¹ Budanov, A. G., Gosudarstvennyi stroi Demokraticheskoi Respubliki Vietnam (State Structure of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam) (Moscow: 1958), p. 29Google Scholar. Actually, however, there is much doubt as to how extensive this network of organs really was. That it was certainly much more limited than Viet-Minh sources like to claim that it was, hardly seems open to question.

² Ibid.

³ Merzlyakov, N. S., “Gosudarstvennoe stroitelstvo v Demokraticheskoi Respublike Vietnam” (“State Organisation in the Democratic Republic of Vietnam”), in 15 let Demokraticheskoi Respubliki Vietnam (15 Years of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam) (Moscow: 1960), p. 35.Google Scholar

⁴ Journal Officiel de la République Democratique du Viet-Nam, No. 11, 11 30, 1945Google Scholar; Arturov, O. A. (ed.), Demokraticheskaya Respublika Vietnam, Konstitutsiya, zakonodatelnye akty, dokumenty (Democratic Republic of Vietnam, Constitution, Legislative Acts, Documents) (Moscow: 1955), pp. 70–101.Google Scholar

⁵ Budanov, A. G., op. cit., p. 61Google Scholar. According to Shiger, A. G., Administrativno-territorialnoe delenie zarubezhnykh stran (Administrative-Territorial Division of Foreign States) (2nd ed., Moscow: 1957), p. 114Google Scholar, however, the number of provinces in Vietnam totalled 68. The area of the three regions is given, respectively, as 115,700, 149,800 and 64,100 square kms., and their population (1951 estimate) as roughly 9, 7 and 6 million.

⁶ With regard to both village and provincial assemblies, the precise quota of deputies for a given council was specially determined by the Minister of the Interior in proportion to the number of its constituents, and, in the case of provincial elections, the number of delegates to be chosen from each of the subordinate districts or municipalities was similarly established by the administrative committee of the respective region.

⁷ In order to be inscribed on the village electoral roll a new arrival immediately had to inform the village executive committee of his desire to select this village as a permanent place of residence.

⁸ With the proviso that the first group of deputies to be elected would serve for one year only.

⁹ It is true, however, that these tactics may also, in the long run, have had some adverse effect on work and even morale, as has been well pointed out by Fall, B., The Viet-Minh Régime, Government and Administration in the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (rev. ed., New York: 1956), p. 30Google Scholar, and “Local Administration under the Viet Minh,” Pacific Affairs, 1954, No. 1, p. 57.Google Scholar

¹⁰ The right to repeal a local ordinance and to reprimand was vested, respectively, in the corresponding administrative committee of the district or region. Village assemblies could be suspended by their respective provincial committee and in the case of provincial councils, the administrative committee of the higher region could petition the government to dissolve the assembly in question.

Upon the dissolution of a village or provincial council for any of the above reasons, provisions were made for the outright appointment by the provincial or regional executive, respectively, the first at the instance of the district committee, the second on its own, of, correspondingly, a provisional village council of five members selected from among the local voters or a provisional provincial council of three, to function in lieu of both the liquidated plenary council and its executive arm. If, as of the date such a step became necessary more than six months still remained before the next regular elections became due, the temporary body was charged with calling special elections within ten days of assuming office, otherwise it continued to function until regular elections were conducted.

¹¹ The village executive—by the provincial committee; the district and provincial—by the regional; and the regional—by the Council of Ministers.

Should a deputy to a newly constituted committee fail to secure the endorsement of the reviewing agency, another election was held to fill that seat, but if the same candidate was again successful, which, of course, was most unlikely, higher approval then had to be bestowed on him automatically.

¹² With the reservation, however that all committees elected for the first time would serve for one year only.

¹³ But the individual members of a village or regional committee thus disbanded continued to occupy their seat on the council itself for the rest of the term, as did too district or regional committeemen if they happened concurrently to be deputies to a subordinate provincial or village council, respectively.

¹⁴ In the case of a village or provincial executive, the superior district or regional committee could propose to the corresponding council to intervene, and, should that fail, it could then petition the provincial committee or the Cabinet, respectively, to dismiss the dissident body. In the case of district or regional committees, the corresponding provincial executive or the Minister of the Interior suggested to the regional authorities or the central government, respectively, to adjourn the insubordinate organ sine die.

In such instances, the members of the dissolved executive automatically lost their personal seat on the council as well, where they occupied one.

¹⁵ The provincial executive vis-à-vis village and district executive personnel; the regional executive with regard to provincial executive cadres; and the Minister of the Interior in the case of regional committeemen.

¹⁶ An individual so recalled automatically lost his office of councilman too and was, moreover, further liable to legal prosecution if the offence was of a criminal nature.

Where an administrative committee had been dissolved for any of the above reasons, the next higher executive body was obliged to convene the corresponding council, or the subordinate territorial councils in the case of district or regional committees, for new committee elections, within a five-day period in the villages and provinces, without delay in the other two tiers of administration. In the case of recall of individual members of an executive organ, they were to be replaced by alternates.

¹⁷ Thus, the district executive had to sanction all policies of a subordinate village assembly touching on the renting or leasing of immovable property for more than three years, changing the allocation of real property, envisaging construction, repair and widening of streets, roads and parks or ordering the opening or closing of markets. Provincial commitees, in turn, were required to confirm all decisions of lower village councils if they foresaw: the sale, grant or exchange of communal immovable property; the purchase of communal immovable property, the construction and repair of buildings, bridges, paved roads, etc., where such expenditures were not covered by the village budget and had to be financed through loans, the drafting of the village budget, the imposition of special taxes and contracting for loans, the assessment of the size of local taxes entrusted to their collection, the permission of independent management in enterprises of public purpose or private participation therein.

For provincial councils, regional ratification had to be obtained for any action involving the acceptance of gifts or inheritances encumbered with liens, the purchase, sale or exchange of public property, the filing of a civil suit or appearance as a respondent in any such proceedings, and the issuance of regulations for civil servants. The Cabinet's approval had to be sought before adopting the provincial budget, contracting for a loan, establishing additional interest on taxes in excess of established rates, determining public works projects and assessing the size of special taxes entrusted to local collection.

Negative rulings could be appealed once to the next higher committee.

¹⁸ Budanov, A. G., op. cit., p. 83.Google Scholar

¹⁹ Fall, B., The Viet-Minh Régime, p. 25.Google Scholar

²⁰ Arturov, O. A. (ed.), op. cit., pp. 17–32Google Scholar; Fall, B., op. cit., pp. 156–164Google Scholar; Durdenevskii, V. N. (ed.), Konstitutsii stran narodnoi demokratii (Constitutions of the Countries of People's Democracy) (Moscow: 1958), pp. 95–112.Google Scholar

²¹ Budanov, A. G., op. cit., p. 30.Google Scholar

²² Loc, Nguyen Dinh (transliteration from, the Russian), ‘Izbiratelnyi zakon Demokraticheskoi Respubliki Vietnam’ (‘Electoral Law of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam’), Sovetskoe gasudarstvo i pravo, 1961, No. 1, p. 83.Google Scholar

²³ On the literacy test, Shchetinin, B. V., “Predstavitelnaya sistema v narodno-demo-kraticheskikh gosudaistvakh Azii” (“Representative System in the People's Democratic States of Asia”), Sovetskoe gosudarstvo i pravo, 1955, No. 2, pp. 35–36Google Scholar, simply claims, however, that “this limitation pursues the objective of ensuring the most experienced staff of deputies in the representative organs of power. With the liquidation of illiteracy among the population it will lose its significance.”

²⁴ Bndanov, A. G., op. cit., p. 84.Google Scholar

²⁵ “TO the People's Committees of North, Central and South Vietnam, to the People's Committees of Provinces, Districts and Villages,” in Minh, Ho Chi, Izbrannye statii i rechi (Selected Articles and Speeches) (Moscow: 1959), pp. 174–176.Google Scholar

²⁶ Ibid., pp. 195–196.

²⁷ Budanov, A. G., op. cit., p. 29Google Scholar; La République Démocratique du Viet-Nam (Hanoi: 1960), p. 44Google Scholar. See also the speech by Van Dong, Pham in Third National Congress of The Viet Nam Workers' Party (Hanoi: 1961), Vol. III, p. 71.Google Scholar

²⁸ Budanov, A. G., op. cit., p. 86Google Scholar; La République Démocratique du Viet-Nam, p. 44.Google Scholar

²⁹ Budanov, A. G., op. cit., pp. 61, 86–87Google Scholar; Merzlyakov, N. S., op. cit., p. 51Google Scholar; Fall, B., Le Viet-Minh, La République Démocratique du Viet-Nam 1945–1960 (Paris: 1960), p. 62.Google Scholar

³⁰ Arturov, O. A. (ed.), op. cit., pp. 102–127.Google Scholar

³¹ Fall, B., The Viet-Minh, p. 30Google Scholar, mentions, however, the case of elections to a provincial committee in Hadong province in North Vietnam in 1951.

In the event that an existing provincial council lacked a full complement of members, the Minister of the Interior was authorised to appoint, at the proposal of the zonal committee, a supplementary number of members to the council, the end total not to exceed the designated quota of deputies for the given body.

³² If even that number of councilmen could not be assembled, the matter then had to be referred to higher authorities for corrective action.

³³ For village committees—by provincial committees on nomination by the district committees; for provincial committees—by the Council of National Defence on nomination of the zonal committee.

³⁴ The same procedure as the one outlined in note 33 supra was followed in this case.

³⁵ Subject, however, to the subsequent approval of the corresponding zonal or provincial committee, respectively.

³⁶ According to Article 49, a special decree was later to determine in what town city committees would be formed and another special measure would define the particular status of the city committee for Hanoi.

³⁷ For city committees—by the Council of National Defence on the proposal of the zonal committees; for district committees—by the zonal committees at the suggestion of provincial committees; for metropolitan borough committees—by provincial committees.

³⁸ In the zone, the member on military affairs was selected from the command personnel of the regular army; in the province—from the command personnel of the regular army or the people's armed forces (local troops, provincial people's militia); in the district—from the command personnel of the regular army or the people's militia of the district; and in the village—from the command personnel of the village people's militia. The source of military representatives on city or borough committees was not stated.

³⁹ Cf. Articles 20 and 41.

⁴⁰ In additions in cases of urgent need to resolve a question not covered by a law, zonal committees were permitted to publish temporary instructions for immediate use. In issuing ordinances on public order, district committees were required immediately to inform the respective provincial committee of their action and put the regulations into effect only upon receiving the latter's approval or on the expiration of 15 days without reply from the official authorities, except in emergency situations where they could be enforced at once, a concession to the deterioration of communications and control in time of war.

⁴¹ For village and municipal committees, the organisation of work was to be outlined in a special resolution of the Ministry of the Interior. For the text of such instructions issued on December 29, 1951, in Tien Hai district, see Fall, B., The Viet-Minh Régime, pp. 165–168Google Scholar, and for an analysis of its contents, ibid., pp. 29–30.

⁴² Warnings and reprimands could be issued by the next higher echelon; decisions to suspend a committee lay within the competence of the agency approving its staff.

⁴³ The same procedure as the one outlined in note 42 supra obtained in this case.

⁴⁴ Zonal committees could be authorised by the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry but could, on the other hand, issue reprimands to the zonal directors of ministerial departments.

⁴⁵ Zonal committees could be authorised by the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Justice to establish military tribunals on their territory. Together with the chairman of the zonal judicial body, each created a commission for examining requests for pardon and for commutation of death sentences (except those imposed by courts-martial).

⁴⁶ Arturov, O. A., in Kotok, V. F. (ed.), Gosudarstvennoe pravo zarubezhnykh sotsialisticheskikh stran (State Law of Foreign Socialist Countries) (Moscow: 1957), p. 413.Google Scholar

⁴⁷ Leontiev, A. P., Natsionalno-osvoboditelnaya barba naroda Vietnama (National-Liberation Struggle of the People of Vietnam) (Moscow: 1956), p. 16.Google Scholar

⁴⁸ Arturov, O. A., op. cit., pp. 412–413.Google Scholar

⁴⁹ Leontiev, A. P., op. cit., p. 16.Google Scholar

⁵⁰ e.g., decree of February 1948 on elections to village councils, quoted in Fall, B., The Viet-Minh Régime, p. 29Google Scholar, and “Local Administration under the Viet-Minh,” loc. cit., pp. 55–56.Google Scholar

⁵¹ Starobin, J. R., Eyewitness in Indo-China (New York: 1954), p. 122.Google Scholar

⁵² Budanov, A. G., op. cit., p. 87.Google Scholar

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⁵⁵ Arturov, O. A. (ed.), op. cit., pp. 33–46.Google Scholar

⁵⁶ Ibid., pp. 47–56.

⁵⁷ Journal Officiel, 1949, No. 2Google Scholar; Arturov, O. A. (ed.), op. cit., pp. 128–131.Google Scholar

⁵⁸ Journal Officiel, 1950, No. 7Google Scholar; Arturov, O. A. (ed.), op. cit., p. 132.Google Scholar

⁵⁹ Kazantsev, N. D. (ed.), Osnovnye zakonodatelnye akty po agrarnym preobrazovaniyam v zarubezhnykh sotsialisticheskikh stranakh, (Basic Legislative Acts on Rural Transformations in Foreign Socialist Countries) (Moscow: 1958), Vol. I, pp. 228–229Google Scholar; Arturov, O. A. (ed.), op. cit., pp. 158–159.Google Scholar

⁶⁰ Kazantsev, N. D. (ed.), op. cit., pp. 230–233Google Scholar; Arturov, O. A. (ed.), op. cit., pp. 160–166.Google Scholar

⁶¹ Kazantsev, N. D. (ed.), op. cit., p. 227Google Scholar; +Arturov, O. A. (ed.), op. cit., pp. 156–157.Google Scholar

⁶² Kazantsev, N. D. (ed.), op. cit., pp. 234–236Google Scholar; Arturov, O. A. (ed.), op. cit., pp. 167–170.Google Scholar

⁶³ Composed of the chairman of the district or village committee (chairman of the commission), a representative of the Lien-Viet and one from the district or village peasant union, elected by the village or district units, depending on whether the estate lay on the territory of one or more villages, a representative of the former tenants and one from the peasants scheduled to receive part of the land.

⁶⁴ Kazantsev, N. D. (ed.), op. cit., pp. 262–263Google Scholar; Arturov, O. A. (ed.), op. cit., pp. 171–173.Google Scholar

⁶⁵ Kazantsev, N. D. (ed.), op. cit., pp. 239–244Google Scholar; Arturov, O. A. (ed.), op. cit., pp. 178–188.Google Scholar

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⁷¹ Mazaev, A. G., op. cit., p. 153Google Scholar. The Declaration did state, however, that “into organs of State power at various levels, particularly into village and provincial organs, must enter the representatives of all nationalities living on the given territory. The number of such representatives of each nationality shall be established proportionately to its size, but even if the size of the population of any national minority is relatively insignificant, it must still have its representatives in the organs of power. Moreover, the population must be guaranteed freedom of election of its representatives.”

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