Vietnam parliament passes historic revised law on local government organisation, establishing two-tier model

The National Assembly, Vietnam's legislature, on Monday endorsed the revised Law on Local Government Organization, with 100% of the 466 members present voting in favor.

The legislation carries great historical significance, as it lays a solid legal foundation for the first-ever implementation of a two-tier local government model in the country.

On the same day, the National Assembly passed a resolution that amends and supplements a number of articles of the 2013 Constitution. The resolution states that the operation of district-level administrative units nationwide will be terminated from July 1.

Previously, presenting a report on amendments to the draft law, Minister of Home Affairs Pham Thi Thanh Tra said that the revised law formally establishes a two-tier local government structure (provincial and communal levels), removing the district level authorities in between, clearly defining responsibilities, powers, and organizational structure at each level.

It also sets a comprehensive legal basis for local governance models in special administrative, economic units, she noted.

This law reflects a renewed mindset geared toward modern, development-oriented local governance. It aims to eliminate systemic bottlenecks, unlock resources, and meet the goals of rapid and sustainable growth at both local and national levels in Vietnam's new development era.

The law also fully embodies the principle of 'local decisions, local implementation, local accountability', promoting autonomy and accountability within local administrations.

On the matter of authority delineation, delegation, and decentralization, to institutionalize the Party's and Politburo’s directions, the law now details the principles of power distribution between central and local governments, as well as between the provincial and communal levels.

It also distinguishes responsibilities between collective bodies such as People’s Committees and individual leaders such as Chairpersons, encouraging flexible, effective decision-making and leadership creativity.

Amendments include recognizing provincial People’s Councils and Chairpersons as decentralizing authorities; establishing monitoring mechanisms for delegated powers; empowering provincial Chairpersons to directly manage and resolve issues within their remit and across administrative branches to prevent procedural backlogs and inefficiencies.

Based on authority delineation principles, the law comprehensively redefines the tasks and powers of the two-tier system to avoid overlap and ensure modern, fit-for-purpose governance. These definitions also provide a legal foundation for other specialized laws to clearly assign responsibilities to each tier in relevant fields.

Adjustments include reallocating certain powers from People’s Committees to their Chairpersons – resulting in provincial People’s Committees having 12 groups of duties and powers, and Chairpersons 23; for communal-level bodies, 10 and 17 respectively. Chairpersons may now act on behalf of the Committee in areas not requiring collective discussion, with reporting required at the next Committee session.

“This is a bold reform step to enhance leadership accountability and invigorate local governance. The revised law empowers local government leaders with greater autonomy, flexibility, and responsibility, in line with the practical needs of administrative management,” said Minister Tra.

On the structure and functioning of local government, the revised law blends selective inheritance and innovation. New provisions include establishing two committees under communal People’s Councils (Economic-Budget and Cultural-Social); retaining the existing minimum and maximum number of deputies; setting principles allowing for full-time provincial and communal-level deputies and assigning the Standing Committee of the National Assembly authority to determine their number, enabling flexibility aligned with local realities and future policy directions.

Ensuring seamless operation from July 1, 2025

Minister Tra underscored that the transition from a three-tier to a two-tier local government system is a historically significant reform. To ensure uninterrupted administration, the law comprehensively anticipates transitional issues - from personnel and administrative processes to operational mechanisms.

Based on feedback from lawmakers, the revised law includes transitional provisions for wards in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Danang, which currently follow an urban governance model (with only People’s Committees). From July 1, 2025, these wards will transition to full local government structures with both People’s Councils and Committees.

Additional transitional provisions ensure smooth handover of responsibilities and administrative processing from now-defunct district-level governments without disrupting services or affecting people and businesses.

To address unforeseen situations not yet codified in law, the revised legislation establishes a flexible, proactive mechanism authorizing the National Assembly Standing Committee, Government, Prime Minister, ministers, and provincial governments to issue or authorize documents to resolve emergent governance issues - building on precedents such as Resolution No 190/2025/QH15.