Binding responsibility of leaders to avoid receiving citizens

Discussing the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Citizen Reception, the Law on Complaints, and the Law on Denunciations, some National Assembly deputies said that it is necessary to establish a mechanism to bind the personal responsibility of leaders in cases of delay or avoidance in receiving citizens.

Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Quang Phuong speaks at the meeting. Photo: Doan Tan/VNA

Delegate Nguyen Tam Hung ( Ho Chi Minh City National Assembly Delegation) suggested that the drafting agency should add a mechanism to protect public servants in the process of receiving citizens, handling complaints and denunciations, including measures to handle acts of insulting, offending, attacking or threatening officials. Practice shows that protecting the legitimate rights and interests of citizens must go hand in hand with protecting public servants. This is an urgent requirement to maintain administrative discipline, avoiding the situation where officials are afraid of responsibility or avoid conflicts.

Delegate Nguyen Tam Hung also proposed establishing a mechanism to bind the personal responsibility of leaders in cases of delay or avoidance of receiving citizens, prolonging the processing time or transferring petitions in a roundabout way.

“Many complaints and denunciations are prolonged not because of their complexity but because of the lack of responsibility or evasion on the part of competent agencies and individuals. Linking the responsibility of the head to the results of receiving citizens and resolving complaints and denunciations will increase the effectiveness and substance of the system,” delegate Tam Hung emphasized.

According to delegate Nguyen Tam Hung, it is necessary to develop a mechanism to connect the national database on citizen reception, complaints and denunciations with the national database on population to verify identity, check authorization and limit the situation of sending petitions to many places or making false declarations. This is an important solution to reduce the situation of having both correct complaints and incorrect complaints, thereby avoiding wasting State resources.

Ho Chi Minh City National Assembly delegate Nguyen Tam Hung speaks. Photo: Doan Tan/VNA

Some National Assembly deputies expressed their agreement with the addition of a mechanism for temporary suspension and suspension of complaint settlement as stipulated in Article 11a added after Article 11 of the Law on Complaints. However, to ensure the rights of complainants, National Assembly deputies proposed to clearly stipulate the right to access decisions on temporary suspension and suspension and the right to petition for these decisions within a certain period of time to avoid the risk of abuse or arbitrary application in practice.

Delegate Tran Van Tuan (National Assembly Representative of Bac Ninh Province) expressed concern that one of the grounds for temporary suspension is “force majeure or objective obstacles”. According to Delegate Tuan, this concept is still general, it is necessary to study and supplement specific regulations in the law or assign the Government to clearly guide the cases considered force majeure or objective obstacles when applying the measure of temporary suspension of complaint settlement. At the same time, the law must clearly stipulate the maximum suspension period to avoid abuse or unnecessary prolongation.

“If there is no clear regulation, it may lead to the temporary suspension of complaint settlement in cases where there are only certain difficulties, not yet determined to be force majeure or objective obstacles. The consequence of this abuse is that the complaint is not resolved or is prolonged, pushed back, or avoided, causing disadvantages and frustration for citizens,” Delegate Tran Van Tuan worried.

Commenting on the content of protecting whistleblowers in the Law on Denunciation, delegate Hoang Anh Cong (National Assembly Delegation of Thai Nguyen province) said that currently, the Party and State pay special attention to the work of protecting those who fight against corruption, waste and negativity. The Politburo has issued many directives, including Regulation No. 231 dated May 17, 2025 on protecting those who fight against corruption, waste and negativity. This regulation clearly states that "the identity and personal information of those who fight against corruption and waste are kept confidential; at the same time, specifically identifies prohibited acts" with a focus on preventive measures and clarification of manifestations of revenge and repression in all forms. This is an important basis for identifying, preventing and handling acts of abuse.

Delegate Hoang Anh Cong proposed reviewing regulations related to the protection of whistleblowers, especially the prohibited acts in the Law on Denunciation, ensuring close adherence to the results of amendments and supplements to relevant laws such as the Law on Anti-Corruption and the Law on Practicing Thrift and Combating Wastefulness. The synchronous adjustment will ensure consistency between the Party's regulations and the State's laws, creating a solid and effective legal foundation for protecting whistleblowers.

Government Inspector General Doan Hong Phong speaks. Photo: Doan Tan/VNA

In response to the opinions raised by the delegates, the Government Inspector General Doan Hong Phong said that the draft law continues to inherit the current regulations, not allowing the delegation of citizen reception authority to deputies in order to enhance the direct responsibility of the head, in accordance with Directive 35 and Conclusion 107 of the Politburo. Regarding the subject of citizen reception, the current law has fully stipulated in the Law on Citizen Reception and related specialized laws. To avoid the emergence of new organizations and ensure the streamlining of the apparatus according to the Party and State's policies, the draft law does not add the model of the Commune-level Citizen Reception Committee; instead, it arranges civil servants from appropriate units of the Commune-level People's Committee to perform the task of receiving citizens and resolving complaints and denunciations.

Regarding the suspension of complaint settlement, the Government Inspector General said that there was a proposal to add a case where the complainant was summoned multiple times for dialogue but did not show up. The drafting agency believes that the suspension in this case may affect the rights of citizens and the responsibility of the administrative agency to resolve the matter, so it is proposed to keep it as in the draft. Regarding the opinion of delegate Tran Van Tuan (Bac Ninh) on the suspension of complaint settlement in cases of force majeure, the drafting agency accepts and will specify it in the Government decree guiding the implementation of the law.

Regarding the protection of whistleblowers, some delegates proposed to amend and supplement the provisions on the scope of protected subjects in Article 47 of the Law on Denunciation to be consistent with Regulation 231 of the Politburo. The Government Inspector General said that the current Law on Denunciation has fully regulated the protection of whistleblowers, including the protection of information, job positions, lives, as well as handling acts of revenge and persecution. After reviewing, the drafting agency found that the scope of protected subjects in Article 47 was consistent with Regulation 231, so it was proposed to keep it unchanged.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/thoi-su/rang-buoc-trach-nhiem-nguoi-dung-dau-ne-tranh-viec-tiep-cong-dan-20251205204609758.htm