Decision No. 338/QD-TTg dated February 19, 2013 of the Prime Minister approving the strategy on judicial record development by 2020 with a vision to 2030

THE PRIME MINISTER

Decision No.338/QD-TTg dated February 19, 2013 of the Prime Minister approving the strategy on judicial record development by 2020 with a vision to 2030

Pursuant to the December 25, 2001 Law on Organization of the Government;

Pursuant to the Law on Judicial record dated June 17, 2009;

At the proposal of the Minister of Justice,

Article 1.To approve the “Strategy for development of judicial record by 2020, with a vision to 2030 together with this Decision.

Article 2.This Decision takes effect on its signing date.

Article 3.The Ministry of Justice shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the ministries and sectors concerned to execute this Decision.

Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies, and Chairman of People’s Committees of centrally-affiliated provinces and cities are liable to execute this Decision.

Prime Minister

Nguyen Tan Dung

STRATEGY FOR DEVELOPMENT

OF JUDICIAL RECORD BY 2020, WITH A VISION TO 2030
(Promulgated together with the Prime Minister s Decision No. 338/QD-TTg of February 19, 2013)

I. THE NECESSITY TO PROMULGATE THE STRATEGY

1. Background

Judicial record are of extremely important significance to the civil life of citizens, personnel management and criminal procedure activities, satisfying the requirements of proving personal judicial details as well as creating conditions for convicts in having their criminal records expunged and in re-integrating into the community.

In most countries, the judicial record management systems have been established and developed for tens or hundreds of years, playing an important role in assuring transparency and guaranteeing the exercise of citizens’ democratic rights, which serve as a means to expunge criminal records when convicts meet all conditions of criminal records. Judicial record also serve as an instrument for the procedure-conducting agencies to identify circumstances of recidivism or dangerous recidivism when dealing with specific cases.

The institution on judicial record has existed in Vietnam for more than 100 years but undergone different periods. After the August 1945 Revolution, the Vietnamese State still maintained the regime on judicial record managed by the Ministry of Justice and courts. On November 2, 1955, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Public Security issued the Joint Circular No. 1909-VHC on the monitoring of judicial record and personal identification papers of the accused and suspects. Accordingly, the management of judicial record was transferred to and performed only by the Ministry of Public Security.

Stepping into the period of renovation, starting from the Decree No. 38/CP of June 4, 1993, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Justice, the Government has assigned the management of judicial record to the Ministry of Justice.

The Law on Judicial record, passed on June 17, 2009, by the XII^thNational Assembly and taking effect on July 1, 2010, has marked a leap - and - bound development in the process of formulating and finalizing the institution on judicial record in Vietnam. The Law on Judicial record and guiding documents have created important complete legal framework for building incrementally strong databases on judicial record on the principles of judicial record activities, meeting both immediate and long-term practical requirements; linking the management of judicial record database to the issuance of Certificate of judicial record in the context where Vietnam is strongly carrying out judicial reforms, building a socialist state of jurisdiction and performing intensive international integration.

2. Political and legal grounds

On June 2, 2005, the Political Bureau promulgated Resolution No. 49-NQ/TW on the Judicial Reform Strategy by 2020, setting one of important orientations “to organize judicial agencies and judicial assistance institutions in a rational, scientific and modem manner”. To institutionalize the contents of this Resolution, the XII^thNational Assembly passed the Law on Judicial record at its fifth session.

One of the orientations and tasks of the judicial reform in the spirit of Resolution No.49-NQ/TW is “to complete criminal and civil policies and laws in conformity with the socialist-oriented market economy”. The Law on Judicial record has asserted that judicial record are criminal records of convicts and of the ban on individuals from holding certain positions and forming and managing enterprises or cooperatives in case enterprises or cooperatives are declared bankrupt by the court. The purpose of management of judicial record not only meets the requirements on proving whether or not individuals have criminal records or are banned from holding certain positions, forming and managing enterprises or cooperatives in case enterprises or cooperatives are declared bankrupt by courts, and to recognize criminal records, creating conditions for convicts to reintegrate themselves into the community; but also to support criminal procedure activities and criminal judicial statistics, and to support the personnel management and business registration and formation and management of enterprises and cooperatives. In order to perform the judicial reform tasks toward attaching importance to finalizing the criminal policies and law, judicial record activities should develop into an instrument in active support of criminal judicial activities.

On November 8, 2011, the Government issued the Resolution No. 30c/NQ-CP, promulgating the overall state administrative reform program during 2011-2020, focusing on “…raising the quality of administrative services and the quality of public services”. This requires the development of judicial record in order to ensure the smooth, professional and ever effective management of judicial record, the incremental modernization and reform of procedures for settlement of the requests for issuance of Certificate of judicial record toward transparency and simplicity, best satisfying the requirements of individuals, agencies and organizations, respecting the democratic rights and guaranteeing the privacy of citizens.

3. Real situation of judicial record activities

a/ Achievements

The Law on Judicial record has set completely new, complicated and difficult tasks, requiring the careful preparation of the organizational apparatus, material and technical facilities, a pool of experts as well as the coordination between the Court, the Procuracy, the public security agencies, the national defense agencies and other agencies and organizations related to the Ministry of Justice and Service of Justice in the lookup, verification, exchange and provision of judicial record information for the establishment of judicial record databases to serve the issuance of Certificate of judicial record. Over more than two years of implementing the Law on Judicial record, important results have been obtained in judicial record activities, specifically as follows:

Firstly, on the basis of the Law on Judicial record and the Government’s Decree No. 111/2010/ND-CP of November 23, 2010, detailing and guiding a number of articles of the Law on Judicial record, the Prime Minister decided to form the National Judicial record Center under the Ministry of Justice and consolidate organizations under Service of Justice for the establishment and management of judicial record databases commensurate to the position and tasks of judicial record activities in the new situation. So far, five judicial record divisions under the Service of Justice of the five centrally-affiliated cities have been formed. The Service of Justice in most provinces has consolidated the judicial record sections at the Judicial Administrative Division to manage judicial record;

Secondly, the Law on Judicial record has created legal grounds for the establishment of separate judicial record databases strictly according to the principles applicable to such activities toward professionalism and incremental modernization, associating the establishment of judicial record databases with the issuance of Certificate of judicial record. Before the Law on Judicial record was promulgated, the Service of Justice, due to the absence of judicial record databases, had to look up information of the public security offices’ archives on offenders’ personal identities and case files kept by courts as grounds for issuing Judicial record Certificate to citizens. At present, in compliance with the Law on Judicial record, the judicial record databases have been incrementally established at the National Judicial record Center and Services of Justice nationwide;

Thirdly, the procedures for issuing Judicial record Certificate at the request of individuals, agencies and organizations have been step by step reformed, simplified and more convenient. The issuance of Judicial record Certificate is a service provided by the State, aiming to satisfy the requirement of proving personal judicial details when participating in legal relations at home and abroad. According to statistics, from October 1, 2010 to September 30, 2012, the Service of Justice and the National Judicial record Center issued 261,416 Judicial record Certificate at the request of individuals, agencies and organizations. The society’s awareness of the significance and value of Judicial record Certificate has been constantly raised. The development of the market economy has increasingly enriched and diversified social relations. The Judicial record Certificate is considered an important legal paper proving whether or not an individual has criminal records when participating in legal relations, especially in the course of regional and international integration. Therefore, the State has promulgated many documents on the requirement of Judicial record Certificate upon participation in legal relations; hence, the Judicial record Certificate has become one of compulsory papers of individuals. In addition, the Law on Judicial record has provided a mechanism of updating and processing information on automatic expungement of criminal records of convicts. Through updating and processing information on judicial record, if realizing that a convict is fully qualified for automatic expungement of criminal records under the Penal Code, the judicial record database-managing agency shall grant a Judicial record Certificate upon request of individuals, agencies and organizations, written with the words “having no criminal record”.

b/ Limitations and weaknesses

Besides the achievements, the judicial record activities have seen limitations and weaknesses, specifically:

Firstly, the building of databases has faced numerous difficulties and problems in theory as well as practical experience, in the direction, size and structure of databases as well as implementation organization, in technology and techniques as well as operational process, procedures and specific operations. In order to build and successfully operate judicial record databases as required by the Law on Judicial record, the building of databases must start from strategic orientations;

Secondly, the coordination among agencies has not been properly organized, the information on judicial record, which has arisen in reality and been provided by focal - point agencies to the National Judicial record Center and Service of Justice, remains incomplete and untimely. According to 2011’s statistics, courts at different levels processed 326,268 cases, including 76,894 criminal cases. Therefore, the judicial record information to be provided annually by courts must amount to hundreds of thousands of pieces, not to mention hundreds of thousands of pieces of judicial record information relating to judgment enforcement to be provided by other agencies (the Procuracy, Public Security, Civil Judgment Enforcement agencies, etc.). Yet, in reality, after more than two years of implementing the Law on Judicial record, Service of Justice nationwide only received over 300,000 pieces of judicial record information. In addition, the information on bans from holding positions, establishing and managing enterprises or cooperatives under courts’ bankruptcy declaration rulings has not been actively provided by courts to Service of Justice as prescribed by the Law on Judicial record;

Thirdly, the organizational apparatus and staffs of judicial record activities are not yet commensurate to the task requirements. By September 30, 2012, at all Services of Justice had a total of only 97 judicial record officers, with just 13 over 63 Services of Justice having minimum full-time staffs, 30 lacking minimum full-time staffs and 20 having no full-time staffs, where judicial record activities were implemented on a part-time basis by administrative judicial officers with the support of contractual employees. Therefore, the current judicial record staffs are too small, just nearly half of the minimum number prescribed in the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 2369/QD-TTg of December 28, 2010, approving the Scheme on “Building of the National Criminal Records Center and organizational consolidation of Service of Justice for the establishment and management of judicial record databases”.

Moreover, the quality of local judicial record civil servants and public employees is not up to the professional requirements as many of them have not been officially trained in judicial record operations. The judicial record operations training has faced many difficulties in the past time, with unofficial and non-professional training programs and contents and trainers lacking practical experience in judicial record activities, especially in judicial record database building skills. In the localities where full-time judicial record officers have not yet been arranged, it is very difficult to appoint officers to attend judicial record operations training courses. Meanwhile, there are local officers, after attending these training courses, who have been assigned to perform tasks not related to judicial record due to practical requirements of judicial work at their localities;

Fourthly, the two-tier database model at the National Judicial record Center under the Ministry of Justice and 63 Services of Justice has revealed limitations. This model was feasible in the initial stage after the Law on Judicial record took effect. It has created favorable conditions for local agencies in coordinating with one another in the provision and receipt of information and reducing the amount of received and processed information. However, under the conditions of fast development of information technology, the two-tier database model will be early no longer suitable as it causes not a few difficulties and problems to the database- managing agencies due to frequent exchange of information between central and local agencies, which is a costly and time-consuming process. Moreover, it can hardly satisfy the requirements of data safety, accuracy and synchrony due to the involvement of too many focal points in receiving, processing and updating information. At present, 64 focal points (including the National Judicial record Center and 63 Services of Justice) are tasked to receive, update and process judicial record information for the establishment of judicial record databases. Each of them is in charge of receiving different types of judicial record information provided by competent agencies. Accordingly, the National Judicial record Center is tasked to receive, update and process judicial record information from about 200 sources (including prisons, temporary detention camps, the Central Military Court, the Supreme People’s Procuracy, the Criminal Judgment Enforcement Monitoring and Judicial Assistance Department, the Criminal Judgment Enforcement Monitoring and Judicial Assistance Sections of provincial- level Departments of Public Security and 63 Services of Justice). Each Service of Justice is assigned to receive, update and process judicial record information from more than 100 sources (including the National Judicial record Center, 62 other Services of Justice nationwide, district-level courts, civil judgment enforcement bodies, public security offices as well as other agencies and organizations within the province or centrally run city). In addition to the receipt, update and processing of judicial record information, the National Judicial record Center and Service of Justice also receive, update and process information on civil status changes and corrections as well as information on death certification provided by civil status registrars for scrutiny, comparison and update into the judicial record databases;

Fifthly, current legal provisions on judicial record remain incomplete, impractical and inconsistent with relevant regulations, especially the relations between the Law on Judicial record and the criminal law, criminal procedure law and criminal judgment execution law. At present, the criminal, criminal procedure and criminal judgment enforcement laws make no mention of criminal records though they contain many provisions on criminal records, criminal record expungement, recidivism and dangerous recidivism. Many provisions of these laws remain inconsistent and asynchronous with the law on judicial record. Meanwhile, experiences of many countries show that judicial record is helpful in the procedural stage, especially to the trial. The Judicial record Certificate serve as an important basis for the court to examine the defenders’ personal details and as an official source of information for the court to take into account aggravating or extenuating circumstances for defenders in the course of handling specific cases.

c/ Causes of limitations and weaknesses

The above-mentioned limitations and weaknesses of judicial record activities are attributed to the following basic causes:

- Subjective causes:

+ The awareness of a segment of leaders, cadres and civil servants, including those involved in judicial activities, about the position, role and significance of judicial record activities remains limited, who fail to fully understand and properly assess the role and significance of judicial record in the state management, social life and criminal procedure activities;

+ The coordination among the agencies concerned in judicial record activities has not been properly organized, failing to strictly and fully comply with the Law on Judicial record and guiding documents;

+ The professional qualifications and skills of civil servants and public employees involved in judicial record activities fail to meet the task requirements;

+ The physical foundations for judicial record activities are below thetask requirements.The application of information technology to the establishment, management, storage, use and exploitation of judicial record databases remains limited, slow and uneven between judicial record database-managing agencies.

- Objective causes:

+ The establishment and management of judicial record databases constitute a completely new task of the judicial sector and concurrently a very professionalized and complicated operation involving many agencies and organizations;

+ The judicial reform contents related to the improvement of criminal policies and law and the reform of the organizational model of the court system remain incomplete, thus affecting the organization of judicial record database- managing agencies and the establishment and management of judicial record databases;

+ The institutions on judicial record organization and activities still see limitations such as: The organizational model of the National Judicial record Center as prescribed by the Law on Judicial record and Decree No. 111/2010/ND-CP has revealed some problems, affecting the judicial record organization and activities. The National Judicial record Center is determined to be only a non-business unit. Meanwhile, the establishment and management of judicial record databases constitute a main and inseparable content of the state management of judicial record.

4. Trend of judicial record development in Vietnam

In the period of accelerated industrialization and modernization as well as proactive international integration, especially in light of therequirementsof judicial reform, democracy promotion and social justice achievement, the judicial record organization and activities in Vietnam see many opportunities with new steps of development.

In Vietnam, in order to have a system of incrementally steady judicial record databases strictly according to the principles of judicial record activities, meeting the immediate as well as long-term requirements, these databases should be built after the model of centralization and unification (one-tier database model). The establishment of the one-tier judicial record database model will address the limitations and weaknesses of the two-tier model, saving money and time and at the same time being in line with the general development trend of most countries in the world in the organization of judicial record database-managing agencies.

In many other countries (France, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Spain, etc.), the judicial record databases have been built and developed after the one-tier model. Judicial record is an institution that actively supports criminal procedure activities, the state management and meets the requests of individuals, agencies and organizations for judicial record Certificate.

In face of the requirements of stepping up the judicial reform and building a socialist state of jurisdiction in the spirit of the Resolution of the XI^thNational Party Congress and Resolution No. 49-NQ/TW of the Political Bureau on the judicial reform strategy toward 2020, judicial record activities in Vietnam should develop toward promoting its role as an important legal tool in support of criminal procedure activities, aiming to better guarantee the legitimate rights and interests of citizens.

Furthermore, in the civil social life, the judicial record Certificate has become increasingly important and necessary for every individual, agency and organization. The Judicial record Certificate is regarded as one of papers proving whether or not individuals have criminal records when they participate in legal relations. According to incomplete statistics, over the past ten years, in face of the requirement and demand of the society and the trend of regional and international integration, more than 60 legal documents contain provisions that require individuals to possess the Judicial record Certificate when participating in such social relations as application for relinquishment of Vietnamese nationality or for naturalization in Vietnam; application for child adoption; law practice, etc.

Together with the national economic development, the improvement of people’s material and spiritual lives, the higher intellectual level of people, the people’s sense of observance of law will be deeply improved, including clearer awareness of the role of Judicial record Certificate in proving the personal judicial details of individuals and creating conditions for convicts in the criminal record expungement and community integration. It can be predicted that the future demand of citizens, agencies and organizations for Judicial record Certificate, especially in criminal procedure activities, will increase and these cards will have a truly important significance in the social management and activities of judicial bodies, guaranteeing human rights and civil rights.

For the above-mentioned reasons, the formulation and promulgation of the Strategy for judicial record development by 2020, with a vision to 2030, are extremely necessary.

II. GUIDING VIEWPOINTS AND OBJECTIVES

1. Guiding viewpoints on judicial record development

a/ The judicial record development must be carried out step by step in conformity with the national socio-economic development, the process of judicial reform, administrative reform, building and consolidation of the legal system and the mechanism for organization of law enforcement and the development orientations of the judicial sector, and keep pace with the development in the world; be associated with the progress of reforming the system of procedure-conducting agencies; contribute to the exercise of human rights and civil rights; raise the quality of public-duty performance and the people-serving responsibility of cadres, civil servants and public employees.

b/ The judicial record development must be linked with raising the quality of civil servants and public employees involved in judicial record activities, be directed toward building a centralized and unified national judicial record database, meeting to the utmost the Judicial record Certificate demand of individuals, agencies and organizations; toward building a streamline and effective apparatus for a professional and modem administration serving people.

c/ The judicial record management must be connected with the system of the databases of courts, procuracies, public security offices and national defense agencies and other population management systems; and concurrently create prerequisites for the exploitation of the benefits of the judicial record management to serve the state management fields directly related to individuals.

d/ The judicial record management must be strict, but the procedures for handling the requests of individuals, agencies and organizations for the issuance of Judicial record Certificate must be transparent, simple and convenient, and respect personal privacy.

2. Objectives of judicial record development

a/ General objectives

The judicial record development is directed toward professionalism and modernization, closely following the requirements of building a socialist Vietnamese state of jurisdiction, in conformity with the world’s general trend of development, based on the establishment and enhancement of the mechanism for synchronous, comprehensive and effective coordination between judicial record database- managing agencies and related agencies in the exchange and provision of information, and toward building a centralized and unified national judicial record database. To organize and manage judicial record management agencies in a rational, scientific and modem manner; to associate the building and management of judicial record databases with the issuance of judicial record Certificate, best satisfying the requests of individuals, agencies and organizations for the issuance of judicial record Certificate. To concurrently promote the position and role of judicial record as a tool in active support of criminal procedure activities.

b/ Specific objectives

- During 2013-2015:

+ To establish a mechanism for comprehensive. and effective coordination between courts, procuracies, public-security offices, national defense agencies, civil judgment enforcement agencies, other agencies and organizations and judicial record database-managing agencies in the lookup, verification, exchange and provision of information to serve the establishment of judicial record databases and the issuance of judicial record Certificate;

+ To build judicial record databases at the National Judicial record Center and Service of Justice according to the Law on judicial record and documents detailing and guiding its implementation (after the two-tier model). To step up the exploitation and use of judicial record databases to serve the issuance of Judicial record Certificate to individuals, agencies and organizations;

+ To raise the quality and efficiency of the operation of judicial record database-managing agencies, ensuring the smooth communication between the National Judicial record Center and Service of Justice in building and managing the judicial record databases; to promote the active role of judicial record database-managing agencies in updating information on the expungement of criminal records of convicts, creating favorable conditions for, and actively supporting the process of community integration of persons who have completely served their sentences;

+ To proceed with the building and operation of electronic judicial record databases, ensuring over 30% and over 50% of official judicial record information exchanges between the National Judicial record Center and Service of Justice will becarriedout electronically by 2013 and 2014- 2015, respectively;

+ To study the establishment of a mechanism for providing online electronic judicial record information between judicial record database- managing agencies and courts, procuracies, public security offices, national defense agencies as well as civil judgment enforcement agencies;

+ In 2013, to ensure adequate judicial record staffs at the National Judicial record Center; 50-60% of Service of Justice will have adequate judicial record staffs as prescribed in the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 2369/QD-TTg; by 2014-2015, 100% of localities will have judicial record staffs as prescribed in the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 2369/QD-TTg, on the basis of identified working positions and structures of civil servants and public employees. To concurrently study the addition of judicial record staffs to the National Judicial record Center and Service of Justice as suitable to the practical situation;

+ To raise the quality of judicial record civil servants and public employees, ensuring that by 2015, over 80% of them will be trained and retrained in judicial record operations; to raise the quality of civil servants engaged in the lookup, verification, exchange and provision of judicial record information at related agencies. To promote the coordinating role of commune-level judicial officers in the lookup, verification, exchange and provision of judicial record information;

+ To ensure convenience for individuals, agencies and organizations requesting the issuance of Judicial record Certificate; to pilot the issuance of judicial record Certificate by post and online - level 3 of online public administrative services (sending requests for the issuance of Judicial record Certificate via the Internet).

- During 2016-2020:

+ To further enhance the close, comprehensive and effective coordination between courts, procuracies, public security offices, national defense agencies, civil judgment enforcement agencies and other agencies and organizations and the judicial record database-managing agencies in the lookup, verification, exchange and provision of information to serve the establishment of judicial record databases and the issuance of judicial record Certificate;

+ To raise the quality of establishment, management, use and exploitation of judicial record databases, especially electronic ones. To ensure that by 2016, 90-95% of official judicial record information will be exchanged electronically between the National Judicial record Center and Service of Justice;

+ To study the establishment of a centralized and unified judicial record database at the Ministry of Justice (one-tier database model). From 2018 on, to work out a roadmap for changing the judicial record database from two tiers to one tier based on the revised Law on Judicial record. By 2020, to proceed with the incremental establishment of the centralized and unified judicial record database at the Ministry of Justice;

+ To proceed with the provision and exchange of electronic judicial record information between judicial record database-managing agencies and courts, procuracies, public security offices and civil judgment enforcement agencies, based on the conditions of working equipment and facilities, and proceed with the application of information technology at related agencies;

+ To establish the information connection and sharing between the judicial record databases and other databases such as civil status, population, household registration and identity card databases, based on the close coordination and association as well as the compatibility and conformity with the conditions of working equipment and facilities, and proceed with the application of information technology at the agencies managing these databases;

+ To build a contingent of professional judicial record civil servants and public employees with specific titles, ensuring that 90- 95% of them will be professionally trained in judicial record operations. To raise the quality of civil servants engaged in the lookup, verification, exchange and provision of judicial record information at related agencies;

+ To proceed with the issuance of judicial record Certificate online - level 4 of online public administrative services (receipt and return of results online).

- Orientations toward 2030:

To establish and manage the judicial record databases after the one-tier model. To upgrade and improve the national judicial record database, ensuring the online information provision, receipt and sharing between the judicial record database-managing agencies and related agencies. To bring into play Judicial record Certificate as an instrument in support of the investigation, prosecution and trial by procedure-conducting agencies;

To study the expansion of judicial record management scope. To ensure that over 50% of .official documents will be exchanged electronically between the judicial record database-managing agencies and related agencies;

To facilitate and best satisfy the requests of individuals, agencies and organizations for the issuance of Judicial record Certificate in the direction that they may request the judicial record management agencies under the Ministry of Justice or Service of Justice to carry out procedures for granting Judicial record Certificate, regardless of place of residence of the certificate applicants;

The judicial record management agencies under the Ministry of Justice and Service of Justice will issue Judicial record Certificate on the basis of inquiring online into information from the national judicial record database. To ensure the online issuance of Judicial record Certificate.

III. IMPLEMENTATION SOLUTIONS

1. General solutions

a/ To complete the legal system on judicial record, creating adequate legal grounds for judicial record organization and activities; to complete relevant laws, especially criminal and criminal procedure laws, aiming to promote the role of judicial record in criminal procedure activities;

b/ To establish, enhance and perfect the relationship of coordination with related agencies in the lookup, verification, exchange and provision of judicial record information;

c/ To consolidate the organizational apparatus; to raise the quality of training and retraining of civil servants and public employees, increasing the professionalism of judicial record activities;

d/ To ensure physical and technical facilities for judicial record management work. To step up, and raise the efficiency of, the application of information technology to the building and management of judicial record databases;

dd/ To intensify propagation activities, aiming to raise the awareness of individuals, agencies and organizations about judicial record;

e/ To enhance international cooperation, exchange and learn experiences in judicial record organization and management in the direction of selective assimilation and learning for development in conformity with Vietnam’s conditions at present and in the future.

2. Specific solutions

a/ During 2013-2015:

- To finalize institutions to ensure the enforcement of the Law on Judicial record:

+ To expeditiously promulgate legal documents necessary for the enforcement of the Law on Judicial record;

+ To study and propose to the National Assembly revisions to judicial record-related provisions of the Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code;

+ To finalize and submit to the National Assembly for promulgation the draft Law on Civil Status, creating legal grounds for the establishment of civil status databases and prerequisites for connection and sharing of information with judicial record databases;

+ To study and elaborate legal documents on policies applicable to civil servants and public employees engaged in the lookup, verification, exchange and provision of judicial record information.

- To proceed with the provision of judicial record information in electronic form between the National Judicial record Center and Service of Justice.

- To consolidate the organizational structures of the National Judicial record Center, the Judicial record Sections and the Judicial record Units of the Judicial Administrative Divisions of Services of Justice.

- To intensify professional training and retraining for judicial record civil servants and public employees, attaching importance to training in skills of using software applications and network administration, etc.; to organize training and retraining courses for civil servants and public employees involved in the lookup, verification, exchange and provision of judicial record information at related agencies.

- To invest in material and technical facilities for the National Judicial record Center and Service of Justice for the establishment and management of judicial record databases in printed and electronic forms. To proceed with the official use of the judicial record management software at the National Judicial record Center and Service of Justice. To invest in material and technical facilities for related ministries and sectors to apply information technology toward exchanging and providing judicial record information in electronic form for the judicial record database- managing agencies.

- To intensify public information on judicial record. To work out plans for public information on the Law on Judicial record and guiding documents in the mass media; to compile propagating documents such as law question- answer books and professional manuals so that judicial record officers, ordinary people, agencies and organizations will understand judicial record more clearly. To train cadres and civil servants of courts, procuracies, public security offices and national defense agencies in the task of these agencies to coordinate with the judicial record database-managing agencies in the lookup, verification, exchange and provision of judicial record information.

- To intensify cooperation, exchange and learning of experiences in the establishment and management of judicial record databases with countries in the region and the world; thereby to propose policies on the development of judicial record activities suitable to Vietnamese reality, serving as a basis for revision and improvement of the law on judicial record.

b/ During 2016-2020:

- To complete the institutions on judicial record and relevant legal documents:

+ To theoretically study and review the practical implementation of the Law on Judicial record and propose amendments thereto along the line of affirming the significance and importance of judicial record activities; to promote the role and value of Judicial record Certificate in state management, social life and procedural activities; to establish judicial record databases after the one-tier model; to ensure convenience in the exchange and provision of judicial record information between related agencies and the judicial record database- managing agencies, best satisfying the requests of individuals, agencies and organizations for Judicial record Certificate;

+ To conduct theoretical studies and practical reviews on the role of judicial record activities in the process of judicial reform, especially the reform of procedural process; thereby, to propose amendments to penal, criminal procedure, criminal judgment execution and civil judgment enforcement laws related to judicial record activities;

+ To formulate legal documents on titles of judicial record civil servants and public employees. To study and propose appropriate amendments to the regimes and policies applicable to civil servants and public employees of the Ministry of Justice and related agencies who are involved in the lookup, verification, exchange and provision of judicial record information.

- To intensify the exchange and provision of electronic judicial record information between the judicial record database-managing agencies and related agencies.

- To further raise the quality of judicial record civil servants and public employees; to attract resources for judicial record activities with a view to raising the capacity and moral and political qualities of judicial record civil servants and public employees:

+ To raise the capacity and quality of judicial record training toward approaching advanced training programs of countries in the region and the world; to select civil servants for overseas intensive training to meet the international integration requirements;

+ To intensify professional retraining for civil servants and public employees of related agencies who are involved in the lookup, verification, exchange and provision of judicial record information and officers of the judicial record database-managing agencies, who receive and process judicial record information;

+ To work out mechanisms and policies to attract professionally capable and qualified persons in judicial record activities. To encourage and give priority to judicial record civil servants and public employees at Service of Justice to work at different organizations of the Judicial record Management Agency of the Ministry of Justice. To diversify sources of recruitment to suit the peculiarities of the establishment and management of judicial record databases.

- To increase investment in material and technical facilities, strongly apply the information technology to judicial record management activities; to upgrade and improve software applications to serve judicial record management activities; to invest in technical infrastructure for and build the judicial record databases after the one-tier model at the Judicial record Management Agency of the Ministry of Justice. To increase investment in material and technical facilities for related agencies toward connection with the judicial record database-managing agencies in the lookup, verification, exchange and provision of judicial record information in electronic form.

- To intensity public work on the law on judicial record for people, agencies and organizations.

- To further enhance international cooperation with other countries for experience sharing and attraction of technical and financial assistance for judicial record activities and overseas intensive training in judicial record operations.

c/ Orientations to 2030:

- To finalize the institutions on judicial record and relevant legal documents toward ensuring the consistency, synchrony and comprehensiveness of the judicial record institutions in the legal system and to promote the position and role of judicial record as an instrument in active support of criminal judicial activities.

- To enhance coordination with related agencies in die lookup, verification, exchange and provision of judicial record information via internet; to intensify coordination in information sharing via internet between judicial record databases and a number of other databases such as those on civil status, population, household registration and identity cards.

- To raise the quality of training and retraining in legal knowledge and skills of receiving, processing and providing judicial record information for judicial record civil servants and public employees in association with the titles of judicial record officers. To further intensify training in skills of providing, exchanging and verifying judicial record information for staffs of ministries and sectors who are involved in the provision, exchange and verification of judicial record information, and for commune- level judicial-civil status officers.

- To continue with vigorous application of information technology to judicial record management activities, ensuring the building and organization of the national judicial record database and the system of judicial record management agencies toward professionalism and modernization, best satisfying the requests of individuals, agencies and organizations. To continue investing in material and technical facilities for related agencies, ensuring that the exchange and provision of judicial record information will be carried out in electronic form.

- To further intensify public information on the law on judicial record in various forms.

- To further intensify the effective judicial record cooperation between Vietnam and other countries in the region and the world, facilitating the establishment and management of judicial record databases and the issuance of Judicial record Certificate.

IV. SCHEMES FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE STRATEGY

1.To formulate and submit to the Prime Minister for promulgation a scheme on establishment of the national judicial record database.

- Responsible agency: The Ministry of Justice

- Coordinating agencies: The Supreme People’s Court, the Supreme People’s Procuracy, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of National Defense and People’s Committees of centrally-affiliated provinces and cities.

- Implementation time: 2013-2014.

2.To formulate and submit to the Prime Minister for promulgation a scheme on pilot issuance of Judicial record Certificate by post and online - level 3 of online public administrative services.

- Responsible agency: The Ministry of Justice.

- Coordinating agencies: The Ministry of Public Security and provincial-level People’s Committees.

- Implementation time: 2013-2015.

3.To formulate and submit to the Prime Minister for promulgation a scheme on the change of judicial record databases from two- tier model to one-tier model.

- Responsible agency: The Ministry of Justice.

- Coordinating agencies: Provincial-level People’s Committees.

- Implementation time: 2018-2020.

4.The Ministry of Justice shall formulate and promulgate schemes on building and developing the contingent of judicial record officers.

- Responsible agency: The Ministry of Justice.

- Coordinating agencies: The Supreme People’s Court, the Supreme People’s Procuracy, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Home Affairs and People’s Committees of centrally-affiliated provinces and cities.

- Implementation time: 2016-2020.

5.To formulate and submit to the PrimeMinister for promulgation a scheme on the exchange and provision of electronic judicial record information between the judicial record database-managing agencies and related agencies.

- Responsible agency: The Ministry of Justice.

- Coordinating agencies: The Supreme People’s Court, the Supreme People’s Procuracy, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of National Defense and People’s Committees of centrally-affiliated provinces and cities.

- Implementation time: 2016-2020.

6.To formulate and promulgate a scheme on information connection and exchange between the judicial record databases and the civil status, population, household registration and identity card databases.

- Responsible agency: The Ministry of Justice.

- Coordinating agencies: The Ministry of Public Security and People’s Committees of centrally-affiliated provinces and cities.

- Implementation time: 2016-2020.

7.To formulate and promulgate a scheme on pilot issuance of Judicial record Certificate online - level 4 of online public administrative services.

- Responsible agency: The Ministry of Justice.

- Coordinating agencies: The Ministry of Public Security and People’s Committees of centrally-affiliated provinces and cities

- Implementation time: 2016-2020.

V. ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION

1. Assignment of responsibilities

a/ The Ministry of Justice shall:

- Assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related ministries and sectors and provincial-level People’s Committees in, formulating a roadmap and master plan for implementation of the Strategy; work out plans for implementation of the Strategy in each period, mobilize financial and human resources as well as material and technical foundations for the implementation of the Strategy;

- Assume the prime responsibility for formulating schemes for implementation of the strategy;

- Assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Supreme People’s Court, the Supreme People’s Procuracy, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of National Defense as well as other agencies and organizations in, completing the judicial record law and relevant laws;

- Assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Supreme People’s Court, the Supreme People’s Procuracy, the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of National Defense in, enhancing coordination in the lookup, verification, exchange and provision of judicial record information to serve the establishment of judicial record databases and the issuance of Judicial record Certificate;

- Assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related ministries and sectors in, completing legal documents on the judicial record organizational apparatus;

- Organize professional training and retraining for judicial record civil servants and public employees;

- Coordinate with the Ministry of Home Affairs in ensuring adequate judicial record staffs at the judicial record database-managing agencies under the Ministry of Justice and Service of Justice; elaborate and promulgate legal documents on regimes and policies applicable to judicial record cadres, civil servants and public employees;

- Assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with other ministries, sectors and localities in, reporting to the Prime Minister on the implementation of the Strategy.

b/ The Ministry of Public Security shall:

- Further direct units under its management and local public security offices to exchange and provide judicial record information for judicial record database-managing agencies to serve the establishment of judicial record databases and the issuance of Judicial record Certificate;

- Coordinate with the Ministry of Justice in formulating relevant schemes for implementation of the Strategy.

- Organize training and retraining in legal knowledge on judicial record for staffs involved in the lookup, verification, exchange and provision of judicial record information.

c/ The Ministry of National Defense shall:

- Direct related agencies and units in the People’s Army to provide judicial record information for judicial record database- managing agencies to serve the establishment of judicial record databases and the issuance of Judicial record Certificate;

- Coordinate with the Ministry of Justice in formulating relevant schemes for implementation of the Strategy;

- Organize training and retraining in legal knowledge on judicial record for staffs involved in the lookup, verification, exchange and provision of judicial record information.

d/ The Ministry of Home Affairs shall:

- Assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Justice in, arranging appropriate staffs for judicial record activities;

- Assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Justice and related ministries and sectors in, elaborating and promulgating legal documents on regimes and policies applicable to judicial record cadres, civil servants and public employees.

dd/ The Ministry of Finance shall ensure annual state budget allocations based on the estimates of agencies and units responsible for implementing the Strategy as prescribed by law.

e/ People’s Committees of centrally-affiliated provinces and cities shall:

- Work out and promulgate their local plans on implementation of the Strategy in conformity with the local general plans and master plans for socio-economic development;

- To ensure staffs for judicial record activities in their localities.

2. The Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuracy shall:

- Coordinate with the Ministry of Justice, other ministries, sectors and provincial-level People’s Committees in implementing the Strategy;

- Coordinate with the Ministry of Justice in formulating relevant schemes for implementation of the Strategy.

3. Funds for implementation of the Strategy:

a/ The funds for implementation of the Strategy comprise state budget funds and mobilized and donated funds (if any);

b/ State budget funds for implementation of the Strategy are allocated according to the estimates of agencies and units responsible for implementing the Strategy;

c/ Funds for formulation of plans for implementation of the Strategy, for public information of the Strategy’s contents, inspections, preliminary and final reviews and other tasks and solutions are included in the annual budget estimates of ministries, sectors and localities in accordance with the law on the state budget.-