The Government has just issued Decree No. 234/2026/ND-CP regulating the handling of civil servant discipline. This Decree takes effect from July 1, 2026.
The Decree stipulates the disciplinary forms for public employees including: Reprimand; Warning; Dismissal, applicable to management public employees; Forced dismissal.
Officials disciplined by one of the above-mentioned forms are also restricted from performing professional activities according to the provisions of relevant laws.
The Decree stipulates the violations (HVVP) subject to disciplinary action, including: Civil servants with HVVP regulations of the Party and laws related to the performance of tasks according to job positions; regulations on the obligations of civil servants; things that civil servants are not allowed to do; violations of professional ethics, communication culture at the office, communication with the People; violations of internal regulations and rules of agencies, organizations, and units.
The level of HVVP is determined as follows:
Violations causing less serious consequences are violations of a nature and level of harm not large, impacting within the internal scope, affecting the prestige of agencies, organizations, and working units.
Violations causing serious consequences are violations of a large nature, level, and harmful nature, affecting outside the internal scope, causing bad public opinion among officials and people, and reducing the prestige of agencies, organizations, and working units.
Violations causing very serious consequences are violations of a very large nature, extent, and harmful scope, affecting the whole society, causing public outrage among officials and people, and losing the prestige of agencies, organizations, and working units.
The Decree requires that disciplinary action must ensure the principles of objectivity, fairness; publicity, strictness; accuracy, timeliness; and proper authority, order, and procedures.
Each HVVP is only handled once by one disciplinary form. When considering disciplinary action at the same time, if the public employee has two or more HVVPs, consider and conclude each HVVP and make a general decision by the highest disciplinary form; do not separate each violation to enforce different disciplinary forms and multiple disciplinary actions.
When considering disciplinary action, it must be based on the content, motive, nature, severity, consequences, causes of violations, specific circumstances; aggravating and mitigating circumstances; attitude of receiving and correcting; results of overcoming shortcomings, violations, and consequences.
Do not apply administrative sanctions instead of administrative discipline; administrative discipline does not replace criminal prosecution, if HVVP reaches the level of being criminally handled.
Officials who are disciplined by the Party, within 30 days from the date of announcing the Party disciplinary decision, agencies, organizations, and units must be administratively disciplined, except in cases where disciplinary action has not been considered according to regulations.
The form of administrative discipline must be commensurate with Party discipline.
In case of being disciplined by the Party in the form of dismissal but the public employee does not hold a management position, the advisory body on organization and cadres shall report to competent authorities for disciplinary action to consider and decide on administrative disciplinary action in the form of warning.
Strictly prohibit all acts of infringing upon the body, spirit, honor, and dignity during disciplinary action.
