Complaints and Petitions Law of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (2010)

Suggested citations
AGLC4 |
신소청원법 2010 [Complaints and Petitions Law of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (2010)] [tr Daye Gang].
Bluebook | Sinsocheongwonbeob 2010 [Complaints and Petitions Law of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (2010)] translated in Law and North Korea by Daye Gang, https://www.lawandnorthkorea.com/. 


Adopted on June 17, Juche 87 (1998), as Decision No. 120 of the Standing Committee  of the Supreme People’s Assembly

Amended and supplemented on February 26, Juche 88 (1999), as Directive No. 483 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly

Amended on July 24, Juche 89 (2000), as Directive No. 1676 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly

Amended and supplemented on February 23, Juche 89 (2010), as Directive No. 654 of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly

CHAPTER I. BASICS OF COMPLAINTS AND PETITIONS LAW

Article 1 (Objectives of Complaints and Petitions Law)

The Complaints and Petitions Law of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea shall strictly adopt strict discipline and order in raising, receiving, registering, investigating, and resolving complaints and petitions, shall protect the rights and interests of citizens, and shall serve to improve the State’s administration work.

Article 2 (Complaints, petitions, and the principle of guaranteeing those rights)

Complaints are acts of preventing the violation of one’s rights and interests in advance, or requiring the recovery of violated rights and interests, and petitions are acts of raising an opinion to improve the work of institutions, enterprises, organizations, and individual workers. The State shall smoothly assure the complaint and petition rights of citizens.

Article 3 (Principle of registering and receiving complaints and petitions)

Receiving and registering complaints and petitions in time and correctly is the duty of institutions, enterprises and organizations. The State shall correctly adopt a receipt and registration order for complaints and petitions and strictly keep to it.

Article 4 (Principle of investigating and resolving complaints and petitions)

Complaints and petitions are the voice of the people and public and a reflection of public sentiment. The State shall assure principles, scientificity, objectivity, and impartiality in the investigation and resolution of complaints and petitions.

Article 5 (Responsibilities of complaints and petitions workers and principle of raising their role)

Complaints and petitions sector workers are the direct entities in charge of complaints and petitions work. The State shall strongly manage worker lineup in the complaints and petitions sector and must raise their responsibilities and role.

Article 6 (Principle of confidentiality)

The State shall assure confidentiality in complaints and petitions work.

Article 7 (Principle of guidance and control over complaints and petitions work)

The State shall adopt a guidance system for complaints and petitions work to strengthen guidance and control.


CHAPTER II. RAISING COMPLAINTS AND PETITIONS

Article 8 (Parties to complaints and petitions)

Citizens making complaints and petitions containing their wishes and requirements is the legitimate right of the owners of the State. Citizens may make complaints and petitions to institutions, enterprises, organizations and individual workers until they reach the highest organ of State power, as long as they have a lawful reason and basis. Complaints and petitions may also be made in the name of institutions, enterprises and organizations.

Article 9 (Complaints of citizens)

Citizens must make complaints directly. In inevitable cases, a complaint may be made through a guardian or legal representative. 

Article 10 (Method of raising complaints and petitions)

Complaints and petitions may be done by going to the given institution, enterprise, or organization, or also in writing. In these cases, things like the name, residence, position at work shall be correctly stated.

Article 11 (Face-to-face discussions for complainants and petitioners)

Institutions, enterprises and organizations must meet complainants and petitioners in time. In these cases, the worker or his or her legal representative required by the complainant or petitioner must meet with him or her.

Article 12 (Guarantee of scientificity and objectivity of content of complaints and petitions)

Complainants and petitioners must make their complaints and petitions with scientific materials and objective facts. Acts of doing complaints and petitions by overstating or fabricating materials or facts may not be done.

Article 13 (Re-complaints and re-petitions)

In cases of an opinion about the handling of the results of complaints and petitions, the complaint or petition may be done again. 

Article 14 (Guarantee of convenience to complainants and petitioners)

Institutions, enterprises and organizations must assure the convenience of complainants and petitioners. A box may be installed for writing and submitting the contents of complaints and petitions, as necessary.


CHAPTER III. RECEIPT AND REGISTRATION OF COMPLAINTS AND PETITIONS

Article 15 (Basic requirements for receiving and registering complaints and petitions)

The receipt and registration of complaints and petitions are a precedential process for the work of investigating and resolving complaints and petitions. Institutions, enterprises and organizations shall receive raised complaints and petitions without exception, and must correctly register them.

Article 16 (Jurisdictions for receiving and registering complaints and petitions)

The receipt and registration of complaints and petitions by institutions, enterprises and organizations shall be done in a standardized way by the complaints and petitions work division. The receipt and registration of complaints and petitions by institutions, enterprises and organizations that do not have complaints and petitions work divisions shall be done by a separately designated worker.

Article 17 (Registration method for complaints and petitions)

Institutions, enterprises and organizations must register received complaints and petitions on the day of receipt. In these cases, important complaints, petitions and requests, complaints and petitions for which control has been transferred, and complaints and petitions directly raised to his or her unit, must be registered separately.

Article 18 (Receipt date of complaints and petitions)

The receipt date of complaints and petitions shall be done on the day the complaint or petition was registered by the institution, enterprise or organization. The receipt date of a complaint or petition received by a request or transfer of control shall be done on the day the request or transfer of control document was registered.

Article 19 (Special cases in complaints and petitions registration)

Institutions, enterprises and organizations may choose not to register things such as his or her name, position at work, or residence, according to the request of the complainant or petitioner.

Article 20 (Request, transfer of control of complaints and petitions)

Complaints and petitions must be directly handled by the institution, enterprise or organization that received it. However, in cases where the handling jurisdiction is not correct, or a complaint or petition has been received that cannot be directly handled, it must be requested of the relevant institution, enterprise or organization, or control must be transferred. In cases of requesting complaints and petitions, the handling period must be stated.


CHAPTER IV. INVESTIGATION AND RESOLUTION OF COMPLAINTS AND PETITIONS

Article 21 (Basic requirements of investigating and resolving complaints and petitions)

The investigation and resolution of complaints and petitions is important work to support and assure the requirements and interests of the people and the public. Institutions, enterprises and organizations shall scientifically investigate the complaint or petition they receive and register, and must fairly handle them. Workers who have an interest in the complaint or petition may not investigate the given complaint or petition.

Article 22 (Jurisdiction for investigation and resolution)

The jurisdiction for investigation and resolution of complaints and petitions are as follows.

1. Then investigation and resolution of complaints and petitions for the work of the highest organs of State power, and the work methods and idioms of workers of the highest organs of State power, and complaints and petitions, shall be done by the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly. The investigation and resolution of complaints and petitions raised related to receiving court proceedings or legal sanctions, and complaints and petitions raised related to people’s standard of living, unlawful acts, or acts of human rights abuses, may be done directly by the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly.

2. The investigation and resolution of complaints and petitions related to work methods and idioms of workers for people’s standard of living, administrative and economic work, and the administration and economy shall be done by the Cabinet, local political institutions, and the given institutions, enterprises and organizations.

3. The investigation and resolution of complaints and petitions related to work methods and idioms of investigation and prosecution workers, shall be done by the Prosecutorial institution.

4. The investigation and resolution of complaints and petitions related to court proceedings, arbitration, and notarization, and the work methods and idioms of court proceedings, arbitration, and notarization workers, shall be done by the courts.

5. The investigation and resolution of complaints and petitions related to people’s military power, people’s safety, and State safety and defence work, shall be done by the authorities concerned.

6. The investigation and resolution of complaints and petitions related to external activities shall be done by the authorities concerned.

Article 23 (Investigation and resolution period)

Institutions, enterprises and organizations must investigate and resolve complaints and petitions within the designated period. The work of deciding the investigation and resolution period of complaints and petitions shall be done by the given central bodies.

Article 24 (Division of investigations for important complaints and petitions)

Important complaints and petitions, and important complaints and petitions requested or transferred control by the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly or the Cabinet, shall be investigated by the responsible worker of the institution, enterprise or organization, or the responsible complaints and petitions workers.

Article 25 (Division of investigations for re-complaints and re-petitions)

In cases where complaints and petitions with the same content have been raised again, a worker with a higher position than the worker who already investigated it, shall investigate it.

Article 26 (Investigation method for complaints and petitions)

Institutions, enterprises and organizations must investigate complaints and petitions in the order in which they were received and registered. However, important complaints and petitions and complaints and petitions to be handled urgently must be investigated first compared to other complaints and petitions.

Article 27 (Investigation method for complaints and petitions)

The investigation of complaints and petitions shall be done by the method of a conference in the field or in a required place with the complainant or petitioner, reported person, confirmor, and relevant worker. In these cases, the content of the complaint or petition shall be investigated based on objective facts, and the justice and injustice of the issues that have been raised must be clearly stated. Acts of interfering in the investigative work for complaints and petitions, or of overstating or fabricating investigative materials, may not be done.

Article 28 (Rights of complaints and petitions investigative workers)

Workers investigating complaints and petitions may look at things like the required case record, inspection document, or accounting document according to what has been decided, and may mobilize specialist workers or request an analysis. Affidavits or confirmation documents may be received from complainants and petitioners, reported persons, or confirmors as necessary, and a critique document may be received from the worker who erred in the handling of the case or issue.

Article 29 (Investigation of complaints and petitions related to cases and inspections)

The investigation of complaints and petitions related to criminal, civil, or arbitral cases or inspections shall be done after the given case finishes or after the inspection review meeting ends. However, a complaint or petition may be investigated even during the handling or inspection of the case, with the agreement of the authorities concerned.

Article 30 (Reason to suspend investigation)

For complaints and petitions confirmed to be unreasonable or fabricated, the investigation shall be suspended. In these cases, the complainant or petitioner shall be informed of the reasons.

Article 31 (Joint investigation)

In cases where different opinions are raised related to a complaint, the designated institution may jointly investigate it with the authorities concerned. Workers with a relationship to the content of the complaint are not allowed to participate in joint investigative work. The authorities concerned must assure in time the people required for joint investigative work.

Article 32 (Return of complaints and petitions for which a request or a transfer of control has been received)

Complaints and petitions for which a request or a transfer of control has been received may not be requested or transferred in control again. However, complaints and petitions that cannot be investigated and resolved may be returned to the institution, enterprise or organization that made the request or transfer of control by stating the reason.

Article 33 (Deliberation and decision on issues of handling complaints and petitions)

Institutions, enterprises and organizations that have ended the investigation of complaints and petitions must deliberate on and decide issues on its handling by going through sufficient consultations. Deliberation and decision on issues of handling complaints and petitions shall happen on the day of handling complaints, or by case at the relevant workers’ committee.

Article 34 (Drafting complaints and petitions investigation and resolution document)

Institutions, enterprises and organizations that have ended investigating and resolving complaints and petitions must draft a complaints and petitions investigation and resolution document. The responsible worker of the institution, enterprise or organization must mark the complaints and petitions investigation and resolution document with their name by hand. The

investigation and resolution document for complaints and petitions where a request was received shall be submitted to the institution, enterprise or organization that requested it.

Article 35 (Complaints and petitions handling notification document)

In cases where relevant central bodies decide on issues about handling a complaint or petition that has been raised, a complaints and petitions handling notification document may be submitted to the institution, enterprise or organization to cause them to implement it. An institution, enterprise or organization that has received a complaints and petitions handling notification document must implement as pointed out in the document received, and must report on the results.

Article 36 (Notification of complaints and petitions handling results)

Institutions, enterprises and organizations must inform the result of handling the complaint or petition to the complainant or petitioner in time. The day the complainant or petitioner is informed about the results of handling a complaint or petition shall be the day the investigation and resolution of the complaint or petition ends.

Article 37 (Confidentiality, storage and management of complaints and petitions document)

Institutions, enterprises and organizations shall keep secrets that have come to their knowledge in the investigation and resolution of complaints and petitions, and must correctly store and manage documents related to complaints and petitions.


CHAPTER V. GUIDANCE AND CONTROL FOR COMPLAINTS AND PETITIONS WORK

Article 38 (Central guidance institution for complaints and petitions work)

Guidance and control for complaints and petitions work is a compulsory requirement to improve and strengthen complaints and petitions work. Guidance and control for complaints and petitions work shall be done by the Cabinet and given central bodies.

Article 39 (Command and guidance over complaints and petitions work)

Central bodies must normally command and guide complaints and petitions work so that lower units correctly receive, register, investigate, and resolve them. 

Institutions, enterprises and organizations must report the receipt, registration, and investigation outcome of complaints and petitions to a higher level institution in time.

Article 40 (Operation of day of handling complaints)

Institutions, enterprises and organizations must solidly operate a day of handling complaints, or a designated date of a given workers’ committee, to handle complaints and petitions. The work of deciding the day of handling complaints shall be done by the given central bodies.

Article 41 (Guarantee of conditions for complaints and petitions work)

Traffic conveyance institutions, communications institutions, and relevant institutions, enterprises and organizations must smoothly assure the conditions for complaints and petitions work. Workers that do complaints and petitions work may not be mobilized for different work.

Article 42 (Particulars to prohibit in complaints and petitions work)

Institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens must not do acts of interfering in the investigation and resolution work for complaints and petitions, acts of stifling or carelessly treating complaints and petitions, or acts of putting pressure on or taking revenge on complainants and petitioners.

Article 43 (Administrative or criminal responsibility)

Responsible workers of institutions, enterprises and organizations or individual citizens who have violated this law and the rights and interests of citizens, or have caused interference to the State’s administration work, may have administrative or criminal responsibility depending on the gravity.

Last updated 4 November 2020

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