Learn about the Law on Complaints and the Law on Denunciations.

(Baonghean)Ask:Who handles complaints? To which agency should the complainant submit their complaint for resolution?

Reply:According to Clause 1, Article 7 of the 2011 Law on Complaints: “When there are grounds to believe that an administrative decision or administrative act is unlawful and directly infringes upon one's legitimate rights and interests, the complainant shall file an initial complaint with the person who issued the administrative decision or the agency whose official committed the administrative act, or initiate an administrative lawsuit in court in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Administrative Procedure.”

If the complainant disagrees with the initial resolution decision or if the complaint is not resolved within the prescribed time limit, they have the right to file a second complaint with the immediate superior of the authority that resolved the initial complaint, or to initiate an administrative lawsuit in court in accordance with the Law on Administrative Procedure.

If the complainant disagrees with the second-level complaint resolution decision, or if the complaint is not resolved within the prescribed time limit, they have the right to file an administrative lawsuit in court in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Administrative Procedure.

Thus, the person who resolves the initial complaint is the person who issued the administrative decision, the head of the agency that issued the administrative decision, or the head of the person who committed the wrongful administrative act, or the Court resolving the complaint according to administrative litigation procedures. Typically, the person authorized to resolve the initial complaint is the Chairman of the People's Committee of the commune, ward, or town; the head of an agency under the People's Committee of the district, county, town, or city directly under the province, who is the head of a department or equivalent of a district administrative agency; the Chairman of the People's Committee at the district level; the head of a department at the provincial level, the director of a department and equivalent; the Chairman of the People's Committee at the provincial level; the head of an agency under a ministry, a ministerial-level agency, or an agency under the Government; the Minister and equivalent (as stipulated in Article 17, Clause 1 of Article 18, Article 19, Clause 1 of Article 20, Clause 1 of Article 21, Article 22, and Clause 1 of Article 23 of the Law on Complaints).

Example: The Chairman of the People's Committee of Commune N. issued a decision to demolish Mr. K.'s construction, based on grounds that the decision is unlawful. Mr. K. has the right to appeal that decision of the Chairman of Commune N. Mr. K. can submit a written complaint or go directly to the headquarters of the People's Committee of Commune N. to exercise his right to appeal. The Chairman of Commune N. must carry out the initial complaint resolution procedures as prescribed by the Law on Complaints for Mr. K.

Therefore, Mr. N. was the person who initially handled the complaint and was the one who issued the administrative decision.

If Mr. K. disagrees with the initial decision of the Chairman of Commune N, or if the complaint is not resolved within the prescribed time limit, he has the right to file a second complaint with the Chairman of the District People's Committee, who is the direct superior of the Chairman of Commune N People's Committee. Alternatively, Mr. K. may initiate an administrative lawsuit in court according to the provisions of the Law on Administrative Procedure.

Ask:What is the timeframe for knowing whether an initial complaint has been resolved or not? And what is the timeframe for resolving an initial complaint?

Reply:According to Article 27 of the 2011 Law on Complaints: “Within 10 days from the date of receiving a complaint within their jurisdiction that does not fall under any of the cases stipulated in Article 11 of this law, the person authorized to resolve the complaint for the first time must accept it for resolution; notify the complainant, the agency, organization, or individual authorized to forward the complaint, and the state inspection agency at the same level in writing. If the complaint is not accepted for resolution, the reasons must be clearly stated.”

Therefore, if the complainant submits the complaint to the correct agency or person with the authority to resolve it, and the complaint is legitimate, then within 10 days from the date the agency or person with the authority to resolve the complaint first receives the complaint, they must proceed to process and resolve it.

To find out whether their complaint has been accepted and processed, more than 10 days after submitting the complaint to the competent authority, the complainant will receive a notification from the competent authority. This notification will clearly state whether the complaint has been accepted or rejected, and the reasons for rejection.

According to Article 28 of the 2011 Law on Complaints: “The time limit for resolving the first complaint shall not exceed 30 days from the date of receipt; for complex cases, the time limit for resolution may be extended but shall not exceed 45 days from the date of receipt.”

In remote areas with difficult access, the time limit for resolving complaints shall not exceed 45 days from the date of receipt; for complex cases, the time limit may be extended but shall not exceed 60 days from the date of receipt.

Complainants can refer to the notification document from the competent authority or person handling the complaint to find out the date their complaint was accepted for processing.

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