>>“Huong uoc” and the organization of village society
Dr. Le Hong Son
Acting Director
Department for Examination of Legal Documents
The Ministry of Justice
The elaboration and implementation of new “huong uoc” (village code) or “quy uoc” (village convention)
The advocacy on the promulgation of new “huong uoc” or “quy uoc” has been confirmed by the Communist Party of Vietnam in the Resolution of the 5th plenum of its Central Committee (of the VIIth National Party Congress) and institutionalized by the State through various legal documents such as the Government’s Decree No.29/1998/ND-CP of May 11, 1995 promulgating the Regulation on the Exercise of Democracy in Communes (which was later replaced by Decree No.79/2003/ND-CP of July 7, 2003), the Prime Minister’s Directive No.24/CT-TTg of June 19, 1998 stipulating the elaboration and implementation of new “huong uoc” or “quy uoc” of villages, hamlets, population groups, Joint-Circular No.03/2000/TTLT/ BTP-BVHTT-BTTUBTWMTTQVN of March 31, 2000 of the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Culture and Information and the Standing Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee, prescribing the order and procedures for approving new “huong uoc” or “quy uoc.”
After more than four years’ implementing the above-named legal documents, the elaboration and implementation of new “huong uoc” or “quy uoc” has been further enhanced and seen a new step of development, both quantitative and qualitative. Almost all provinces and cities throughout the country have compiled new “huong uoc” or “quy uoc” of the cultured villages on the basis of inheritance of the positive elements of old “huong uoc” and the compliance with current law provisions. In such provinces as Bac Ninh, Nghe An, Ha Tay, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, new “huong uoc” or “quy uoc” have been elaborated in about 90% of their villages or hamlets and around 70-80% of which have already been approved by presidents of district-level People’s Committees strictly according to the order and procedures prescribed in Joint-Circular No.03/2000/TTLT/BTP-BVHTT- BTTUBTWMTTQVN of March 31, 2000. Meanwhile in other provinces and cities, the number of their villages or hamlets where new “huong uoc” or “quy uoc” have been comp-letely elaborated and approved has accoun-ted for around 60% of their respective totals.
On the basis of the orientations set forth in the above-mentioned legal documents, the local administrations’ guidance, direction and management of the elaboration and implementation of new “huong uoc” or “quy uoc” in accordance with the provisions of law. In many localities, the elaboration and approval of new “huong uoc” or “quy uoc” have really become the grassroots population communities’ affairs and activities in diversified forms under the Party Committees’ leadership, with mass organizations playing the core role. The judicial bodies, the culture and information agencies and the Fatherland Front organizations at all levels have been of great help to the local administrations at various levels in guiding, directing and examining the elaboration and implementation of new “huong uoc” or “quy uoc” in localities.
Position and role of new “huong uoc” or “quy uoc” in rural social management
In many localities, new “huong uoc” or “quy uoc” have played an active role in the community life of villages or hamlets, not only contributing to promoting the local fine traditions and customs, raising the ethical standards and traditional morality of the nation, but also becoming an instrument in active support of the campaigns for maintenance of order and security, environmental sanitation, the prevention and combat of social vices, production development, learning promotion, craft promotion, settlement of disputes and minor violations among local population. They have also contributed to hunger elimination and poverty alleviation, bringing into full play the dynamism and creativeness of the people of all strata in building a new life right in their respective localities.
The position and role of new “huong uoc” or “quy uoc” in the community life have been gradually confirmed and brought into play. This has demonstrated the change not only in perception but also in the organization of implementation thereof.
Defining new “huong uoc,” the said Joint-Circular No.03 of March 31, 2000 stated: “Huong uoc” are social normative documents which prescribe the common codes of conduct voluntarily agreed upon and set forth by population communities to regulate social relations of self-governance among people, aiming to preserve and bring into full play the fine customs and practices as well as cultural traditions in villages, hamlets and population quarters, actively supporting the State management by law.
So, new “huong uoc” or “quy uoc” constitute a kind or normative documents which also contain general principles of conduct. These are documents on social regulations agreed upon and set forth by population communities to regulate relations of self-governance nature in villages or hamlets. Therefore, new “huong uoc” or “quy uoc” cannot be identified with law and moreover cannot be regarded as a particular form of law, or with customs and practices in the population communities, as thought by some people.
To us, “huong uoc,” in their nature, are the general rules of conduct voluntarily agreed upon by population communities. They are not laws but only support and complement laws in the social management among the population communities in localities. “Huong uoc” or “quy uoc” are rules and norms expressed in documents, not totally identical to customs and practices which may be expressed in statutory or non-statutory form, though “huong uoc” or “quy uoc” must reflect fine customs, practices and cultural traditions of localities. They are also different from other social regulations such as charters, internal regulations or rules of agencies, organizations in the society.
The relationships between “huong uoc” or “quy uoc” and the State law
As mentioned above, “huong uoc” or “quy uoc” are not laws. They are elaborated and implemented to actively support and complement the State management by law when the State laws, though however perfect they are, cannot cover all relations in the social life.
In the relationships between the State laws and “huong uoc” or “quy uoc” regarding their impacts on individuals in the communities, the State laws always occupy key and basic (orthodox) position which should be given priority. Meanwhile, “huong uoc” or “quy uoc,” though occupying an important and necessary position, are merely instruments to support and complement the State management by law. The State laws create foundations and basic framework for social activities, while “huong uoc” or “quy uoc” create the diversity, richness and specific traits of social activities in each geographical area, each zone and each region. Also in such relation-ships, the State laws also play the basic and orienting role, creating a framework for “huong uoc” or “quy uoc” to overcome their limitations and negative aspects such as the naturalist inclination, casualness, regionalism, restoration of out-dated customs and practices, contradiction against laws in their contents.
Regarding the regulation scope, “huong uoc” or “quy uoc,” now as in the past, have governed mainly the social relations in the socio-civil domains such as weddings, funerals, festivities, order and security, production development, learning promotion, settlement of disputes and minor violations among population... Realities show that if these social relations are regulated by “huong uoc” or “quy uoc” within the State-law framework, good effects and high efficiency will be yielded.
The contents of “huong uoc” or “quy uoc” are but the social regulations reflecting standard customs and practices as well as will and aspiration of the entire population communities managing and administering all aspects of the social life and internal relations. They must, therefore, create the community force and control, directing acts of the community members at various degrees. They constitute the active support and complement to the provisions of the State laws.-