Can we use a part of the road for organizing funeral?

My grandmother has just passed away, so my family is busy preparing for her funeral. Because my house is small, we decided to use a part of the road for organizing the funeral. During that time, the people passing this road was uncomfortable and did not sympathize with my family. Some said that my family violated the law.

I would like to know if my family was wrong in this case. Did we violate the law when using a part of the road to organize the funeral? Thank you.

FDVN’s opinions:

Thank you for trusting the services of FDVN Law Firm (FDVN). Base on your consulting request, after studying the relevant legal documents, FDVN Law Firm offers the following advice:

Firstly, the regulations on using pavements to organize funerals

According to Article 25a of Decree No. 100/2013/ND-CP regarding the use of pavements to organize wedding and, funerals:

“Article 25a. Temporarily using a part of pavement not for traffic purpose

1. The temporary use of a part of pavement not for traffic purposes is not permitted to cause the order loss, unsafe traffic.

2. Pavements may be permitted to use temporarily not for traffic purpose in the following cases:

a) To propagate guidelines, policies of the Party, and the law of State. Duration of temporarily using pavements does not exceed 30 days; in case it is more than 30 days, it must be approved by the Ministry of Transport (for national roads) or the provincial People’s Committees (for system of local roads); 

b) To organize funerals, and yard for keeping vehicles and parking in serve of funerals of households; duration of temporarily using the pavement does not exceed 48 hours, in a special case, it does not exceed 72 hours; 

c) To organize weddings and yard for keeping vehicles and parking in serve of weddings of households; duration of temporarily using pavement does not exceed 48 hours;

d) Yard for keeping vehicles and parking in serve of cultural or sports activities, parades, festivals; duration of temporarily using the pavement does not exceed the duration of organizing those cultural activities;

e) Yard for transshipment of construction materials and waste in serve of works construction of households; duration of use will be from 22: PM of the previous day to 6: AM of the next day.

3. Position of pavement which is permitted to use temporarily not for traffic purpose must satisfy fully the following conditions:

a) The minimum width of the remaining section for pedestrian reaches 1.5 meters;

b) The pavement has a load-bearing structure conforming to the case permitted for temporary use.

4. For cases of using pavement defined in point b, point c, Clause 2 of this Article, households must notify the communal People's Committees in localities before using temporarily a part of the pavement.  For cases prescribed in points a, d, e Clause 2 of this Article, the provincial People's Committees shall provide for administrative procedures relating to the permission of using temporary pavement.”

Accordingly, you are allowed to use the pavement, not the road, to organize the funeral. Thus, it is illegal for your family to use a part of the road to organize your grandma’s funeral.

Secondly, a fine of VND 6.000.000 may be imposed to the act of organizing the funeral on the road

According to Clause 4, Article 12 of Decree No. 46/2016/ND-CP on administrative penalties for road traffic offenses and rail transport offenses:

“Article 12. Penalties for violations against regulations on the use of land area for road traffic

…

 4. A fine of VND 2,000,000 - VND 3,000,000 shall be imposed upon an individual, VND 4,000,000 - VND 6,000,000 upon an organization that commits any of the following violations:

a) Erecting a booth, tent, gate, fences, walls, or other types of temporary works within the land area for road traffic, except for the violations specified in Point dd Clause 5 and Point a Clause 8 of this Article;

b) Holding market; selling food and drink; displaying and selling goods placing signboards; repairing vehicles, machinery and equipment; washing vehicles; placing a signboard or advertising board; building or placing a platform; raising a roof or doing other activities on the roadway or sidewalk in a manner that obstructs the traffic, except for the violations specified in Point d, Point dd, Point e, Point g Clause 5; Clause 6; Point a Clause 7 of this Article;

c) Illegally occupying less than 5 m² of the roadway or sidewalk within an urban area to provide parking services;

d) Illegally occupying less than 20 m² of the roadway or sidewalk outside urban areas to provide parking services.

Above is FDVN Law Firm's opinion for your request based on studying the relevant legal provisions. Hopefully, FDVN's advice would be helpful to you.

Legal advisor: Nguyen Thi Thanh Thanh Tra

FDVN Law Firm

CONTACT US

Lawyers in Da Nang:

99 Nguyen Huu Tho, Quan Hai Chau, Da Nang city

Lawyers in Hue:

336 Phan Chu Trinh, Hue City, Thua Thien Hue

Lawyers in Phu Quoc:

65 Hung Vuong, Duong Dong town, Phu Quoc island district

Lawyers in Quang Ngai:

359 Nguyen Du, Quang Ngai City, Quang Ngai Province.

Lawyers in Ha Noi:

45C Tran Quoc Toan, Tran Hung Dao Ward, Hoan Kiem District, Ha Noi

Website: www.fdvn.vn  www.fdvnlawfirm.vn và www.diendanngheluat.vn

Email: fdvnlawfirm@gmail.com luatsulecao@gmail.com

Phone: 0935 643 666 - 0906 499 446

Fanpage: https://www.facebook.com/fdvnlawfirmvietnam