Circular No. 10/2016/TT-BTP on Legal Advisors and Legal Propagandists

CIRCULAR

Regulations on Legal Reporters and Legal Propagandists

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

Pursuant to the Law on Enacting Normative Legal Documents dated June 22, 2015;

Pursuant to Decree No. 22/2013/NĐ-CP dated March 13, 2013, of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Justice;

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;

At the proposal of the Director of the Department of Legal Propaganda and Education,

The Minister of Justice promulgates this Circular on Legal Reporters and Legal Propagandists.

PART I
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular stipulates the recognition, removal from office of Legal Reporters; the recognition and termination of service as Legal Propagandists, and certain measures to ensure the operation of Legal Reporters and Legal Propagandists.

Article 2. Scope of Operation of Legal Reporters and Legal Propagandists

1. Central Legal Reporters of Ministries, agencies at the level of ministries, central agencies under the Government, the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, and central agencies of member organizations of the Front (hereinafter referred to as Central Legal Reporters) shall carry out legal propaganda and education nationwide.

2. Provincial Legal Reporters of state agencies, People's Committees of provincial-level municipalities, and member organizations of the provincial-level Vietnam Fatherland Front (hereinafter referred to as Provincial Legal Reporters) shall carry out legal propaganda and education within the province or provincial-level municipality where they are recognized as Legal Reporters.

4. Legal Propagandists at communes, wards, towns (hereinafter referred to as Commune Legal Propagandists) shall carry out legal propaganda and education within the commune, ward, or town where they are recognized as Legal Propagandists.

Chapter II
RECOGNITION AND REMOVAL FROM OFFICE OF LEGAL REPORTERS

Article 3. Recognition of Legal Reporters

a) Full name;

b) Position and title (if any) and the agency, organization, or unit where they work;

c) Professional qualifications;

d) Specialized field of law expected to concurrently perform legal propaganda and education activities.

In case the document requesting recognition of Legal Reporters does not contain all the required information as stipulated in Clause 5 of this Article, the receiving agency shall issue a document requesting supplementary information within two working days from the date of receipt of the document.

7. The legal propagandist shall have the rights and obligations prescribed in Article 36 of the Law on Popularizing and Promulgating Legal Norms from the date the Decision recognizing the legal propagandist takes effect.

Article 4. Removal of legal propagandists

1. The cases for removing legal propagandists include:

a) Voluntarily requesting to cease being a legal propagandist due to health reasons, family circumstances, or other legitimate reasons;

c) No longer meeting the criteria stipulated in Clause 2 of Article 35 of the Law on Popularizing and Promulgating Legal Norms;

d) Refusing to carry out popularization and education activities according to the assignment of the competent authority without legitimate reasons for three times or more;

đ) Committing one of the prohibited acts specified in Article 9 of the Law on Popularizing and Promulgating Legal Norms;

e) Being convicted by a court and the judgment has taken legal effect;

g) Losing capacity for civil conduct or having difficulty in understanding and controlling behavior or being limited in capacity for civil conduct as provided for in the Civil Code;

The request for removal must contain all the following information about the legal propagandist proposed for removal:

a) Full name;

b) Position and title (if any) and the agency, organization, or unit where they work;

c) The number, day, month, and year of the Decision recognizing the legal propagandist;

d) The reason for the request for removal.

If the request for removal of a legal propagandist does not contain all the required information as prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article, within two working days from the date of receipt of the request, the receiving agency shall issue a written request for additional information.

Chapter III
RECOGNITION AND REMOVAL OF LEGAL PROPAGANDISTS

1. Based on the requirements for legal dissemination and education work and actual needs and conditions at the commune level, the Chairman of the People's Committee at the commune level decides to recognize legal propagandists, ensuring sufficient resources to implement legal dissemination and education work within the area.

2. Annually in September, the judicial civil servant - registrar takes the lead, coordinating with the Head of the Mass Organization Work Board, Village Chiefs, Ward Chiefs, Community Chiefs, and other community leaders (hereinafter referred to as grassroots areas), and heads of political and social organizations at the commune level to publicly announce the standards for legal propagandists as stipulated in Clause 1 of Article 37 of the Law on Legal Dissemination and Education, and regulations regarding the recognition of legal propagandists to agencies, units, and residents in the grassroots areas to voluntarily register to participate as legal propagandists.

3. Based on the voluntary registration list from the grassroots areas, the current status of civil servants of the People's Committee at the commune level, and the need to build a team of legal propagandists, the judicial civil servant - registrar reviews and compiles a list of individuals meeting the criteria set forth in Clause 1 of Article 37 of the Law on Legal Dissemination and Education, which is submitted to the Chairman of the People's Committee at the commune level for consideration and recognition of legal propagandists.

4. Within five working days from the date of receiving the list proposed for recognition of legal propagandists from the judicial civil servant - registrar, the Chairman of the People's Committee at the commune level considers and issues a decision recognizing legal propagandists.

5. The decision recognizing legal propagandists is sent to the judicial civil servant - registrar, the Head of the Mass Organization Work Board, and the legal propagandist; it is publicly announced according to the provisions of point b, Clause 2 of Article 8 of this Circular.

Article 6. Termination of Legal Propagandist Status

1. Cases for termination of legal propagandist status include:

a) Voluntarily requesting to terminate legal propagandist status due to health reasons, family circumstances, or other valid reasons;

b) Committing one of the prohibited acts as stipulated in Article 9 of the Law on Legal Dissemination and Education;

c) Being convicted by a court and the judgment having become legally effective;

d) Losing capacity for civil conduct or having difficulty in understanding and controlling behavior or being limited in capacity for civil conduct as provided for in the Civil Code.

Chapter IV
SOME MEASURES TO ENSURE THE ACTIVITY OF REPORTERS AND LEGAL PROPAGANDISTS

Article 7. Measures to consolidate, improve, and enhance the quality of the legal report and legal awareness promotion teams

a) Regularly review, consolidate, improve, and enhance the quality of the legal reporter and legal awareness promotion teams under their management scope;

b) Provide legal regulatory documents, information, and specialized legal materials to legal reporters and legal awareness promoters under their management scope;

2. Legal institutions and units responsible for legal work, popularization, and education shall take the lead in advising leadership of ministries, sectors, mass organizations, agencies, and organizations to implement the tasks prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article;

a) Take the lead in organizing training, updating legal knowledge, and enhancing professional skills for legal reporters and legal awareness promoters within their administrative area management scope;

b) Direct and guide agencies and organizations at the same level as stipulated in Clauses 2 and 3 of Article 3 of this Circular to organize training, updating legal knowledge, and enhancing professional skills for legal reporters within their management scope;

c) Report periodically every six months, annually, or on demand, the Department of Justice shall report to the Provincial People's Committee and the Ministry of Justice; the Justice Sub-department shall report to the District People's Committee and the Department of Justice about the results of building, consolidating, improving, and enhancing the quality of the legal reporter and legal awareness promotion teams in the locality;

4. Judicial civil servants - household registration officers shall take the lead in advising the People's Committee at the commune level to implement the responsibilities prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article;

5. The time for implementing the reports prescribed in Point d Clause 1 and Point c Clause 3 of this Article shall be carried out according to the regulations of the Ministry of Justice guiding the statistical activities of the Justice sector;

Article 8. Measures for managing and utilizing the legal reporter and legal awareness promotion teams

a) Issue or submit to competent authorities for issuance guidelines, plans, and programs of activities for legal reporters and legal awareness promoters under their management scope;

b) Inspect, summarize, conclude, reward, and handle violations related to the activities of legal reporters and legal awareness promoters under their management scope;

c) Create conditions regarding time, funding, material resources, and means to ensure that legal reporters and legal awareness promoters under their management scope can effectively carry out legal dissemination and education activities;

d) Review, assess, and bear responsibility for the accuracy of the review and assessment of the list of individuals proposed for recognition, dismissal as legal reporters; recognition, termination of service as legal awareness promoters; ensuring that the legal reporter and legal awareness promotion teams meet standards and operate effectively;

đ) Introduce legal reporters to participate in legal dissemination and education activities according to the requirements of agencies, organizations, and units in specialized fields where legal reporters are assigned to concurrently perform; dispatch legal awareness promoters to participate in legal dissemination and education activities at grassroots levels;

e) Not dispatch or introduce legal reporters and legal awareness promoters to engage in legal dissemination and education activities if they are under investigation, prosecution, trial, or awaiting conclusions from competent authorities concerning acts stipulated in Point đ, Point g Clause 1 of Article 4 and Point b, Point d Clause 1 of Article 6 of this Circular;

a) Assign and introduce legal reporters and legal awareness promoters under their management scope to agencies, organizations, and units in need to carry out legal dissemination and education activities;

b) Publicize the list of legal reporters and legal awareness promoters; Decisions recognizing legal reporters, Decisions dismissing legal reporters, Decisions recognizing legal awareness promoters, and Decisions terminating service as legal awareness promoters under their management scope on the Official Website/Information Portal or post them at the office premises of the agency, organization, or unit (in cases where there is no Official Website/Information Portal).

c) Every six months annually or at any time upon request, the ministries, sectors, mass organizations, agencies, and organizations specified in Clause 1 and Clause 2 of Article 3 of this Circular shall organize the legal system or units assigned with legal work, legal dissemination, and legal education to report to the same-level judicial authority (Ministry of Justice, Department of Justice) on the results of the activities of legal reporters within their management scope; the Departments of Justice, Judicial Offices, and judicial civil servants shall report to the same-level People's Committee and higher-level judicial authorities on the results of the activities of legal reporters and legal propagandists within their management scope. The time for submitting reports shall be carried out according to the regulations of the Ministry of Justice guiding the statistical activities of the judicial sector.

Article 9. Financial Safeguards for the Activities of Legal Reporters and Legal Propagandists

1. The funds ensuring the management work and activities of legal reporters and legal propagandists shall be provided annually from the state budget within the budget for legal dissemination and legal education as stipulated by the State Budget Law and other legitimate sources of funding.

2. Remuneration for the activities of legal reporters and legal propagandists shall be implemented in accordance with the provisions of the law on budget planning, management, utilization, and settlement of state budget funds ensuring legal dissemination and legal education work.

Chapter V
IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 10. Effectiveness and transitional provisions

1. This Circular takes effect from September 10, 2016, and replaces Circular No. 21/2013/TT-BTP dated December 18, 2013, issued by the Minister of Justice, which stipulates the procedures and formalities for recognizing and dismissing legal reporters; recognizing and terminating the status of legal propagandists, and some safeguards for the activities of legal reporters and legal propagandists.

2. Legal reporters recognized according to the provisions of Circular No. 21/2013/TT-BTP dated December 18, 2013, issued by the Minister of Justice, which stipulates the procedures and formalities for recognizing and dismissing legal reporters; recognizing and terminating the status of legal propagandists, and some safeguards for the activities of legal reporters and legal propagandists, who still meet the conditions and criteria set forth in Clause 1 and Clause 2 of Article 35 of the Law on Legal Dissemination and Legal Education, continue to be legal reporters without needing re-recognition.

Article 11. Responsibility for Implementation

Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government agencies, the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee, and its member organizations; chairpersons of units under the Ministry of Justice; leaders of legal systems, units assigned with legal work, legal dissemination, and legal education of ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government agencies, the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee, and its member organizations; Directors of Provincial Departments of Justice have the responsibility to implement this Circular./