Luật 72/2014/QH13

LAW

AMENDING AND SUPPLEMENTING A NUMBER OF ARTICLES OF THE LAW ON OFFICERS OF THE VIETNAM PEOPLE’S ARMY

Pursuant to the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;

The National Assembly promulgates the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of Law No. 16/1999/QH10 on Officers of the Vietnam People’s Army, which had a number of articles amended and supplemented under Law No. 19/2008/QH12.

Article 1. To amend and supplement a number of articles of the Law on Officers of the Vietnam People’s Army:

1. To amend and supplement Article 11 as follows:

“Article 11. Positions of officers

1. The basic positions of officers include:

a. The Minister of National Defense;

b/ The Chief of the General Staff; the Director of the General Department of Politics;

c/ Directors of General Departments, Heads of General Departments, Political Commissars of General Departments;

d/ Military-Zone Commanders and Political Commissars; Service Commanders and Political Commissars; Border-Guard Commanders and Political Commissars;

dd/ Corps Commanders and Political Commissars; Arms Commanders and Political Commissars; Naval-Zone Commanders and Political Commissars;

e/ Division Commanders and Political Commissars; provincial/municipal (below referred to as provincial-level) Military Command Post Commanders and Political Commissars; provincial-level Border-Guard Command Post Commanders and Political Commissars;

g/ Brigade Commanders and Political Commissars;

h/ Regiment Commanders and Political Commissars; Commanders and Political Instructors of Military Command Posts of rural districts, urban districts, towns or provincial cities (below collectively referred to as district level);

i/ Battalion Commanders and Political Instructors;

k/ Company Commanders and Political Instructors;

l/ Platoon Commanders.

2. Positions and titles equivalent to the positions defined at Points c, d and dd, Clause 1 of this Article shall be prescribed by the Government; the positions and titles equivalent to the positions defined at Points e, g, h, i, k and l of Clause 1 of this Article shall be prescribed by the Minister of National Defense.”

2. To amend Clause 3, Article 13 as follows:

“3. The limit age of officers holding the positions of commander or manager of units defined at Points dd, e, g, h, i, k and 1, Clause 1, Article 11 of this Law shall be prescribed by the Minister of National Defense, but must not exceed the limit age of officers defined in Clause 1 of this Article.”

3. To amend and supplement Article 15 as follows:

“Article 15. The highest army ranks for officer positions

1. The highest army ranks for officer positions are prescribed as follows:

a/ General:

The Minister of National Defense;

The Chief of the General Staff; the Director of the General Department of Politics;

b/ Senior Lieutenant General, Naval Admiral:

The number of Deputy Ministers of National Defense who have the highest army rank being Senior Lieutenant General or Naval Admiral is no more than six;

The Deputy Chief of the General Staff, Deputy Director of the General Department of Politics: each position has the highest army rank being Senior Lieutenant General and is held by more than three persons;

Director and Political Commissar of the National Defense Academy;

c/ Lieutenant General, Vice Naval Admiral:

Commanders and Political Commissars of military zones, army services, border guards; Directors, Heads, Political Commissars of General Departments; Head of the Government Cipher Department;

Commanders and Political Commissars of the Military Command Posts of Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Marine Police;

Directors and Political Commissars of the Academies of Army, Politics, Military Engineering, Logistics, Army Medical Service;

Principals and Political Commissars of the Army Officers Schools I and II, the Political Officers School;

The position of Deputy Director of the National Defense Academy is held by no more than three persons with the highest army rank of Lieutenant General; The position of Deputy Political Commissar of the National Defense Academy is held by one person with the highest army rank of Lieutenant General;

Directors of the Departments of Operations, Military Training, Personnel, Militia and Self-Defense Forces, Organization and Personnel, Propagation, School, Electronic Operations, Information Technology, Rescue- Salvage, and External Relations;

Chief Inspector of the Ministry of National Defense; Chief Justice of the Central Military Court who is a Deputy Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court; Procurator General of the Central Military Procuracy who is a Deputy Procurator General of the Supreme People’s Procuracy;

Director of the Central Party Commission Office - the Office of the Ministry of National Defense;

Director of the Institute for Defense Strategy;

Director of Central Military Hospital 108;

d/ Major General, Rear Naval Admiral:

Commanders and Political Commissars of Army Corps, Services, Naval Zones, Marine Police Zones;

Directors of the Departments of Army Security Protection; Military Science; Finance, Planning and Investment; Army Medical Corps; Criminal Investigation; Standardization, Measurement and Quality Control; People Agitation; Policies; Economy; Cipher; Barrack Building; Technology Management; Mapping; Military Supplies; Petroleum; Transportation; Military Equipment; Vehicles- Machinery; Army Service Engineering; Drill-Training; Army Air Defense; Reconnaissance; Drug Prevention and Control; Cipher Operation Technique Management; Departments 11, 12, 16, 25 and 71;

Directors of the Military Science and Technology Institute, Vietnam Military History Institute, Institute 26, Institute 70;

Directors and Political Commissars of the Air Defense and Air Forces, Navy, Border- Guard, Military Science Academies;

Director of the Cipher Technique Academy;

Commanders of the Defense- Economy Army Corps 11, 12, 15, 16 and 18;

Commander and Political Commissar of the President Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum Protection Command Post;

Political Directors of Military Zones, Army Services, Border Guard, Defense Academy, General Staff, General Department of Logistics, General Department of Engineering, General Department of Defense Industry, General Department II; Director of the Political Department of the General Department of Politics;

A Deputy Chief of Staff who is the Secretary or Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of the Military Zone, Army Service or Border-Guard Staff;

A Deputy Political Director who is the Secretary or Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of the Political Department of the Military Zone, Army Service or Border Guard;

Editor-in-Chief of the Quan Doi Nhan Dan (People’s Army) newspaper; Editor-in-Chief of the All-People Defense Review;

Director of the Army Television- Radio Broadcasting Center;

General Director and a Deputy General Director being the Secretary of the Party Committee of the Army Telecommunications Group;

General Director of Vietnam-Russia Tropics Center;

Directors of Hospital 175, Hospital 103, the Army Traditional Medicine Institute, the National Bums Institute;

Directors of Departments of the Academies of National Defense; Marxist- Leninist Theories; Party- Political Activities; Strategies; Military Campaigns;

Assistants of the National Defense Minister, Directors of the Legal Department, Office of the General Staff, and Office of the General Department of Politics;

The deputies of the position holders defined at Point c of this Clause, with the highest army rank of Major General, with the following quantity: one for the Political Commissar; no more than four for General Department Director or Head or Military Zone Commander; no more than six for Army Service Commander; no more than five for Border- Guard Commander; no more than three for Operations Department Head or Military Training Department Head; no more than three for Director of the Army Academy, Political Academy, Military Engineering Academy, Logistics Academy or Army Medical Academy; no more than three for Director of Infantry Officer School I, Infantry Officer School II, or the Political Officer School; no more than three for Government Cipher Department Head, Commander of the Hanoi Capital Military Command, Ho Chi Minh City Military Command, Vietnam Marine Police Command or Inspector General of the Ministry of National Defense; no more than two for Director of the Army Force Department, Militia-Self Defense Force Department, Organization Department, Personnel Department, Military Propaganda Department, Military School Department, Electronic Operations Department, Information Technology Department, Rescue- Salvage Department, External Relations Department, Chief Justice of the Central Military Court, Procurator General of the Central Military Procuracy, Director of the Central Party Commission - National Defense Ministry Office, Director of the Defense Strategy Institute; and one for Director of Army Central Hospital 108;

dd/ Colonel:

Division Commanders and Political Commissars; provincial-level Military Command Post Commanders and Political Commissars; provincial-level Border-Guard Command Post Commanders and Political Commissars;

Brigade Commanders and Political Commissars;

e/ Senior-Lieutenant Colonel:

Regiment Commanders and Political Commissars; district-level Military Command Post Commanders and Political Instructors;

g/ Lieutenant Colonel:

Battalion Commanders and Political Instructors;

h/ Major:

Company Commanders and Political Instructors;

i/ Captain:

Platoon Commanders.

2. Deputy Directors and full-time members of the Central Party Commission’s Inspection Committee holding the general army rank shall be defined by competent bodies.

3. Seconded People’s Army officers being permanent members of the Defense and Security Committee of the National Assembly or being appointed to the position of General Department Director or the equivalent shall hold the highest army rank of major general; seconded People’s Army officers being deputy-head of the Defense and Security Committee of the National Assembly or being appointed to be Deputy Minister or the equivalent shall hold the highest army rank of Lieutenant General; seconded People’s Army officers with higher position shall be rank-promoted under regulations of competent agencies.

4. The highest army rank for positions or titles of officers holding the general rank of the newly founded units shall be decided by the National Assembly Standing Committee.

5. The highest army rank for positions and titles of the remaining officers holding the field or company-officer rank shall be prescribed by the Minister of National Defense.”

4. To amend and supply Article 17 as follows:

“Article 17. Rank promotion for in-service officers

1. In-service officers may be rank-promoted when fully satisfying the following conditions:

a/ All the conditions prescribed in Article 12 of this Law;

b/ Their current army ranks are lower than the highest army rank prescribed for their incumbent positions or titles;

c/ The duration for rank promotion consideration prescribed at Clause 2 of this Article has expired.

2. The durations for rank promotion consideration for in-service officers are prescribed as follows:

Second Lieutenant to Lieutenant: 2 years;

Lieutenant to Senior Lieutenant: 3 years;

Senior Lieutenant to Captain: 3 years;

Captain to Major: 4 years;

Major to Lieutenant Colonel: 4 years;

Lieutenant Colonel to Senior Lieutenant Colonel: 4 years;

Senior Lieutenant Colonel to Colonel: 4 years;

Colonel to Major General or Rear Naval Admiral: at least 4 years:

Major General or Rear Naval Admiral to Lieutenant General or Deputy Naval Admiral: at least 4 years;

Lieutenant General or Deputy Naval Admiral to Senior Lieutenant General or Admiral: at least 4 years;

Senior Lieutenant General or Admiral to General: at least 4 years;

The duration of officers’ study at schools shall be counted into the rank promotion duration.

3. The age of in-service officers considered for rank promotion from Colonel to major General or Rear Naval Admiral must not exceed 57, except for those of higher age when so required under the President’s decisions.

4. In-service officers who have recorded particularly outstanding achievements shall be considered for rank-surpass promotion, which, however, must not be beyond the highest rank for the officers’ current positions or titles.”

5. To amend, supplement Article 25 as follows:

“Article 25. Competence to make decisions on officer ranks

1. Competence to appoint, relieve from duty, dismiss, rank-bestow, rank-promote, rank- demote or strip is prescribed as follows:

a/ The President appoints, relieves from duty or dismiss the Chief of the General Staff, the Director of the General Department of Politics; bestows, promotes, demotes, strips the general, rear- admiral, deputy-admiral and admiral ranks;

b/ The Prime Minister appoints, relieves from duty or dismiss the Vice Ministers, Deputy Chief of the General Staff; Deputy-Directors of the General Department of Politics; Director and Political Commissar of the National Defense Academy; General Department Directors, Heads, Political Commissars; Military Zone Commanders and Political Commissars; Army Service Commanders and Political Commissars; Border-Guard Commander and Political Commissar; Vietnam Marine Police Commander and Political Commissar; Government Cipher Department Director and other positions prescribed by competent authorities;

c/ The Minister of National Defense appoints, relieves from duty, dismiss the remaining positions and bestows, promotes, demotes and strips the remaining ranks and raises salaries for officers;

d/ The appointment, relief from duty, dismissal of positions of procuracies, courts, judgment execution offices in the Army comply with law.

2. The authority competent to appoint any position may relieve from duty, dismiss, demote, decide to extend the in-service duration, transfer, second, assign officers to lower positions, demobilize, transfer to other grades and demobilize from the reserve officer grade to such position.”

6. To add Article 25a following Article 25 as follows:

“Article 25a. Order of, procedures for, rank bestowal, promotion, demotion or strip for officers

1. The Prime Minister proposes the President to bestow, promote, demote or strip the ranks of general, rear naval admiral, deputy naval admiral, naval admiral.

The promotion, demotion and stripping of the general rank of the seconded People’s Army officers shall be based on requests of agencies, organizations or units where they are seconded to, and of the National Defense Minister.

2. The order of, procedures for, rank- bestowal, promotion, demotion or stripping for field or company-officers and salary raising for officers are prescribed by the Ministry of National Defense.”

7. To amend and supplement Clauses 1 and 7 of Article 31 as follows:

“1. The salary and allowance regimes are prescribed by the Government; the salary scales of officers are calculated according to their positions, titles and ranks, suitable to the nature and tasks of the Army as a special labor domain; the seniority allowances are calculated according to their current salary levels and in-service duration. Officers enjoy allowances and subsidies like cadres and civil servants with the same working conditions and allowances and subsidies of particular military nature.”

“7.To enjoy housing allowance; to enjoy the social-housing support policy, to be provided with official-duty houses in accordance with law.”

Article 2.

This Law takes effect on July 1, 2015.

The provisions on general-rank bestowal, promotion, demotion or stripping; the appointment, relief from duty, dismissal, demotion of positions with the highest army rank of general take effect when this Law is promulgated.

Article 3.

The Government and competent agencies shall detail the articles and provisions assigned to them in this Law.

This Law was passed on November 27, 2014, by the XIII^th National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam at its 8^th session.-