Powers and organizational structure of ministries and ministerial-level agencies

The Government has just issued Decree 123/2016/ND-CP stipulating the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of ministries and ministerial-level agencies.

Accordingly, the Ministry is a Government agency, performing the state management function of one or several sectors, fields and public services within the sector and field nationwide.

The Minister is a member of the Government and the head of the Ministry, leading the work of the Ministry; responsible for state management of the assigned sector and field; organizing the implementation and monitoring the implementation of laws related to the assigned sector and field nationwide.

Headquarters of the Ministry of Home Affairs (Illustration: Ministry of Home Affairs Portal)

The Minister works under the leadership regime and the Government's Working Regulations, ensuring the principle of democratic centralism.

Deputy Ministers and Deputy Heads of ministerial-level agencies (hereinafter referred to as Deputy Ministers) assist the Minister in performing one or several specific tasks assigned by the Minister and are responsible to the Minister and before the law for the assigned tasks. Deputy Ministers shall not concurrently be the heads of organizations or units under the Ministry, except in special cases.

When the Minister is absent, a Deputy Minister authorized by the Minister shall replace the Minister in managing and handling the work of the Ministry. The number of Deputy Ministers shall comply with the provisions of the Law on Organization of the Government.

The organization and operation of the Ministry shall be carried out according to the principle of clearly defining the tasks, powers and responsibilities of the Ministry and the Minister; promoting the responsibility of the Minister in all activities of the Ministry; organizing the apparatus of the Ministry in the direction of multi-sectoral, multi-field management, streamlined, effective and efficient; only establishing new organizations when meeting all conditions prescribed by law; clearly defining the tasks and powers of agencies, organizations and units under the Ministry to ensure no overlapping or omission of tasks; publicizing, being transparent and modernizing the operations of the Ministry.

Ministry's mission

The Decree devotes Chapter II with 11 Articles to stipulating the tasks and powers of the Ministry regarding: Law; strategy, planning, planning; international cooperation; administrative reform; state management of public career services in sectors and fields; enterprises, cooperatives and other types of collective and private economic sectors; associations, non-governmental organizations; organizational structure, civil servant payroll and number of employees in public career units; on cadres, civil servants, and public employees; inspection; financial and asset management.

Specifically, the Ministry is responsible for submitting to the Government draft laws and draft resolutions of the National Assembly; draft ordinances and draft resolutions of the National Assembly Standing Committee; draft decrees of the Government according to the Government's annual law-making programs and plans, and resolutions, projects and proposals as assigned by the Government and the Prime Minister.

In addition, submit to the Government for comments on draft laws and ordinances submitted by agencies, organizations, and National Assembly deputies to the National Assembly and the National Assembly Standing Committee related to sectors and fields under the Ministry's management; submit to the Government for decision on measures to organize the implementation of the Constitution, laws, resolutions of the National Assembly, ordinances, resolutions of the National Assembly Standing Committee, orders and decisions of the President as assigned by the Government and the Prime Minister.

Regarding administrative reform, the Ministry submits to the Government and the Prime Minister decisions on decentralization of state management tasks in sectors and fields to local authorities; decides on decentralization or authorization to local authorities to perform one or several tasks and powers under the authority of the Ministry; decides and organizes the implementation of administrative reform plans, publicizes administrative procedures in sectors and fields; decides on decentralization or authorization to affiliated agencies and units to perform one or several tasks and powers under the authority of the Ministry; reforms the organizational structure of the Ministry to ensure streamlining, rationality, reduction of focal points, and full coverage of the functions, tasks and powers of the Ministry as assigned by the Government.

Regarding state management of public career services in sectors and fields, the Ministry submits to the Government to promulgate mechanisms and policies on the provision of public career services; socialization of public career service provision activities; autonomy mechanism of public career units in the management sector; submits to the Prime Minister a plan for the network of public career units by sector and field; and a list of public career services using the state budget in the management sector.

The Ministry is also responsible for submitting to the Government for promulgation of mechanisms and policies to encourage and support, and programs and strategies to guide the development of enterprises, cooperatives, and other types of collective and private economic sectors in the industry and sector. Inspecting the implementation of regulations on conditional business lines and services according to the provisions of law and handling violations within its authority.

Regarding the organizational structure, civil servant payroll and number of employees in public service units, the Ministry is responsible for submitting to the Government regulations on the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry and of the Government agencies assigned to manage; submitting to the Government decisions on the establishment, reorganization and dissolution of general departments and equivalent organizations (hereinafter referred to as general departments), departments, bureaus and equivalent organizations under the Ministry...

Organizational structure of the Ministry

The organizational structure of the Ministry includes: Department; Office; Inspectorate; Bureau (if any); General Department (if any); public service units.

Public service units are specified in the Decree stipulating the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of each Ministry, including: Units for strategic research and policies on sectors and fields; Newspapers and magazines; Information Centers; Schools or Centers for training and fostering cadres, civil servants and public employees; Academies under the Ministry.

The number of deputies of the heads of offices, inspectorates, departments, bureaus, general departments, and public service units shall comply with the provisions of the Law on Organization of the Government.

The Decree clearly states that there will be no divisions within a department. In cases where a department has many areas of work or a large volume of work, the Ministry will submit to the Government a decision on the number of divisions within the department in the Decree stipulating the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry./.

According to VOV