| THE STANDING COMMITTEE OF NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ------------ | SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM Independence - Freedom - Happiness ------------- |
| No: 33/2007/PL-UBTVQH11 | Hanoi , April 20, 2007 |
ORDINANCE
ON CONCLUSION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS
Pursuant to the 1992 Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, which was amended and supplemented under Resolution No. 51/2001/QH10 of December 25, 2001, of the Xth National Assembly, the 10th session;
Pursuant to Resolution No. 72/2006/QH11 of November 29, 2006, of the XIth National Assembly, the 10th session, on the 2007 Law- and Ordinance- Making Program;
This Ordinance provides for the competence, order and procedures for conclusion and implementation of international agreements.
Chapter I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1.- Scope of regulation
This Ordinance provides for the competence, order and procedures for conclusion and implementation of international agreements in the name of the National Assembly, agencies of the National Assembly, assisting agencies of the National Assembly, the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuracy, the State Audit, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-attached agencies (below referred collectively to as central state agencies); People's Councils and People's Committees of provinces and centrally run cities (below collectively referred to as provincial-level agencies); central bodies of socio-political organizations, socio-political-professional organizations, social organizations and socio-professional organizations (below referred collectively to as organizations' central bodies).
Article 2.- Contents of international agreements
1. An international agreement is a written agreement on international cooperation concluded in the name of a central state agency, a provincial-level agency or an organization's central body within the scope of its functions, tasks and powers with one or more than one foreign party, excluding the following contents:
a/ Peace, security, border, territory and national sovereignty;
b/ Citizens' fundamental rights and obligations, judicial assistance;
c/ Participating in inter-governmental international organizations;
d/ Official development assistance at Vietnamese State or Government relation level;
e/ Other issues at Vietnamese State or Government relation level as provided for by law.
2. An international agreement may be signed in the title of agreement, memorandum of understanding, minute of agreement, minute of exchange, cooperation program, cooperation plan or else.
Article 3.- Interpretation of terms
In this Ordinance, the terms below are construed as follows:
1. Foreign contracting party is the National Assembly, an agency of the National Assembly, an assisting agency of the National Assembly, the Supreme Court, the Supreme Procuracy, a ministry, a government-attached agency or an equivalent agency, a local administration or an organization of a foreign country.
2. Conclusion means legal acts performed by a central state agency, a provincial-level agency or an organization's central body, including negotiating, signing or exchanging instruments constituting an international agreement in the name of the agency with a foreign contracting party.
3. Signing is a legal act performed by a competent or authorized person to accept the binding of an international agreement on a central state agency, a provincial-level agency or an organization's central body.
4. Exchange of instruments constituting an international agreement means the exchange of letters or instruments in another title constituting a bilateral international agreement between a central state agency, a provincial-level agency or an organization's central body and a foreign contracting party.
5. Termination of the validity of an international agreement means a legal act performed by a central state agency, a provincial-level agency or an organization's central body to renounce the validity of an international agreement between the agency and a foreign contracting party.
6. Suspension of implementation of an international agreement means a legal act performed by a central state agency, a provincial-level agency or an organization's central body to suspend the implementation of part or the whole of an international agreement between the agency and a foreign contracting party.
Article 4.- Principles of conclusion and implementation of international agreements
Conclusion and implementation of an international agreement must abide by the following principles:
1. Compliance with national interests and foreign policy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam; compliance with the principle of respect for national sovereignty, non-intervention in domestic affairs and other fundamental principles of international law; compliance with treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a contracting party on the same domain;
2. Compliance with the Constitution and laws of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam; relevance to the functions, tasks and powers of the agency concluding the international agreement;
3. Assurance of the feasibility and effectiveness of the concluded international agreement.
4. Only binding on the agency concluding the international agreement, without giving rise to international legal rights and obligations of the Vietnamese State or Government;
5. Central state agencies, provincial-level agencies or organizations' central bodies shall strictly implement the international agreements concluded in their name and are entitled to request the foreign contracting parties to strictly implement the international agreements.
Article 5.- State management of conclusion and implementation of international agreements
State management of conclusion and implementation of international agreements covers:
1. Promulgation of legal documents on conclusion and implementation of international agreements;
2. Assurance of conclusion and implementation of international agreements in accordance with law;
3. Propagation and dissemination of the law on conclusion and implementation of international agreements;
4. Making of statistics on and archive of international agreements;
5. Oversight, supervision, inspection and handling of violations of the law on conclusion and implementation of international agreements;
6. Settlement of complaints and denunciations related to the conclusion and implementation of international agreements.
Article 6.- State management agencies in charge of conclusion and implementation of international agreements
1. The Government performs the unified state management of the conclusion and implementation of international agreements.
2. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs takes responsibility to the Government for performing state management of the conclusion and implementation of international agreements.
3. Central state agencies, provincial-level agencies and the agency in charge of organizations' external relations shall, within the scope of their tasks and powers, coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in performing state management of the conclusion and implementation of international agreements.
Article 7.- Forms of acceptance of binding of international agreements
Central state agencies, provincial-level agencies and organizations' central bodies may accept the binding of an international agreement through one of the following acts:
1. Signing an international agreement;
2. Exchanging instruments constituting an international agreement;
3. Other acts as agreed upon with the foreign contracting party.
Article 8.- Language used in international agreements
1. Unless otherwise agreed upon by the Vietnamese party and foreign party, an international agreement must have a Vietnamese version. The Vietnamese version of an international agreement must be accurate in content and consistent in form with its foreign-language version.
2. When an international agreement is signed in a foreign language only, the Vietnamese party shall translate it into Vietnamese.
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