Circular No. 03/2002/TT-BTP guiding the management of the judicial sector's budget for 2002

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for Managing the Budget of the Justice Sector in 2002

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Pursuant to Decision No. 196/2001/QĐ-TTg dated December 27, 2001 of the Prime Minister on the allocation of targets and plans and the state budget estimate for 2002;

Pursuant to the Financial Transparency Regulations for State Budgets at all levels and budgetary units issued together with Decisions No. 225/1998/QĐ-TTg dated November 20, 1998 and No. 182/2001/QĐ-TTg dated November 20, 2001 of the Prime Minister;

Pursuant to Decision No. 146/2001/QĐ-BTC dated December 27, 2001 of the Minister of Finance on the allocation of revenue and expenditure estimates for the state budget for 2002 to the Ministry of Justice;

On January 18, 2002, the Minister of Justice issued Decision No. 86/2002/QĐ-BTP on the allocation of revenue and expenditure estimates for the state budget for 2002 to subordinate budgetary units under the Ministry.

In order for units to be proactive in using allocated funds, the Ministry guides certain key measures regarding the management of the Justice sector's budget for 2002 as follows:

I - ALLOCATION OF EXPENSES IN THE 2002 BUDGET

1 - Standard for regular expense disbursement.

a - Salaries, allowances, and contributions (Items 100, 102, 106) are disbursed at a minimum wage rate of 210,000 VND/month (except for judges' allowances at 120,000 VND/person/month; secretaries and enforcement officers' allowances at 100,000 VND/person/month, which are not counted towards social insurance and health insurance benefits).

b - For 2002, the Ministry allocates different expense standards within regular expenses for disbursement to People's Courts and civil enforcement agencies at local levels into six categories (see attached annex), with an average increase in other expense standards ranging from 4% to 10.4% compared to 2001, prioritizing units in mountainous, border, and island areas where regional coefficients are 0.3 or higher.

c - Based on planned staffing, the regular expense budget for 2002 is allocated to units. Units without planned staffing are given a budget based on actual staffing as of January 10, 2002. This is the maximum disbursement level when units have full staffing according to approved plans from the beginning of the year.

Quarterly funding allocations for budgetary units are calculated based on actual staffing, including salaries, allowances, and contributions; however, 2% of union dues are directly deducted by the Ministry of Finance from the Ministry of Justice's budget for distribution to the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor (Joint Circular No. 76/1999/TTLT/TC-TLĐ dated June 16, 1999 of the Ministry of Finance and the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor). Therefore, units do not need to remit 2% of union dues to higher-level unions at their locations.

d - Allocation of the 2002 budget and issuance of financial limits.

According to Circular No. 09/2001/TT-BTC dated January 18, 2001 of the Ministry of Finance (section 1.2, point 1, part II), financial disbursements are made according to approved budgets and the State Budget Manual.

- When allocating budgets to budgetary units, the Ministry assigns 11 detailed items, including: Salary (Item 100), allowance (Item 102), student scholarships (Item 103), bonuses (Item 104), contributions (Item 106), office supplies (Item 110), conferences (Item 112), regular maintenance of fixed assets (Item 117), major repairs of fixed assets (Item 118), professional activity costs (Item 119), and procurement of assets for professional activities (Item 145).

- The remaining items (Items 101, 105, 109, 111, 113, 114, and 144, etc.) are combined into Other Expenses (Item 134). When withdrawing funds for expenditures, units can use the amount allocated at Item 134 to cover other items and record and settle accounts according to the actual content of the items expended.

Funds for commendation and rewards and administrative expenses provided by the Ministry to Provincial Justice Departments through the Accounts of Enforcement Offices.

2 - Other expenses within the standard include:

Allowances for court sessions, court session subsidies, enforcement costs, purchase of forms and records, newspaper and magazine subscriptions; conference costs for mid-year and annual reviews, training of lay judges, specialized conferences, travel expenses for training, annual leave travel expenses according to regulations; automobile insurance (only compulsory liability insurance), regular maintenance of fixed assets...

Units must proactively arrange and balance their annual budgeted expenses, ensuring compliance with current state financial regulations. The budget allocated to units is the maximum amount that can be spent.

3 - In addition to the regular expense budget allocated according to the above standards, in 2002, units will also receive additional funding to cover:

a - Commendation and reward funds for 2002, the Ministry allocates to budgetary units as follows:

- Provincial People's Courts, the Ministry's Office, Hanoi Law University, School of Legal Training, Institute of Legal Science Research, National Registry of Security Interests, Journal of Democracy and Law is 10% of the total salary fund of the unit (Item 100).

- Provincial Enforcement Offices, District and County People's Courts, Towns and Cities under Provinces is 7% of the total salary fund of the unit (Item 100).

- Provincial Justice Departments is 3% of the total salary fund (Item 100) of the Enforcement Office and County People's Courts under the management of the Provincial Justice Department.

The use of commendation and reward funds is carried out in accordance with Part III of Circular No. 08/2001/TT-BTP dated December 18, 2001 of the Minister of Justice.

b - Administrative expenses: In 2002, the Ministry sets aside a portion of funds to support Provincial Justice Departments in performing administrative tasks as follows:

- Management of People's Courts and Enforcement Teams in each district, town, and provincial capital city: 1,300,000 VND/year.

- Management of People's Courts and Enforcement Teams in each county in mountainous, remote, and island areas with regional coefficients of 0.3 or higher: 2,500,000 VND/year.

- Management of People's Courts and Enforcement Teams in the remaining counties and towns: 1,800,000 VND/year.

These support funds are allocated to Provincial Justice Departments based on the number of county administrative units in each province and centrally-administered municipality. The use of administrative funds provided to Provincial Justice Departments is carried out in accordance with Circular No. 21/TP-KHTC dated January 11, 2002 of the Ministry of Justice.

c - Funds for providing uniforms according to regulations for staff of People's Courts and Civil Enforcement Agencies at local levels, and for People's Assessors (term 1999-2004).

d - Funds for trial activities for units with key cases at provincial level and for units experiencing sudden increases in case volumes.

đ - Funds for purchasing and equipping work tools for People's Courts and Civil Enforcement Agencies at local levels.

e - Funds for renting office premises for units without their own working premises.

g - Major repair funds for fixed assets: The Ministry requires units to comply strictly with Article 20, Section III, Chapter II of the State Asset Management Regulation under the Ministry of Justice. Units can only organize implementation upon receiving additional funding notification. Procedures for project establishment for major repairs, renovations, and expansions follow Circular No. 96/2000/TT-BTC dated September 28, 2000 issued by the Ministry of Finance.

h - Additionally, in 2002, the Ministry allocated a portion of funds for severance pay, support for judges on temporary assignment, support for courts and enforcement agencies that have not fully staffed, flood prevention funds, and funds for newly established units...

When units require additional funding as mentioned above, they must prepare budgets for submission to the Ministry for approval to allocate funds.

4 - Quarterly disbursement and payment of regular expenses shall be carried out according to the items listed in the State Budget Manual. In case of a need to adjust detailed budget items between categories at year-end, units must submit a written report to the Ministry before November 15 for consolidation and proposal to the Ministry of Finance for adjustment (as stipulated in Point 8, Part IV of Circular No. 103/1998/TT-BTC dated July 18, 1998 issued by the Ministry of Finance).

5 - According to the State Budget Law, budget-using units must fully implement the reporting and final accounting system for the State Budget quarterly and annually. Beyond the deadline set by the Ministry, if a unit fails to submit its final account report to the Ministry, the Ministry will temporarily suspend the allocation of funds for the next quarter (excluding salary-related payments) until the unit submits the report. Unit heads are responsible for any delays.

6 - In 2002, the Ministry allocated a portion of funds for training and capacity building for cadres and civil servants for budgetary units, requiring units to implement according to the guidelines in Circular No. 292/TP-QLTA-THA dated September 10, 2001 issued by the Minister of Justice.

7 - For investment in construction projects, management and disbursement of investment capital for construction projects must be carried out in accordance with the Investment and Construction Management Regulations issued together with Decrees No. 52/1999/NĐ-CP dated July 8, 1999 and No. 12/2000/NĐ-CP dated May 5, 2000 of the Government, and related circulars.

II - SOME MEASURES TO STRENGTHEN MANAGEMENT OF STATE BUDGET EXPENDITURE IN 2002

1 - Fully implement thrift and anti-waste measures in managing state budget expenditure. Budgetary units are responsible for:

a - Strictly implementing financial and accounting regulations issued by the State, promptly reporting to the Ministry any outdated regulations for supplementation and amendment.

b - Adhering to expenditure regulations for meetings, travel expenses, hospitality, etc., standards and quotas for telephone, car, office space usage, procurement of assets, materials, equipment, and construction of offices; ensuring expenditures within approved budgets, using funds for intended purposes effectively; thoroughly implementing Directive No. 29/2001/CT-TTg dated November 30, 2001 of the Prime Minister on promoting thrift and combating waste;

c - Implementing financial transparency for budgetary units in accordance with government regulations. At the beginning of each year, unit heads must inform staff about the annual budget allocated by the Ministry and quarterly expenditure quotas (for purchases and repairs) so that staff can monitor expenditures. At year-end, unit heads must publicly report on the results of fund utilization.

d - Rectifying and strengthening management of state assets under the Ministry of Justice, all budgetary units must strictly implement Decision No. 615/2000/QĐ-BTP dated July 14, 2000 and Directive No. 02/2000/CT-BTP dated July 31, 2000 of the Minister of Justice, each unit must establish and strictly adhere to internal asset management rules, and may not use official assets such as cars, motorcycles, telephones, and other public property for personal use.

đ - Based on Directive No. 29/2001/CT-TTg and current laws, unit heads must develop and implement measures to promote thrift, combat waste, corruption, and bribery within their units.

Unit heads must regularly supervise and inspect compliance with budget management regulations in their units and bear responsibility before the Minister of Justice if wastefulness, embezzlement, or violations of thrift regulations occur; creating conditions for trade unions, people's inspection committees, and staff to closely monitor financial activities to detect and prevent negative phenomena promptly.

Any individual who makes unauthorized expenditures or causes waste must personally bear responsibility for their decisions and cannot shift blame to management bodies.

2 - Enhancing the effectiveness of financial and asset management to ensure material resources for successfully fulfilling the political tasks of the sector in 2002.

3 - Accountants of budgetary units must maintain records of provisional receipts and advances. Advances must be settled completely without leaving outstanding debts. By the end of the fiscal year, if the person receiving the advance does not have sufficient documentation to settle the advance, they must return the unspent amount.

4 - Strengthening financial auditing and inspection of units using state budget funds, promptly resolving audit and inspection recommendations. Emphasizing financial discipline, strictly implementing Decree No. 49/NĐ-CP dated July 8, 1999 of the Government on administrative penalties in the field of accounting.

The above are some main measures for managing the budget expenditure of the Justice sector in 2002. During the implementation process, if there are any difficulties, units shall report to the Ministry (Department of Planning and Finance) for guidance on resolution.

This Circular shall take effect fifteen days from the date of signature.

Heads of budgetary units shall inform all officers and civil servants in their units and organize the implementation of this Circular./.