Is drinking that causes public disorder affecting others considered an administrative violation and subject to fines in Vietnam? Does the chairman of the commune-level People's Committee in Vietnam have the authority to sanction cases of drinking that cau (2024)

Is drinking that causes public disorder affecting others considered an administrative violation and subject to fines in Vietnam?

Causing public disorder is understood as losing the inherent tranquility and stability in public places, adversely affecting security, social order and safety.

According to Clause 2, Article 7 of Decree 144/2021/ND-CP, the act of using alcohol and beer to cause public disorder is considered one of the violations of regulations on public order and is subject to administrative sanctions in Vietnam.

Specifically specified in Clause 2 Article 7 of Decree 144/2021/ND-CP as follows:

Article 7. Violations against regulations on public order in Vietnam

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2. A fine ranging from 1.000.000 VND to 2.000.000 VND shall be imposed for any of the following violations:

a) Using alcohol or stimulants in a manner that disrupts public order in Vietnam;

b) Assembling, joining a crowd in a public area in a manner that disrupts public order in Vietnam;

c) Allowing a domestic animal to cause injuries or damage to property of another organization or individual but not liable to criminal prosecution;

d) Flying kites, balloons, playing other flying toys in an area where they are banned or in a protected area;

dd) Using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or an ultralight aircraft without a flight license, or organizing flights before having the license or after having been registered but the permitted time, location, area, coordinates and limits are not adhered to;

e) Obstructing, harassing another person during handling, transport, storage of luggage at a market, wharf, bus station, airport, port, train station or another public area;

g) Lighting and launching sky lanterns;

h) Failure to have adequate documents while operating an UAV or ultralight aircraft;

i) Organizing flights of an UAV or ultralight aircraft while the operator has not fulfilled flight requirements;

k) Organizing flights of an UAV or ultralight aircraft while the UAV or ultralight aircraft is not flight-qualified;

l) Spraying paint, writing, drawing, sticking images or text on a wall, utility pole or another place in a residential area, public area, apartment building, a citizen's residence or another construction work without permission of a competent authority.

In many cases, if the time of gathering for drinking and causing public disorder occurs after 22 hours to before 06 am the next morning, those who participate in disorderly drinking will be warned or fined from 500,000 VND to 1,000,000 VND as prescribed in Clause 1 Article 8 of Decree 144/2021/ND-CP.

Vietnam: In case drinking causes public disorder, does the chairman of the commune-level People's Committee have the authority to sanction it?

Does the chairman of the commune-level People's Committee in Vietnam have the authority to sanction cases of drinking that cause public disorder?

Pursuant to Clause 1, Article 68 of Decree 144/2021/ND-CP stipulates as follows:

Article 68. Power to impose penalties of the Chairpersons of the People’s Committees at all levels:

1. Chairperson of the People’s Committee of commune shall have the power to:

a) Issue warnings;

b) Impose a fine up to VND 3.000.000 for administrative violation against regulations on domestic violence prevention; up to VND 4.000.000 for the administrative violation against regulations on social security, order and safety; up to VND 5.000.000 for the administrative violation against regulations on fire prevention and fighting, rescue and social evil prevention;

c) Confiscate any exhibit or mean which has been used for committing administrative violation if its value is not 02 times as high as the fine specified in Point b of this Clause

d) Impose the remedial measures specified in Points a and c Clause 1 Article 28 of the Law on penalties for administrative violations.

Accordingly, the chairman of the commune-level People's Committee has the authority to impose fines of up to VND 4 million for violations in the field of security and order.

According to the content mentioned above, the act of gathering to drink on Tet causing public disorder will be fined from 1 million VND to 2 million VND.

Therefore, the chairman of the commune-level People's Committee will have the authority to impose administrative sanctions in Vietnam for gatherings to drink on Tet causing public disorder.

What is the maximum penalty for violations in the field of security and order in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Clause 1, Article 4 of Decree 144/2021/ND-CP on stipulating the maximum fine as follows:

Article 4. Maximum fines, organizations incurring administrative penalties

1. The maximum fine for a domestic violence-related offence shall be 30.000.000 VND if imposed upon an individual, 60.000.000 VND if imposed upon an organization; the maximum fine for an offence against regulations on social security and order shall be 40.000.000 VND if imposed upon an individual, 80.000.000 VND if imposed upon an organization; the maximum fine for an offence against regulations on fire prevention, firefighting and rescue shall be 50.000.000 VND if imposed upon an individual, 100.000.000 VND if imposed upon an organization; the maximum fine for an offence against regulations on social evils shall be 75.000.000 VND if imposed upon an individual, 150.000.000 VND if imposed upon an organization.

According to the above provisions, the maximum fines for violations in the field of security and order are determined as follows:

- For individuals: VND 40,000,000;

- For organizations: 80,000,000 VND.