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THE PRIME
MINISTER OF GOVERNMENT
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SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM
Independence - Freedom - Happiness
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No.
158/2003/QD-TTg
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Hanoi,
July 31, 2003
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DECISION
PROMULGATING
THE PROVISIONAL REGULATION ON THE
HANDLING OF CASES INVOLVING MAILS AS WELL AS POSTAL ARTICLES AND PARCELS
CONTAINING STRANGE SUBSTANCES AND/OR OBJECTS DOUBTED TO BE RELATED TO
BIOLOGICAL OR CHEMICAL WEAPONS
THE PRIME MINISTER
Pursuant to the
Law on Organization of the Government of December 25, 2001;
In order to ensure the safety for human life and health, properties,
environment and regular activities of agencies, organizations and citizens,
At the proposals of the Minister of Public Security and the Minister of Posts
and Telematics,
DECIDES:
Article 1. To promulgate together with this Decision
the provisional Regulation on the handling of cases involving mails as well as
postal articles and parcels containing strange substances and/or objects
doubted to be related to biological or chemical weapons.
Article 2.
This Decision takes effect 15 days after its publication in the Official
Gazette.
Article 3.
The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the
agencies attached to the Govemment and the presidents of the provincial/ municipal
People's Committees shall have to implement this Decision.
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PRIME MINISTER
Phan Van Khai
PROVISIONAL REGULATION
ON THE HANDLING OF CASES
INVOLVING MAILS AS WELL AS POSTAL ARTICLES AND PARCELS CONTAINING STRANGE SUBSTANCES
AND/ OR OBJECTS DOUBTED TO BE RELATED TO BIOLOGICAL OR CHEMICAL WEAPONS
(Issued together with the Prime
Minister's Decision No. 158/2003/QD-TTg of July 31, 2003)
Chapter I.
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1. Strange substances and/or objects doubted
to be related to biological or chemical weapons (hereinafter called strange
substance and/or objects for short) are substances and objects which are
doubted to possibly cause fires, explosion, hazards or radioactivity; doubted
to contain biological agents (substances containing microbes, viruses or
bacteria...) which affect human life and health or living environment.
Subjects which must be detected and handled under this
Regulation are mails as well as postal articles and parcels containing strange
substances and/or objects doubted to be related to biological or chemical
weapons (hereinafter called sent objects for short):
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- Being sent abroad from agencies, organizations or
individuals based in the territory of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
Article 2. The process of seizing, expertising and
handling sent objects must be carried out promptly, ensuring safety for
citizens' life and health, the State's and
citizens' properties as well as environmental protection in strict accordance
with the provisions of this Regulation. At the same time, the contents of mails
as well as postal articles and parcels must be kept secret and the citizens'
legitimate rights must be ensured.
Article 3. The
police offices shall have to receive information on, and handle, sent objects containing
strange substances and/or objects doubted to be related to biological or
chemical weapons.
The health, science
and technology, and defense agencies shall have to coordinate with the police
offices in carrying out the expertise in order to determine and make
conclusions on strange substances and/or objects doubted to be related to
biological or chemical weapons.
Article 4.
The expertise conclusions as well as the results of the cases shall be
publicized only after it is so permitted by the Minister of Public Security.
The publication of
news on the mass media must strictly comply with the provisions of the Press
Law and the Ordinance on Protection of State Secrets.
Chapter II
RESPONSIBILITIES OF AGENCIES,
ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS IN DETECTING AND REPORTING ON CASES
Article 5. When transporting or
receiving sent objects, if agencies, organizations or individuals doubt that
such sent objects contain strange substances and/ or objects related to
biological or chemical weapons, they must promptly notify the nearest police
offices' or Police 113 thereof. At the same time, they must file documents to
the police offices reporting on initial information on the cases and proposing
their request for the expertise and handling thereof.
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Article 6.
All acts of abusing postal services to send objects containing strange
substances and/or objects doubted to be related to biological or chemical
weapons or providing untruthful information thereon in order to confuse public
opinion are strictly prohibited.
Chapter III
RESPONSIBILITIES OF AGENCIES IN
RECEIVING INFORMATION AND HANDLING CASES
Section A.
RECEIVING AND PROCESSING INFORMATION
Article 7. When
receiving information, the police offices shall have to promptly examine and
verify them, guide the reporting agencies, organizations or individuals to
apply self-protection measures, isolate and protect the samples and scenes;
carry out measures to ensure safety for near-by people; and guide and manage information,
prevent bad consequences and impacts which may occur.
In cases where
agencies, organizations or individuals directly bring the sent objects for
reporting, the police offices or units shall have to urgently inspect and
receive the objects and request the organizations or individuals to make
written reports thereon; at the same time, transfer sent objects to isolated
wards or rooms in order to ensure safety against hazards, radioactivity, fire,
explosion or microbes. If the police units are not responsible for directly
handling the cases, they must immediately report them to functional and
competent superior levels for the latter to work out subsequent handling
measures.
Article 8. In
cases where the sent objects are detected in, or received from, agencies,
organizations or individuals having diplomatic status or detected in
Vietnam-based diplomatic missions or international organizations, the police
offices shall have to assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the
Ministry for Foreign Affairs in handling them.
The functional
agencies, when handling the cases, gathering and preserving the samples, must
make specific records thereon to the witness of representatives of the
diplomatic agencies or international organizations where the cases occurred;
and strictly comply with procedures prescribed by law.
Section B. PROTECTION AND EXAMINATION OF SCENES; INSPECTION AND HANDLING
OF DANGERS OF HAZARDS, RADIOACTIVITY, FIRE OR EXPLOSION; SEIZURE AND
PRESERVATION OF SAMPLES AND TRACES
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Article 10. In case of necessity, the police offices receiving
sent objects may request functional forces of the Ministry of Defense or the
Ministry of Science and Technology to support them in the expertise or
participate in the handling thereof. The requested agencies must satisfy the
police offices' requests.
Article 11. For scenes where sent objects containing strange
substances and/or objects are seized but such scenes must be exploited
immediately such as on aircraft or ships, or in postal establishments, the
health service shall have to coordinate with the aircraft- or shipmanaging
agencies or post offices in carrying out the detoxication, disinfection and
treatment of environment so as to clear the scenes soon.
For sent objects
which are detected when the customs clearance procedures therefor are being
carried out, the customs offices shall have to request the functional agencies
to seize and expertise them, and notify the owners of sent objects thereof.
When such sent objects are accurately determined by professional bodies as not
related to biological or chemical weapons, the customs offices shall carry out
the customs clearance procedures or transfer them to their owners.
In all cases, the
opening of sent objects must be notified to, and witnessed by their owners
(except for abandoned objects).
Article 12. During
the time of inspection and verification, if the agencies, organizations or
individuals receiving sent objects wish to know about the contents thereof,
they shall send written requests therefor to competent police offices. When
receiving written requests, the police offices shall have to notify the
accurate contents of sent objects.
Article 13.
Agencies, units and administrations in the localities where sent objects
containing strange substances and/or objects doubted to be related to
biological or chemical weapons are detected shall have to arrange forces for
the coordinated protection of the scenes and create conditions for professional
forces to perform their tasks.
Section C. INSPECTION, EXPERTISE AND HANDLING OF BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL
AGENTS; EXAMINATION AND CLEARANCE OF SCENES; DETERMINATION OF TOXINS OR
CHEMICAL COMPONENTS; INVESTIGATION AND HANDLING OF THE CASES
Article 14. After receiving, examining and initially handling
sent objects containing strange substances and/ or objects, the police offices
shall have to quickly pack the samples, carry out the procedures and transfer
the samples to provincial/municipal preventive medicine centers, Pasteur
Institutes or the Central Institute for Sanitation and Epidemiology for
examination, analysis and determination of biological or chemical agents.
Article 15. The preventive medicine centers, Pasteur Institutes
and the Central Institute for Sanitation and Epidemiology, after receiving
requests for examination, analysis and handling of biological or chemical
agents, shall have to quickly receive samples, immediately carry out the
examination and notify the requesting agencies of the results as soon as
possible.
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Article 16. When requested
by competent agencies, transport enterprises and postal service enterprises
shall have to give priority to the quick and safe transportation of the samples.
After the samples and scenes are disinfected by professional agencies or
the examination results show that they are not related to biological or
chemical weapons, the police offices shall quickly complete the examination and
expertise, clear the scenes and return sent objects (if not related to cases to
be further investigated or verified) to their owners.
The records on examination
of sent objects and expertise of samples must be made and included in the
dossiers thereof in service of the investigation and handling of the cases.
Article 17. After the
results of inspection and expertise of biological or chemical agents have been
obtained and the disinfection by professional agencies has been completed, the
police offices shall have to carry out the expertise in order to determine the
toxins or chemical components; carry out or guide the detoxication if there are
dangerous toxins.
Article 18. The police
offices shall have to guide the participating forces in handling and examining
the samples so as to avoid adverse impacts on the detection and gathering of
traces on sent objects. In parallel with the expertise, the police offices
shall have to research and gather traces on sent objects or samples and have to
immediately carry out professional as well as penal examination operations so
as to investigate and make conclusions on the cases in accordance with law
provisions.
Chapter IV
IMPLEMENTATION ORGANIZATION
Article 19. The
ministries, branches and localities shall take initiative in estimating funding
for the handling of sent objects containing strange substances and/or objects
from the funding sources of the ministries, branches. For complicated cases
which require funding in excess of the allocated amount for handling, the
reports thereon must be made and submitted to the Prime Minister.
Annually, the Ministry of Finance shall have to sum up and report the
proposals of the ministries and branches to the Government for approval and
allocation of funding.
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Article 21. The police
offices of various levels shall have to announce the addresses and telephone
numbers of their standing bodies in charge of handling affairs defined in this
Regulation so as to create convenience for people, agencies and units in the
localities to contact them.
The Ministry of Public Security shall have to specifically guide,
inspect, monitor and urge the implementation of this Regulation.
Article 22. In the course
of implementation, if meeting with any difficulties or troubles, the
ministries, branches and provincial/municipal shall have to promptly report
them to the Prime Minister (through the Ministry of Public Security). The
Minister of Public Security shall have to sum up such reports to the Prime
Minister for consideration and decision.
PRIME MINISTER
Phan Van Khai