Directive No. 01/2005/CT-BTP On Implementing Key Tasks of Judicial Work in 2005

DIRECTIVE

On Implementing Key Tasks of Judicial Work in 2005

The year 2005 marks many significant historical anniversaries for the country and the judicial sector: the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the 30th anniversary of the complete liberation of the South and national reunification, and the 60th anniversary of the traditional day of the judicial sector. This year also plays a decisive role in achieving the success of the Ninth National Congress Resolution of the Party and completing the socio-economic targets set out in the Five-Year Plan (2001-2005).

To build on the achievements made in 2004, address existing shortcomings, and continue to advance judicial work with new developments and fundamental and comprehensive changes across all aspects and levels within the sector; particularly to better meet the increasingly high demands of national renewal, administrative reform, judicial reform, and the construction of a socialist rule-of-law state of the people, by the people, for the people, the Minister of Justice issues directives on implementing key tasks of judicial work in 2005 as follows:

I. KEY TASKS

1. Focus on building and perfecting the legal framework; improving the quality and ensuring the progress of drafting, reviewing, and inspecting normative legal documents

This is the top priority task of the judicial sector in 2005, involving a large workload and high quality requirements, thus time, effort, and funding must be prioritized to ensure timely completion and quality of projects and draft documents under the 2005 Law and Ordinance Building Program, the Government's Work Program, and the plans for issuing normative legal documents of ministries, sectors, and local authorities.

Functional units of the Ministry of Justice urgently complete projects under the Program on Reforming Procedures and Improving Quality of Drafting and Issuing Normative Legal Documents pursuant to Decision No. 909/QD-TTg dated August 14, 2003 of the Prime Minister. In the first quarter of 2005, the Scientific Council of the Ministry of Justice will lead and coordinate with relevant units to develop and submit to the Minister for approval a project fundamentally reforming the organization of review and enhancing the quality of reviewed documents. In the process of drafting and reviewing documents, the effective participation of experts, scientific staff, and practical activities must be mobilized. The situation of exceeding deadlines for reviewing normative legal documents must be ended.

The Office of the Ministry will lead and coordinate with relevant units to develop a plan for drafting projects and documents in 2005, clearly defining timelines and specifically assigning responsibilities to each unit, to be submitted to the Minister for approval before February 5, 2005, for implementation.

Units under the Ministry, according to their assigned responsibilities, will focus on assisting drafting boards to complete and submit on schedule draft documents directly related to the organization and operation of the sector such as the Enforcement Law, Real Estate Registration Law, Notarization Ordinance, Judicial Record Ordinance, Legal Aid Ordinance, decrees amending registration of household registration, marriage and family relations involving foreign elements, guidelines for implementing the Law on Enacting Normative Legal Documents of People's Councils and People's Committees, and other documents. The Civil and Commercial Law Department will closely cooperate with relevant agencies to incorporate public opinions on the draft Civil Code (amended) to finalize and submit to the National Assembly for approval at its seventh session (May 2005).

The International Law Department and other units under the Ministry, within their respective responsibilities, will effectively participate in the work of drafting legal documents to implement international commitments of Vietnam and serve its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO); enhance the quality of advisory and support services on legal issues related to international economic integration, provide guidance on business practices, and promptly resolve difficulties faced by localities in reviewing normative legal documents for integration purposes.

Legal institutions under ministries and sectors must truly play their advisory and supportive roles to help leaders complete on time and with quality the projects and normative legal documents they are responsible for drafting, reviewing, and participating in. Legal institutions and corporate legal officers of state-owned enterprises need to pay attention through practical operations to identify and propose amendments, abolition, or replacement of provisions that lack feasibility.

Departments of Justice should proactively advise and assist local governments in organizing public consultations on the draft Civil Code (amended), implementing the Law on Enacting Normative Legal Documents of People's Councils and People's Committees; develop plans to strengthen organizational structures and enhance the capacity of staff involved in drafting and reviewing documents to meet the requirements of the Law (new); complete the review of local normative legal documents in accordance with WTO requirements as directed by the Ministry of Justice and the plan of the local People's Committee.

In 2005, the entire sector continued to effectively implement Decree No. 135/2003/NĐ-CP dated November 14, 2003 of the Government on inspection and handling of normative legal documents. The Department of Legal Document Inspection, legal institutions under ministries and sectors, and local judicial agencies urgently built and submitted plans for leadership approval to immediately implement inspections from the beginning of the year with the principle of coordinating self-inspection activities at each sector and level with inspection activities within their authority to ensure no documents are overlooked. Rectify the practice of submitting newly issued documents for inspection as required, while strengthening thematic, regional inspections, particularly focusing on ministries, sectors, and localities that issue a large number of documents or areas directly related to people's daily lives such as land, construction, taxes, fees, regulations on administrative procedures, administrative violations, etc. Additionally, continue to promote activities: perfecting the institutional framework for inspection work, especially at ministries, sectors, and provincial People's Committees; improving organizational structure, increasing dedicated staffing, expanding the pool of collaborators; providing in-depth training and professional development in inspection, allocating funds and other necessary conditions according to regulations to meet the requirements of legal document inspection work.

2. Enhance the effectiveness of legal education and dissemination work to raise awareness of respect and compliance with laws among cadres and the public.

The main tasks regarding legal education and dissemination in 2005 are to focus on intensifying the implementation of Directive No. 32/CT-TW dated December 9, 2003 of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam on strengthening the Party's leadership in legal education and dissemination work, raising awareness of law compliance among cadres and the public; implementing Phase I of the National Program on Legal Education and Dissemination to enhance awareness of law compliance among cadres and the public at commune, ward, and town levels from 2005 to 2010, and continuing to effectively implement the four projects under the Government's Legal Education and Dissemination Program for the period 2003-2007.

In the first quarter of 2005, the Department of Legal Education and Dissemination will take the lead in coordinating with relevant units to develop a Plan for Implementing the National Program on Legal Education and Dissemination to be submitted to the Minister for approval. Legal education and dissemination activities need to focus primarily on grassroots levels, paying particular attention to areas with many difficulties, regions with many ethnic minorities, remote and far-flung areas, policies of the Party and State on ethnicity and religion, and fields currently facing many issues such as traffic safety, land management, administrative reform, anti-corruption, and waste. Continue to study and innovate the content and forms of legal education and dissemination suitable for different types of subjects and regions.

Legal education and dissemination work is the responsibility of the entire political system, at all levels and sectors, where the Ministry of Justice, legal institutions under ministries and sectors, and local judicial agencies need to play a leading role as the core in the coordination council for legal education and dissemination at all levels to assist the Government, ministries, sectors, and local authorities in directing and organizing this work. Based on the guidance of the coordination council for legal education and dissemination of the Government and the Ministry of Justice, legal institutions under ministries and sectors advise leaders on organizing the dissemination and popularization of normative legal documents within their respective fields of state management; local judicial agencies advise the same-level People's Committees on disseminating new legal documents in their locality.

Departments of Justice and Justice Offices continue to consolidate and build village, neighborhood, hamlet, commune, community mediation groups, striving to increase successful mediation cases to over 80%. Effectively utilize legal libraries at communes, wards, towns; continue building legal libraries at schools, government agencies, military units, enterprises, aiming to have 60% of these organizations and facilities equipped with legal libraries by the end of 2005. Organize well the Competition for Excellent Mediators at all levels, moving towards the second National Competition for Excellent Mediators in the third quarter of 2005.

Strengthen management of press and publication work in the Justice sector. Improve organizational structures of press and publication agencies; enhance the quality of news and articles in sectoral newspapers, magazines, special editions, and bulletins, as well as the quality of publications by the Justice Publishing House, directing these activities to serve the key tasks of judicial reform and the political tasks of the sector.

The Department of Legal Education and Dissemination will take the lead in coordinating with relevant units to develop the Management Regulation for Press and Publication and the Plan for Guiding the Development of Press and Publication Work in the Justice Sector from 2005 to 2010 to be promulgated by the Minister in the second quarter of 2005.

3. Continue to make fundamental changes in civil enforcement work according to the solutions presented by the Government at the sixth session of the XIth National Assembly.

In the first quarter of 2005, the Civil Enforcement Department will submit to the Minister for issuance within his authority or coordinate with competent agencies to issue fully guiding documents for the implementation of the Civil Enforcement Decree 2004 and Government Decrees on civil enforcement work; develop a cooperation regulation with relevant sectors to address issues arising during the application and enforcement of civil enforcement laws; strengthen directive work, promptly addressing and unifying responses to localities' requests and suggestions related to civil enforcement work. 2005 must be the year to fundamentally resolve institutional and mechanism difficulties in the field of civil enforcement, creating conditions to improve the effectiveness of enforcement.

The Director of the Civil Enforcement Bureau, the Directors of the Justice Departments, and the Heads of centralized local civil enforcement agencies shall closely direct the organization and implementation of enforcement actions to ensure that they comply with the contents of the judgments pronounced and the procedures and practices of enforcement, striving to fully complete the enforcement of 80% of cases and 50% concerning money and assets for cases with conditions for enforcement; complete the review and classification of judgments without conditions for enforcement in the first quarter of 2005 to coordinate with the People's Procuracy and the People's Court to process the procedures for exemption and reduction of enforcement according to regulations at each locality. The Director of the Justice Department shall direct the Head of the provincial civil enforcement agency to develop a plan to implement exemptions and reductions and supervise its implementation, striving to complete the exemption and reduction of at least 50% of cases with conditions for exemption and reduction by the end of the third quarter of 2005.

Continue to promote the role of organizing and directing civil enforcement work at the local level of the Provincial People's Committees and District People's Committees. Mobilize the comprehensive strength of the political system at the grassroots level through the Enforcement Directive Board and the community to educate and persistently persuade those who must enforce judgments to respect and voluntarily strictly enforce judgments and decisions of the courts that have taken legal effect, while firmly organizing coercive enforcement against cases of intentional delay, obstruction, and resistance. Focus on directing the final resolution of cases with conditions for enforcement but still pending due to obstacles or complaints and grievances, prolonged; in 2005, select some localities to build projects and organize the basic enforcement of pending judgments with conditions for enforcement. In the second quarter of 2005, conduct a mid-term review of the transfer of cases with values under 500,000 dong for direct urging of enforcement by the People's Committee at the commune level.

The Heads of civil enforcement agencies shall enhance their responsibility in organizing public reception and promptly resolving complaints and reports about enforcement at the place of occurrence in accordance with the spirit of Directive No. 36/2004/CT-TTG dated October 27, 2004 of the Prime Minister on rectifying and strengthening the responsibility of Heads of administrative state agencies in complaint and report handling work; strictly implement Decision No. 593/QĐ-BTP dated November 8, 2004 of the Minister of Justice promulgating regulations on receiving and processing hot-line information about civil enforcement work.

The Director of the Justice Department shall be responsible before the Minister for organizing recruitment and supplementing sufficient staffing allocated to local civil enforcement agencies; by the end of the second quarter of 2005 at the latest, eliminate the situation where there is a shortage of Heads of civil enforcement agencies or where a civil enforcement agency only has one enforcement officer.

Popularize lessons learned and good models in civil enforcement work, commend and expand exemplary cases; link the consideration and evaluation of annual achievements and rewards with the completion of enforcement targets. Pay attention to education and cultivation of professional qualities and ethics of the civil enforcement cadre; promptly identify and correct violations in enforcement work; strictly handle negative behaviors, violations of professional ethics, causing inconvenience and harassment to the people in civil enforcement activities.

The Planning and Finance Division shall cooperate with the Civil Enforcement Bureau to propose measures to accelerate the implementation of projects approved by the Prime Minister to strengthen material infrastructure, office premises, and operating funds for local civil enforcement agencies; cooperate with the Ministry Inspectorate to strengthen inspections and audits of compliance with laws in construction of office premises and use of funds by civil enforcement agencies in accordance with the spirit of the National Assembly and Government resolutions on strengthening management of basic construction investment, thrift, and prevention of waste.

4. Accelerate administrative reform, enhance the effectiveness of state management, and emphasize responsibility awareness and service attitude in the field of judicial administration and judicial support.

Focus on accelerating administrative reform and enhancing the effectiveness of state management in the field of judicial administration with the following main solutions: 1) Delegate some current household registration matters within the jurisdiction of the Provincial People's Committee to the Commune People's Committee to implement, and the Provincial People's Committee may delegate the Director of the Justice Department to resolve remaining household registration matters; pilot delegation to the Commune People's Committee in Ho Chi Minh City to certify copies of documents, diplomas, and certificates; 2) Review and amend administrative procedures in notarization, certification, household registration, and issuance of criminal records towards simplification, abolishing cumbersome and formalistic regulations, unnecessary forms and documents; summarize the model of "one-stop service" in these activities to draw lessons and continue to expand; pilot implementing the transformation of some currently operating notary offices to operate under a self-financing mechanism; strictly manage marriage registration and adoption involving foreign elements; 3) Promote the application of information technology, standardization, and automation in managing and processing files, implementing certain stages of notarization, certification, household registration, and issuance of criminal records procedures; 4) Publicize procedures for receiving and deadlines for handling matters; strengthen inspection and audit: emphasize responsibility awareness and service attitude of cadres working in this area.

By the first quarter of 2005, the Administrative Justice Department and the International Adoption Bureau shall complete the draft decrees amending Decree No. 83/1998/NĐ-CP on civil status registration and Decree No. 68/2002/NĐ-CP on marriage and family relations involving foreign elements for submission to the Government for issuance: focusing on drafting the Legal Records Ordinance, Notarization Ordinance, and the Project for Gradual Socialization of Notarization Activities to be submitted to the competent authority according to the schedule. At the same time, prepare the guiding documents for ordinances and decrees, and the Implementation Plan for the Prime Minister's Directive on Strengthening State Management in the Field of Marriage and Family Relations Involving Foreign Elements to be implemented immediately after these documents are issued.

Continue to coordinate with relevant ministries, sectors, and local authorities to guide the resolution of inconsistencies and non-uniformities between civil status records and other citizen documents (school transcripts, diplomas, certificates, household registers...); enhance the capacity of cadres working on nationality issues, resolve definitively the nationality issue of a portion of citizens living along the border, especially in southern provinces, in accordance with Prime Minister Directive No. 14/2003/CT-TTg.

Focus on developing the number and continuously improving the quality and professional ethics of the legal counsel workforce. Enhance state management over legal counsel regarding the continued improvement of the legal counsel organizational structure from central to local levels. The Legal Aid Department urgently completes the overall development project for the legal counsel profession in Vietnam until 2010 and 2020 for submission to the Government for consideration and approval; implement research on the project and prepare necessary conditions for establishing a national legal counsel organization in 2006; study further decentralizing state management over legal counsel to provincial People's Committees and Departments of Justice; prepare and organize the National Conference to Summarize the Implementation of the Legal Counsel Ordinance in 2001.

Implement the Legal Appraisal Ordinance of 2004. Timely provide guidance and coordinate with relevant ministries, sectors, and provincial People's Committees to strengthen legal appraisal organizations at both central and local levels, enhance the capacity of legal appraisers in terms of quantity and quality, particularly in forensic appraisal fields. Complete the proposal for establishing the National Forensic Institute to submit to the Prime Minister by the first quarter of 2005.

Focus on effectively implementing the new Government Decree on Auctioning Assets to replace Decree No. 86/CP dated December 19, 1996 on Auction Regulations; actively consolidate, strengthen, and improve the quality and efficiency of asset auction service centers in accordance with the new decree.

The Director of the Department of Justice is responsible before the Minister and the Chairman of the People's Committee at the same level for implementing measures to promote administrative reform, enhance the effectiveness of state management in the field of administrative justice and legal aid at the local level: review and consolidate the cadre workforce, enhance training and professional development, especially for civil status cadres at the commune level to fulfill assigned tasks. Strengthen inspection and supervision of duty performance with the principle of closely combining self-inspection by each agency and organization at the grassroots level with inspections and checks by higher levels and public oversight to promptly identify any violations during operations; strictly handle cadres who engage in negative behaviors causing inconvenience or harassment when handling citizens' affairs. Heads of units and leaders of local judicial agencies must jointly bear responsibility for any violations or negatives within their jurisdiction if they fail to detect and address them in a timely manner.

5. Complete the consolidation and strengthening of the judicial system's organizational structure; enhance training and build a clean and strong judicial cadre workforce.

In 2005, complete the consolidation and strengthening of the organizational structure of the four-level judicial bodies (from the Ministry of Justice to Provincial Departments of Justice, District Justice Offices, and Commune Justice Boards) towards unifying models based on the expanded functions and responsibilities of each level according to newly issued documents. First, focus on consolidating District Justice Offices and Commune Justice Boards; in areas where District Justice Offices were previously dissolved, by the end of the second quarter of 2005, the Provincial Department of Justice Director shall cooperate with the Provincial Department of Home Affairs Director to develop a proposal for submission to the Provincial People's Council and People's Committee Decision to re-establish them in accordance with the provisions of Government Decree No. 172/2004/NĐ-CP dated September 29, 2004. Strengthen the legal departments of ministries, specialized agencies under provincial People's Committees, and state-owned enterprises according to Government Decree No. 122/2004/NĐ-CP dated May 18, 2004. Strengthen asset auction service centers under Provincial Departments of Justice to meet requirements for civil enforcement work and administrative violation handling at the local level.

In 2005, there must be a clear change in the quality, effectiveness of work, and moral character cultivation among judicial cadres and civil servants, primarily among managerial cadres, judicial title holders, and those directly handling citizens' affairs.

Promote and improve the quality of training and capacity building for professional knowledge and vocational skills for the cadre of specialized staff; enhance management and operational capabilities for the cadre of managerial staff; provide knowledge on international economic integration for cadres and civil servants in the sector, with a focus on those holding judicial positions, prioritizing training, capacity building, and stabilizing the cadre of judicial staff at commune and district levels, especially in areas lacking cadres and supplementary sources, remote and mountainous regions, and ethnic minority areas; train ethnic languages for cadres working regularly in areas with many ethnic minorities. The Judicial Academy will closely cooperate with relevant agencies to ensure the implementation of the training plan for appointing judicial positions: judges, prosecutors, lawyers, enforcement officers, notaries; urgently complete the development of the framework program, detailed program, and textbook compilation to implement the training framework for the three positions of judge, prosecutor, and lawyer from 2007; propose mechanisms and solutions to attract part-time faculty members from judicial agencies to be submitted to the inter-sectoral leadership for unified implementation; complete the project to build material infrastructure and headquarters of the Judicial Academy to meet the requirements for training serving judicial reform.

The Hanoi University of Law will leverage the achievements of 25 years of training legal personnel and legal research to continue implementing its five action programs effectively; promote the renewal of teaching content, programs, textbooks, and methods to improve the quality of training. Urgently develop and implement the project to transform the Hanoi University of Law into a national key university for legal education in accordance with Resolution No. 08/NQ-TW dated January 2, 2002 of the Politburo on some key tasks of judicial work in the coming period.

6. Continue to innovate guidance and management work, closely follow the grassroots level, strengthen discipline and rules.

To ensure the synchronous and high-quality implementation of key tasks and the annual work program in 2005, cadres, civil servants, and employees in the judicial sector, first and foremost the cadre of leaders and managers, must constantly renew their thinking, improve working methods, take responsibility seriously, have plans to implement each task, determine timelines, assign specific responsibilities, and regularly urge and inspect the implementation; use the effectiveness of work tested through practice as a measure to evaluate the completion of tasks.

Units under the Ministry will continue to implement the Ministry of Justice's administrative reform program for the 2005-2010 period with the spirit of not spreading resources thinly but selecting several truly pressing fields and contents for focused direction and completion; complete and implement proposals on state management levels in the judicial field according to the requirements of Government Resolution No. 08/2004/NQ-CP dated June 30, 2004 on continuing to decentralize state management between the Government and provincial-level city authorities directly under the central government; review the reporting system within the sector towards substance, consolidating multiple information in one report, reducing unnecessary reports; complete the construction and issuance of operating regulations of the Ministry and Provincial Departments of Justice.

Strengthen the application of information technology in business operations and management: gradually build and perfect software for management and support in various fields of work in the sector; implement the provision and exchange of information among units under the Ministry and expand to the Provincial Departments of Justice through the network system; actively utilize and exploit the network system effectively for daily directive, management, urging, and inspection activities at both the Ministry and unit levels and localities. In the first quarter of 2005, the Information Center will lead and coordinate with units to complete and officially launch the Ministry of Justice's website and email system; organize training and capacity building for the cadre of leaders and managers and professional staff in the Ministry on using and exploiting these systems. Units with their own business networks and databases must closely coordinate with the Information Center during the implementation process to ensure technical compatibility and integration through the Ministry's integrated data center.

In 2005, continue to implement the policy of focusing on grassroots levels, closely following practical situations, bringing judicial work closer and contributing positively to the successful implementation of economic and social development tasks at each locality. Leaders of the Ministry, units under the Ministry, and Provincial Departments of Justice should have plans and assignments to regularly visit localities and grassroots levels, especially those with many difficulties, large workloads, and important areas to grasp the situation and provide direct guidance. These visits should be organized economically, with the right participants, well-prepared content, and prior coordination with local party and government leaders to ensure practicality and effectiveness.

Rectify and tighten discipline and rules in public service activities, ensuring working hours and office culture; strictly implement internal and sector-wide information and reporting systems; manage expenditures and budget spending at units under the Ministry and within the sector according to prescribed regulations with the spirit of thrift and waste prevention.

Strengthen inspection and audit of official duties, compliance with laws and discipline in key areas of work that are highly contentious in the sector. By January 2005, the Inspector General of the Ministry will submit to the Minister for approval the inspection and audit plan for 2005 to be implemented.

7. The entire sector will strive to achieve many accomplishments to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the traditional day of the judicial sector and the second National Competition Congress of the judicial sector; prepare and successfully organize the Sixth Meeting of Ministers of Justice and Law of ASEAN countries in Vietnam in 2005.

II. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DIRECTIVE

The heads of units under the Ministry, legal organizations of the Ministry and sectors, Directors of Justice Departments within their respective functions, tasks, and authorities shall be responsible for organizing the implementation, developing plans to implement the Directive, reporting to the leadership of the Ministry and sector, submitting to the People's Committee for approval and directing its implementation; they must submit a written report to the Minister of Justice on the results of implementing this Directive before November 15, 2005. The Competition and Reward Council of the Justice Sector will guide and direct competition work linked to the completion of key tasks in 2005; launch a special competition movement throughout the sector to celebrate major national holidays and the 60th anniversary of the traditional day of the Vietnamese Justice Sector.

This Directive shall take effect ten days after its publication in the Official Gazette. The Director of the Ministry of Justice's Office shall be responsible for monitoring, urging, and compiling the situation of Directive implementation throughout the sector to report to the Minister./.

 THE MINISTER

(Signed)

Uông Chu Lưu