Learn about the Law on Complaints and the Law on Denunciation

(Baonghean) -Ask:Who handles complaints? Where does the complainant send the complaint to for resolution?

Reply:According to Clause 1, Article 7 of the 2011 Law on Complaints: “When there is reason to believe that an administrative decision or administrative act is illegal or directly infringes upon one's legitimate rights and interests, the complainant shall first file a complaint with the person who issued the administrative decision or the agency where the person committed the administrative act or file an administrative lawsuit at the Court in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Administrative Procedure.

In case the complainant does not agree with the initial settlement decision or the complaint is not resolved within the prescribed time limit, he/she has the right to make a second complaint to the direct superior of the person with authority to resolve the initial complaint or to file an administrative lawsuit at the Court in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Administrative Procedure.

In case the complainant does not agree with the decision to resolve the complaint for the second time or the complaint is not resolved within the prescribed time limit, he/she has the right to file an administrative lawsuit at the Court in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Administrative Procedures.

Thus, the person who resolves the complaint at the first instance 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 administrative violation or the Court that resolves the complaint according to the administrative procedure. Normally, the person with the authority to resolve the complaint at the first instance is the Chairman of the People's Committee of the commune, ward or town; the head of the agency under the People's Committee of the district, county, town or provincial city is the head of the department and equivalent of the district administrative agency; the chairman of the People's Committee at the district level; the head of the department-level department, the director of the department and equivalent; the chairman of the People's Committee at the provincial level; the head of the agency under the ministry, the agency at the ministerial level, the agency under the Government; the Minister and equivalent (according to the provisions of Article 17, Clause 1, Article 18, Article 19, Clause 1, Article 20, Clause 1, Article 21, Article 22 and Clause 1, Article 23 of the Law on Complaints).

For example: The Chairman of the People's Committee of Commune N. decides to dismantle Mr. K.'s construction work, and there is reason to believe that the decision is illegal. Mr. K. has the right to appeal against the decision of the Chairman of Commune N. Mr. K. can submit a petition 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 procedures for first-time complaint settlement according to the provisions of the Law on Complaints against Mr. K.

Thus, Mr. N. was the first person to resolve the complaint and was the one who made the administrative decision.

If Mr. K. does not agree with the initial settlement decision of the Chairman of Commune N. or the complaint is not resolved within the prescribed time limit, he has the right to make a second complaint to the Chairman of the District People's Committee, who is the direct superior of the Chairman of the People's Committee of Commune N. or Mr. K. can file an administrative lawsuit at the Court in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Administrative Procedure.

Ask:How many days does it take to know if a complaint is resolved or not? And how many days does it take to resolve a complaint?

Reply:According to the provisions of Article 27 of the 2011 Law on Complaints: “Within 10 days from the date of receiving a complaint under its jurisdiction that does not fall under one of the cases specified in Article 11 of this Law, the person with authority to resolve the complaint for the first time must accept and resolve it; notify in writing the complainant, the competent agency, organization or individual to whom the complaint is forwarded and the state inspection agency at the same level; in case of refusal to accept and resolve it, the reason must be clearly stated.”

Thus, if the complainant sends the complaint to the correct agency or person with the authority to resolve the complaint and it is a legitimate complaint, within 10 days from the date the agency or person with the authority to resolve the complaint first receives the complaint, it must proceed to accept the complaint for resolution.

To know whether the complaint is accepted or not, after more than 10 days from the date of sending the complaint to the competent authority, the complainant will receive a notice from the competent authority or person handling the complaint. The notice clearly states whether the complaint is accepted or not and the reason for not handling it by the competent authority or person.

According to Article 28 of the 2011 Law on Complaints: “The time limit for resolving a first-time complaint shall not exceed 30 days from the date of receipt; for complicated cases, the time limit for resolution may be longer 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 complicated cases, the time limit for resolution may be longer but shall not exceed 60 days from the date of receipt.

Complainants can refer to the notice of the agency or person with authority to resolve complaints to know the date of acceptance and resolution of their complaints.

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