Circular No. 03/2018/TT-BTP stipulates the Criteria for Evaluating the Effectiveness of Legal Awareness and Education Activities

CIRCULAR

Regulations on the Criteria for Evaluating the Effectiveness of Legal Awareness and Education Work

Pursuant to the Law on Popularizing and Promoting Legal Awareness dated June 20, 2012;

Pursuant to Decree No. 28/2013/NĐ-CP dated April 4, 2013 of the Government detailing certain provisions and implementing mechanisms of the Law on Legal Awareness and Education;

Pursuant to Decree No. 96/2017/NĐ-CP dated August 16, 2017 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Justice;

At the proposal of the Director of the Department of Legal Awareness and Education;

The Minister of Justice issues this Circular regulating the Criteria for Evaluating the Effectiveness of Legal Awareness and Education Work.

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular regulates the Criteria for Evaluating the Effectiveness of Legal Awareness and Education Work including the Content of the Criteria; evaluation, scoring, classification of the effectiveness of legal awareness and education work, and measures to ensure implementation.

Article 2. Applicability

1. Ministries and ministerial-level agencies.

2. Provincial People's Committees and municipal people's committees directly under the central government (hereinafter referred to collectively as provincial-level People's Committees).

Article 3. Principles of Construction and Application

1. Compliance with current laws; emphasizing self-evaluation and scoring responsibilities of ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and provincial-level People's Committees in conjunction with the evaluation, scoring, and classification conducted by the Ministry of Justice as prescribed in this Circular.

2. Truthfully, accurately, objectively, and comprehensively reflecting the situation of organizing the implementation of legal awareness and education work tasks; ensuring clarity, completeness, and consistency of information obtained from the evaluation and scoring activities.

3. Ensuring the suitability of evaluation methods and tools with the purpose, target, scope, and content of the evaluation.

Chapter II

CONTENT OF THE CRITERIA (100 points)

Article 4. Components of the Criteria

1. Group of criteria for performing state management functions in legal awareness and education (maximum 30 points).

2. Group of criteria for implementing legal awareness and education activities (maximum 20 points).

3. Group of criteria for conditions ensuring the implementation of legal awareness and education work (maximum 20 points).

4. Group of criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of legal awareness and education work impact on society (maximum 20 points).

5. Other group of criteria (maximum 10 points).

Article 5. Group of criteria for performing state management functions in legal awareness and education (maximum 30 points)

1. Issuing programs, plans, guiding and directing documents for legal awareness and education work within the assigned sector or area according to authority (maximum 04 points).

a) Issuing annual legal awareness and education programs and plans: 01 point; if not issued: 0 point;

b) Issuing programs and plans for promoting and disseminating new legal documents as directed by competent authorities or suitable to the characteristics of the managed area or sector: 01 point; if not issued: 0 point;

c) Issuing medium-term and long-term legal awareness and education programs and plans as directed by competent authorities or organizations: 01 point; if not issued: 0 point; if there are no tasks arising during the evaluation period, 01 point will be awarded;

d) Issuing guiding and directing documents for legal awareness and education work within the assigned sector or area: 01 point; if not issued: 0 point.

2. Implementing programs, plans, and guiding and directing documents for legal awareness and education work within the assigned sector or area (maximum 04 points).

a) Completing from 90% to 100% of assigned tasks and activities: 04 points;

b) Completing from 80% to 90% of assigned tasks and activities: 03 points;

c) Completing from 70% to 80% of assigned tasks and activities: 02 points;

d) Completing from 60% to 70% of assigned tasks and activities: 01 point;

e) Completing less than 60% of assigned tasks and activities: 0 point.

3. Regarding the issuance time of programs, plans, and guiding and directing documents for legal awareness and education work within the assigned sector or area (maximum 02 points).

a) Issued within 15 working days from the date the competent authority or superior agency issues the program, plan, or guiding and directing document: 02 points;

b) Issued between 15 and 30 working days from the date the competent authority or superior agency issues the program, plan, or guiding and directing document: 01 point;

c) Issued more than 30 working days from the date the competent authority or superior agency issues the program, plan, or guiding and directing document: 0 point.

4. Determining the content and form of legal awareness and education appropriate to each group of subjects within the assigned sector or area (maximum 05 points)

a) Determining the content of legal awareness and education (maximum 02 points): Appropriate determination for each group of subjects: 02 points; determination but not appropriate for each group of subjects: 01 point; if not determined: 0 point;

b) Determining the form of legal awareness and education (maximum 02 points): Appropriate determination for each group of subjects: 02 points; determination but not appropriate for each group of subjects: 01 point; if not determined: 0 point;

c) Directing and guiding the determination of specific content and form of legal awareness and education appropriate to each group of subjects within the assigned sector or area: 01 point; if no direction or guidance: 0 point.

5. Organizing training and enhancing legal knowledge and legal awareness and education skills as prescribed by law (maximum 05 points).

a) Annually organizing training and enhancing legal knowledge and legal awareness and education skills for the legal report officers and legal propagandists under its jurisdiction (maximum 03 points). Among which, 80% or more: 03 points; 65% to 80%: 02 points; 50% to 65%: 01 point; less than 50%: 0 point;

b) Annually organize training and enhance knowledge of laws and business operations related to the dissemination and education of laws for the staff responsible for state management in the field of dissemination and education of laws (maximum 02 points). Among which, from 80% and above: 02 points; from 65% to 80%: 01 point; below 65%: 0 point.

6. Organize updating legal normative documents onto the national database on laws in accordance with Article 13 of Decree No. 52/2015/NĐ-CP dated May 28, 2015 of the Government (maximum 05 points).

a) Fully update: 03 points; partially update depending on the nature and extent, from 01 point to 02 points; not updated: 0 point;

b) Timely update in accordance with Article 17 of Decree No. 52/2015/NĐ-CP dated May 28, 2015 of the Government (maximum 02 points). Among which, updating within the prescribed time limit: 02 points; updating within a period not exceeding 15 working days from the prescribed time limit: 01 point; updating beyond 15 working days from the prescribed time limit: 0 point.

7. Statistics, report, summarize, inspect, examine, handle complaints and denunciations, and deal with violations of laws on the dissemination and education of laws in accordance with the provisions of the law (maximum 05 points).

a) Implement the system of statistics, reporting, and summarizing in accordance with the provisions of the law and guidance of competent state agencies: 02 points; in case of implementation but not in accordance with the provisions of the law and guidance of competent state agencies: 01 point; no implementation: 0 point;

b) Carry out inspections and examinations on the dissemination and education of laws in accordance with the provisions of the law and guidance of competent authorities: 01 point; in case of non-implementation or implementation not in accordance with the provisions of the law and guidance of competent authorities: 0 point;

c) Handle complaints and denunciations on the dissemination and education of laws in accordance with the provisions of the law and guidance of competent authorities: 01 point; in case of non-implementation or implementation not in accordance with the provisions of the law and guidance of competent authorities: 0 point;

d) Deal with violations of laws on the dissemination and education of laws in accordance with the provisions of the law and guidance of competent authorities: 01 point; in case of non-implementation or implementation not in accordance with the provisions of the law and guidance of competent authorities: 0 point;

Article 6. Group of criteria for implementing activities on the dissemination and education of laws (maximum 20 points)

1. Implement the responsibility of posting legal information on the electronic information website in accordance with Article 13 of the Law on Dissemination and Education of Laws (maximum 04 points)

a) Post fully (maximum 03 points). Among which, post from 90% and above: 03 points; post from 80% to 90%: 02 points; post from 70% to 80%: 01 point; post below 70%: 0 point;

b) Post promptly (maximum 01 point). Among which, post no later than 15 working days from the date of occurrence of legal information that must be posted: 01 point; post after 15 working days from the date of occurrence of legal information that must be posted: 0 point.

2. Organize the dissemination and education of laws for cadres, civil servants, public officials, and employees under the scope of management (maximum 04 points)

a) Organize fully and promptly: 04 points;

b) Organize fully but not promptly: 03 points;

c) Organize but not fully and not promptly: 02 points;

d) In case of no organization: 0 point.

3. Organize communication and dissemination of new legal documents and policies within the scope of management through one of the forms specified in Article 11 of the Law on Dissemination and Education of Laws (maximum 04 points)

a) Fully and promptly implement: 04 points;

b) Fully implement but not promptly: 03 points;

c) Partially and not promptly implement: 02 points;

d) In case of no implementation: 0 point.

4. Direct schools and vocational education institutions under the scope of management to organize legal education in educational institutions and vocational education institutions; arrange, standardize, and enhance the teaching staff who teach civic education and law courses within the scope of management (maximum 04 points).

a) Issue directives and guidelines for schools and vocational education institutions under the scope of management to organize legal education activities in educational institutions and vocational education institutions: 01 point; in case of no directive or guideline issued: 0 point;

b) Review, standardize, and enhance the teaching staff who teach civic education and law courses within the scope of management: 02 points; in case of review and standardization but no enhancement organized: 01 point; no implementation: 0 point;

c) Direct and guide the review and standardization of content, textbooks, and materials suitable with newly issued documents: 01 point; in case of no direction or guidance for review and standardization: 0 point;

5. Direct, guide, urge, and inspect subordinate agencies, organizations, and units to implement activities to respond to the National Law Day of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (maximum 04 points).

a) Issue directives, guidelines, urging, and inspection documents: 01 point; no issuance of documents: 0 point;

b) Implement specific activities to respond: 02 points; no implementation of specific activities: 0 point;

c) Have effective, regular, and continuous models to respond to the National Law Day: 01 point; no model or ineffective, lacking regularity: 0 point.

Article 7. Criteria group on conditions to ensure the implementation of legal awareness and education work (maximum 20 points)

1. Building, managing, utilizing and effectively operating the team of Legal Reporters and Legal Propagandists in accordance with the provisions of the law (maximum 5 points).

a) Annually building, consolidating, and improving to meet the requirements of tasks: 3 points; in case of building but not consolidating and improving: 1.5 points; no building, consolidating, or improving: 0 point;

b) The team of Legal Reporters and Legal Propagandists is effectively utilized in legal awareness and education work: 2 points; in case of utilization but not high effectiveness: 1 point. Legal Reporters and Legal Propagandists not participating in legal awareness and education work: 0 point.

2. Ensuring organizational structure and staff for legal awareness and education work in accordance with the provisions of the law (maximum 5 points).

a) Assigning and delegating tasks to agencies and units responsible for advising and implementing legal awareness and education work in line with the management field and area: 2 points; in case of assignment and delegation but not suitable for the management field and area: 1 point; no assignment or delegation: 0 point;

b) Arranging a team of officials and civil servants for legal awareness and education work in line with the needs of legal awareness and education in the management field and area: 3 points. Among which, arranging sufficient staffing and establishment positions assigned: 3 points; not arranging sufficient staffing and establishment positions assigned: 2 points; no arrangement of officials and civil servants for legal awareness and education work: 0 point.

3. Ensuring funding for legal awareness and education work in accordance with the provisions of the law (maximum 7 points).

a) Annually allocating sufficient regular funding to implement legal awareness and education work tasks in accordance with the state budget law: 3 points; in case of allocation but insufficient to fulfill assigned tasks: 2 points; no allocation: 0 point;

b) Annually allocating sufficient funding to implement Programs and Projects on legal awareness and education within the scope of main responsibility: 2 points; in case of allocation but insufficient to fulfill assigned tasks: 1 point; no allocation: 0 point;

c) Implementing activities to mobilize and attract social resources to participate in legal awareness and education work in line with the policy of socialization: 2 points; in case of implementing fundraising activities but not attracting and mobilizing social resources: 1 point; no implementation of activities to mobilize and attract social resources: 0 point.

4. Ensuring material and equipment for legal awareness and education work in accordance with the provisions of the law (maximum 3 points).

a) Ensuring necessary material and equipment for legal awareness and education work in accordance with the Government's regulations: 2 points; in case of insufficient provision: 1 point; no provision: 0 point;

b) Implementing activities to apply information technology in legal awareness and education work in accordance with the regulations: 1 point; no implementation: 0 point.

Article 8. Group of criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of legal dissemination and education activities on society (maximum 20 points)

1. The level at which citizens, civil servants, public officials, employees actively engage in self-study and proactively seek to understand the law (maximum 04 points)

a) Achieving from 85% to 100%: 04 points;

b) Achieving from 70% to under 85%: 03 points;

c) Achieving from 55% to under 70%: 02 points;

d) Achieving under 55%: 01 point.

2. The level at which citizens, civil servants, public officials, employees are aware of the law (maximum 04 points)

a) Achieving from 85% to 100%: 04 points;

b) Achieving from 70% to under 85%: 03 points;

c) Achieving from 55% to under 70%: 02 points;

d) Achieving under 55%: 01 point.

3. The level at which citizens, civil servants, public officials, employees understand the law (maximum 04 points)

a) Achieving from 85% to 100%: 04 points;

b) Achieving from 70% to under 85%: 03 points;

c) Achieving from 55% to under 70%: 02 points;

d) Achieving under 55%: 01 point.

4. The level at which citizens, civil servants, public officials, employees are satisfied with the quality of legal dissemination and education activities (maximum 04 points)

a) Achieving from 85% to 100%: 04 points;

b) Achieving from 70% to under 85%: 03 points;

c) Achieving from 55% to under 70%: 02 points;

d) Achieving under 55%: 01 point.

5. The situation of law violations in the field or area under management decreasing due to lack of knowledge of the law (maximum 04 points)

a) Achieving from 85% to 100%: 04 points;

b) Achieving from 70% to under 85%: 03 points;

c) Achieving from 55% to under 70%: 02 points;

d) Achieving under 55%: 01 point.

6. The percentage specified in Clause 1, Clause 2, Clause 3, Clause 4, and Clause 5 of this Article shall be calculated according to the formula: Percentage achieved = (Total number of people selecting the content of the survey response / Total number of surveys conducted) * 100%.

Example 1: Conducting a survey, distributing a total of 100 questionnaires to citizens, civil servants, public officials, employees; there were 35 responses indicating that they knew the law through self-study and proactive understanding of the law. The percentage of the level at which citizens, civil servants, public officials, employees actively engage in self-study and proactively seek to understand the law = (35/100)*100% = 35%, falling under Point d, Clause 1, earning 01 point.

Example 2: Conducting a survey, distributing a total of 100 questionnaires to citizens, civil servants, public officials, employees; there were 55 responses indicating that they know (or understand clearly) the provisions of the law. The percentage of the level at which citizens, civil servants, public officials, employees are aware (or understand) the law = (55/100)*100% = 55%, falling under Point c, Clause 2 and Clause 3, earning 02 points.

Example 3: Conducting a survey, distributing a total of 100 questionnaires to citizens, civil servants, public officials, employees; there were 75 responses indicating satisfaction with the quality of legal dissemination and education activities. The percentage of the level at which citizens, civil servants, public officials, employees are satisfied with the quality of legal dissemination and education activities = (75/100)*100% = 75%, falling under Point b, Clause 4, earning 03 points.

Example 4: Conducting a survey, distributing a total of 100 questionnaires to citizens, civil servants, public officials, employees who have committed legal violations; there were 70 responses indicating the reason for violating the law was due to lack of knowledge of the law. The percentage of people committing legal violations due to lack of knowledge of the law = (70/100)*100% = 70%. Compare with the same period of evaluation or the previous year to determine the increase or decrease ratio to assess the reduction rate and calculate the corresponding score based on the achievement level.

Article 9. Other group of criteria (maximum 10 points)

1. For ministries and agencies equivalent to ministries (maximum 10 points)

a) Fully implementing the responsibility of holding press conferences and issuing press releases regarding legal normative documents drafted by themselves in accordance with Article 12 of the Law on Legal Dissemination and Education: 05 points. In cases where implementation is not complete, the score achieved will correspond to the maximum score multiplied by the percentage of the degree of completion of the assigned tasks; if the responsibility is not carried out: 0 points;

b) Organizing the compilation of materials and disseminating specialized legal knowledge in appropriate forms: 05 points. In cases where implementation is not complete, the score achieved will correspond to the maximum score multiplied by the percentage of the degree of completion of the assigned tasks; if the responsibility is not carried out: 0 points.

In cases where the tasks stipulated in Point a, Clause 1 of this Article do not arise, the maximum score as prescribed (05 points) will be obtained.

2. For provincial People's Committees (maximum 10 points)

a) Strengthening, improving, and fully implementing the functions, tasks, and powers of the Provincial Legal Dissemination and Education Coordination Council: 02 points; in cases where it is not implemented: 0 points;

b) Proposing solutions to enhance the effectiveness of the Provincial Legal Dissemination and Education Coordination Council's operations: 02 points; in cases where it is not implemented: 0 points;

c) Directing and guiding the strengthening, improvement, and enhancement of the effectiveness of the operations of the County-level Legal Dissemination and Education Coordination Councils: 02 points; in cases where it is not implemented: 0 points;

d) Directing, guiding, and implementing legal dissemination and education activities for specific target groups as stipulated in Clause 4, Article 18; Clause 3, Article 19; Clause 4, Article 20; Clause 3, Article 22 of the Law on Legal Dissemination and Education: 04 points; in cases where it is not implemented: 0 points.

Chapter III

EVALUATION, SCORING, AND CLASSIFICATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF LEGAL DISSEMINATION AND EDUCATION ACTIVITIES

Article 10. Evaluation Periods, Methods of Evaluation, Scoring

1. The evaluation, scoring, and classification of the effectiveness of legal dissemination and education work shall be conducted every two years. The information and data for evaluation, scoring, and classification will be determined on December 31 of the second year from the previous evaluation period; the starting point for the first evaluation period is December 31, 2018.

2. The evaluation and scoring for each criterion and component indicator specified in Articles 5, 6, 7, and 9 shall be based on the results achieved, the level of task completion, and the scores stipulated in this Circular. The evaluation and scoring for the group of criteria specified in Article 8 shall be carried out using sociological survey methods based on the assessment tool set by ministries, ministerial-level agencies, provincial People's Committees, or independent organizations in accordance with Article 3 and the provisions of this Circular.

3. Annually, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and provincial People's Committees organize self-evaluation and scoring for each criterion and component indicator specified in Articles 5, 6, 7, and 9; select certain key areas to conduct surveys and evaluations for the group of criteria and indicators specified in Article 8 of this Circular, and compile the results into annual judicial and legal system reports sent to the Ministry of Justice. Based on the results of self-evaluation and scoring, measures to improve low-scoring indicators and criteria shall be proposed.

4. The annual self-evaluation and scoring results of ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and provincial People's Committees serve as the basis for the Ministry of Justice to assess the level of completion of legal dissemination and education tasks annually; take measures to urge, direct, guide, inspect, and correct the implementation of these tasks, or propose solutions to enhance the effectiveness of legal dissemination and education work to the Government and Prime Minister.

5. In cases where state management requirements necessitate it, the Minister of Justice decides to organize ad hoc evaluations for some ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and provincial People's Committees. Evaluations shall be conducted based on the assessment tool set, which includes: Survey questionnaires, inspection contents, interview contents, reports, and other relevant materials. The evaluation method and assessment tool shall be decided by the Ministry of Justice in accordance with the subjects, content of surveys and evaluations, and the provisions of Article 3 and this Circular.

Article 11. Organization of Evaluation and Scoring at the End of the Evaluation Period

1. At the end of the evaluation period, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and provincial People's Committees shall organize comprehensive self-evaluations and scorings for all groups of criteria according to this Circular and submit the self-evaluation and scoring reports to the Ministry of Justice for further evaluation, scoring, and classification. The score for each group of criteria specified in Articles 5, 6, 7, and 9 is the average score over two years within the same evaluation period; the score for the group of criteria specified in Article 8 is selected based on the sociological survey results stipulated in Clause 2 of Article 10 of this Circular. Self-assessment scores are multiplied by a factor of 1. The deadline for submitting self-evaluation and scoring reports is February 28 of the year immediately following the final year of the evaluation period.

2. Based on the self-evaluation and scoring results of ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and provincial People's Committees, as well as monitoring and management results, inspection and survey results, roundtable discussions, and other lawful sources of information, the Ministry of Justice shall organize the evaluation and scoring of each group of criteria within the Content of Criteria according to this Circular. Scores evaluated by the Ministry of Justice are multiplied by a factor of 2.

In cases where necessary or when there are unclear contents, the Ministry of Justice may request the evaluated agency to provide verification documents such as: reports, plans, notifications, decisions, letters... to verify the reliability of the self-evaluation and scoring results. For criteria without verification documents, the evaluated agency is requested to explain the evaluation method and scoring process; verification documents shall be submitted to the Ministry of Justice along with the self-evaluation and scoring report as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article.

3. The total score serving as the basis for the Ministry of Justice to classify the effectiveness of legal dissemination and education work shall be calculated using the formula: Total Score Achieved = (Self-Assessed Score * 1 + Ministry of Justice-Assessed Score * 2)/3.

Example 5: At the end of the evaluation period, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and provincial People's Committees self-assess and score 85 points; the Ministry of Justice organizes an evaluation and scores 88 points. Therefore, the total score serving as the basis for the Ministry of Justice to classify the effectiveness of legal dissemination and education work is: (85*1 + 88*2)/3 = 87 points.

Article 12. Implementation of Classification

1. The classification shall be carried out based on the total score achieved by ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and provincial People's Committees in accordance with Clause 2 of this Article.

2. The total score achieved and the classification level are as follows:

a) Total score from 90 points and above: Excellent classification;

b) Total score from 80 to 90 points: Good classification;

c) Total score from 70 to 80 points: Satisfactory classification;

d) Total score from 50 to 70 points: Average classification;

e) Total score below 50 points: Weak classification.

Article 13. Announcement and Information on Classification Results

The classification results of ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and provincial People's Committees under Article 12 of this Circular shall be announced by the Ministry of Justice before April 30 of the year immediately following the final year of the evaluation period, and information shall be provided to the classified agencies. The form of announcement shall be decided by the Ministry of Justice.

Chapter IV

MEASURES TO ENSURE IMPLEMENTATION

Article 14. Responsibilities for Organizing Implementation

1. Based on their assigned functions, tasks, and authorities, and practical conditions, the Minister, Head of a ministerial-level agency, and the Chairman of a provincial People's Committee shall organize the implementation of this Circular; direct and guide the application of the Content of the Criteria for Evaluating the Effectiveness of Legal Awareness and Education Work to agencies and units under their management in accordance with the provisions of this Circular.

2. The Department of Legal Propaganda and Education shall take the lead and coordinate with relevant units within the Ministry to assist the Minister of Justice in performing the tasks stipulated in Clause 4 and Clause 5 of Article 10; Clause 2 of Article 11, Article 12, and Article 13 of this Circular.

3. Legal systems shall advise and assist the Minister, Head of a ministerial-level agency in conducting self-assessment and scoring the effectiveness of legal awareness and education work related to their management areas in accordance with this Circular.

4. Departments of Justice shall advise and assist the provincial People's Committee in conducting self-assessment and scoring the effectiveness of legal awareness and education work at the local level in accordance with this Circular.

Article 15. Funding for Implementation

1. The funding for implementing this Circular shall be allocated within the annual regular budget estimates of ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and provincial People's Committees according to the current state budget allocation.

2. Encouragement is given to organizations, businesses, and individuals to support funding for surveys and evaluations of the effectiveness of legal awareness and education work concerning the criteria specified in Article 8 and the provisions of this Circular.

Chapter V

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 16. Effective Date

This Circular takes effect from July 1, 2018.

Article 17. Responsibility for Implementation

The Minister, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Chairmen of provincial People's Committees, Heads of units under the Ministry of Justice, legal systems, units responsible for legal work, legal awareness, and education of ministries and ministerial-level agencies, Directors of Justice Departments of provinces and centrally-administered cities are responsible for enforcing this Circular./.