The Government issued Decree No. 156/2026/ND-CP amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 31/2019/ND-CP detailing a number of articles and measures to organize the implementation of the Law on Denunciation.
Decree No. 156/2026/ND-CP amends and supplements Article 4 of Decree No. 31/2019/ND-CP stipulating the withdrawal of denunciations.
According to new regulations, the denunciation withdrawal form must clearly state the date, month, year, full name and address of the denunciator withdrawing the denunciation, contact method, content of the denunciation withdrawn, and have the signature or fingerprint of the denunciator withdrawing the denunciation.
Minutes recording opinions withdrawing denunciations must have the signature or fingerprint of the denunciator withdrawing the denunciation.
In case many people jointly denounce and one or more or all denouncers withdraw the denunciation, the withdrawal of the denunciation shall be carried out according to the above regulations.
In case the complainant withdraws the complaint, the complaint settler must still continue to settle the complaint if, after reviewing the dossiers, documents, and information collected, it is found that the case has one of the following grounds:
- The accused act shows signs of violating the law;
- There are grounds to determine that the withdrawal of the denunciation was carried out by the denunciator being threatened, coerced, or bribed;
- There are grounds to determine that the complainant has taken advantage of the denunciation to slander, insult, and cause damage to the accused.
The Decree also amends and supplements Article 21 stipulating the principles of disciplinary action against cadres, civil servants, and public employees who violate the law on denunciation as follows:
The person resolving the denunciation, the person verifying the content of the denunciation, the person receiving the denunciation and the denunciator who is an official, civil servant, public employee who has committed acts violating the law on denunciation shall be disciplined according to the nature and severity of the violation according to the provisions of law and the provisions of Article 22, Article 23 of this Decree or prosecuted for criminal liability.
In case of causing damage, compensation must be made according to the provisions of law on state compensation responsibility.
The Decree also amends and supplements Article 23 on disciplinary action against whistleblowers who are cadres, civil servants, and public employees as follows:
1. The form of disciplinary reprimand applies to the complainant when there is one of the following acts:
a) Knowing clearly that the accusation is not true but still reporting it;
b) Knowing that the case has been resolved by agencies and competent persons in accordance with policies and laws but still reporting without evidence to prove the content of the report;
c) Attracting, inciting, and seducing others to falsely accuse.
2. The form of disciplinary warning applies to the complainant when there is one of the following acts:
a) Having been disciplined in the form of reprimand as prescribed in section 1 and re-offending;
b) Coercing, bribing others to falsely accuse;
c) Using the full name of another person to denounce except for the cases specified in point b, section 3 below.
3. The form of dismissal discipline applies to whistleblowers holding leadership and management positions when they have one of the following acts:
a) Having been disciplined in the form of a warning as prescribed in section 2 above and re-offending;
b) Using the full name of another person to denounce affecting the normal operation of agencies, organizations, units or causing internal disunity.
The Decree takes effect from July 1, 2026.
