THE GOVERNMENT

DECREES:

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1.- This Decree prescribes the compensation to individuals, families, agencies and organizations suffering property damage (hereinafter referred to as affected subjects for short) and the regime of allowances for individuals who suffer from loss of life, injury or health deterioration due to their participation in drug prevention and combat.

1. The damage allowance regime to be implemented by the State under the provisions of this Decree is the regime of allowances for people who suffer from loss of life or health deterioration due to their participation in drug prevention and combat.

2. The damage compensation regime to be implemented by the State under the provisions of this Decree means the compensation for property damage caused to the affected subjects not directly by the drug-related offenders; for cases where property damage is caused by drug-related offenders, they shall be settled under the provisions of the Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code.

Article 3.- Foreign individuals, families, agencies and organizations as well as international organizations, that suffer property damage, and foreigners who suffer from loss of life, injury or health deterioration due to their participation in drug prevention and combat in the Vietnamese territory shall be entitled to compensation or the allowance regime implemented by the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam under the provisions of this Decree. If relevant international agreements which Vietnam has signed or acceded to contain different provisions, the provisions of such agreements shall apply.

1. The affected subjects or their lawful representatives shall have the right to request the competent State bodies to pay compensation for their property damage or to implement the allowance regime when the persons participating in the drug prevention and combat suffer from injury or health deterioration; for cases of human loss, the dead persons� families or lawful representatives shall have the right to request the implementation of the allowance regime.

2. The State shall have to consider and pay the property damage compensation to the affected subjects and to implement the allowance regime for the persons suffering from loss of life or health deterioration according to the provisions of the relevant legislation and this Decree. The compensation or allowance payment must be decided in writing.

Chapter II

COMPENSATION FOR PROPERTY DAMAGE

1. Compensation shall be paid for properties which are lost, destroyed or break down when being used in the drug prevention and combat as well as for reasonable expenses for preventing, limiting and/or overcoming damage.

2. The value of damaged properties shall be determined according to the local market prices of such properties at the time they are damaged, including their depreciated value.

3. If the damaged properties can be restored to their original state, they shall be restored to their original state. If properties are lost or cannot be restored to their original state, they shall be compensated.

1. The investigation agencies, the agencies in charge of drug-related crime prevention and combat in the police service, the Border Guard units and the customs offices shall be responsible for settling the compensation for property damage in the cases they handle. Where the cases are detected and the property involved therein are seized by other agencies or organizations, such agencies or organizations shall have to transfer the documents related to the property-damaging incidents to the investigation agencies or the agencies in charge of drug-related crime prevention and combat (the case-receiving and investigating units) for consideration and settlement of the compensation.

2. The People�s Committees of rural districts, urban districts, provincial capitals and towns (herein after referred to as the district level), the People�s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities (hereinafter referred to as the provincial level) shall have to pay compensation for cases other than those specified in Clause 1 of this Article, which have occurred in their respective localities.

3. The affected subjects may send written requests for compensation to the investigation agencies or the agencies in charge of drug-related crime prevention and combat, which have handled the cases, or the People�s Committees of the places where damage occurs. Such a request should clearly describe the damage-inflicting incident, damaged property, damage value and compensation level, and be enclosed with documents proving the property value, damage value�, for use as a basis for the responsible agencies to consider and settle.

4. Within 15 days after receiving the affected subjects� written requests for compensation, the investigation agencies or the agencies in charge of drug-related crime prevention and combat, which have handled the cases, or the People�s Committees of the places where damage is caused, shall have to consider and decide on the compensation or propose the competent authorities to decide on the compensation according to the provisions of Article 7 of this Decree.

5. In case of necessity, the heads of the agencies responsible for compensation may set up advisory boards to look into the settlement of damage compensation. Such an advisory board shall be composed of a representative of the agency responsible for the compensation as its chairman, a representative of the finance-pricing agency and a representative of the concerned specialized scientific-technical agency. The affected persons or their lawful representatives shall be invited to attend the boards� meetings and present their opinions, which shall be recorded in the meetings� minutes.

The advisory boards in charge of considering the compensation settlement shall be tasked to examine, check and assess the damage and propose the compensation levels. They shall discuss and make conclusions by majority; their meetings� minutes shall be transferred to the competent persons specified in Article 7 of this Decree for decision on the compensation.

1. The heads of the investigation police offices of the district-level police agencies and the heads of the criminal investigation agencies of the provincial-level Military Commands shall decide on the compensation for property damage valued at under VND 2,000,000 (two million) in the cases handled by their respective units.

2. The heads of the investigation offices of the police agencies at the provincial or higher level, the heads of the criminal investigation agencies of the General Departments or equivalent level in the army, and the heads of the agencies in charge of drug-related crime prevention and combat of the Ministry of Public Security shall decide on the compensation for property damage valued at under VND 5,000,000 (five million) in the cases handled by their respective units.

3. The directors of the provincial-level police agencies, the general director of the General Department of Police, the head of the criminal investigation agency of the Ministry of Defense, the directors of the provincial-level Customs Departments, and the chief commanders of the Border Guard Commands of the provincial or equivalent level shall decide on the compensation for property damage valued at under VND 10,000,000 (ten million) in the cases handled by the investigation agencies, the agencies in charge of drug-related crime prevention and combat or the Border Guard units and the customs offices under their respective management.

4. The presidents of the district-level People�s Committees shall decide on the compensation for property damage valued at under ten million dong in other drug-related cases occurring in their respective localities.

5. The Minister of Defense, the Minister of Public Security and the Minister of Finance shall decide on the compensation for property damage valued at VND 10,000,000 (ten million) or more in the cases handled by the investigation agencies, the agencies in charge of drug-related crime prevention and combat or the Border Guard units and customs agencies under their respective management.

6. The presidents of the provincial-level People�s Committees shall decide on the compensation for property damage valued at VND 10,000,000 (ten million) or more in other drug-related cases occurring in their respective localities.

Chapter III

REGIME OF ALLOWANCES FOR PERSONS WHO SUFFER FROM LOSS OF LIFE OR HEALTH DETERIORATION

1. Damage due to injury or health deterioration includes:

a/ Reasonable expenses for the treatment, care and recovery of health and rehabilitation of lost or declined functions of the affected persons;

b/ The affected persons� incomes which have been actually lost or decreased; if the affected person�s actual incomes are unstable and unidentifiable, the average income level of labor of the same kind shall be applied.

2. Lump-sum cash allowances for the affected persons who suffer from injuries or health deterioration shall be considered and decided by the competent persons specified in Article 7 of this Decree; the allowance level shall cover the actually incurred expenses mentioned in Clause 1 of this Article. For allowances valued at VND 10,000,000 (ten million) or more, advisory boards must be set up to look into the allowances which, however, must not exceed VND 20,000,000 (twenty million) per affected person.

1. Damage due to human loss includes:

a/ Reasonable expenses for the treatment and care of the affected persons before their death.

b/ Reasonable expenses for the burial.

2. The families or lawful representatives of the dead persons shall be granted lump-sum cash allowances; the allowance amount shall cover the actually incurred expenses mentioned in Clause 1 of this Article, which, however, must not exceed VND 50,000,000 (fifty million) per dead person.

1. The directors of the provincial/municipal Services of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs shall decide on the allowances for damage valued at no more than VND 10,000,000 (ten million).

2. The Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs shall decide on the allowances for damage valued at VND 10,000,000 (ten million) or more.

1. The persons who suffer from injuries or health deterioration, the families of the dead persons, or the lawful representatives of these persons may send written requests for damage allowances to the Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs agencies which have handled the cases. Such a request should clearly state the damage-causing incidents, injuries or health deterioration, and be enclosed with the death certificates, for dead persons, vouchers certifying actually incurred expenses� for use as a basis for the responsible agencies to consider and settle.

2. Upon receiving the affected persons� written requests for allowances, the agencies responsible for allowance settlement must consider and decide to grant allowances in time under the provisions of this Decree and relevant law provisions.

3. In cases where the affected persons are dead or in case of necessity, the heads of the agencies responsible for allowance settlement shall set up advisory boards to look into the allowance settlement. Such a board shall be composed of a representative of the agency responsible for allowance settlement as its chairman, representatives of the concerned specialized scientific and technical agency and medical agency. The affected persons, the families of the affected persons or their lawful representatives shall be invited to attend the boards� meetings and present their opinions, which shall be recorded in the meetings� minutes.

4. The advisory boards which look into the allowance settlement shall be tasked to appraise the extent of health deterioration and life loss on the basis of the forensic examination, psychiatric forensic examination or injury examination conclusions, related papers and documents and the competent authorities� regulations on injury criteria so as to assess the damage and propose the allowance levels. The advisory boards shall discuss and make conclusions by majority; their meetings� minutes shall be transferred to competent persons specified in Article 10 of this Decree for decision on the allowances.

Chapter IV

FUNDING FOR DAMAGE COMPENSATION AND ALLOWANCES

Article 12.- The funding for the above-said compensations and allowances shall come partly from the Drug Prevention and Combat Fund and partly from the State budgets at all levels.

1. The agencies and units responsible for compensation and allowance settlement shall elaborate the funding�s estimates within their budget estimates and send them to the finance agencies of the same level for summing up and submission to the competent authorities for decision.

2. The Ministry of Finance shall have to guide the concerned agencies, units and organizations to implement this Regulation.

Chapter V

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 14.- This Decree takes implementation effect 15 days after its signing.

The Ministry of Public Security shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the concerned ministries and branches in inspecting and urging the implementation of this Decree.

Article 15.- The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the agencies attached to the Government, and the presidents of the People�s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities shall have to implement this Decree.

On behalf of the Government
Prime Minister
PHAN VAN KHAI