Law on amendments to the Law on Citizen Reception, the Law on Complaints and the Law on Denunciations of Vietnam 2025

 

LAW

ON AMENDMENTS TO THE LAW ON CITIZEN RECEPTION, THE LAW ON COMPLAINTS, AND THE LAW ON DENUNCIATIONS

Pursuant to the Constitution 2013 of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam as amended by Resolution No. 203/2025/QH15;

The National Assembly hereby promulgates the Law on amendments to the Law on Citizen Reception No. 42/2013/QH13, the Law on Complaints No. 02/2011/QH13, as amended by Law No. 42/2013/QH13, Law No. 81/2025/QH15 and Law No. 84/2025/QH15, and the Law on Denunciations No. 25/2018/QH14, as amended by Law No. 59/2020/QH14, Law No. 81/2025/QH15 and Law No. 84/2025/QH15.

Article 1. Amendments to the Law on Citizen Reception

1. Add Article 3a after Article 3 as follows:

“Article 3a. Forms of citizen reception

1. Agencies, organizations, units (hereinafter referred to as entities) shall organize citizen reception in the following forms:

a) In-person citizen reception;

b) Online citizen reception.

2. The Government shall provide regulations on online citizen reception.”.

2. Amendments to Point d Clause 1 Article 4 as follows:

“d) Specialized agencies of the People’s Committee of province-level or centrally-affiliated city;”.

3. Amendments to Point a Clause 2 Article 7 as follows:

“a) Clearly stating full name, address, identity card number or citizen identity certificate or personal identification number or passport number; in case of authorization by the complainant, a lawful authorization document is required;”.

4. Amendments to Clause 2 Article 8 are as follows:

“2. Require persons lodging complaints, denunciations, petitions, or reports to clearly state their full name, address, identity card number or citizen identity certificate or personal identification number or passport number; in case of authorization by the complainant, a lawful authorization document is required; to have a complaint, denunciation, petition, or report or to clearly present the contents of the complaint, denunciation, petition, or report; and provide information and documents necessary for the receipt and handling of the case.”.

5. Amendments to Clause 4 Article 9 are as follows:

“4. Other cases as prescribed by law.

The Government shall provide detailed regulations on this Clause.”.

6. Amendments to point c clause 3 Article 10;

“c) Classify and handle complaints, denunciations, petitions, or reports received at the citizen reception headquarters; provide guidance or transfer complaints, denunciations, petitions, or reports that have been received but fall outside the scope or handling responsibilities of the entities participating in regular citizen reception at the citizen reception headquarters;”.

7. Amendments to Article 15 are as follows:

“Article 15. Citizen reception at commune, ward, or special zone

1. Citizen reception by Party committees, People’s Councils, and People’s Committees of communes, wards, or special zones shall be carried out at the headquarters of the People’s Committee of commune, ward, or special zone (hereinafter referred to as the commune-level People’s Committee) or at the citizen reception venue decided by the President of the commune-level People’s Committee (hereinafter referred to as the commune-level citizen reception venue).

2. The President of the commune-level People’s Committee shall take direct charge of citizen reception at the commune level and shall carry out the following tasks:

a) Promulgate internal rules and regulations on citizen reception;

b) Arrange convenient venues and other necessary conditions for citizen reception at the commune level;

c) Directly conduct citizen reception at the citizen reception venue for at least 2 days in 1 month and to carry out ad hoc citizen reception in the cases specified in Clause 3, Article 18 of this Law;

d) Closely cooperate with relevant entities in citizen reception and in handling cases involving many persons lodging complaints, denunciations, petitions, or reports on the same subject matter; ensure security and order for citizen reception activities;

dd) Report on citizen reception activities periodically and extraordinarily to competent entities.

3. The President of the commune-level People’s Committee shall assign an appropriate unit to carry out the following tasks:

a) Advise on periodic and ad hoc citizen reception; advise on the assignment of officials to conduct regular citizen reception at the commune-level citizen reception venue;

b) Explain and guide citizens to lodge complaints, denunciations, petitions, or reports in accordance with proper procedures, with the correct entities and individuals having competence for settlement; require citizens to comply with decisions on complaint settlement and decisions on handling denunciations that have been lawfully settled by competent entities or individuals in accordance with policies and laws;

c) Receive, classify, and handle complaints, denunciations, petitions, or reports;

d) Monitor and urge the settlement of complaints, denunciations, petitions, or reports falling within the settlement competence of the President of the commune-level People’s Committee;

dd) Consolidate the situation and results of citizen reception activities and the handling of applications falling within the scope of responsibility of the President of the commune-level People’s Committee.”.

8. Amendments to Article 16 are as follows:

“Article 16. Organization of citizen reception at state administrative authorities

1. The Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Public Security, and the State Bank of Vietnam shall assign their inspectorates to arrange officials to perform citizen reception tasks. Ministries without ministerial inspectorates shall assign appropriate units to arrange officials to perform citizen reception tasks.

Citizen reception of units under ministries or ministerial agencies shall be prescribed by Ministers or Heads of ministerial agencies in a manner suitable to the organization and operation of each unit.

2. Specialized agencies under province-level People’s Committees shall assign appropriate subordinate units to arrange officials to perform citizen reception tasks.

Citizen reception of units under specialized agencies of province-level People’s Committees shall be prescribed by the President of the province-level People’s Committee in a manner suitable to the organization and operation of each unit.

3. The Government, the Government Inspectorate, the Government Office, province-level People’s Committees, Offices of province-level People’s Committees, and coordinating agencies that have participated in regular citizen reception at the central-level citizen reception headquarters or the province-level citizen reception headquarters shall not arrange regular citizen reception venues at their own agencies.”.

9. Amendments to Article 22 are as follows:

“Article 22. Citizen reception by People’s Councils and People’s Council deputies at all levels

1. Province-level People’s Council deputies shall conduct citizen reception at the citizen reception headquarters of the same level or at local citizen reception venues in the locality where the deputies were elected, in accordance with arrangements made by the Standing Body of the People’s Council of the same level.

Commune-level People’s Council deputies shall conduct citizen reception at the commune-level citizen reception venue.

2. The Standing Bodies of province-level and commune-level People’s Councils shall be responsible for organizing citizen reception activities of the People’s Councils and People’s Council deputies of their respective levels and for directly conducting citizen reception falling within the responsibility of the People’s Councils of the same level.

3. People’s Council deputies shall conduct citizen reception in accordance with assigned schedules. Upon receiving complaints, denunciations, petitions, or reports from citizens, People’s Council deputies shall be responsible for examining and guiding citizens to submit complaints, denunciations, petitions, or reports to the correct competent entities or individuals for settlement. Where necessary, People’s Council deputies shall directly, or through the Standing Body of the People’s Council of the same level, transfer applications to competent entities for settlement and monitor and urge the settlement.”.

10. Amendments to Clause 1 Article 25 are as follows:

“1. When citizens lodge complaints, denunciations, petitions, or reports, the citizen reception officer shall be responsible for receiving and guiding citizens to lodge complaints, denunciations, petitions, or reports in accordance with the provisions of law; requiring citizens to clearly state their full name, address, identity card number or citizen identity certificate or personal identification number or passport number; in case of authorization by the complainant, a lawful authorization document is required; receiving complaints, denunciations, petitions, or reports or guiding persons lodging complaints, denunciations, petitions, or reports to present the subject matter of the case.”.

11. Amendments to point b clause 1 Article 26:

“b) Where complaints or denunciations fall outside the settlement competence of the entity concerned, guidance shall be provided or applications shall be transferred to competent entities or individuals for settlement of complaints or denunciations.  Where complaints or denunciations fall within the settlement competence of a subordinate entity but have not yet been settled, the citizen reception officer shall report to the competent person to require the competent entity to settle them;”.

12. Amendments to Clause 1 Article 33 are as follows:

“1. The State has policies to ensure funding, facilities, and human resources for citizen reception activities; apply information technology, digital transformation, and develop a national database on citizen reception, application handling, and the settlement of complaints and denunciations to serve citizen reception, application handling, and the settlement of complaints and denunciations.”.

13. Replacement of certain phrases in certain articles and clauses as follows:

a) Replace the phrase “Committee for Petitions under the Standing Committee of the National Assembly” with “Standing Body of the Committee for Petitions and Supervision of the National Assembly” in Clause 3 and point d, Clause 4, Article 11, and Clause 2, Article 20;

b) Replace the phrase “Committee for Petitions” with “Committee for Petitions and Supervision of the National Assembly” in Clause 3, Article 20.

14. Annulment of point c, Clause 2, Article 10, and Article 13.

15. Annulment of the phrase “, DISTRICT-LEVEL CITIZEN RECEPTION HEADQUARTERS” in the title of Chapter III; the phrase “, district-level citizen reception unit” in Clause 1, Article 24; and the phrase “, district level” in Clause 3, Article 14, and Clause 3, Article 24.

Article 2. Amendments to the Law on Complaints

1. Clauses 1, 2, and 3 of Article 2 are amended as follows:

“1. A complaint means a request made by an entity or individual, in accordance with the procedures prescribed by this Law, asking a competent entity or individual to re-consider an administrative decision or an administrative act of a state administrative authority, of a competent person in a state administrative authority, or a disciplinary decision against officials, where there are grounds to believe that such decision or act is unlawful and infringes upon their lawful rights and interests.

2. A complainant means an entity or individual exercising the right to lodge a complaint.

3. Withdrawal of a complaint means a request made by the complainant to a competent entity or individual to terminate part or the entirety of the subject matter of his or her complaint.”.

2. Amendments to certain points and clauses of Article 8:

a) Amendments to point a Clause 4 are as follows:

“a) Where many persons lodge complaints in person, the competent entity shall organize reception and guide complainants to designate a representative to present the subject matter of the complaint; the complaint receiving officer shall record the complaint in writing, clearly stating the contents prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article.  Reception of many persons lodging complaints concerning the same subject matter shall comply with the Law on Citizen Reception;”;

b) Amendments to Clause 5 are as follows:

“5. Where a complaint is lodged through a representative, such representative shall have documents proving the legality of the representation and shall lodge the complaint in accordance with this Law.

Where many persons lodge complaints concerning the same subject matter, the representative shall act in accordance with the Law on Citizen Reception.”.

3. Amendments to Article 10 are as follows:

“Article 10. Withdrawal of complaints

1. The complainant may withdraw the entire subject matter of the complaint or part of the subject matter of the complaint at any time during the complaint and complaint settlement process. Withdrawal of a complaint shall be made by a written request for withdrawal or by a record documenting the complainant’s opinion on withdrawal during working sessions with the complaint settler or the person verifying the subject matter of the complaint.

The written request for withdrawal or the record documenting the opinion on withdrawal shall bear the signature or fingerprint of the complainant and shall be sent to the competent person settling the complaint.

2. Where the complainant withdraws part of the subject matter of the complaint, the remaining subject matter shall continue to be settled in accordance with regulations; where the complainant withdraws the entire subject matter of the complaint, settlement shall comply with point a, Clause 2, Article 11a of this Law.

3. The withdrawn subject matter of the complaint shall not be re-considered or re-settled, except where there are grounds to determine that the complainant was coerced or threatened into withdrawing the complaint.”.

4. Add Article 11a after Article 11 as follows:

Article 11a. Temporary suspension and termination of complaint settlement

1. The competent person settling a complaint shall temporarily suspend complaint settlement in the following cases:

a) Due to force majeure events or other objective obstacles, the complainant is unable to continue participating in the complaint settlement process;

b) It is necessary to wait for the settlement results of a competent entity or individual on issues directly related to the subject matter of the complaint.

2. The competent person settling a complaint shall terminate complaint settlement in the following cases:

a) The complainant withdraws the entire complaint;

b) An individual complainant dies and the rights and interests related to the subject matter of the complaint are not inheritable; or an entity complainant is dissolved, goes bankrupt, or ceases operations, and the rights and obligations related to the subject matter of the complaint are not succeeded;

c) The complaint case no longer has a subject or subject matter for settlement;

d) The case has been accepted by a court or has been settled by a court judgment or decision.

3. Decisions on temporary suspension or termination of complaint settlement shall clearly state the reasons and legal grounds and shall be sent to the complainant, the complained-against person, and related entities or individuals.

4. Where the grounds for temporary suspension no longer exist, the complaint settler shall continue settling the complaint and notify related parties; the period of temporary suspension shall not be included in the time limit for complaint settlement.

5. The Government shall elaborate this Article.”.

5. Amendments to Point h, Clause 1, Article 12 as follows:

“h) Receive written responses on the acceptance of complaint settlement and to receive decisions on complaint settlement, decisions on temporary suspension, and decisions on termination of complaint settlement (if any);”.

6. Amendments to Point dd Clause 1 Article 15 as follows:

“dd) Seek opinions of advisory councils or entities or individuals with appropriate expertise where deemed necessary.”.

7. Amendments to Article 17 are as follows:

“Article 17. Competence of the President of the commune-level People’s Committee

The President of the commune-level People’s Committee has the competence to settle first-time complaints against his or her own administrative decisions or administrative acts; against administrative decisions or administrative acts of the head of specialized agencies or other administrative organizations under the commune-level People’s Committee; and against administrative decisions or administrative acts of officials and public employees directly managed by him or her.”.

8. Amendments to Clause 2 Article 21 are as follows:

“2. Second-time complaint settlement against administrative decisions or administrative acts of the President of the commune-level People’s Committee, or of heads of specialized agencies or other administrative organizations under the province-level People’s Committee, which have been settled for the first time but are still subject to complaints, or where the time limit for first-time complaint settlement has expired but the complaint has not yet been settled.”.

9. Amendments to Clause 2 Article 24 are as follows:

“2. Where violations of law on complaints are detected that cause damage to the interests of the State or the lawful rights and interests of entities or individuals, recommendations shall be made to the Prime Minister or to the competent person to apply necessary measures to terminate the violations, review responsibilities, and take handling measures against the violators.”.

10. Amendments to Article 25 are as follows:

“Article 25. Competence of Chief Inspectors at all levels and heads of units assigned to advise on complaint settlement

1. Assist heads of state management authorities of the same level, upon assignment, in carrying out inspection, verification, making conclusions, and proposing the settlement of complaints falling within the competence of heads of state management authorities of the same level.

2. Assist heads of state management authorities of the same level in monitoring, inspecting, and urging agencies under their direct management in complaint settlement and in the enforcement of legally effective decisions on complaint settlement.

Where violations of law on complaints are detected that cause damage to the interests of the State or the lawful rights and interests of entities or individuals, recommendations shall be made to heads of state management authorities of the same level or to competent persons to apply necessary measures to terminate the violations, review responsibilities, and take handling measures against the violators.”.

11. Supplement Clause 6 after Clause 5 of Article 30 as follows:

“6. Where the complainant has been invited to a dialogue but fails to participate without legitimate reasons, the complaint settler shall still continue complaint settlement.

The Government shall provide detailed regulations on this Clause.”.

12. Amendments to Clause 1 Article 33 are as follows:

“1. Within 30 days from the date of expiry of the time limit for complaint settlement prescribed in Article 28 of this Law, where a first-time complaint has not been settled, or from the date of receipt of the first-time complaint settlement decision where the complainant disagrees with such decision, the complainant has the right to lodge a complaint with the competent person for second-time complaint settlement; for remote or difficult-to-access areas, the time limit may be extended but shall not exceed 45 days.

In the case of a second-time complaint, the complainant shall submit an application enclosed with the first-time complaint settlement decision (if any) and relevant documents to the competent person for second-time complaint settlement.”.

13. Amendments to point c clause 1 Article 56;

“c) Subject matter of the complaint; results of first-time complaint settlement (if any);”.

14. Amendments to Clause 3 Article 63 are as follows:

“3. Inspectorates of the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Public Security, the State Bank of Vietnam, the Cipher Inspectorate, and inspectorates of centrally-affiliated cities and provinces shall be responsible for assisting heads of state management authorities of the same level in managing complaint settlement activities within the management scope of their agencies.

For ministries without ministerial inspectorates, specialized agencies under province-level People’s Committees, and commune-level People’s Committees, units assigned to advise on complaint settlement shall assist heads of state management authorities of the same level in managing complaint settlement activities.”.

15. Replacement of certain phrases in certain articles and clauses as follows:

a) Replace the phrase “within the internal framework” with “of an internal nature of” in Clause 1, Article 11;

b) Replace the phrase “10 days” with “07 working days” in Article 27, Clause 1, Article 36, and Article 50;

c) Replace the phrase “Directors of departments and equivalent levels” with “heads of specialized agencies or other administrative organizations under province-level People’s Committees” in the title of Article 20;

d) Replace the phrase “departments and equivalent levels” with “specialized agencies or other administrative organizations under province-level People’s Committees” in Article 19 and Clause 2, Article 20;

dd) Replace the phrase “Clauses 5, 6, 7, and 8” with “Clauses 5, 6, and 7” in Article 68.

16. Annulment of Clause 8, Article 6, and Article 18.

Article 3. Amendments to the Law on Denunciations

1. Supplement Clause 7 after Clause 6 of Article 12 as follows:

“7. Ministers, heads of ministerial agencies, and Presidents of province-level People’s Committees shall determine the competence for denunciation settlement with respect to entities, officials, civil servants, and public employees at the time when the violating acts occur, falling within their management competence and not falling into the cases prescribed in Clauses 3, 4, 5, and 6 of this Article.”.

2. Amendments to certain points and clauses of Article 13:

a) Amendments to Clause 1 as follows:

“1. The President of the commune-level People’s Committee has the following competences:”

a) Settlement of denunciations against violations of law in the performance of duties or public service by the head or deputy head of specialized agencies or other administrative organizations under the commune-level People’s Committee, and by officials, civil servants, or public employees directly managed by him or her;

b) Settlement of denunciations against violations of law in the performance of duties or public service by entities or units directly managed by the commune-level People’s Committee.”;

b) Amendments to Clause 3 are as follows:

“3. The head of a specialized agency or other administrative organization under the province-level People’s Committee has the following competences:

a) Settlement of denunciations against violations of law in the performance of duties or public service by the head or deputy head of subordinate agencies or units, and by other civil servants or public employees appointed or directly managed by him or her;

b) Settlement of denunciations against violations of law in the performance of duties or public service by entities or organizations directly managed by him or her.”;

c) Amendments to point a clause 4 as follows:

“a) Settlement of denunciations against violations of law in the performance of duties or public service by the President or Vice President of the commune-level People’s Committee; by the head or deputy head of subordinate agencies or units; by specialized agencies or other administrative organizations under the province-level People’s Committee; and by other civil servants or public employees appointed or directly managed by him or her;”;

d) Add Point c after point b, Clause 8 as follows:

“c) On a case-by-case basis, the Prime Minister authorizes the Government Chief Inspector to accept denunciations after inspection confirms that the conditions for acceptance are satisfied; to conclude the subject matter of denunciations; and to notify the conclusions on the subject matter of denunciations after the Prime Minister considers and gives opinions on the report of the Government Chief Inspector on the results of verification of the subject matter of denunciations.”.

3. Amendments to Article 15 are as follows:

“Article 15. Competence to settle denunciations against violations of law in the performance of duties or public service within the People’s Procuracy

1. The Chief Procurator of a regional People’s Procuracy has the competence to settle denunciations against violations of law in the performance of public service by civil servants directly managed by him or her.

2. The Chief Procurator of a province-level People’s Procuracy has the following competences:

a) Settlement of denunciations against violations of law in the performance of public service by the Chief Procurator or Deputy Chief Procurator of a regional People’s Procuracy, and by other civil servants directly managed by him or her;

b) Settlement of denunciations against violations of law in the performance of public service by a regional People’s Procuracy.

3. The Chief Procurator of the Supreme People’s Procuracy has the following competences:

a) Settlement of denunciations against violations of law in the performance of public service by the Chief Procurator or Deputy Chief Procurator of a province-level People’s Procuracy, and in the performance of duties or public service by other civil servants or public employees directly managed by him or her;

b) Settlement of denunciations against violations of law in the performance of duties or public service by entities or organizations directly managed by him or her, and by province-level People’s Procuracies.”.

4. Amendments to Article 32 are as follows:

“Article 32. Responsibilities for implementation of Chief Inspectors at all levels, heads of units assigned to advise on denunciation settlement, and the Government Chief Inspector

1. Chief Inspectors in the People’s Army, the People’s Public Security Force, the State Bank of Vietnam, the Cipher Inspectorate, inspectorates established under international treaties, and Chief Inspectors of centrally-affiliated cities and provinces, as well as heads of units assigned to advise on denunciation settlement, have the following responsibilities for implementation:

a) Verification of the subject matter of denunciations, reporting verification results, and proposing measures for handling denunciations falling within the settlement competence of the head of the state administrative authority of the same level, when assigned;

b) Review of denunciation settlement already conducted by heads of directly subordinate agencies or organizations of the state administrative authority of the same level (if any) where there are indications of violations of law; where there are grounds to determine that the settlement involves violations of law, recommendations shall be made to the head of the state administrative authority of the same level for re-settlement.

2. The Government Chief Inspector has the following responsibilities for implementation:

a) Receipt, classification, and proposal of denunciation settlement falling within the competence of the Prime Minister;

b) Verification of the subject matter of denunciations, reporting verification results, and proposing measures for handling denunciations falling within the settlement competence of the Prime Minister, when assigned; performance of tasks authorized by the Prime Minister as prescribed in point c, Clause 8, Article 13 of this Law;

c) Review of denunciation settlement already conducted by Ministers, heads of ministerial agencies, Governmental agencies, or Presidents of province-level People’s Committees where there are indications of violations of law; where there are grounds to determine that the settlement involves violations of law, recommendations shall be made to the Prime Minister for re-settlement.”.

5. Amendments to Clause 1 Article 33 are as follows:

“1. The denouncer has the right to withdraw the entire subject matter of the denunciation or part of the subject matter of the denunciation before the denouncer settler issues conclusions on the subject matter of denunciations.  Withdrawal of denunciations shall be made by a written request for withdrawal or by a record documenting the denouncer’s opinion on withdrawal during working sessions with the denouncer settler or the person verifying the subject matter of denunciations.”.

6. Amendments to Clause 3 Article 44 are as follows:

“3. The denouncer settler shall be responsible for monitoring and urging, or for assigning the inspectorate of the same level or the unit assigned to advise on denunciation settlement to monitor and urge, the implementation of conclusions on the subject matter of denunciations.”

7. Add Point c after point b, Clause 2, Article 54 as follows:

“c) The protected person deliberately fails to perform the obligations prescribed in point a or point b, Clause 2, Article 48 of this Law.”

8. Annulment of Clause 2, Article 13.

Article 4. Entry into force

This Law comes into force as of July 1, 2026.

This Law was adopted by the 15th National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam at its 10th session on December 10, 2025.