Circular No. 03/2019/TT-BVHTTDL dated July 05, 2019 of the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourismon on prescribing the process of judicial expertise of relics and antiques

CIRCULAR

Prescribing the process of judicial expertise of relics and antiques^[1]

Pursuant to the June 20, 2012 Law on Judicial Expertise;

Pursuant to the June 29, 2001 Law on Cultural Heritages, and the June 18, 2009 Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Cultural Heritages;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 85/2013/ND-CP of July 29, 2013, detailing, and providing measures to implement, the Law on Judicial Expertise;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 98/2010/ ND-CP of September 21, 2010, detailing the implementation of  a number of articles of the Law on Cultural Heritages and the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Cultural Heritages;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 79/2017/ND-CP of July 17, 2017, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism;

At the proposal of the Director of the Legal Affairs Department;

The Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism promulgates the Circular prescribing the process of judicial expertise of relics and antiques.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1.Scope of regulation

This Circular prescribes the process of judicial expertise solicited by procedure-conducting bodies or persons or requested by judicial expertise requesters to determine whether an object is a relic or antique or not.

Article 2.Subjects of application

This Circular applies to individual and institutional judicial expertise performers and other organizations and individuals involved in judicial expertise of relics and antiques.

Article 3.Interpretation of terms

In this Circular, the terms below are construed as follows:

1.Relic or antiquemeans an object identified in accordance with the law on cultural heritages.

2.Individual performers of judicial expertise of relics and antiquesinclude judicial experts and ad hoc judicial expertise performers in the field of culture relevant to their specialties, who have been appointed or announced in accordance with the law on judicial expertise.

3.Institutional performers of judicial expertise of relics and antiquesinclude the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, provincial-level Departments of Culture, Sports and Tourism or Departments of Culture and Sports, judicial expertise offices, and ad hoc judicial expertise organizations that have relevant specialized activities and have been announced in accordance with the law on judicial expertise.

Chapter II

PROCESS OF JUDICIAL EXPERTISE OF RELICS AND ANTIQUES

Article 4.Receipt of expertise requests or solicitation

1. Individual performers of judicial expertise ofrelics and antiques (below referred to as individual judicial expertise performers), or institutional performers of judicial expertise of relics and antiques (below referred to as institutional judicial expertise performers) shall receive expertise solicitation and requests enclosed with to be-expertized objects and related documents and objects (if any) before performing expertise; and may refuse to do so in accordance with law in case the conditions for expertise are not satisfied.

2. The handover and receipt of dossiers and objects of solicited or requested judicial expertise of relics and antiques must comply with Article 3 of the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s Circular No. 07/2014/TT-BVHTTDL of July 23, 2014, prescribing dossiers and document forms for judicial expertise; the application of professional regulations on judicial expertise activities in the field of culture; and conditions on physical facilities, equipment and means of expertise of judicial expertise offices for judicial expertise of relics, antiques, copyright and related rights (below referred to as Circular No. 07/2014/TT-BVHTTDL).

Article 5.Preparations for expertise performance

1. Individual or institutional judicial expertise performers shall examine solicitation or request dossiers and specific regulations on cultural heritages to prepare for performing judicial expertise. In case it is necessary to further clarify contents of the expertise solicitation or request or to be-expertized objects, to request the solicitor or requester to additionally provide related information and documents.

2. In case of necessity, individual judicial expertise performers shall organize the collection of test results or other professional conclusions before making assessments.

3. Institutional judicial expertise performers shall decide to perform judicial expertise of relics and antiques in the form of collective expertise. The number of people participating in judicial expertise must be at least three.

A decision on judicial expertise of relics or antiques shall be made according to Form No. 01 provided in the Appendix to this Circular.

4. Institutional judicial expertise performers shall base themselves on dossiers of expertise solicitation or request to select appropriate judicial experts and ad hoc individual judicial expertise performers, and assign persons responsible for coordinating the judicial expertise.

Article 6.Judicial expertise performance

1. Individual judicial expertise performers shall examine to be-expertized objects in order to determine their date (absolute or relative) and historical, cultural and scientific values. The examination of a to be-expertized object must cover one or several of the following contents:

a/ Shape, size, material, chemical composition, color and decorative patterns and characters on the object;

b/ Other relevant signs.

2. For a to be-expertized object which cannot be moved or is difficult to be moved, individual judicial expertise performers shall examine it at the requester’s or solicitor’s storage place. The examination of the expertized object at the solicitor’s or requester’s storage place shall be recorded in a minutes to be filed in an expertise dossier.

A minutes of examination of an expertized object shall be made according to Form No. 02 provided in the Appendix to this Circular.

3. Individual judicial expertise performers shall promptly, fully and truthfully record the whole expertise process and results in minutes to be filed in expertise dossiers.

Minutes of the expertise process shall be made according to Form No. 02 promulgated together with Circular No. 07/2014/TT-BVHTTDL.

Article 7.Expertise conclusions

Based on judicial expertise results, test results or other professional conclusions (if any) and regulations on cultural heritages, individual judicial expertise performers shall conclude whether expertized objects are relics or antiques or not. If having sufficient grounds, individual judicial expertise performers may make additional conclusions on historical, cultural and scientific values of expertized relics or antiques.

Expertise conclusions shall be made according to Forms No. 04a and No. 04b promulgated together with Circular No. 07/2014/TT-BVHTTDL.

Article 8.Handover of expertise conclusions

When the judicial expertise of relics and antiques is completed, individual or institutional judicial expertise performers shall hand over their expertise conclusions to expertise solicitors or requesters.

Minutes of handover of expertise conclusions shall be made according to Form No. 05 promulgated together with Circular No. 07/2014/TT-BVHTTDL.

Article 9.Compilation and filing of expertise dossiers

Individual or institutional judicial expertise performers shall compile dossiers of judicial expertise of relics and antiques in accordance with Clause 1, Article 33 of the Law on Judicial Expertise and this Circular.

The preservation and archive of judicial expertise dossiers must comply with the law on archives.

Chapter III

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 10.Organization of implementation

1. The Department of Legal Affairs shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related agencies and units in, guiding and inspecting the implementation of this Circular.

2. Provincial-level Departments of Culture, Sports and Tourism or Departments of Culture and Sports shall organize the implementation of, and inspect and urge related agencies, organizations and individuals in implementing, this Circular.

Article 11.Effect

1. This Circular takes effect on September 1, 2019.

2. Any problems arising in the course of implementation of this Circular should be promptly reported to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (via the Department of Legal Affairs) for appropriate amendment and supplementation.-

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism
NGUYEN NGOC THIEN

* The Appendix to this Circular is not translated.