the Government’s affairs.

Article 25. Forms of organization of meetings and conferences

1. Direct meetings and conferences.

2. Online meetings and conferences.

Article 26. 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 Government members to handle extraordinary affairs or at the request of the President to discuss an issue considered necessary by the latter to perform his/her tasks and exercise his/her powers.

3. The Government may hold specialized meetings under decisions of the Prime Minister at the proposal of ministries or ministerial-level agencies.

4. The preparation for, convening and organization of work related to, irregular meetings and specialized meetings must follow the direction of the Prime Minister.

5. The Prime Minister shall preside over Government meetings. When necessary, the Prime Minister may assign the permanent or another Deputy Prime Minister to preside over a Government meeting and make conclusions on the meeting or some contents thereof on his/her behalf.

Article 27. Preparations for Government meetings

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

2. The Government Office is tasked:

a/ To plan the contents, agenda, time and participants of a meeting and submit them to the Prime Minister for decision;

b/ To send invitations to and soft copies of documents (or hard copies of confidential documents) of a meeting via the Government’s official email addresses to the Government members and invited participants at least 5 working days before the meeting opens, except for special cases. At a meeting, the Government members and participants shall access and read the meeting’s documents on the computers in the meeting room;

c/ To present verification reports on the contents of projects and draft documents presented at the meeting according to the provisions in Chapter III of this Regulation;

d/ To fully receive documents for the meeting from the ministries and agencies in charge of the projects and send them to the participants according to regulations; to assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with these ministries and agencies in, recovering confidential documents at the end of the meeting.

3. A ministry or an agency in charge of a project is tasked:

a/ To prepare and send all soft copies of dossiers and documents (excluding confidential documents) to be used for a meeting to the Government Office via the Government’s official email addresses at least 6 working days before the meeting opens, and their hard copies to the Government Office as requested;

b/ To coordinate with the Government Office in managing confidential documents sent to the participants and recover them at the end of the meeting.

Article 28. Participants in Government meetings

1. The Government members shall attend all Government meetings; if they are absent from a meeting or for some time during a meeting, they shall report to and get the consent from 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 meeting will proceed if it is attended by at least two-thirds of the total number of the Government members.

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

a/ the President, for all Government meetings;

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

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

d/ Chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Councils and People’s Committees, for attending online the Government meetings according to the direction of the Prime Minister;

dd/ Other participants as decided by the Prime Minister;

e/ Participants who are not Government members may present opinions but may not vote.

Article 29. Proceedings at a Government meeting

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

2. The Prime Minister presides over the meeting.

3. The Government discusses the contents according to the meeting agenda:

a/ The ministry or agency in charge of a project presents briefly the project and matters in need of opinions of the Government;

b/ The Minister-Chairperson of the Government Office presents a report summarizing the opinions of Government members and verification opinions of the Government Office, clearly stating the opinions of the Government members, agreed issues, disagreed issues, viewpoints and opinions of the Government Office, and proposing issues to be discussed and adopted by the Government;

c/ The Government members present their opinions, clearly stating their approval or disapproval of the issues under discussion;

d/ The Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister presiding over the discussion makes conclusions and the Government members cast their votes.

4. For clear issues on which there are no divergent opinions among ministries and agencies and which fall within the competence of the Government, the Minister-Chairperson of the Government Office presents a report summarizing the contents of these issues to the Government for consideration and vote.

5. When necessary, the Prime Minister may request the Government members or heads of other agencies to report on relevant matters outside the meeting agenda.

6. The Prime Minister presents the meeting’s conclusions.

7. The Minister-Chairperson of the Government Office submits to the Government for consideration and adoption a resolution of the meeting. If the draft resolution of a meeting is sent directly to the Government members for opinion, the written approval (or disapproval) of the draft is considered a form of voting.

Article 30. Minutes of a Government meeting

1. The minutes of a meeting must clearly state the composition and proceedings of the meeting, a list of Government members and participants who present opinions at the meeting (brief opinions), the conclusions of the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister who presides over the meeting on each issue, and voting results, and be enclosed with a recording of the meeting.

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

2. The minutes of a meeting and documents circulated at the meeting shall be archived according to regulations and preserved and used according to the confidentiality regime. The use of these minutes shall be decided by the Minister-Chairperson of the Government Office.

Article 31. Resolution of a Government meeting

1. A meeting resolution must fully and clearly express the Government’s resolutions at the meeting; and tasks of the ministries, agencies, and localities in the implementation of the resolution.

2. The Minister-Chairperson of the Government Office shall organize the drafting of the resolution of a meeting; issue official letters to related agencies on the performance of tasks concluded by the Prime Minister but not yet mentioned in the resolution; and organize the monitoring, examination and supervision of the performance of tasks assigned to ministries, agencies in the resolution and official letters mentioned above. Monthly, the Government Office shall summarize and evaluate the implementation and report thereon to the Government at its regular meeting.

Article 32. Conferences of the Government and Prime Minister

1. A conference to implement the socio-economic development plan and state budget

a/ In every December, the Government shall organize a conference with chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Councils and People’s Committees nationwide to implement and discuss measures to implement the following year’s socio-economic development plan and state budget estimate and other necessary contents and tasks;

b/ The Government Office shall submit to the Prime Minister for decision the agenda, participants, time, form and venue of the conference;

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

d/ At the conference, the ministries and agencies in charge of projects shall briefly present issues for discussion;

dd/ Participants shall fully participate in the conference as invited and present opinions on relevant matters;

e/ After the conference, chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Councils and People’s Committees and ministries and agencies shall organize implementation of related affairs according to the Government’s resolution and written notice of conclusions of the Prime Minister at the conference.

2. A specialized conference may be organized to implement or review the implementation of resolutions of the Party or National Assembly, major documents, mechanisms or policies or important affairs concerning the direction and administration of the Government or Prime Minister nationwide, in some localities or certain sectors or fields.

a/ Based on the direction of the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister or at the proposal of the ministry or agency assigned to prepare the agenda of a specialized conference, the Government Office shall submit to the Prime Minister for decision the agenda, participants, form, time and venue of the conference;

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

c/ At the conference, the ministry or agency in charge of the project shall briefly present matters for discussion;

d/ Participants shall fully attend the conference as invited and present opinions on relevant matters;

dd/ According to the conclusions of the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister, the Government Office or the ministry in charge of the agenda of the conference shall finalize the drafts of relevant documents and submit them to the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister for consideration and decision on their promulgation.

Article 33. Meetings of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers with leaders of ministries, agencies and central mass organizations

1. The Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers shall meet with leaders of ministries and agencies in charge of projects and representatives of related ministries and agencies to consider and direct the handling of affairs.

2. Responsibilities of the Government Office:

a/ To ask the ministry or agency in charge of a project to fully prepare documents for the meeting, and send invitations together with the meeting’s documents (if any) to invited participants at least 3 working days before the meeting opens, except for special cases;

b/ To prepare the venue, facilities and conditions and ensure security and safety for the meeting (if it is organized at the Government’s headquarters); to coordinate with related agencies in performing these tasks if the meeting is organized outside the Government’s headquarters;

c/ To write the minutes of and audio-record the meeting under Article 30 of this Regulation;

d/ To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related ministries and agencies in, drafting a notice of conclusions of the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister at the meeting; to submit it to the person presiding over the meeting for approval before distribution; to monitor and press for the implementation of such notice.

3. Responsibilities of the ministry or agency in charge of a project:

a/ To attend the meeting as invited, to prepare sufficient documents as notified by the Government Office and present them at the meeting;

b/ To prepare explanations on necessary matters related to the meeting agenda;

c/ After the meeting, to finalize the project or submitted draft document according to conclusions of the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister.

4. Responsibilities of related ministries and agencies:

To attend the meeting as invited and present opinions on relevant matters. If the leader of a ministry or an agency cannot attend a meeting, he/she shall report such to the person presiding over the meeting and appoint a fully competent person to attend and present opinions at the meeting on behalf of the leader.

Article 34. Briefings of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers (briefings of the Government standing members)

1. The agenda of a briefing of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers covers matters and affairs decided by the Prime Minister when he/she sees it necessary to discuss collectively among the Government leaders.

2. The Minister-Chairperson of the Government Office shall direct the preparation of a summarization report on the contents and opinions of related ministries and agencies, and the advice of the Government Office, and shall attend the briefing. When requested, Vice-Chairperson of the Government Office shall attend a briefing to directly report on tasks assigned to them for monitoring. When necessary, under the direction of the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister, the Government Office shall additionally invite the ministry or agency in charge of a related project or other participants to the meeting.

3. At a briefing, the Minister-Chairperson or a Vice-Chairperson of the Government Office directly monitoring an affair shall present the summarization report and the advice and proposals on how to handle related matters; if invited to the briefing, the ministry or agency in charge of the related project 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 on every matter.

4. Briefings may be held weekly, unless otherwise decided by the Prime Minister.

5. The Government Office shall perform the tasks defined in Clause 2, Article 33 of this Regulation.

Article 35. Working sessions of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers with local leaders at the Government’s headquarters or in localities

1. When necessary or at the proposal of a locality, the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister shall work with leaders of a province or centrally run city or several provinces and centrally run cities to discuss how to handle relevant matters.

2. The locality shall prepare a report on relevant matters and proposals (if any) and send it to the Government Office at least 7 days before the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister works with the locality at the latter’s request, except for unexpected working visits of the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister.

3. On the basis of the report of the locality, the Government Office shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related ministries and agencies in, giving advice and proposing how to handle the proposals of the locality and report them to the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister.

4. Participants shall fully attend the meeting as invited and present opinions on relevant matters.

5. Within 5 working days after the working session, the Government Office shall issue a notice of conclusions, unless otherwise directed by the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister.

6. After the working session, the chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Council(s) and People’s Committee(s) and related ministries and agencies shall organize the performance of relevant tasks according to the written notice of conclusions of the Prime Minister.

Article 36. Meetings of Government members authorized by the Prime Minister to handle affairs of the Government and 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 submitted to the Government or Prime Minister.

2. For a meeting taking place at the Government’s headquarters, it shall be organized under Clauses 2,3 and 4, Article 33 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

MONITORING, SUPERVISION AND INSPECTION OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF LEGAL DOCUMENTS AND PERFORMANCE OF TASKS ASSIGNED BY THE GOVERNMENT AND PRIME MINISTER

Article 37. Scope and subject matters of monitoring, supervision and inspection

1. Scope and subject matters of monitoring, supervision and inspection include:

a/ Implementation of legal documents;

b/ Performance of tasks assigned by the Government and Prime Minister to ministries, agencies and localities in legal documents and direction and administration documents (below referred to as tasks assigned by the Government and Prime Minister).

2. The Government, Prime Minister, ministries, agencies, localities and related organizations and individuals shall monitor, supervise and inspect the implementation of legal documents and performance of tasks assigned by the Government and Prime Minister.

Article 38. Monitoring, supervision and inspection principles

1. To carry out monitoring, supervision and inspection in a regular and planned and coordinated manner to avoid overlap and repetition.

2. To comply with the competence, order and procedures and be based on the grounds prescribed by law; to ensure publicity, transparency, unbiasedness and accuracy and not to obstruct normal operations of inspected agencies and organizations.

3. To ensure effectiveness and enhance administrative discipline and bring about positive improvements in direction and administration work of the Government and Prime Minister and state management agencies.

4. To be associated with the application of information technology to the management of documents and files of affairs and the direction and administration of the Government and Prime Minister; to ensure connectivity from the Government Office to ministries, agencies and localities.

Article 39. Monitoring, supervision and inspection competence

1. The Government and Prime Minister shall comprehensively inspect the implementation of legal documents of the National Assembly, National Assembly Standing Committee, President, Government and Prime Minister as well as the performance of tasks assigned by the Government and Prime Minister.

2. Deputy Prime Ministers shall inspect the implementation of the legal documents and tasks mentioned in Clause 1 of this Article according to the scope and working areas assigned to them by the Prime Minister; other Government members shall inspect the performance of tasks assigned by the Government and Prime Minister as instructed by the Prime Minister.

3. The Minister-Chairperson of the Government Office, head of the working team of the Prime Minister, shall inspect, monitor and press for the performance of the tasks assigned by the Government and Prime Minister to ministries, agencies and localities, and report on a monthly basis on the performance of the tasks by ministries, agencies and localities at the regular Government meeting.

4. The Minister of Justice shall assist the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers in monitoring the implementation of legal documents of the National Assembly, National Assembly Standing Committee, President, Government and Prime Minister by ministries, agencies and localities and related organizations and individuals, and report thereon to the Government and Prime Minister.

5. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies and government-attached agencies, and chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Councils and People’s Committees shall monitor, press for and inspect the implementation of legal documents and performance of tasks assigned by the Government and Prime Minister to their ministries, agencies and localities.

Article 40. Contents of monitoring, supervision and inspection

1. Implementation of legal documents; organization, progress and results of performance of tasks assigned by the Government and Prime Minister.

2. Implementation of the regulations on information and reporting on the implementation of legal documents and performance of tasks assigned by the Government and Prime Minister to ministries, agencies and localities according to the Working Regulation of the Government and relevant regulations.

3. To clearly identify responsibilities of ministries, agencies and localities as well as competent persons in the implementation of legal documents and performance of tasks assigned by the Government and Prime Minister.

Article 41. Forms of monitoring, supervision and inspection

1. Via the special-use data transmission network of Party and State agencies connected from the Government Office to ministries, agencies and localities.

2. Periodical or irregular reports.

3. Direct working sessions as planned or unexpectedly to meet state management requirements.

4. Forming inspection teams.

5. Other forms.

Article 42. Reporting on inspection results

1. Upon conclusion of an inspection, the agency or person in charge of the inspection shall report on inspection results.

2. An inspection result report must include:

a/ Evaluation of the implementation of legal documents and performance of tasks assigned by the Government and Prime Minister; achievements, limitations, weaknesses and causes during the implementation;

b/ Conclusions or proposals on the handling according to competence to remedy limitations and weaknesses or on adjustment of tasks and revision and supplementation of relevant regulations, if necessary.

Chapter VII

GUEST RECEPTIONS, WORKING VISITS

Article 43. Provisions on guest receptions

1. The receptions of foreign guests must comply with the Government’s Decree No. 145/2013/ND-CP of October 29, 2013, on organization of commemorative days; etiquette for bestowing and receipt of awards and emulation titles; and protocols for receptions of foreign guests.

2. Other receptions of domestic guests and foreign guests of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers must comply with relevant provisions of this Regulation.

3. The Prime Minister may receive in person or assign a Deputy Prime Minister or a Government member to receive on his/her behalf guests of the Government or Prime Minister.

4. The Government Office is tasked:

a/ To receive written proposals for guest receptions by the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister from related ministries, agencies, organizations and individuals; to advise and propose the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister to consider and decide on the agenda, form and participants in the receptions; timely notify the opinions of the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister to related ministries, agencies, organizations and individuals;

b/ To coordinate with related ministries and agencies in preparing the agendas and documents for guest receptions, time, venues, participants and interpreters (if necessary);

c/ To organize the recording of minutes and audio-recording of guest receptions and submit these minutes and audio-recordings for archive according to regulations;

d/ To organize service and ensure reception protocols, logistics, security and safety for guest receptions;

dd/ To invite news and press agencies to report on guest receptions according to regulations and requests of the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Ministers;

e/ Under the direction of the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister, to draft written notices of results of guest receptions and submit them to the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister for approval, and issue such notices within 3 working days; coordinate with, monitor, press for and inspect the performance of tasks stated in the written notices.

Article 44. Working visits to localities and establishments

1. Under the direction of the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Ministers and at the proposal of localities, the Government Office shall prepare programs for the Prime Minister’s or Deputy Prime Ministers’ working visits to localities.

2. For a working visit at the proposal of a locality, the preparation for the agenda of the working session with the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister must comply with Clauses 2 and 3, Article 35 of this Regulation.

3. For an unexpected working visit by the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister without advance notice to a locality or an establishment, the Government Office shall prepare the program for the working visit under the direction of the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister.

4. The Government Office shall coordinate with the locality and related ministries and agencies in preparing the working agenda, timetable and composition of the working visit and submit them to the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister for consideration and decision, and notify them at least 3 working days before the working visit to the locality and related ministries and agencies.

5. Within 5 working days after the working visit, the Government Office shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related ministries and agencies in, submitting to the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister the draft of a written notice of conclusions to the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister for approval before issuing the notice; and monitor and press for the performance of tasks stated in the notice.

6. In case of handling unexpected or urgent issues in a locality or an establishment, the Prime Minister shall decide to use one of the following methods:

a/ Directing sectors and authorities at all levels to perform some specific tasks;

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

c/ Personally visiting or authorizing a Deputy Prime Minister to visit the locality or establishment and handle affairs.

7. The Prime Minister’s working teams to visit and work in localities shall be organized in conformity with regulations of the Party Central Committee and Political Bureau.

8. Government members shall spare time for paying inspection visits to localities and establishments to grasp their actual conditions, meet and listen to opinions and aspirations of the People to serve their work. Depending on its program, each working visit may be organized in an appropriate form to ensure practicality and thrift.

Article 45. Overseas working visits

1. Annual plans on external activities:

a/ The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Government Office and related ministries and agencies in, summarizing annual foreign-relation activity plans of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers, and submit them to competent authorities for approval; summarize annual foreign-relation activity plans of other Government members, and report them to the Prime Minister;

b/ The Government Office shall periodically coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in reviewing and proposing adjustments to the plans to meet foreign-relation activity requirements of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers.

2. Order of organizing an overseas working visit of the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister

a/ The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Government Office and related ministries and agencies in, preparing the program, composition of the delegation and preparing the contents of activities and protocols for the overseas working visit paid by the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister, and submit them to the Prime Minister; take full responsibility for the implementation of the contents of activities and protocol work of the visit;

b/ At the proposal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Government Office shall submit to the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister for consideration and decision the contents of activities and composition of the delegation; and monitor and urge the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other related ministries and agencies to preparing the contents and program for the visit;

c/ Upon the conclusion of a working visit, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall briefly report on the outcomes of its official activities according to regulations. The Government Office shall prepare a press release on these outcomes and send it to the press. After the working visit, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall fully report on its outcomes to the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister and propose follow-up activities;

d/ Based on the report of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Government Office shall submit to the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister for approval a written notice of the outcomes of the visit and issue a document on follow-up activities, and assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and related ministries and agencies in, monitoring and supervising such activities.

3. Before making overseas working visits, even those under annual foreign-relation activity plans already approved by the Prime Minister, Government members, heads of government-attached agencies, and chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Councils and People’s Committees shall obtain permission from the Prime Minister.

Chapter VIII

INFORMATION AND REPORTING

Article 46. Information and reporting of the Government, Prime Minister and Government members

1. The Government shall report its work twice a year to the National Assembly, National Assembly Standing Committee and President and make unexpected reports or topical reports at the request of the latter.

a/At the request of the National Assembly, National Assembly Standing Committee or President, the Prime Minister shall assign a ministry or an agency to prepare a report;

b/ Related ministries and agencies shall coordinate with the ministry or agency assigned to prepare the report;

c/ The Government Office shall verify the report and work with the ministry or agency assigned to prepare the report to finalize it before submission to the Prime Minister for publicization;

d/ For an unexpected report or a topical report prepared at the request of the National Assembly, National Assembly Standing Committee or President, the Prime Minister may authorize a Government member to take responsibility for the report’s content before the Government or Prime Minister.

2. The Prime Minister shall, or, when he/she is absent, authorize a Deputy Prime Minister to, present the work reports, explanatory reports and answer questions before the National Assembly and National Assembly Standing Committee.

a/ The Prime Minister shall assign the Government Office to assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related ministries and agencies in, preparing and finalizing reports, and to submit them to the Prime Minister for decision on their publicization;

b/ Related ministries and agencies shall coordinate with one another at the request of the Government Office.

3. The Prime Minister shall report to the People through the mass media on important issues within the competence of the Government or Prime Minister.

a/ The Prime Minister shall assign a ministry or an agency to prepare a report and submit it to him/her;

b/ Related ministries and agencies shall coordinate with one another at the request of the report-preparing ministry or agency;

c/ The Government Office shall verify the report and work with the report-preparing ministry or agency to finalize it before submission to the Prime Minister for decision on its publicization.

4. Government members shall report on their work to the Government and Prime Minister; give explanations and answer questions before the National Assembly and National Assembly Standing Committee; and report to the People on important issues under their respective management.

Article 47. Information and reporting to serve the direction and administration by the Government and Prime Minister

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

a/ Periodical reports (monthly, quarterly, biannual and annual) summarizing the work, management, administration and results of implementation of the work programs of the Government and Prime Minister and performance of tasks assigned by the Government and Prime Minister to their ministries, agencies and localities; assessments and proposals on direction and administration activities of the Government and Prime Minister;

- Monthly reports shall be sent to the Government Office and related agencies no later than the 25^th every month;

- Quarterly reports shall be sent to the Government Office and related agencies no later than the 20^th of the last month of the quarter;

- Biannual reports shall be sent to the Government Office and related agencies no later than the 15^th of June;

- Annual reports shall be sent to the Government Office and related agencies no later than the 10^th of December.

b/ Topical reports and unexpected reports at the request of the Prime Minister;

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

2. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall perform daily reviews of foreign mass media and provide foreign-relation information to the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Ministers and other Government members.

3. The Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Transport (National Traffic Safety Committee) and Vietnam News Agency shall send daily reports (even on festive and new-year holidays) to the Prime Minister on the border, sea and island, national defense, security and social order and safety situation and noteworthy foreign-relation information.

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

a/ 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; to summarize, and propose handling of, daily press information; to make review reports on direction and administration of the Government and Prime Minister, and performance of work programs and tasks of the Government and Prime Minister on a monthly, quarterly, biannual and annual basis; to coordinate with ministries, agencies and localities in reporting and proposing the Government or Prime Minister to direct the prompt handling of sensitive issues of public concern; to make other reports at the request of the Prime Minister;

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

d/ To organize the building of information infrastructure at the Government Office to effectively serve the direction and administration by the Government and the Prime Minister and other Government members; to 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;

dd/ To organize the application of information technology and receive reports and opinions from people and organizations to advise on the direction and administration work of the Government and Prime Minister.

Article 48. 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. The Minister-Chairperson of the Government Office shall report on direction and administration work and the implementation of the work programs and tasks assigned by the Government and Prime Minister.

2. Quarterly, the Government Inspector-General shall report on the work of corruption prevention and combat, inspection, and settlement of complaints and denunciations. The Minister of Home Affairs shall report on administrative reform. The Minister of Justice shall report on the formulation of laws and ordinances by the Government and the formulation and promulgation of implementing regulations.

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

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

Article 49. 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 according to Articles 29 and 37 of the Law on Organization of the Government.

2. The Minister-Chairperson of the Government Office shall act as the spokesperson of the Government and proactively provide information on the undertakings and policies of the Party and laws of the State and major socio-economic issues; perform the tasks of the Government’s and Prime Minister’s spokesperson; organize regular press conferences to inform the Government meeting’s outcomes; organize press conferences when necessary to inform important policies and decisions in the direction and administration by the Government and Prime Minister; answer on issues of public and press concern, and issue press releases. When requested, related ministries and agencies shall attend press conferences, directly present opinions 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 properly observe the regulation 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 events occurring in their sectors, fields or localities;

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

c/ To regularly perform press reviews and answer the press in accordance with law.

4. The Minister of Information and Communications shall hold press briefings and manage press information in accordance with the press law; implement the regulation on the spokesperson to provide information for the press; 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 50. Foreign service information

The Minister of Foreign Affairs shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Minister-Chairperson 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 and Prime Minister to Vietnam-based foreign press agencies and the overseas Vietnamese community.-