The ninth plenum of the 13th-tenure Party Central Committee held in Hà Nội last month. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Standing Member of the Party Secretariat Lương Cường, on behalf of the Politburo, has just signed off on the procedure for handling complaints or denunciations against Party organisations or members that are under the direct management of the Party Central Committee.

The complaint procedure is staged over three steps, preparation, implementation and the conclusion step.

The Central Inspection Commission (or the advisory body assisting the Politburo and the Secretariat, as assigned by the Standing Member of the Secretariat) will work with the complainant to clearly identify the identity and address of the complainant, the Party organisation, the party member being complained about and the content of the complaint.

The Politburo and the Secretariat will then decide which team will deal with a complaint and a plan for resolving it, depending on the nature and content of the complaint, deciding a team leader, who is in the team and if appropriate the number of inspection team members.

The time limit for resolving complaints will not be more than 180 days from the date of the decision to form an inspection team. If it is necessary, this resolution period may be extended, but it must not exceed an additional 60 days.

During the verification and investigation stage, the inspection team will study the reports, files, documents and other evidence received, verify those to launch an investigation, working with the complainant and related organisations and individuals.

During this process, according to Decision No.164, the inspection team will meet and work directly with the complainant (if necessary) and implement measures to protect the complainant, according to regulations.

If the violation is clear and reaches a level that disciplinary action is required, and the Party organisation or Party member being complained about voluntarily reviews and accepts the appropriate disciplinary measures for the violation, the head of the inspection team will report to the Standing Member of the Secretariat to combine the disciplinary process with the complaint resolution process, which can be a two way process.

During the investigation, should any other 'sign of violation' of the Party organisation or member be detected, the inspection team will report to the Politburo and the Secretary.

In the third and final step, a meeting of the Politburo and the Secretariat will review and conclude the matter.

That is when the inspection team reports the results of handling the complaint, presents the opinions of the Party organisation and Party members being complained about, the complainant and related Party organisations and members.

The conference discusses and votes to decide on the form of discipline or recommends that the competent authority discipline the offending Party organisation or member.

Under the latest regulations, the Party Central Committee will have 180 official members (including the top four leaders - Party General Secretary, President, Prime Minister and National Assembly Chair) and 20 alternate members. — VNS