Chương I Luật Ban hành Văn bản quy phạm pháp luật 1996: Những quy định chung

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1.- Legal documents

A legal document is a document issued by a competent State agency according to the procedure and order prescribed by law, including the common rules of conduct the implementation of which is guaranteed by the State and aims to regulate social relations along the socialist orientation.

The system of legal documents includes:

1. The documents promulgated by the National Assembly: the Constitution, laws and resolutions;

The documents promulgated by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly: ordinances and resolutions;

2. The documents issued by the other competent State agencies at central level to implement the legal documents of the National Assembly and the Standing Committee of the National Assembly;

a/ Orders and decisions of the State President;

b/ Resolutions and decrees of the Government; decisions and directives of the Prime Minister;

c/ Decisions, directives and circulars of the Ministers, the Heads of the ministerial-level agencies and the Heads of the agencies attached to the Government;

d/ Resolutions of the Justice Council of the Supreme People’s Court; decisions, directives and circulars of the Chairman of the Supreme People’s Procuracy;

d/ Inter-agency resolutions and joint circulars of competent State agencies and between competent State agencies and socio-political organizations;

3. The documents issued by the People’s Councils and the People’s Committees to implement the legal documents of the National Assembly, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly and the documents of higher-level State agencies; and the documents issued by the People�s Committees to implement the resolutions of the People’s Councils of the same level.

a/ Resolutions of the People’s Councils;

b/ Decisions and directives of the People’s Committees.

Article 2.- Constitutionality, legality and uniformity of the system of legal documents

The Constitution is the fundamental law of the State having the highest legal effect.

All legal documents promulgated must conform with the Constitution and ensure the uniformity and the rank of its legal effect in the legal system.

All legal documents issued by a lower-level State agency must conform with the legal documents of the higher-level State agencies.

Any legal document which is contrary to the Constitution and the legal documents of the higher-level State agencies must be annulled or suspended by a competent State agency.

Article 3.- Suggestions and comments to elaborate legal documents

1. The Vietnam Fatherland Front and its member organizations, other social organizations, all economic organizations, State agencies, People’s Armed Forces units and citizens have the right to contribute suggestions and comments to the elaboration of legal documents.

2. During the process of elaborating a legal document the concerned agencies and organizations shall, depending on the nature and contents of the draft document, create conditions for the agencies, organizations and individuals defined in Item 1 of this Article to contribute suggestions and comments or accept these comments to elaborate the legal document.

Article 4.- Effect of legal documents

A legal document shall have to specify its effect in terms of time, space and objects or regulation.

Article 5.- Language of legal documents

A legal document shall be written in the Vietnamese language.

The language used in the document must be accurate, comprehensible to the public, the expression must be plain and easy to understand. For technical terms the meaning of which needs to be specified, they must be defined in the document.

A legal document may be translated into the languages of the ethnic minorities.

Article 6.- The serial number and code of legal documents

A legal document must be numbered and record the year of its issue and the code of its type.

Article 7.- Documents stipulating in details the implementation of other legal documents

1. The implementation of a law, ordinance or another legal document must be stipulated in details so that it can be immediately implemented after taking effect.

Where a law or ordinance contains an article or item which needs to be stipulated in details in another document, such article or item must clearly identify the State agency competent to stipulate these details together with the time limit for the issue of the document.

2. A document stipulating in details the implementation of a law or ordinance must be drafted at the same time with the bill or draft ordinance and submitted to a competent State agency for timely promulgation when the law or ordinance takes effect.

Article 8.- Revising and systematizing legal documents

The State agencies shall, within the scope of their tasks and powers, have to regularly revise and periodically systematize the legal documents; when detecting an illegal, contradictory or overlapping provision or provision which is no longer suitable to the situation of national development, they shall either by themselves or recommend a competent State agency to make timely amendments, supplements or replacements, or to annul or suspend its implementation.

An agency, organization or citizen has the right to request a competent State agency to consider amending, supplementing, replacing, annulling or suspending the implementation of legal documents.

Article 9.- Amending, supplementing, replacing, annulling or suspending the implementation of legal documents.

A legal document shall be amended, supplemented, replaced or annulled only by another legal document issued by the State agency which has issued that document, annulled or suspended by a document of a competent State agency.

A legal document that amends, supplements, annuls or suspends the implementation of another document must clearly state the name of the document, item(s) or article(s) to be amended, supplemented, replaced, annulled or suspended.

A legal document that has not yet been amended, supplemented, replaced, annulled or the implementation of which has not yet been suspended by a competent agencyshall remain effective and must be strictly observed.

Article 10.- Publishing in the Official Gazette, posted up and carried on the mass media

A legal document must be published in the Official Gazette, posted up for public notice, be carried on the mass media except for documents containing State secrets.

A legal document of a central State agency must be published in the Official Gazette of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam not later than fifteen days from the date of its promulgation or signing for promulgation.

The Government shall exercise unified management over the Official Gazette of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

A legal document of the People’s Council or the People’s Committee must be posted up for public notice at the main office of the issuing agency and other places decided by the People�s Council or the People’s Committee.

Article 11.- Sending and filing legal documents

1. A legal document must be sent in time to the State agency of immediate higher level and to the concerned State agencies and socio-political organizations.

2. The original of a legal document must be filed in accordance with the legislation on archives.

Article 12.- Translating legal documents into foreign languages

A legal document may be translated into foreign languages.

The Government shall provide for the translation of legal documents into foreign language(s).