Tổ chức chính quyền địa phương theo hướng tự quản ở Việt Nam.Tổ chức chính quyền địa phương theo hướng tự quản ở Việt Nam.Tổ chức chính quyền địa phương theo hướng tự quản ở Việt Nam.Tổ chức chính quyền địa phương theo hướng tự quản ở Việt Nam.Tổ chức chính quyền địa phương theo hướng tự quản ở Việt Nam.Tổ chức chính quyền địa phương theo hướng tự quản ở Việt Nam.Tổ chức chính quyền địa phương theo hướng tự quản ở Việt Nam.Tổ chức chính quyền địa phương theo hướng tự quản ở Việt Nam.Tổ chức chính quyền địa phương theo hướng tự quản ở Việt Nam.Tổ chức chính quyền địa phương theo hướng tự quản ở Việt Nam.Tổ chức chính quyền địa phương theo hướng tự quản ở Việt Nam.Tổ chức chính quyền địa phương theo hướng tự quản ở Việt Nam.Tổ chức chính quyền địa phương theo hướng tự quản ở Việt Nam.Tổ chức chính quyền địa phương theo hướng tự quản ở Việt Nam.MOET MOHA NATIONAL ACADEMY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION PHẠM THỊ GIANG ORGANIZING LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TOWARDS SELF AUTONOMY IN VIETNAM Major Public Management Code 9 34 04 03 DOCTORAL THESIS ABSTRACT HÀ.
MOET / MOHA ./ NATIONAL ACADEMY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION PHẠM THỊ GIANG ORGANIZING LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TOWARDS SELF-AUTONOMY IN VIETNAM Major: Public Management Code: 34 04 03 DOCTORAL THESIS ABSTRACT HÀ NỘI, 2022 The thesis is completed at the: NATIONAL ACADEMY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION SUPERVISORS: Prof Dr Phạm Hồng Thái Assoc Prof Dr Vũ Đức Đán Reviewer 1: ………………………………………………… Reviewer 2: ………………………………… ……………… Reviewer 3: ………………………………… ……………… The thesis is upheld in the presence of NAPA Doctoral Assessment Board, at the National Academy of Public Administration Venue: Floor Block 77 Nguyễn Chí Thanh, Đống Đa, Hà Nội Time: , date The thesis can be found at NAPA Library or on the website of the Department of Postgraduate Management INTRODUCTION Rationale Firstly, local governments are established in administrative units by law, performing the functions and tasks of state management in the locality; translating the Party’s guidelines and policies, and the State’s laws into reality; providing public services for local people to serve their essential needs It is where local people participate in state management; express their will and aspirations to the state in response to their needs (legitimate interests) Therefore, how to build an organizational model for local governments to meet those requirements is a challenging task for all countries Given such rationale, organizing local governments is a topic of interest to scientists and practitioners Secondly, in practice there are many models of state management, but basically there are two common ones: centralized and decentralized The centralized management model is necessary and successful only in wartime conditions and postwar recovery In peace time and a market economy, many countries have adopted the local self-autonomy model or local governments towards self-autonomy - a decentralized model - to varying degrees Europe has its Charter on local selfautonomy The application of local self-autonomy model or local governments towards self-autonomy has delivered many results: promoting local initiative and selfresponsibility and addressing the relationship between the central and local governments as public legal entities with separate duties and powers, on the principle of non-interference in each other's activities, except for common issues incumbent on both Thirdly, as viewed from the perspective of public management and the theory of decentralization, local self-determination applied in Vietnam still contains inadequacy, with no discrimination or diversification in the organizational models for urban and rural areas, and islands as prescribed by the Law on Organization of Local Government in 2015 (amended and supplemented in 2019) Local governments in all areas are divided into three levels (provincial, district, and commune levels) Some similar duties and powers are assigned to each level The organization of local governments in Hanoi, Da Nang, and HCM City is being piloted at various levels according to resolutions of the National Assembly, with no review or conclusion yet Fourthly, decentralization is the pre-condition for building local governments towards self-autonomy However, in practice decentralization has not occurred in various fields in Vietnam There still exists a practice where local governments "ask for permission for decentralization" While many issues for local socio-economic development are awaiting resolution, they are subject to consultation and approval from superiors This problem has acted to retard local socio-economic development, rendering local governments inactive and less responsible for their performance because they have been "secured" by the instruction from superior agencies While many tasks have been delegated to local governments, they are still subject to regulation and quota allocation from superiors, such as financial issues and payroll This has made local governments unable to take the financial and human initiative to perform their tasks and provide public services in the locality On the other hand, decentralized matters are still subject to instruction from superior state agencies, impeding local governments’ discretion in handling decentralized tasks, and thereby causing them having to "consult the superior" All these problems are contrary to the trend towards which the rule-of-law is built and the extensive social democracy is developing in Vietnam At the same time, they have rendered local government unable to take the initiative towards autonomy and selfresponsibility Fifthly, although the subject of local government organization has been studied at different levels, there has not been a comprehensive and systematic study on organizing local governments towards self-autonomy in Vietnam Given such rationale, the researcher has opted for topic “Organizing local governments towards self-autonomy in Vietnam” for the doctoral thesis in response to the existing practice in Vietnam Research purposes and tasks Research purposes: specifying the theoretical matters relevant to the organization of self-autonomous local governments; judging the laws and practices relevant to the self-autonomy held by local governments in a number of fields; raising viewpoints, solutions and guarantees to ensure the organizing of local governments towards selfautonomy in Vietnam Research tasks: To that end, the thesis has the following tasks: Firstly, providing an overview of published works at home and abroad, pointing out issues to be learned and developed as well as new matters to be examined through research questions and scientific hypotheses Secondly, introducing the concept and specifying the nature, characteristics, principles and substance of self-autonomous local governments in terms of: the form and method by which to exercise powers; authority and relationship between the central and local governments, and guarantees for the organization of local government towards self-autonomy; Thirdly, examining the organization of self-autonomous local governments in some countries to learn lessons for Vietnam to organize local governments towards self-autonomy; Fourthly, analyzing and evaluating provisions in the Constitutions of Vietnam, especially the 2013 Constitution, the Law on the organization of local governments in 2015 (amended and supplemented in 2019) on the autonomy, selfdetermination and self-responsibility of local governments; and analyzing and evaluating practices in the autonomy and self-determination of local governments in some areas (through decentralization), pointing out the strengths, limitations and determinants on the organizing of local governments towards self-autonomy in Vietnam Fifthly, based on theoretical issues and assessment of legislations and practices of organizing local governments, raising viewpoints, solutions and conditions for organizing local governments towards self-autonomy in Vietnam Research objects and scope Research objects: Theoretical and practical issues in organizing local governments towards self-autonomy in Vietnam Research scope: Given the fact that the relevant subject covers a big issue, the research is limited to the following issues: - Scope of contents: Theoretical issues on the organization of self-autonomous local governments such as: concept, nature, characteristics, principles, and substance of: organizational form, the form in which to exercise self-autonomy, authority and relationship between the central and local governments; conditions for organizing local governments towards self-autonomy; legal practices relevant to the organization, tasks performance, power exercise by local governments, decentralization in some areas such as: organizational structure, human resources, finance, the relationship between the central and local governments These are particularly important areas to the tasks performance and powers exercise by local governments, and to the socio-economic development in the locality The extent to which local governments are selfautonomous greatly depends on these areas; Viewpoints, solutions and conditions for organizing local governments towards self-autonomy in Vietnam - Temporal scope: Research is conducted to examine over various periods, with focus on the period since the 2013 Constitution - Spatial scope: The research is conducted to review and evaluate the laws and practices relevant to self-determination and self-autonomy held by local governments in some areas on the nation scale Research hypotheses and questions Research hypotheses: Local self-autonomy is an inevitable movement and development of the state The Constitution and the laws of Vietnam have provided for self-autonomy and self- determination (self-supporting and self-responsibility) of local governments However, there exist several inadequacies in the organization and authority held by local governments, causing them to fail to take advantage of their autonomy and selfresponsibility to meet the requirements in the context where a socialist-oriented market economy is being developed, a socialist rule-of-law is being built, powers are being decentralized, and where democracy is being expanded and promoted Research questions: Firstly, how national and international scientists examine local self-autonomy and self-autonomous local governments? Secondly, what are self-autonomous local governments? What characteristics, principles, nature, and substance serve as guarantees to ensure local government towards self-autonomy? What lessons of reference can Vietnam learn from selfautonomous local governments in other countries? Thirdly, how the Vietnamese Constitution and laws provide for the selfautonomy of local governments? What are the practices relevant to this issue? Fourthly, does the existing organization and operation of local governments in Vietnam meet the requirements set out for self-autonomous local governments? Fifthly, what viewpoints, solutions and conditions are needed to ensure the organizing of local governments in Vietnam towards self-autonomy to meet the requirements set out in the new situation? Research methodology and methods Methodology: To fulfill the research purposes and tasks, the thesis is based on Marxist – Leninist methodology and Ho Chi Minh's thought, the viewpoints of the Party and the state on local governments, renovating the organization and operation of the state apparatus in general and local government organizations in particular; at the same time, the research is based on the theory of decentralization and democracy in state and social life Research methods: To fulfill the research purposes and tasks, the thesis adopts the following methods: - Document research and adoption of published research findings This method is used throughout the thesis A large number of both national and international documents and research results have been studied, serving as a basis for systematizing theoretical and legal issues within the research scope - The analytical method is used to address all issues in the thesis First of all, it is used to analyze secondary documents to evaluate the findings of the published works, pointing out those findings to be adopted and developed, and those to be further researched; In chapter 2, this method used to analyze different views on local government organization, self-autonomous local governments, pointing out rational and irrational views whereby raising personal view; In chapter 3, it is used to analyze and evaluate the Constitution and the laws on the tasks and powers of local governments, to evaluate regulations on decentralization in some areas, pointing out the advantages, limitations and causes of limitations, based on theoretical issues about self-autonomous local governments - The synthetic method is used in all chapters of the thesis: analyzing scientific viewpoints, laws and practices; generalizing into scientific philosophies and judgments about the practices of self-autonomy and self-responsibility of local governments, advantages and limitations inherent in regulations on decentralization - The comparative method is mainly used in chapter to compare various versions of the Constitution and laws of Vietnam over the period from 1945 to now It is aimed to point out the trend towards which self-determination and self-autonomy have evolved in some countries and in Vietnam On that basis, suggestions and solutions are made to organizing local governments towards self-autonomy In addition, the thesis also uses findings of sociological survey published on the mass media and specific survey data of state agencies and some localities Novelty and contributions 6.1 Theoretical novelty The thesis has built and defined the concept of self-autonomous local governments and local self-autonomy; self-autonomous local governments are considered in three aspects: organization of local government apparatus; the ways and methods that local governments adopt to manage and handle local affairs; the allocation of resources and definition of duties, powers and functions of local governments On this basis, a theoretical framework is formulated for the selfautonomy of local government - self-determination and self-responsibility to the law and local people The superior authority does not interfere in how lower governments handle their affairs; Self-autonomy for local governments is an inevitable trend towards building the rule-of-law, promoting democracy and local potentials and innovativeness The thesis has come up with and demonstrated the guarantees for organizing local governments towards self-autonomy in Vietnam 6.2 Practical contributions By analyzing the Constitution and laws, the thesis has pointed out the limitations to be overcome in the decentralization from central to local governments, and various levels of local governments, whereby analyzing and evaluating the extent to which local governments in Vietnam are entitled to self-autonomy The thesis has raised some viewpoints and proposed solutions and guarantees for organizing local governments towards self-autonomy in Vietnam together with some recommendations for this issue Theoretical and practical significance Theoretical significance: The research findings of the thesis have acted to enrich theories of local self-autonomy, organization of self-autonomous local governments This will serve as a basis for the study on organizing local governments towards selfautonomy in Vietnam Practical significance: The research findings of the thesis can serve as a reference for research, training and study at Public Management training institutions; for the training and retraining of civil servants; for formulating policies and refining laws on local governments and decentralization to local governments Thesis structure In addition to the introduction, conclusion and references, the thesis is composed of chapters: Chapter Literature review Chapter Scientific foundation for organizing local governments towards selfautonomy Chapter Practices in the organizing of local governments towards selfautonomy in Vietnam Chapter Viewpoints and solutions to organizing local governments towards self-autonomy in Vietnam CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Research works relevant to organizing local governments There have been many research works into the organization of local governments, notably "Theory and practices of local governments in Vietnam today" by Le Minh Thong and Nguyen Nhu Phat (2002), addressing (i) historical experience in building and developing local governments in Vietnam from 1945 to present, which emphasizes the renewal of the organization of local governments; (ii) analysis of the organizational models of local governments in some countries with emphasis on determinants on local government organization: geography, economy; historical factors, A book by David J McCathy, Laurie Reynolds, namely "Local government law - in a nutshell" (2003) deals with the administrative functions and the organization of local governments, an independent institution with legal entity In the book "Model for the organization and operation of the socialist rule-of-law in Vietnam" (2007), Dao Tri Uc states that the ruleof-law is expected to ensure the relative independence of local governments as a condition to ensure their autonomy; the publication "Renovation and improvement of the existing state apparatus" by Bui Xuan Duc (2007) also discusses the renewal of the organizational model for urban and rural local governments; B.E Smith in his work "Local Government Federal-decentralized systems Unitary - decentralized systems" (2008) argues that the local government is a public organization authorized to decide on public policies and manage issues within a small territories (subdivisions) under the regional or national government; Ann Bowman and Richard Kearney in "State and Local Government" (2011) presents the local government model and the experience of decentralization among local government levels in the United States; The book "Renovating and improving the socialist rule-of-law apparatus of the people, by the people for the people in Vietnam today" (2011) by Le Minh Thong emphasizes the significance for building a legal framework legislation for the organization and operation, and diversification of local government organizational models in administrative units; The book "Organization and operation of local governments in Vietnam today" by Truong Thi Hong Ha (2017) defines the concept, characteristics and principles for the organization of local governments, administrative units, urban - rural governments, decentralization and delegation; The doctoral thesis by Nguyen Thi Ngoc Lan (2017), "The organization of governments in special administrative-economic units in Vietnam today"; The doctoral thesis by Dinh Thanh Tung (2019), "Administrative institutions of special economic administrative units in Vietnam" has specified the theory of administrative institutions of special economicadministrative units 1.2 Research works relevant to organizing self-autonomous local governments The first research work to be mentioned in this field should be “Municipal and other local governments” by Marguerite J Fische and DonalD Bishop Prentice-Hall Inc New York (1950), which emphasizes the role of local governments in public service delivery; the book "The structure of Local government - A comparative Survey of 81 countries" International Union of Authorities (1969) by Samuel Humes and Eileen Martin describes the structure of local governments, including the following institutions: Council - representative body, and executive body; The book by I.D Sana Hev, I.V Zajceva, V.N Denisov “The formation of local self-autonomy in the Russian Federation” - M.: Mos roblox neaun fond, (1999), describes the characteristics of the reform of local self-autonomy and the formation of local self-autonomy in Saint Petersburg between 1995 and 1998; Peter Watt's article “Principles and theories of local governments” (2006), argues that the central government should decentralize more autonomy to local governments; Nguyen Kim Thoa and Nguyen Si Dai "Organization of local governments of the Federal Republic of Germany" (2006) discusses the legal basis, authority, and model of local self-autonomy; Nguyen Thi Thien Tri's article "Arguments for the adoption and application of the local selfautonomy model in Vietnam" (2014) asserts that the self-autonomous local government is popular in the world In addition, there published a series of articles about selfautonomous local governments such as: "Practices on local self-autonomy in some countries and the continuing improvement of local governance mechanism for Vietnam" by Nguyen Van Cuong (2014); “The role of self-autonomous local governments in Danish democracy” by Luu Kiem Thanh (2015); “Local selfautonomy in the Russian Federation” by Mai Van Thang (2016); Ministerial-level research project "Scientific basis for applying self-autonomous model in communal government" (2016) by Tran Thi Minh Chau; Ministerial-level research project "The self-autonomous model in villages and hamlets in response to he requirements for PAR in Vietnam today" by Ha Quang Ngoc (2017); Thesis “Improving the law on selfautonomy and self-responsibility for local governments in Vietnam” by Nguyen Thi Hanh (2017); “Some issues stated in the implementation of the 2015 Law on Organization of Local Governments” (2018) by Le Minh Thong asserts the need to diversify the organizational model of local governments and build a model towards self-autonomy in Vietnam; “Local self-autonomy in some countries and lessons for Vietnam” (2018) by Nguyen Huu Hai and Trinh Thi Thuy; and some other works by national and international scientists also discuss self-autonomous local governments; The doctoral thesis by Dao Bao Ngoc "Local governance in European countries: UK, various levels of local governments, functions and tasks of local governments; the trend towards which local governance evolves is that local government organization is diversified Particularly for a democratic state, organizing local governments towards self-autonomy is one of the optimal options Practically: The diverse organization and operation of local governments in some countries; views and arguments applicable to organizing local governments towards self-autonomy in Vietnam; strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for the organization and operation of local governments in Vietnam today Particularly, Vietnam's legislations - the 2013 Constitution has opened up the way for Vietnam to consider building many types of local government models to in sync with the pace of socio-economic development and international integration 1.4.4 Issues further examined On the basis of selective adoption of previous research findings, the thesis further studies the following issues: Firstly, the theoretical basis for the organization of local governments towards self-autonomy puts forwards: the concept; nature; characteristic; contents and scope for the status of local self-autonomous governments such as: organizational form, method by which local autonomy is exercised, authority and relationship between central and local governments, and conditions to ensure the organization of local government towards self-autonomy Secondly, in practical terms, the thesis examines and assesses how self-autonomy is decentralized to local governments through analyzing decentralization from the central to local governments: organizational form, the form in which self-autonomy is exercised, authority (organizational apparatus, personnel, budget, finance), the relationship between the central and local governments, and the basis for organizing local governments towards self-autonomy in Vietnam Thirdly, on the basis of theoretical and practical research as well as inadequacies existing in decentralization in Vietnam, the thesis proposes viewpoints, solutions and conditions to ensure the organizing of local governments towards self- autonomy in Vietnam Therefore, the research topic chosen by the author does not coincide with any published scientific work at home and abroad 11 Sub-conclusion on Chapter In chapter 1, the author focuses on examining national and international publications related to the theoretical issues of local government organization and selfautonomous local government organization, and on decentralization On that basis, some conclusions are made: (i) Regarding the organization of local government, selfautonomous local governments, decentralization as the pre-conditions for building and organizing local governments towards self-autonomy, there have been many research works, ranging from academic articles and research works at grassroots and ministerial levels to theses, reference books, and monographs; (ii) National authors have focused their research on the formation and development of local governments in Vietnam through the history between 1945 to the present, defining the concept and analyzing the characteristics of local governments; analyzed and assessed the advantages and limitations of the laws on local governments in Vietnam; (iii) Recommendations are made on the forms in which local governments are organized in rural, urban, mountainous and island areas; on decentralization, considering it as the basis for the formation and organization of local governments towards self-autonomy; (iv) Although the organization of self-autonomous local governments has been examined in some academic works by national and international authors, it has not been studied in depth, resulting in the failure to define the theoretical and practical basis and the conditions to ensure the organization of local governments towards self-autonomy in Vietnam; (v) Although research works by international authors have examined local self-autonomy from a general perspective, none have discussed the organization of local governments towards self-autonomy in Vietnam Given such arguments, it is asserted that the thesis topic does not overlap with any published works at home and abroad 12 CHAPTER SCIENTIFIC FOUNDATION FOR ORGANIZING LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TOWARDS SELF-AUTONOMY 2.1 Local government organization Conceiving “locality as a territory and space associated with geographical features, land, people, customs and practices, economic and social characteristics of a certain community” to form a basis for determining the territorial administrative units in a country, and upon analysis of various conceptions of local government organization, the author conceives local government organizations as state institutions, or self-autonomous institutions of territory-based local communities They are public legal entities established by law, assuming local characteristics and contexts, being tasked with managing and administering all aspects of social life Within authorized competence and given procedures prescribed by law, they are aimed to ensure the legitimate rights and interests of individuals and organizations in a territory-based administrative unit 2.2 Organization of self-autonomous local governments 2.2.1 Concept, characteristics, nature and principles for organizing selfautonomous local governments "Self-autonomy is conceived as looking after, deciding and managing work by oneself, without being told or controlled, or as a management method that expands democracy at different levels." Local self-autonomy demonstrates the relationship between the central and local governments in terms of power Accordingly, whereby localities are entitled to take the initiative and make decisions to solve local problems They are also exempted from central government intervention in solving local problems Dispute between the central and local governments will be settled in court Upon analysis of various conceptions of self-autonomous local government organization, the author conceives self-autonomous local government organizations as institutions established by law, having the authority to make decisions on and take responsible for their own affairs and tasks To so, they employ certain means and methods as prescribed by law to make full used of their potential and strengths to attain the highest efficiency in management, whereby ensuring local development to serve the local people’s growing demands Local self-autonomy is exercised through people’s councils elected by the local people on the principle of universal, direct, secret suffrage At the same time, local governments are financially autonomous and entitled to self-determination on organizational structure and personnel The nature of the self-autonomous local government organization is reflected in the following contents: a self-autonomous local government organization is a local 13 government that has (i) the power to take independent initiatives to solve local issues and (ii) immunity from central government intervention in solving local affairs Without either of these two powers, local government is not considered selfautonomous (see Figure 2.1) In short, the nature of self-autonomous local government organization lies in the power of self-determination and self-responsibility as decentralized from the central to local governments Self-autonomous local governments assume the following characteristics: it must be stipulated in the Constitution and laws; the representative body (local council) is directly elected by the local people and accountable to them; the local people can decide on local matters; have the right to self-determination on local issues as prescribed by law in order to serve the local interests in harmony with the national interests; it is autonomous in terms of apparatus, personnel and remuneration; it is financially autonomous with its own budget; Any dispute between the central and local governments will be resolved by the courts DOs by law DON’Ts as prescribed by law Self-determination Figure 2.1 Nature by self-autonomous local government organization The organization of self-autonomous local government is based on the following principles: (1) independence within its jurisdiction; (2) heterogeneity between local government and its apparatus; (3) guarantee for democracy; (4) separation between local government and local government agencies; (5) democratic principles; (6) interdependence between local interests, public interests and state interests; (7) ensuring the “openness”; (8) the suitability of physical and financial resources with the organization of self-autonomous local governments; (9) principle of “subsidiary” responsibility; (10) principles of decentralization of organizational structure 2.2.2 Substance of the organization of self-autonomous local governments The organization of self-autonomous local governments is described as follows: the establishment of self-autonomous local governments in administrative units, subject to each country, regulate: organizational form, the form in which autonomous is exercised, authority held by local governments relevant to organizational structure, personnel, finance and other local issues; the relationship between the central and local governments is established by decentralization 14 2.2.3 Strengths and weakness in the organization of self-autonomous local gvernments Advantages: ensuring the principle that all power belongs to the people; meeting the requirements for democracy and people-center; promoting local strengths, initiatives, innovation and responsibility Limitations: uneven development among localities, which can lead to localitis; too much reliance on the central government and the superiors 2.3 Conditions to ensure the organization of self-autonomous local governments The political regime of the state; democracy in local government organization; technical factors (institutions, capacity of civil servants), factors related to the central government (decentralization, control by the central government, how to address the relationship between the central and local governments); environment-related factors 2.4 Organization of self-autonomous local governments in some countries and lessons for Vietnam Self-autonomous local governments are organized in many countries Within the thesis limit, the author selects some typical countries for comparison to learn such lessons as: subject to political, economic and territorial characteristics, selfautonomous local government organization has no common model for all countries; subordinates not rely on superiors, and on the central government in solving delegated problems; each level is independent from other levels in performing delegated tasks and powers; the relationship between the central and local governments takes place through the mechanisms of central government’s monitoring and control while dispute is resolved in courts Sub-conclusion on chapter Chapter examines theoretical issues: concept, nature, principles, advantages and disadvantages of self-autonomous local government organization; conditions to ensure self-autonomous local government organization; self-autonomous local government organization in some countries and lessons to be learned, guarantees for local government towards self-autonomy These together constitute the basis for examining issues in chapters and Therefore, it is concluded as follows: (i) the selfautonomous local government is a public legal entity, established and empowered with duties and powers prescribed by the Constitution and the law, relatively independent of the state and superior agencies The central government inspects and supervises the observance of laws by local governments only; (ii) it has the discretion to address issues of local significance, to provide services to the people within the legal framework on decentralization; (iii) its application varies from country to country; (iv) 15 the development of self-autonomous local governments is subject to the political and socio-economic life, tradition, the extent to which decentralization is carried out, the relationship between the central and local governments; (v) The self-autonomous local government organization promotes the innovation, initiative and responsibility of the local government; (vi) Besides, the organization of self-autonomous local government also reveals certain limitations: it does not ensure the "uniform" development between urban and rural areas, and between different regions, which easily leads to "localitis", which, sometimes for local self-interests, causes local authorities "to go beyond" the legal framework to conflict with the unified centralized management CHAPTER PRACTICES IN THE ORGANIZING OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TOWARDS SELF-AUTONOMY IN VIETNAM The Vietnamese constitution and laws have not provided for the term "local self-autonomy or self-autonomous local government" However, they have provided for the right to independence, self-determination, and self-autonomy of local governments Therefore, in order to demonstrate the trend, scope and extent of the self-autonomy of local governments in Vietnam, the thesis examines the Constitution, the Law on organization of local governments and some specialist legal documents on decentralization, tasks and powers of local governments, the relationship between the central and local governments 3.1 Provisions of Constitution 1946, 1959, 1980 and 1992 for self-autonomy for local governments Upon analysis of the Constitutions providing for the tasks and powers of local governments, the author sees that the right to self-determination and self-responsibility of local governments has been expressed in the Constitution, but it has failed to provide a necessary legal framework for the self-autonomy, self-responsibility and self-management of local governments Instead, state management is still heavily centralized despite some existing regulations on the tasks and the right to selfdetermination of local authorities relevant to deciding and resolving issues of local significance; The revision of the Constitution and the Law on local government has always made towards gradually increasing the autonomy, self-determination and selfresponsibility for local governments through decentralization of responsibilities, duties and powers to the People's Council at each level 3.2 The Constitution 2013 and the Law on the Organization of Local Governments regulating the self-autonomy for local governments The author has examined the 2013 Constitution on the organization of local governments, different levels of local governments, the self-autonomy and self- 16 determination of local governments, the principle for division of powers between the central and local governments, the views on the organization of locals governments in urban and rural areas, islands, special administrative - economic units as prescribed by law; conditions for performing the tasks decentralized from the central government The author has also analyzed the Law on the Organization of Local Governments relevant to the way local governments are organized, the authority and organizational structure of the People's Council and People's Committee at each level, and decentralization and operation of the People's Council and People's Committee In addition to examination of the law, the thesis focuses on the organization of local governments in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Da Nang - where the pilot is being carried out on the organization of local governments and the competence of local authorities in the field of organizational structure, personnel, payroll and finance, pointing out the irrational mechanism of assigning payroll quotas and regulating the budget between the central and local governments 3.3 Judgment on the strengths and weaknesses inherent in legislations and practices relevant to the self-autonomy and self-determination for local governments 3.3.1 Strengths The 2013 Constitution lays the foundation for the organization of local government towards self-autonomy by providing for the division of duties and powers between central and local governments and a variety of models of local government organization in rural and urban areas, islands and special administrative economic units The Law on Organization of Local Governments has specified the guidelines and stance in the Constitution on local governments, providing for the self-autonomy and self-determination of local governments by regulating the authority for each local government level, and the relationship between the central and local governments in order to ensure the self-autonomy and self-responsibility to the local people and the law It has provided a legal framework for independence of local governments from the central government and among local state agencies Independence refers to the independence in performing tasks, powers, and making decisions on issues of local significance In addition to the provisions for self-determination and self-autonomy of local governments in certain fields, the Constitution and laws consistently provides for consistent management and administration of the central government as a basis for defining the tasks and powers of the central government and local governments Accordingly, decentralization will be carried out by gradually transferring state power to local governments in solving local problems 17 3.4.2 Weaknesses Organizational structure is similarly defined by territorial administrative unit despite discrimination between urban and rural areas, islands Regarding the form in which powers of local governments are exercised, election to the People's Council is conducted in each of the constituencies, which does not fully reflect the true nature of direct democracy while the election of the People’s Committee is formalistic In terms of authority, it is stipulated that local governments are self-autonomous and self-responsible for the performance of tasks and powers However, the law provides for "the principle of unified state management institutions to ensure the consistent administration, and especially the close coordination of industry management with territorial management”; regarding the organizational structure, despite regulations on the diversity of organizational structure, there are no regulations on the organizational structures specific to urban and rural areas, islands, and cities within central cities Therefore, self-autonomy and self-responsibility of local governments have not been ensured; in terms of personnel - payroll, the allocation of payroll quotas is prone to the problem of "ask for quotas", which is impractical; in financial terms, financial resources are subject to central allocation, which fails to induce local governments to take the initiative and self-responsibility Regarding the relationship between the central and local governments, practical experience shows emphasis is still placed on the responsibility of the subordinates to the superiors, with inspection and supervision, and sometimes even interference by superiors in the operation of the subordinates 3.4.3 Causes of limitations Firstly, regarding the limitation in the organizational form of local governments, first of all, it is caused by the centralistic awareness about local government organization, without any application of the theory of decentralization between central and local governments, and between various levels of local governments Secondly, regarding the form in which self-autonomy is exercised, the People's Council is an institution elected by the local people, assuming the power to elect, release from office, and dismiss the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson of the People's Council, the Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, and members of the People's Committee However, the election is approved by the head of the superior administrative agency Thirdly, in terms of authority, tasks and powers, there is no synchronous consistence between the Constitution, the Law on the Organization of Local Governments and specialized laws to provide for the tasks and powers of local 18