Circular No. 03/2008/TT-BTP guiding the implementation of certain provisions of Decree No. 79/2007/NĐ-CP dated May 18, 2007 of the Government on issuing certified copies from original books, certifying copies from originals, and certifying signatures.

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for implementing certain provisions of Decree No. 79/2007/NĐ-CP

dated May 18, 2007 of the Government on issuing certified copies from original registers, certifying copies from original documents, and certifying signatures

authenticate copies from original documents, authenticate signatures

_________________

Pursuant to Decree No. 62/2003/NĐ-CP dated June 6, 2003 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Justice;

Pursuant to Decree No. 79/2007/NĐ-CP dated May 18, 2007 of the Government on issuing certified copies from original registers, certifying copies from original documents, and certifying signatures;

The Ministry of Justice issues guidelines for implementing certain provisions of Decree No. 79/2007/NĐ-CP dated May 18, 2007 of the Government on issuing certified copies from original registers, certifying copies from original documents, and certifying signatures (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 79) as follows,

1. Certification of copies from original documents issued by People's Committees at the commune level and Justice Offices at the district level

a) For documents and papers only in Vietnamese or issued by Vietnamese authorities in Vietnamese, with some words in foreign languages (for example: Certificate of Marriage for Vietnamese and foreigners, which includes the name and address of the foreigner in the foreign language...) the competent authority for certification is the People's Committee at the commune level.

b) For documents and papers only in a foreign language or mainly in a foreign language with some words in Vietnamese (for example: Diplomas and certificates issued by foreign organizations for Vietnamese people, which include the name of the Vietnamese person in Vietnamese...) the competent authority for certification is the Justice Office at the district level.

c) For bilingual documents (for example: Passport of Vietnamese citizens, graduation certificates of Vietnamese universities linked with foreign universities... which are fully written in both Vietnamese and foreign languages), the person requesting certification may choose to have it certified either at the Justice Office at the district level or the People's Committee at the commune level.

d) In cases where a set of files or documents contains both Vietnamese and foreign language documents, for convenience, the person requesting certification can choose one of the following two options:

- The Justice Office at the district level certifies the foreign language documents; the People's Committee at the commune level certifies the Vietnamese language documents;

- The Justice Office at the district level certifies both types of documents in Vietnamese and foreign languages.

đ) For provinces and centrally governed cities that have not yet allocated sufficient judicial-civil registration officers at the commune level, or where commune-level judicial-civil registration officers have not been trained in intermediate legal studies, or where the People's Committee at the commune level has not equipped photocopiers to serve certification work, the Department of Justice shall advise the People's Committee at the provincial level to delegate additional certification duties within the jurisdiction of the People's Committee at the commune level to the Justice Office at the district level.

2. Certification at island districts without commune administrative units

For island districts without commune or town administrative units, in addition to the certification authority of the Justice Office at the district level as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 5 of Decree No. 79, the Justice Office at the district level also has the authority to certify all matters within the certification jurisdiction of the People's Committee at the commune level as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 5 of Decree No. 79.

3. Documents serving as the basis for comparison and certification of copies

According to Clause 1, Article 2 of Decree No. 79, "Original" refers to the first document issued by an authorized agency or organization with legal value for use, serving as the basis for comparison and certification of copies. However, in practice, there are cases where individuals are reissued original documents due to loss or damage of the original documents issued initially, such as reissued birth certificates, reissued land use right certificates due to damage... These reissued originals replace the initial originals. Therefore, the original documents used for comparison and certification of copies include:

a) Originals issued initially;

b) Reissued originals;

c) Re-registered originals.

4. Certification of fingerprints

According to the provisions of Decree No. 79, individuals have the right to request the competent authority to certify their signature on documents and papers. In cases where the individual cannot sign due to disability or lack of knowledge of signing, the certification of the signature is replaced by the certification of fingerprints.

When placing fingerprints, the individual requesting certification uses the right thumb; if unable to place fingerprints with the right thumb, then use the left thumb; if unable to place fingerprints with both thumbs, then use another finger and must clearly indicate which finger and hand the fingerprint was placed with.

5. Translator

According to Clause 1, Article 18 of Decree No. 79, the translator must be proficient in the foreign language to be translated. To determine proficiency in a foreign language, the criteria below are applied:

a) The translator holds a bachelor's degree or higher in the foreign language to be translated;

b) The translator holds a college diploma or higher from a foreign country in the foreign language to be translated.

6. Translation Collaborators

To facilitate the process for individuals seeking certification in finding translators, the Justice Office at the district level may organize a team of translation collaborators. Individuals meeting one of the criteria specified in point a or b of Clause 5 of this Circular may register as translation collaborators for one or more Justice Offices at the district level nationwide.

Translators who are collaborators of the Justice Office must enter into a translation contract with the Director of the Justice Office, committing to accurate translation and compliance with the translation regulations of the Justice Office.

The list of translation collaborators is publicly displayed at the office of the Justice Office to facilitate contact for those needing translation services.

7. Regarding Translation Fees

In principle, the remuneration for translation services shall be agreed upon between the party requesting the translation and the translator. However, to prevent the translator from setting excessively high remuneration levels and to facilitate state management of translation services, the Department of Justice shall coordinate with the Department of Finance to establish a scale of remuneration for translation services.

The remuneration for translation services must be publicly displayed at the office premises of the Justice Office.

8. Gradual transfer of contracts and transactions to notary organizations

The Notarization Law and Decree No. 79 clearly distinguish between two types of notarial activities: notarization, which involves the notary public certifying the authenticity and legality of contracts and transactions; and certification by the County Justice Office and the People's Committee at the commune level, which involves certifying copies of documents from original documents and certifying signatures.

To facilitate the County Justice Office and the People's Committee at the commune level in effectively performing certification work according to the provisions of Decree No. 79, while gradually transferring contracts and transactions to notary organizations for implementation in accordance with the spirit of the Notarization Law, thereby ensuring legal safety for individual and organizational contracts and transactions, the Provincial People's Committee needs to implement measures to develop notary organizations in the locality; based on the development situation of notary organizations, decide to transfer contracts and transactions to notary organizations for implementation; in cases where there is no notary organization in the district, the parties involved in the contract or transaction may choose the notarization service of a notary organization in another area or the certification service of the People's Committee at the commune level in accordance with the law.

9. Reporting system

All levels of People's Committees must strictly adhere to the reporting and statistical data collection system regarding certification as stipulated in Point d Clause 5 and Point c Clause 6 Article 20 of Decree No. 79. Statistical data accompanying the mid-year report covers the period from October 1 of the previous year to March 31 of the reporting year; statistical data accompanying the annual report covers the period from October 1 of the previous year to September 30 of the reporting year.

The deadlines for submitting reports are as follows:

a) For the People's Committee at the commune level, the mid-year report must be submitted to the People's Committee at the county level (through the Justice Office) before April 10; the annual report must be submitted before October 10 of the reporting year;

b) For the People's Committee at the county level, the mid-year report must be submitted to the People's Committee at the provincial level (through the Department of Justice) before April 20; the annual report must be submitted before October 20 of the reporting year;

c) For the People's Committee at the provincial level, the mid-year report must be submitted to the Ministry of Justice before April 30; the annual report must be submitted before October 30 of the reporting year.

10. Inspection System

The inspection of the implementation of laws in certification work must be conducted regularly and annually as stipulated in Clause 3, Point b Clause 5 and Point b Clause 6 Article 20 of Decree No. 79.

The person conducting the inspection is responsible for inspecting according to the content approved by the competent authority; after completing the inspection, they must submit a report on the results of the inspection and bear responsibility for that report.

Additionally, inspections and audits will be carried out when complaints or denunciations arise and will be resolved in accordance with the law on complaints and denunciations.

11. Implementation

1. This Circular takes effect fifteen (15) days from the date of publication in the Official Gazette.

2. This Circular is accompanied by models of certifications and certification registers.