Accountability of local government in vietnam: in search of some theoretical aspects

associated ith elected titles and policical titles befo e local esidents and vote s It is the esponsibility that is attached to people’s autho ization of state po e , and the most impo t[r]

ACCOUNTABILIT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN VIETNAM: IN SEARCH OF SOM E THEORETICAL A SPECTS LL Ca d date a oc Ar ntroduction Accountability and the accountability of local gove nment a e ne ly-add essed issues in Vietnam, hich have d a n the attention of the Communist Pa ty, the State and the enti e society of Vietnam The e have been diffe ent a guments on theo etical issues on the accountability of local gove nment, hich need to be fu the cla ified This pape focuses on easoning out the most fundamental theo etical issues on the accountability of local gove nment in Vietnam Theoreticalbasis for the accountability oflocal government 1,1 Pr c ple o fpeople’s sovere local over me t ty - a fou dat o fo r t e accou tab l ty of In a democ atic society, state po e is the po e that is established unde the autho ization of People, and the People's po e decides the scope, pu pose and methods of use and cont ol of state po e This a gument esults f om the p inciple of people’s sove eignty, hich is, though seen f om diffe ent pe spectives, gene ally unde stood as people’s po e being sup eme, as ell as the p ima y po e in eve y democ atic society; people’s po e is neithe exp essed no pe fo med uninte uptedly by people themselves, but people’s legal pe sonality is manifested th ough thei di ect exe cise of po e o autho ization fo exe cise of po e o cont ol, monito ing, modification o nullification of po e ; state po e is a fundamental constituent of people’s po e , and is fo med th ough people’s autho ization by consensus, and this is evidenced by the Academy o f olitics, Region III 56 PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce presenceofconstitutionalism.1People,withtheirpower,establishtheStateandauthorize die State to exe cise thei po e Acco dingly, state po e is, by natu e, unifo m and undivided and esides in people only Any division, allocation o delegation of po e among agencies in the state machine y is of “technical” natu e and aims to enfo ce the state po e in p actice, to eflect people’s ill and not to p e udice people’s sove eignty In that sense, people, as the sup eme holde of po e , must have the ight to kno ho people-autho ized po e is used by state agencies f om cent al to local levels and by thei ep esentatives Tliis is a legitimate demand ofthe sup eme holde of po e , hich helps them cont ol the po e given to the State, and on this basis, people can ask state agencies of all levels to uphold accountability in the use of the given po e The establishment, o ganization and exe cise of state po e , hich is fo med unde people’s autho ization, va ies, depending on the political egime, economy, cultu e, t aditions, method of po e o ganization, etc of each nation This va iation the efo e esults in diffe ent pe fo mances ofaccountability Mandato y accountability by local gove nment fo thei use of autho ized po e is one of the methods that help the autho izing entity to monito and ove see the po e fo the pu pose of ensu ing its p ope and effective use, and it is also the method that enables the autho izing entity to “identify esponsibility” of the autho ized entity hen the autho ized po e is abused o misused and causes ce tain consequences 1.2 Pr c ples of def t e powers o f t e ce tral a d local over me ts - a bas sfo r t e performa ce o f accou tab l ty o f local over me t Defining the po e s of the cent al and local gove nments is an ob ective need fo the national management and an inevitable need fo local development To define such po e s effectively acco ding to the goals of and unde the o ientation of the state, cont olled exe cise of the defined po e s is equi ed - a mechanism that equi es the accountability of local gove nment This mechanism is one of the methods that help the cent al gove nment to check and supe vise the exe cise of the defined po e s and to gua antee the unifo m management po e of die cent al gove nment in acco dance ith the national development o ientation Theo etically and p actically speaking, defining the po e s of the cent al gove nment and of local gove nments is not simple because such definition is not only ! Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences - Institute of State and La (20 5), Ministe ial-Level Repo t, Fundamental Teoretcala dPractcalIssueso t eRelatos pbetwee t eStatea dPeople, betwee t eStatea dt e Communist arty o f Vietnam in the Context o fBuilding a ocialist Rule-of-Law tate in Vietnamfor the 2011 -2020 eriod, Nguyen Thi Viet Huong (main autho ), pp 565 PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP Ope ess>Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce of scientific natu e but also in connection ith a b oade and mo e complex issue, that is to say, politics and la , hich a e not al ays an immutable fact in eve y histo ical pe iod The most impo tant aspect of defining such po e s is to ans e the question of hich p inciple such definition is based on P actice has sho n that the e a e th ee fundamental p inciples of defining the po e s of the cent al gove nment and of local gove nments, namely deconcent ation, delegation, devolution, and some va iants the eof The status of local gove nment in elation ith the cent al gove nment and ith local esidents va ies, depending on each p inciple Acco dingly, this has esulted in diffe ent mechanisms fo equesting the accountability of local gove nments i) Centralization: Local gove nments a e “an extending a m” of the cent al gove nment, and local state agencies only comply ith decisions made by the cent al gove nment Elected bodies act as o gans of state po e in thei espective egions and concu ently as o gans that ep esent local esidents’ ill Administ ative agencies act as the executive o gans of elected bodies at the same levels and as administ ative agencies in the locality The elationship bet een the cent al gove nment and local gove nments is administ atively hie a chical Acco ding to this o ganizational st uctu e, the key entity, befo e hich local gove nments sho accountability, is the cent al gove nment Alte natively, accountability must be enfo ced ithin thei inte nal system of state agencies acco ding to hie a chy ii) eparation of owers: Local gove nments a e t eated as public legal entities hich a e self-gove ning and ope ate in acco dance ith the constitution and la An elected body at local level is esponsible befo e local esidents and befo e the la th ough cou t’s evie Relations bet een local gove nments at diffe ent levels a e not administ atively hie a chical They a e all equal befo e the la Local gove nments a e elatively independent of the cent al gove nment, but they must pe fo m accountability befo e supe io state agencies at equest, fo the pu pose of ensu ing unifo m state management Ho eve , the accountability of local gove nments is limited in te ms of its substance; it aims to enfo ce the cent al gove nment’s cont ol ove local gove nments in o de to achieve the national goals The key entities befo e hich a local gove nment must Def t ePowers Def t ePowers 1Minist y of Justice, Institute of La Science, Nguyen Van Cuong (main autho - 20 5), the National Political Publishing House, pp 33, 34 Minist y o f Justice, Institute of La Science, Nguyen Van Cuong (main autho - 20 5), , the National Political Publishing House, pp 38, oft eCetralGoverme ta dofLocalGoverme ts Vet amatprese t, oft eCetralGoverme ta dofLocalGoverme ts Vet amatprese t 566 PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce pe fo m the accountability a e the local esidents, o o ganizations that ep esent the local esidents; in ce tain ci cumstances, accountability may be pe fo med befo e cou ts in) Devolution: W ithin the same administ ative unit, some esponsibilities must be pe fo med by the local gove nment ithin the unit, and some by the cent al gove nment o the supe io local gove nment Agencies that a e fully confe ed ith ce tain functions f om the cent al gove nment exe cise the functions independently and ep esent the state, in addition to the exe cise of thei local management po e s in the a ea This is in natu e a va iant of deconcent ation As a esult, local gove nments must pe fo m accountability mainly befo e the cent al gove nment, and supe io local gove nments In ou count y, secto -based state management agencies, such as Customs Agencies, Statistics Agencies, T easu ies and State Banks, can be g ouped into the “devolution” patte n In p actice, each count y may apply one o mo e than one of the afo esaid p inciples at its o n disc etion to o k out thei o n state management method, hich eflects the count y’s level of development and democ acy Each p inciple has its o n advantages and disadvantages, and thus should not be absolutized in pe ception and application because each p inciple is good and suitable fo the histo ical ci cumstance of a specific nation and in a specific histo ical pe iod The efo e, in p actice, all the p inciples have been flexibly applied in diffe ent stages, to diffe ent secto s, and f om diffe ent pe spectives of the state management Ho to deal ith the elations bet een the cent al gove nment and local gove nments, as ell as bet een the cent al gove nment and local esidents in the exe cise of the defined po e s is a question o th examining Local gove nments a e al ays fo med on the basis of local esidents and ithin a ce tain te ito y, and exit in a united nation Dealing ith such elations means dealing ith elations bet een local gove nments and the institutions that c eated them This is an impo tant p emise to give ise to the accountability of local gove nment befo e supe io state agencies, thei local esidents and o ganizations that ep esent the local esidents hen they exe cise po e s In Vietnam, defining the po e s of the cent al and local gove nments is based on the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences - Institute of State and La (20 6), Synthesis Repo t of the Ministe ialLevel Resea ch, Organization o f the tate ower in Localities in the Context o f a ocialist Rule-of-Law tate in Vietnam>Vu Thu (lead esea che ), pp 36 Pham Hong Thai (20 ), Decentralization and Delegation o f ower in the tate Management - A Number o f heoretical - ractical and Legal Issues>VNƯ Jou nal of Science, Ju isp udence 27, pp Pham Hong Thai (20 ), Decentralization and Delegation o f ower in the tate Management - A Number of heoretical - ractical and Legal Issues, VNƯ Jou nal of Science, Ju isp udence 27» pp 567 PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce above-mentioned p inciples, of hich deconcent ation plays a key ole, devolution is commonly applied and decent alization is a ely seen o conducted in a scatte ed manne , and autho ization is commonly used unde the di ect and comp ehensive leade ship of the Pa ty It the efo e me its obse ving that the unity of state po e s and the p inciple of democ atic cent alism must be ecognized as a featu e in the establishment of accountability of local gove nment Acco dingly, local gove nments must pe fo m thei accountability befo e supe io state agencies, state agencies at the same level, people, and o ganizations that ep esent them Role a d pos t o o f local over me ts - a le al as for t e accou tab l ty o f local governments 1.3 The p esence of iocal gove nments is a esult of the o ganization of the national te ito y into administ ative units; the administ ative division is an ob ective and egula signofthe stateexe cisingitsunifo m po e and administe ing the subnationalte ito ies Administ ative division is not conducted onỉy in ve y fe nations ith a small te ito y a d a small populat o I stead, suc a at o , stead of us g adm strat ve d v s o , divides up its te ito y and population ith a method of its o n fo the o ganization of the exe cise ofthe state po e and fo the state administ ation 2The o ganization oflocal gove nments depends on a va iety of facto s, including the fo mation of te ito y, hich plays a ve y impo tant and decisive oỉe in the o ganization and ope ational efficiency of local gove nments Subnational entities th oughout the o ld a e fo med based on t o fundamental p inciples: natu al and a tificial A natu al subnational entity is a po tion of a count y that is fo med natu ally When administ ative division is applied, the state must ecognize natu al bounda ies acco ding to cha acte istics of population, geog aphical location, t aditions, habits, cultu e, histo y, etc All of these facto s come togethe to constitute a pe manent community of esidents The state must ecognize this subnational entity in the context of the national te ito ial integ ity, taking into account the aspi ation and ill of the community To so, a local gove nment must consist of bodies elected di ectly o indi ectly by local esidents, in addition to othe must-have management agencies The management must also be self-gove ning and autonomous 1Nguyen Cuu Viet, T uong Dac Linh (20 ), Amending the Constitution: from the Decentralized Management trategy, Jou nal of Ju isp udence, Ho Chi Minh City La Unive sity, pp 2Vietnam Academy o f Social Sciences - Institute of State and La (20 6), Synthesis Repo t of the Ministe ialLevel Resea ch, Organization o f the tate ower in Localities in the Context o f a ocialist Rule-of-Law tate in Vietnam, Vu Thu (lead esea che ), pp 27 PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty state Gover a ce An a tificial subnational entity is a po tion ofa count y that is fo med on the basis of the management o “ uling” needs of the cent al gove nment The management of this subnational entity is o ganized in an administ ative manne , and the efo e, only administ ative agencies a e equi ed to be esponsible fo said management This subnational entity is often called as an incomplete local gove nment in hich officials a e appointed, instead of being elected by local esidents, o in othe o ds, elected bodies a e not equi ed A local gove nment that is established as a natu al subnational entity o a tificial subnational entity is manifested in t o fundamental inte elated fo ms: ) As an entity exe cisingthe state po e at local level, o in othe o ds, local gove nment In the unified state po e elationship, this local gove nment is a constituent st uctu e of po e in the enti e system of state agencies ithin the te ito y of a count y; 2) As an institution that ep esents the inte est, ill and aspi ation oflocal esidents ithin a specific te ito y On this basis, local gove nment is an o ganizational fo m of implementation of democ acy by local esidents ithin a specific te ito y A local gove nment is seen as an entityembodying the state po e and as a self-gove ned entity With its ole and position, local gove nments a e given t o fundamental functions unde domestic la : (i) Pe fo ming the administ ative function at local level, managing the population ithin its defined te ito y, being the focal point in the implementation of la and decisions made by supe io state agencies ithin the a ea unde its management, b inging the state po e into daily local activities, and using the state po e to manage social p ocesses that occu ithin its te ito y As fo its fo m, this function is gua anteed by la and seen th ough specific mandates and esponsibilities, and its implementation is ensu ed by facilities and esou ces p ovided by the state; ( ) Perform g t e represe tat ve fu ct o o be alf of local res de ts, e sur g local inte ests in elation to national inte ests In pe fo ming this function, a local gove nment must be elected by local esidents, and has a specific o ganizational st uctu e, depending on each count y This is cha acte ized mainly by the extent of self-dete mination of local gove nment, hich is seen th ough its self-gove ning, selfcont ol and autonomy As fo its fo m, this function is manifested th ough the cent al gove nment’s delegation of a po tion of its po e to local gove nments as stipulated by the constitution, Acts and othe pieces of legislation Both the cent al gove nment and local gove nments p ovide esou ces to ensu e the pe fo mance of this function Nguyen Dang Dung (20 6), Organic Law on Local overnments, Ha Noi VNƯ Jou nal of Science, Ju isp udence No 3, pp 2,3- 56 PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce To enable the functions of local gove nment to be executed in p actice, it is equi ed that its esponsibilities, duties and po e s, including accountability, be specified by la If it is so stipulated, the accountability of local gove nment shall be pe fo med effectively in p actice In Vietnam, the position, oles, esponsibilities, duties and po e s, including accountability, oflocal gove nments have been stipulated in the 20 Constitution, the 20 O ganic La on Local Gove nments and a numbe of pieces of legislation Acco dingly, a local gove nment consists of the People’s Council and the People’s Committee The People’s Council is a state po e o gan ithin its locality that ep esents the ill, aspi ation and maste ship of the People, is elected by and esponsible befo e local esidents, and is supe vised by supe io state agencies The People’s Council decides local matte s ithin its pu vie as p ovided fo by la ; it conducts ove sight ove the compliance ith the Constitution and la ithin the locality, and ove the implementation of its esolutions Hie People’s Committee is elected by the People’s Council at the same level, is the executive o gan of the People’s Council, is the state administ ative agency ithin its locality, and is esponsible befo e the People’s Council and supe io state administ ative agencies The People’s Committee o ganizes the implementation of the Constitution and la ithin its locality; o ganizes the implementation of the esolutions of the People’s Council and mandates given by supe io state administ ative agencies This is a legal basis that establishes the accountability of local gove nments in Vietnam Acco dingly, the People’s Council as a constituent pa t of a local gove nment must fi st and fo emost pe fo m accountability befo e local esidents and supe io state agencies The People's Committee must pe fo m accountability befo e the People’s Council at the same level and supe io state administ ative agencies In addition, due to the cha acte istics of the political system in Vietnam, the People's Council and the People’s Committee also pe fo m accountability befo e the Vietnam Fathe land F ont Committee, mass o ganizations and the Communist Pa ty’s membe s Accou tab l ty o f local gover me ts: co cept, c aracter st cs a d classification 2.1 Co cept of t e accou tab l ty o f local over me t As fa as te minology is conce ned, the te m “accountability” stems f om, acco ding to some esea che s, the Anglo-No man language (a dialect of F ench that as used in England in the Middle Ages) At the outset, this te m as closely elated to the te m “accounting”in the meaning of “book k e e p in g Fo many centu ies afte a ds, 570 PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce accountability as no longe limited only to accounting o book keeping Instead, it as expanded to be conside ed as the basis fo a fai and impa tial management system in hich esponsibility means not only people’s esponsibility befo e the C o n o the State but also the state esponsibility befo e people In the 80s of the 20thcentu y, in pa allel ith a ne ave of public administ ation in England, accountability as expanded beyond its lite al meaning and became a te m that as used in esea ch and good gove nance p actice Ho eve , the accounting natu e of this te m still existed, that is to say, any pe son ho is autho ized to use esou ces of anothe pe son must be esponsible fo the most efficient use of the esou ces and accountable fo the p og ess, pe fo mance and efficiency of o k befo e the autho izing pe son Due to diffe ent inte p etations of accountability, the e have existed diffe ent unde standings of this te m In a broad sense, accountability is unde stood as the backbone of a democ acy, hich is used fo assessment of the state-citizen elationship Inte national o ganizations, such as WB, EƯ, ADB, etc , often use this kind of unde standing in the development of co-ope ation, especially in public secto efo m In a narrow sense, accountability is const ued as the elationship bet een the policy-making entity (gove nment) and othe stakeholde s (pa liament, people, media o civil society o ganizations) actualized th ough means of communication, ans e ability and assumption of esponsibility2 Acco ding to the Ame ican Gove nment and Politics Dictiona y,3accountability is const ued as: the scope ithin hich a pe son shall be esponsible befo e the supe io - legally o o ganizationally - fo his/he actions in society as a hole o in a specific o ganization Theo etically speaking, elected officials must be esponsible befo e the political sove eignty of vote s In that sense, appointed officials - anging f om a chivists to cabinet sec eta ies - all take less esponsibility than elected officials Appointed officials take esponsibility mainly befo e the inte nal supe viso s in thei o ganizations hile elected officials must take esponsibility befo e all pe sons ho a e ithin the pu vie of thei po e Fo eign esea che s have also o ked out diffe ent app oaches to accountability The e a e t o main ones, as follo s: (i) roactive approach means “sense of self-a a eness” and “p oactive behavio ” Bui Thi Ngoc Mai (20 5), Responsibility o f the Heads of tate Administrative Agencies, Docto al Disse tation on Public Administ ation, pp 33,34 Bui Phuong Dinh, Accountability in anti-corruption - International experience and suggestions fo r Vietnam, Jou nal of Political Science Info mation Ho 3,20 3Dictiona y (2002), American overnment and olitics, National Publishing House, Hanoi, pp 57 PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce acco ding to standa ds, such as cla ity, t anspa ency, sense of esponsibility, p udence, good listening and illingness to act in a t anspa ent, ob ective and fai manne It is mainly used as a standa dized concept, such as mo al standa ds fo assessment of acto ’s behavio The efo e, esea che s of accountability often focus on issues of standa dized natu e and gathe standa ds fo assessment of the conduct of public autho ities, hich is conside ed as a positive o ientation of public o ganizations o public se vants Acco ding to the esea ch “ he lobal Accountability Framework>” accountability is unde stood as a commitment and assumption of esponsibility fo stakeholde s; taking into account thei needs and vie s du ing the decision-making p ocess to explain hy said needs and vie s a e conside ed o not conside ed Acco dingly, accountability is a lea ning p ocess athe than a cont olling mechanism Taking accountability means being open to stakeholde s and committed to have egula dialogues and exchanges This app oach is also dose to the app oach to accountability of inte national o ganizations, such as UNDP and OECD Unde thei app oach, as defined by ADB, accountability p ovides a fo um he e people adve sely affected by ADB-assisted p o ects can voice and seek solutions to thei p oblems, the eby c eating t anspa ency, pa ticipation, t ust and efficiency This confo ms to the vie point of the Public Administ ation P o ect in Vietnam in hich accountability is unde stood as: ( ) “the accountability o f the overnment or a overnmental agency before superior agencies and the publicfor the implementation o f the goals and tasks that have been set out and answered before the public”; (2) “a commitment requiredfor a public servant to assume the responsibility for performing or not performing a work”and (3) “the obligation of the inferior to report theirperformance o f duties to the superior”5 The said app oach mainly ta gets those ho pe fo m accountability in die public secto and is a pa t of the eve -inc easing t end to a ds an imp oved public gove nance, hich ill have a st ong impact on eve y aspect of social life in nations and become a goal fo hich eve y public administ ation st ives Unde this app oach, accountability, ith its elatively la ge scope, implies a sense of positiveness and is Boven ( 88), he Questfor Responsibility: Accountability and Citizenship in Complex Organisation, Camb idge Unive sity P ess 2Ma k Bovens, wo Concepts o fAccountability: Accountability as a Virtue and as a Mechanism Bỉagescu, M, L de Las Casas & R Lloyd (2005), athways to Accountability: he lobal Accountability Framework, One Wo ld T ust, London 4Asian Development Bank (20 2), Accountability Mechanism olicy 5English - F ench - Vietnamese Administ ative Dictiona y ( 7), PAR P o ect - VIE / 2/002, Hanoi 572 PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce a basis fo assessment of the effectiveness and efficiency of a public administ ation, and it also st ongly suggests an image of eliability, honesty, fai ness and sense of esponsibility The sense of “positiveness” of accountability implies diffe ent pe ceptions and inte p etations of this concept, hich make it d to unde stand Accountability has been, ith its t anspa ency and eliability, much used in political and policy discussions Its po e of suggestion also makes accountability an elusive concept because it suggests diffe ent things fo diffe ent pe sons, as esponsible esea che s ill soon find out (ii) assive approach means the obligation of a pe son befo e anothe one Acco dingly, accountability is al ays attached to a specific elation, usually ep esentation o autho ization, in hich the autho ized pe son must explain and p ove thei conduct and is sub ect to the udgment and sanction of the autho izing pe son Accountability is dete mined based on the autho ization of people and the p esentation on behalfofthe state In that sense, people have the ight to kno hat the gove nment has done o ill fo them th ough access to info mation, t anspa ency and public disclosu e of the public administ ation's activities, and th ough the cont ol of po e Unde this app oach, accountability identifies quite clea ly ho shall be esponsible befo e hom, hat must be ans e ed, hat the ights and obligations of pa ties conce ned a e, legal consequences, etc , he eby the fo m of questioning and ans e ing questions is clea ly manifested Accountability is also appa ently seen in eve y specific elation and mainly pe fo med based on autho ization and ep esentation elations In Vietnam, accountabilityis app oachedby esea che s f om diffe ent pe spectives, as ell Pa ticula ly, accountability is much discussed in the cu ent context of antico uption Acco dingly, it is unde stood that state agencies and competent pe sons in state agencies, by themselves o as equested, p ovide in a timely manne sufficient and p ecise info mation on thei ights and obligations, on the pe fo mance of thei assigned functions and duties, and on thei esponsibility fo the pe fo mance esults befo e people, society and elated agencies, o ganizations and individuals As defined Ma k Bovens (2006), ublic Accountability: A framework for the analysis and assessment o f accountability arrangements in the public domain 2Ma k Bovens (2007), Analysing and AssessingAccountability: A Conceptual Framework, Eu opean La Jou nal Adam P ze o ski, Susan c Stokes ( ), Democracy, Accountability, and Representation, Camb idge Unive sity P ess Institute o f Inspecto ate - the Gove nment Inspecto ate (20 5), Implementation o f Accountability in the erformance o f ublic Dutiesfor the revention o f Corruption in Vietnam at present, a ministe ial-level scientific 573 PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce unde the 20 Vietnam Anti-Co uption Initiative (VACI), accountability is the esponsibility ofallagencies, o ganizations and public secto units to p ovide info mation and identify esponsibility in thei decisions and actions to help people and supe viso y agencies unde stand and make assessments F om the pe spective of good gove nance, accountability is at the cente This concept consists of t o constituent elements: a) answerability that equi es public se vants to be ans e able pe iodically fo issues in connection ith ho they have used thei autho ity, fo hat pu pose esou ces have been used and hat esults have been obtained f om the esou ces; and b) assumption of responsibilityfor consequences means demand fo p ediction of possible consequences Follo ing that, acco ding to the autho Nguyễn Hoàng Anh, not only state agencies but also civil society o ganizations and the p ivate secto must be accountable befo e the public and pa tne s As a state activity, accountability is const ued as public autho ities' esponsibility that de ives f om the po e given by people and aims to exe cise the po e fo the people Acco dingly, public autho ities a e obliged to ans e , explain and take esponsibility fo all thei activities Accountability is also mentioned in the pe fo mance of agencies in the state machine y, e g the accountability of state administ ative agencies4 Acco ding to the autho Phạm Duy Nghĩa, accountability in a public administ ation is an att ibute of the pe sons autho ized to pe fo m public duties, acco ding to hich they must explain and take esponsibility fo hat they have done befo e the autho ized pe sons and elated pe sons Accountability is also equi ed fo legislative bodies and thei subo dinate agencies, hich means, in Vietnam, the political and legal esponsibility of the agencies, o ganizations and individuals ho a e held ans e able 6Accountability esea ch led by Nguyen Quoc Hiep Gove nment Inspecto ate, W o ld Bank and othe Dono s, Vietnam Anti-Corruption Initiative rogramme 2014 Chiavo - Campo and P S A Sunda am (2003), o erve and to reserve: Improving ublic Administration in a Competitive World, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, pp 3 Vu Cong Giao, Nguyen Hoang Anh, Đang Minh Tuan, Nguyen Minh Tuan (co-autho s - 20 7), ood overnment - heory and ractice, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, pp 85 4See also: Institute of Legal Science - Minist y of Justice, “Accountability of state administ ative agencies - Some theo etical and p actical issues”, ministe ial-level scientific topic, Chai man Pham Hong Quang, 20 4, p 25 Pham Duy Nghia (20 5), erception o f Accountability in the erformance o f ublic Duties, Thematic Repo t of the Ministe ial-level Resea ch: Accountability in the Pe fo mance of Public Duties fo the P evention of Co uption in Vietnam, Institute of Inspecto ate, Gove nment Inspecto ate, pp 6National Assembly Standing Committee, Institution of Legislative Studies (20 4), Repo t of the Results of the Ministe ial-Level Resea ch, heoretical and ractical Basesfor Developing and Improving Laws and Regulations on Reporting and Answering before the Council on Ethnicities and the Committees o f the National Assembly in Our Country at resent, Đinh Xuân hảo (lead researcher) 57 PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce is also equi ed fo udicial bodies, acco ding to hich cou ts play an impo tant ole in ensu ing the accountability of state agencies and public se vants and a e also equi ed to pe fo m thei accountability Acco ding to the rovincial overnance and ublic Administration Index (PAPI) esea ch in Vietnam, accountability is d-to-explain concept because it can be inte p eted and t anslated in diffe ent ays, and it is ve y difficult to say ho accountability is pe fo med In sho t, accountability basically means that i t p ovides people, the state, and non-state agencies ith a legal f ame o k and a mechanism to compel state agencies and officials to be ans e able fo hat they and hat they fail to in the cou se of pe foming thei official duties2 F om a legal pe spective, accountabibility is add essed in Vietnam in difffe ent aspects and at diffe ent levels On the basis of the analysis of the p ovisions on the accountability of agencies in the 20 Constitution, esea che s affi med that the accountability of constitutionally-stipulated agencies is the constitutional obligation of state agencies to epo t and ans e clea ly issues and decisions ithin thei competence befo e people and those ho have the constitutional po e of supe vision 3F om the pe spective of substantive la , accountability is mainly unde stood as the obligation to explain at equest the pe fo mance of duties, official duties o issues in connection ith the management esposibility Acco dingly, accountability is mainly of ‘passive’ natu e ~ ans e ing hen equested Ho eve , accountability is conceptualized in a b oade sense in p actice It is even pe fo med in the absence of equest, fo the pu pose of seeking suppo t, unde standing the issue at hand, o achieving a consensus ag eement on hat has been o ill be done ithin the legally-p esc ibed esponsibility and duties, the eby gua anteeing the feasiblity of decisions o tasks in eality4 Acco ding to some esea che s, f om the legal and u isp udential pe spective, the e hasn’t been a unifo m concept of accountability Dec ee No 0/2003/ND-CP, dated August 20 3, does not p ovide a full definition of accountability but ust a La Khanh Tung (20 7), roceedings o f the eminar: Modern tate overnance: heoretical and ractical Issues, Ha Noi VNƯ School of La , pp 70-80 2Cente fo Community Suppo t and Development Study, Cente fo T aining of Officials and Scientific Studies, Vietnam Fathe land F ont Committee and the United Nations Development P og amme, Report o f rovincial overnance and ublic Administration Index (PAPI) 20 , pp 32 Ha Thi Mai Hien (20 4), Fundamental Contents o f the 2013 Constitution (Amended) on the Accountability of Constitutionally- tipulated Agencies and Orientation for Implementation>Jou nal of State and La , Issue 6, pp 22-28 4Dinh Van Minh (20 2), Discussion on Accountability, http://thanhtra edu vn/category [accessed on 12/01/2018 575 PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce full definition of ans e ability, in hich accountability is mainly unde stood as ans e ability at equest fo the pe fo mance of duties, official duties o issues in connection ith the management esponsibility It is ho eve noted that in ce tain ci cumstances, ans e ability means not only responsibility but also the right of a pe son to voice, speak o explain the ightness and legitimacy of hat he/she has done Thus, accountability must be fi st of all based on the esponsible pe son’s ‘need’ to be ans e able, instead of the statuto y equi ements Although accountability hasn’t been clea ly defined, it can be> f om a bi d’s eye vie of the Dec ee, const ued as assumption o f responsibility th ough the Dec ee’s p ovisions on handling of violations of la p ovisions on accoutability Fo example, if a public official o public se vant o the head of a state agency fails to st ictly comply ith la p ovisions on pe fo mance of accountability, he/she shall be, depending on the natu e and extent of the failu e, handled in acco dance ith the public se vant la Acco dingly, in Vietnam, accountability no coincides ith the ans e eablity of public se vants fo thei pe fo mance of duties, public duties o issues in connection ith thei management esponsibility hen they a e equested to so In summa y, the te m “accountability” can be app oached f om diffe ent pe spectives and aspects and in diffe ent fields Th ough analysis of app oaches to accountability, it can be seen that accountability emb aces a numbe of fundamental concepts: First, as far as its coverage is concerned, accountability is seen in both the public secto and the p ivate secto (i e co po ate accountability, the accountability of unive sities, the accountability of the p ivate secto , etc ) In a b oad sense, accountability is not only the state esponsibility befo e society but also the esponsibility of egulato s befo e beneficia ies/ egulated pe sons at la ge econd, as fo r performance o f accountability, the e a e th ee main pe ceptions: (i) accountability embodies the sense of self-a a eness and p oactiveness of accountable entities; (ii) accountability is the obligation of a pe son befo e anothe one; (iii) accountability embodies both the sense of self-a a eness and the obligation of pe sons conce ned No Luu Kiem Anh, Le Thi Huong (20 6), Accountability in the ublic ector in Vietnam, Jou nal of State Management, Issue 245, pp 30-34 2Gove nment, Dec ee 0/20 3/NĐ-CP stipulating the Accountability of State Agencies in Thei Pe fo mance of the Assigned Po e s and Duties Pham Thi Ly (20 2), University Autonomy and Accountability: Relationship Among the tate, Universities and ociety, Jou nal o f Science and Technology Development, Volume 5, Issue Phan Thi Thanh Thuy (20 8), Accountability in Corporate overnance in Vietnam:from heory to ractice, Jou nal of Legislative Studies, Issue ,pp 23,25 57 PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP Ope ess> Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce matte ho accountability is pe ceived, it al ays implies obligation and esponsibility to p ovide info mation, explain and ans e publicly and t anspa ently, togethe ith assumption of esponsibility fo assigned duties and po e s hird, accountability is elated to hat people and autho izing pe sons expect about the autho ized pe sons’ ability to take esponsibilty; autho ization is ays accompanied by accountability In othe o ds, accountability is an attribute o f the authorizingperson in the sense that the autho ized pe son must t eat his/he accountability as an obligato y esponsibility in the cou se of exe cising the g anted autho ity o po e The efo e, accountability ans e s the question of ho pe fo ms the accountability, ho needs to be ans e ed, and hat the consequence is due to non-pe fo mance of o failu e to fully pe fo m the duties Fourth, as a state activity, accountability is conside ed a method to cont ol state po e , the eby cont ibuting to p ediction of possible actions and consequences, and to att ibution of esponsibility Accountability does not mean aiting fo the consequence to come to identify esponsibility Instead, in the cou se of pe fo mance of the autho ized po e , the autho ized pe son must pe fo m accountability to help the autho izing pe son cont ol and p event possible misconduct in a timely manne , and if the consequence occu s, the autho ized pe son must be held liable By doing so, it enables the cont ol of the po e given by people to the state in the cou se of pe fo mance of official duties and ove comes the consequences Accountability, as app oached f om diffe ent pe spectives, has p oven its dive sity, and have evealed its va ied fo ms As a state activity, accountability has become inc easingly common in not only the cent al gove nment but also locai gove nments It al ays comes togethe ith equi ements on t anspa ency, openness and ule o f la in the state machine y, and being a method to cont ol the state po e Since accountablity has become inc easingly common in a numbe of fields and issues, this has esulted in semantic confusion of the te m, hich can be solved by avoiding conceptual st eching/ It is noted that at the outset, accountability as, acco ding to some esea che s, conceptualized as a catego y of mo ality and politics; it is no conside ed as a legal responsibility that has been fu the specified by domestic la The e is someho a common vie bet een Vietnam’s app oaches to accountability and those eflected in the esea ch o f fo eign schola s Ho eve , accountability acco ding to Vietnams5app oaches is mainly seen as the esponsibility of state agencies, public officials and public se vants, especially the esponsibility of Staffan I Lindbe g (200 ), Accountability: the core concept and its subtypes 577 PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce the heads of state agencies to ans e and explain about thei pe fo mance of official duties o issues in connection ith thei management esponsibility hen they are requested to ảo so If accountability is only seen as the legal esponsibility of state agencies, public officials and public se vants to diffe ent extents, its dive sity and va iety ill not be ell eflected theo etically and p actically It is also noted that the te m of accountability has t o implications: (i) the esponsibility to report, present, and explain an issue/sub ect that falls ithin the duties and po e s of a ce tain pe son; (ii) identifying the esponsibility (sense of esponsibility) of a pe son fo the epo ted, p esented, and explained issue/sub ect ithin the pu vie of that pe son’s duties and po e s It is also pe ceived that these t o implications a e unified as a hole and cannot be vie ed sepa ately because accountability means a combination of t o elements, namely ans e ability and esponsibility The full meaning of assumption of responsibility ill not be obtained if the esponsibility is g oundless - assumption of esponsibility must be based on accountability, and a pe son’s esponsibility ill be identified th ough accountability On the cont a y, ifaccountability does not come ith eithe assumption of esponsibility o sanction, it ill become mo e o less a defense, by hich the esponsible pe son is not legally bound Accountability is an att ibute of autho ization and the key point of this concept the efo e evolves a ound the follo ing matte s: ho identifies the esponsibility; ho to identify the esponsibility; hat to next afte the identification; hat type of accountability is identified: political, administ ative, legal o p ofessional Ans e ing these questions depends much on the a a eness and app oach of esea che s and the existence, development and change of this concept itself unde this app oach In othe o ds, the concept of accountability changes acco ding to the change of social a a eness The autho ag ees ith the vie point of some esea che s saying that as a state activity, accountability is the responsibility ofpublic authorities that have received the powerfrom people and set goalsfor exercising the powerfor the people, and they are also answerable and liable for all their activities In other words, accountability is understood as state agencies providing, explaining and clarifying information o f the performance o f their assigned duties and powers, and take the responsibilityfor the performance Local gove nment is a concept that is unde stood in diffe ent ays Ho eve , the e is someho a common vie of this concept among esea che s and p actitione s that a local gove nment is established by election o appointment ithin the locality fo the pu pose of managing o k in the locality In its idest sense, local gove nment 578 PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce is a te m used to indicate state institutions that a e vested ith public po e and established constitutionally and legally to manage all economic, political, cultu al and social aspects of a subnational entity of a count y Local gove nments a e a constituent pa t of the unifo m state machine y, hich is established by local esidents and vested ith po e unde the autho ization of local esidents to conduct the state management of all aspects of social life ithin the locality The autho , ith his esea ch pu pose set, concu ed ith the vie point that in Vietnam, a local government is construed as a co st tue t p a r t o f t e u form adm over m e t, clud represe tat ve a e c es a d strat ve a e c es t a t are elected by local res de ts (d rectly or perform t e state m a a em e tfu ct o w t a def ed adm d rectly) to strat ve terr tory With the above analyses of the concepts of accountability and local gove nment in Vietnam, the accountability of local gove nment can be gene ally conceptualized as follo s: he accountability of local government is the responsibility o f local public aut or t es to prov de, expla a d clar fy format o o f t e r perform a ce o f t e assigned duties and powers, and the assumption of responsibilityfor the performance 2 Characteristics o f the accountability o f local government First, the accountability of local gove nment is pe fo med by local competent state agencies, hich a e established by the state and assigned ith ce tain duties and po e s in acco dance ith la These agencies a e no mally elected bodies and administ ative agencies Ho eve , each count y has its o n system of such agencies, o even have diffe ent systems in diffe ent histo ical pe iods Hie accountability of local gove nment is also pe fo med by local state agencies themselves acco ding to thei inte nal ans e ability mechanism In Vietnam, the accountability of local gove nment is pe fo med th ough legally-p esc ibed entities: People’s Councils and People's Committees at all levels, subo dinate agencies of the local gove nment and competent pe sons econd, entities, to hich of the abovementioned entities local gove nment must be accountable va ies depending on the “local” natu e, and on the elations of the accountable entities, that is to say, supe io state agencies, state agencies at the same levels, political o ganizations, social o ganizations, udicial bodies, media agencies and local esidents Gene ally speaking, local gove nment must be accountable to Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences - State Institute of La , Synthesis Repo t of ministe ial-level scientific topics, local state po e o ganizations in the socialist la -gove ned state o f Vietnam Vu Thu is the Chai man, 20 57 PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce _ agencies that have the autho ity to equest p ovision of info mation, explanation o cla ification, o to aise questions and equest fo epo ting of the local gove nment’s activities hird> the accountability of local gove nment must cove issues/sub ects in connection ith pe fo mance of functions, duties and po e s assigned to the local gove nment It is actually the local gove nment’s pe fo mance of its functions, duties and po e s and the esult the eof in acco dance ith la Fourth, the accountability of local gove nment is pe fo med in diffe ent ays, such as epo ting, questioning, supe vision, explanation, inspection, examination, complaining, denunciation, dialogue, p ess confe ence, p ovision of info mation Acco dingly, local gove nment may pe fo m thei accountability in iting o ve bally, depending on ay of pe fo ming the accountability 2.3 Class f cat o o f t e accou tab l ty o f local over me t The e a e diffe ent methods ofclassifying the accountability oflocal gove nment, because the classification depends on the local gove nment’s app oach and a a eness, and especially on the pu pose of the classification, hich is based on diffe ent c ite ia On the othe hand, given the fact that accountability itself is d-to-comp ehend concept hich is app oached in a va iety of diffe ent ays, the classification should take into account the follo ing: (i) the e is no pe fect classification that manifests all aspects of accountability Each app oach to the classification has its o n impo tance to the pu pose of the classification as equi ed by esea che s, and it is impo tant fo the classification to ans e die question of hat p oblem it aims to deal ith; (ii) as an att ibute of the autho ized pe son, accountability cannot, by vi tue of its natu e, be divided and sepa ated The classification actually means diffe ent vie s of the same phenomenon, and types of accountability should not be t eated as diffe ent and independent of each othe Ho eve , to fully unde stand and effectively use OECD (20 4), http:// oecd-ilib a y o g, accountability includes types: ve tical accountability and ho izontal accountability; Wo ld Bank and Dono s (20 0), Vietnam Development Bank 2010: Modern Institutions, defining: (i) accountability fo compliance; (ii) accountability fo pe fo mance esults; Jabb a, J G and D ivedi, B uce Stone, o p D ivedi ( ), ublic ervice Accountability: A Comparative erspective, Kuma ian P ess, Ha tfo d, CT, accountability is classified into types: ethical accountability, administ ative accountability, management accountability, ma ket accountability, udicial accountability, accountability befo e vote s, and p ofessional accountability; Pham Duy Nghia (20 5), erception o fAccountability in the erformance o f ublic Dutiesy Thematic Repo t of the Ministe ial-level Resea ch: Accountability in the Pe fo mance of Public Duties fo the P evention of Co uption in Vietnam, accountability is classified into: (i) political accountability, (ii) administ ative accountability, (iii) p ofessional accountability, and (iv) accountability befo e society 580 PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP _ Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce accountability in agencies/o ganizations, it should be classified fo the pu pose of identifying it to the fullest extent; (iii) A p ope classification of accountability depends on ho to identify the main elationship in its pe fo mance: ho shall be accountable (the pe son pe fo ming accountability) and to hom accountability is pe fo med (the pe son equesting accountability), and fo hat pu pose accountability is pe fo med If a elationship bet een the pe sons conce ned is clea ly and p ecisely identified, it ill be an impo tant basis fo establishing p ope accountability channels and manifesting to the fullest extent all aspect of accountability in that elationship In that sense and ith his esea ch, the autho is of the opinion that it is app op iate to classify accountability o f local gove nment in the follo ing ays and acco ding to the follo ing c ite ia: According to whoperforms the accountability:Local gove nments a e o ganized in diffe ent fo ms, depending on nations Each nation has its o n administ ative te ito ial units, hich may be even o ganized diffe ently, depending on that nation’s histo ical pe iods Given that local gove nment is established as a public autho ity in localites, pe fo ms its functions as the ep esentatives of the cent al gove nment and ep esents die ill of local esidents, the accountability of local gove nment can be classified as follo s: (i) Accountability o f local elected bodies: Itis equi ed befo e vote s in the a ea he e the bodies a e established, and is the most impo tant esponsibility of elected bodies In addition, local elected bodies a e also accountable to supe io state agencies, and the scope and levels of accountability depend on ho to define die po e s of the cent al gove nment and of local gove nments The mo e self-gove ning local gove nments a e, the less accountable they a e befo e the cent al gove nment - instead local gove nments a e mainly accountable to local esidents; (it) he accountability o f local administrative agencies: Local administ ative agencies may be established in diffe ent ays: they a e established by the elected bodies at the same levels, o thei heads a e eithe elected di ectly by vote s o appointed by the supe io state agencies In gene al, local administ ative agencies a e established to pe fo m the state management function in thei specific locality, and they must be the efo e accountable to thei di ectly supe io state agencies, the elected bodies at the same levels that have appointed them, highe specialized state agencies and othe local institutions, in the pe fo mance ofthei functions, duties and in the exe cising of thei po e s "According to the nature o faccountability: Accountability can be classified into: (i) olitical accountability: It is fi st and fo emost the accountability o f individuals 58 PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce holding a local political post befo e the Pa ty’s o ganizations that have selected and , T*> " V* liuillllia icu uiclii i l l a Ư1uauc i can c a o /'/'/-» •> » tí » Ị" » ìlỊf t i i / 'l l l i 'I p Q ofciioC, liiiữ ttvCv/UiilaL/iiii.y iiiviUUvB Uiv “ía