Circular No. 13/2011/TT-BTP on the issuance and guidance for the use of forms and sample books of criminal records

 

CIRCULAR
On issuing and guiding the use of forms and sample books for criminal records

Pursuant to the Criminal Record Law dated June 17, 2009;

Pursuant to Decree No. 111/2010/NĐ-CP dated November 23, 2010 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Criminal Records;

Pursuant to Decree No. 93/2008/NĐ-CP dated August 22, 2008, promulgated by the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Justice;

To ensure uniform management and use of forms and sample books for criminal records, the Ministry of Justice issues and guides the use of forms and sample books for criminal records as follows:

This Circular promulgates various types of forms and sample books for criminal records; it stipulates the authority to print, issue, the target users, and the method of using forms and sample books for criminal records.

Article 2. Users of forms and sample books for criminal records

1.  Vietnamese citizens and foreign individuals who request issuance of a Criminal Record Certificate.

2. Judicial organs that request issuance of a Criminal Record Certificate for investigative, prosecution, and adjudicative purposes.

3. State agencies, political organizations, and socio-political organizations that request issuance of a Criminal Record Certificate for personnel management, business registration, establishment, and management of enterprises and cooperatives.

4. Provincial Departments of Justice (hereinafter referred to collectively as the Department of Justice).

5. National Criminal Records Center.

1. Issuing eight types of forms and five sample books for criminal records attached to this Circular (Annex No. 01).

2. The size of the eight types of forms and five sample books for criminal records shall be uniformly standardized to A4 paper size (210 mm x 297 mm).

3. The system of forms and sample books for criminal records shall be stored on paper and electronically according to Clause 1, Article 19 of Decree No. 111/2010/ND-CP dated November 23, 2010 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Criminal Records (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 111/2010/ND-CP). The electronic storage system of forms and sample books for criminal records has the same value as those stored on paper.

1. The Ministry of Justice prints and issues two types of colored paper with patterns for the National Criminal Records Center and the Department of Justice (hereinafter referred to as the criminal record data management agency) to print the contents of Criminal Record Certificates No. 1 and No. 2 according to the models issued with this Circular.

1. Principles for establishing the Criminal Record Number:

a) The Criminal Record Number is established based on the Table of Codes for Criminal Record Data Management Agencies;

b) In the criminal record database at the Department of Justice, each person has only one unique Criminal Record Number;

c) The National Criminal Record Center uses the Criminal Record Number established by the Department of Justice to store and manage criminal records in the National Criminal Record Center's database.

2. Method for establishing the Criminal Record Number:

a) The Criminal Record Number includes: the code of the criminal record data management agency, the year the criminal record was established, and the serial number of the criminal record establishment;

b) The code of the National Criminal Record Center includes: serial number 01, the abbreviated name of the National Criminal Record Center (CC) as specified in the Table of Codes for Criminal Record Data Management Agencies;

c) The code of the Department of Justice includes: the serial number of the province or centrally governed city according to the Vietnamese alphabetical order starting from serial number 02, and the abbreviated name of the province or centrally governed city where the Department of Justice is located, as specified in the Table of Codes for Criminal Record Data Management Agencies;

d) The serial number of the criminal record establishment consists of five digits, starting from 00001.

Example: The Criminal Record Number of Nguyen Van A is established as: 25HN2010/00001, wherein:

- "25HN" is the code of the Department of Justice of Hanoi City;

- "2010" is the year the criminal record for Nguyen Van A was established;

- "00001" is the serial number of the criminal record establishment for Nguyen Van A.

3. The Table of Codes for Criminal Record Data Management Agencies, as stipulated in point a, Clause 1, Article 5 of this Circular (Annex 02), is hereby issued together with this Circular.

1. General information about conviction is summarized information about judgments updated in the criminal record and recorded in chronological order of receipt of judgment extracts or judgments.

2. The judgment number is established including the Criminal Record Number/serial number of the judgment update in the General Information section on convictions.

Example: Nguyen Van A has a Criminal Record Number of 25HN2010/00001, the first judgment updated in Nguyen Van A's criminal record has a judgment number of 25HN2010/00001/01, similarly, if subsequent judgments are updated, they will have judgment numbers such as 25HN2010/00001/02.

3. The time when the conviction is expunged is updated upon receiving the court decision to expunge the conviction, the court certificate of conviction expungement, or the result of verification meeting the conditions for automatic expungement.

4. The result of Supervisory Review/Reconsideration:

a) In cases where the judgment or decision already in force is upheld, it shall be recorded as "Judgment or decision upheld";

b) In cases where the judgment or decision already in force is annulled, it shall be recorded as "Judgment or decision annulled".

1. Information about conviction is the content of each judgment that has been coded in Part I. "General Information". Each updated judgment has four main sections including:

a) Content of the judgment;

b) Status of enforcement of the judgment: updates the content of decisions, certificates, confirmation letters, notification documents (hereinafter referred to collectively as decisions and certificates) related to the enforcement process of the judgment;

c) Supervisory Review/Reconsideration: updates the content of two types of decisions;

d) Expungement of conviction: updates the content of the decision to expunge the conviction, the certificate of conviction expungement, and the result of verification meeting the conditions for automatic expungement.

2. Updating the content of the "Status of Enforcement of the Judgment" section:

a) The "Decision to Waive Execution of Imprisonment Sentence with Fixed Term/Penal Servitude without Custody" section: only one of the two types of decisions is updated;

b) The "Certificate of Completion of Imprisonment Sentence/Penal Servitude without Custody/Suspended Sentence Period" section: only one of the three types of certificates is updated;

c) The "Decision to Waive Execution of Residence Prohibition Sentence/Probation Sentence" section: either one or both types of decisions are updated;

d) The "Decision to Reduce Term of Execution of Imprisonment Sentence/Penal Servitude without Custody; Decision to Suspend Execution of Imprisonment Sentence; Decision to Waive or Reduce Obligation to Execute Civil Judgment against Amounts Paid into State Budget" and the "Confirmation Letter of Result of Civil Judgment Execution" section: may be updated multiple times.

3. Recording the Verification Result in the "Verification of Conditions for Automatic Expungement of Conviction" section:

a) If the convicted person falls under any of the cases prescribed in Clause 1, Article 18 of Decree No. 111/2010/ND-CP, it shall be recorded as "Conviction expunged";

b) If the convicted person falls under the case prescribed in Clause 2, Article 18 of Decree No. 111/2010/ND-CP, it shall be recorded as "Conviction remains";

c) If the convicted person falls under the case prescribed in Clause 3, Article 18 of Decree No. 111/2010/ND-CP, the information on automatic expungement of conviction in the criminal record of that person is not yet updated, but awaits the court's ruling result.

4. The criminal record data management agency updates the decisions and certificates as stipulated in points b, c, and d, Clause 1, Article 6 of this Circular upon receipt of those decisions and certificates or documents containing information related to those decisions and certificates provided by agencies and organizations in accordance with the Law on Criminal Records and guiding documents.

Article 8. Recording judicial history information for cases where a person has multiple judgments in their judicial record

In cases where a person's judicial record has already been established but subsequently receives another judgment, the judicial record database management agency shall record the judgment number in Part II "General Information" and update the judgment information in the "Judgment Content" section. The "Execution Status of Judgment" section shall be updated similarly to the first judgment's information recording method.

Article 9. Recording information on prohibition from holding positions, establishing, and managing enterprises and cooperatives in the judicial record

Information on prohibition from holding positions, establishing, and managing enterprises and cooperatives shall be recorded in chronological order based on the time of information updates. The content of such prohibitions shall be recorded according to the bankruptcy declaration decision of the Court.

1. After the judicial record is established, the Department of Justice sends one copy to the National Judicial Record Center along with a letter. If the Department of Justice sends multiple copies of the judicial records, it shall also send a list of judicial records clearly stating the name, surname, and judicial record number of the individual.

2. In cases where the judicial record is established based on a judgment, the Department of Justice sends one copy of the judicial record containing the following contents to the National Judicial Record Center: Part I "Personal Information", Part II "General Information on Criminal Records" and the "Judgment Content" section in Part III "Information on Criminal Records".

3. In cases where the judicial record is established based on a bankruptcy declaration decision of the Court, the Department of Justice sends one copy of the judicial record containing the following contents to the National Judicial Record Center: Part I "Personal Information" and Part IV "Information on Prohibition from Holding Positions, Establishing, and Managing Enterprises and Cooperatives".

1. In cases where the judicial record is updated with information as stipulated in Articles 27, 28, Clause 1 of Article 30, and Article 33 of the Judicial Record Law, based on the updated information in the judicial record, the Department of Justice sends the National Judicial Record Center a Supplementary Judicial Record Information Provision Form along with copies of related decisions and certificates concerning the supplementary judicial record information.

2. Upon receiving decisions and certificates from individuals who have a judicial record provided by competent authorities as stipulated in Clause 1 of Article 18 and Article 19 of the Judicial Record Law, the National Judicial Record Center sends the Department of Justice a Supplementary Judicial Record Information Provision Form along with copies of those decisions and certificates.

Article 12. Recording the Supplementary Judicial Record Information Provision Form when updating subsequent criminal judgments and bankruptcy declarations

1. In cases where subsequent judgments are updated as stipulated in Article 29 of the Judicial Record Law, based on the updated judicial record, the Department of Justice records the information about these judgments in the Supplementary Judicial Record Information Provision Form including the contents in the "Judgment Content" section in Part III "Information on Criminal Records" of the judicial record and sends it to the National Judicial Record Center.

2. In cases where subsequent bankruptcy declarations are updated, based on the updated judicial record, the Department of Justice records the information about these bankruptcy declarations in the Supplementary Judicial Record Information Provision Form including the contents in Part IV "Information on Prohibition from Holding Positions, Establishing, and Managing Enterprises and Cooperatives" in the judicial record and sends it to the National Judicial Record Center.

The section "Additional information on criminal record" in the Supplementary Criminal Record Information Form must clearly state information about related judgments: judgment number, date of judgment, court that issued the judgment; type of decision, certificate, and information about decisions and certificates updated in the criminal record, specifically as follows:

1. In case of updating a decision on enforcing a criminal judgment, record clearly: the decision number, date of issuance, court issuing the decision, content of the decision, time of serving the main punishment.

2. In case of updating a decision on exempting from serving a fixed-term imprisonment sentence, a decision on exempting from serving a suspended sentence, a decision on exempting from serving a residence banishment penalty, or a decision on exempting from serving a house arrest penalty, record clearly: the decision number, date of issuance, court issuing the decision, the penalty exempted from enforcement, exemption date, effective date of the decision.

3. In case of updating a decision on postponing the enforcement of a fixed-term imprisonment sentence or a decision on temporarily suspending the enforcement of a fixed-term imprisonment sentence, record clearly: the decision number, date of issuance, court issuing the decision, period of postponement or temporary suspension, effective date of the decision, supervising and managing agency or organization.

4. In case of updating a decision on reducing the term of enforcement of a fixed-term imprisonment sentence or a decision on reducing the term of enforcement of a suspended sentence, record clearly: the decision number, date of issuance, court issuing the decision, the penalty whose term of enforcement is reduced, reduction period, effective date of the decision.

5. In case of updating a decision on shortening the probation period for a suspended sentence, record clearly: the decision number, date of issuance, court issuing the decision, shortened period, effective date of the decision.

6. In case of updating a notification document on the results of enforcing an expulsion penalty, certificate of completion of enforcement of a residence penalty, house arrest penalty, deprivation of certain civil rights penalty, decision on exempting or reducing obligations under a criminal judgment regarding payment to the state budget, decision on suspending civil enforcement, document confirming completion of enforcement of a fine, confiscation of property, litigation fees, and other civil obligations in a criminal judgment, record clearly: the document number, date of issuance, issuing authority, main content of the document, date of completion of enforcement of the penalty.

7. In case of updating a decision on granting clemency or reducing a death penalty, record clearly: the decision number, date of issuance, issuing authority, main content of the decision, effective date of the decision.

8. In case of updating a decision on enforcing a fine, confiscation of property, litigation fees, and other civil obligations, record clearly: the decision number, date of issuance, issuing authority, amounts to be enforced, effective date of the decision.

9. In case of updating a certificate of results of civil enforcement, record clearly: the document number, date of issuance, issuing authority, content confirmed (in full or in part), remaining civil obligations to be enforced (if any).

10. In case of updating a certificate of amnesty, record clearly: the certificate number, date of issuance, issuing authority, amnesty decision number, date of early release due to amnesty, place of residence after amnesty, continuing supplementary penalties to be served (if any).

11. In case of updating a certificate of general amnesty, record clearly: the certificate number, date of issuance, issuing authority, general amnesty decision number, date of release due to general amnesty, place of residence after general amnesty.

12. In case of updating a decision on cassation review, a decision on re-trial, a certificate of expungement, or a decision on expungement, record clearly: the document number, date of issuance, court issuing the decision or issuing the certificate, content of the decision or content of the certificate.

13. In case of updating the results of verifying conditions for automatic expungement, record clearly: verification date, location of verification, verification results.

Article 14. Recording the Criminal Record Form

1. Method of recording the "Conviction Status" section in Criminal Record Form No. 1:

2. Method of recording the "Conviction Status" section in Criminal Record Form No. 2:

a) For individuals not convicted, record "No conviction"; for foreign nationals residing in Vietnam, record "No conviction during residence in Vietnam." These sections shall not be recorded in the Criminal Record Form.

In cases where individuals are convicted under different judgments, the information on conviction records is recorded in chronological order.

If a conviction record does not include contents in the additional punishment, civil obligations, and fines sections, mark "//" in these sections.

Example: Recording Criminal Record Form No. 2 for Nguyen Van A:

Nguyen Van A's conviction status is: has conviction record. In Nguyen Van A's criminal record at the time of requesting the Criminal Record Form, updated to "Decision to suspend execution of custodial sentence," the "Enforcement Status" section records: Suspension of execution of custodial sentence pursuant to Decision No...., dated..., month..., year..., of the People's Court....

d) Method of recording the "Expungement of Conviction Records" section: For conviction records that have been expunged, record "Expunged on... day... month... year." For conviction records that have not been expunged, record "Not expunged."

3. Method of recording the "Information on Prohibition from Holding Positions, Establishing and Managing Enterprises and Cooperatives" section:

a) For individuals receiving the Criminal Record Form who are not prohibited from holding positions, establishing and managing enterprises and cooperatives, record "Not prohibited from holding positions, establishing and managing enterprises and cooperatives." These sections shall not be recorded in the Criminal Record Form.

b) For individuals receiving the Criminal Record Form who are prohibited from holding positions, establishing and managing enterprises and cooperatives, record the prohibited position, period during which establishment and management of enterprises and cooperatives are prohibited.

c) If an individual or organization requesting Criminal Record Form No. 1 does not require confirmation of prohibition from holding positions, establishing and managing enterprises and cooperatives, the "Information on Prohibition from Holding Positions, Establishing and Managing Enterprises and Cooperatives" section shall not be recorded in Criminal Record Form No. 1.

4. In cases where information on place of residence, father's name, mother's name, spouse's name in the Criminal Record Form is incomplete, mark "//" in the sections lacking such information.

The Director of the National Criminal Record Center, the Director of the Department of Justice, or the authorized person has the authority to sign Criminal Record Certificates and Supplementary Information Provision Certificates and shall be responsible for the contents of these certificates.

1. Recording in criminal record books shall be carried out as follows:

a) Criminal record books must be written continuously on each page without leaving any blank spaces. The serial number in the books must be continuous until December 31 of each year, starting from number 01. In cases where the end of the year has not been reached but the last page of the book has already been used, another book will be used with the next serial number continuing from the previous book; if the year has ended but the book has not been fully used, it will continue to be used for the following year, starting from number 01. The first serial number of the year using the book must clearly state 01/year using the book.

Example: The first serial number in 2010 is 01/2010.

b) On the cover of the book, the volume number is the serial number of that book in the year, clearly stating the date of opening and closing the book.

Example 1: If only one volume was recorded in 2010, then on the cover of the book, it should clearly state:

- Volume number: 01/2010;

- Opened on: January 1, 2010;

- Closed on: December 31, 2010.

Example 2: If the second volume needs to be used in 2010 before the first volume is fully used, it will continue to be used in 2011 starting from number 01, and on the cover of the book, it should clearly state:

- Volume number: 02/2010, 01/2011;

- Opened on: October 1, 2010;

- Closed on: December 31, 2011.

2. Criminal record books must have stamps affixed between pages, from the first page to the last page of the book. When the criminal record book is fully used, the closing process must be carried out. When closing the criminal record book, the total number of pages and the total number of types of entries recorded in the book must be clearly stated. The head of the agency managing the criminal record database must sign and stamp to confirm.

3. The cover of the book must be made of hard paper with good quality. Criminal record books must be stored and preserved for long-term use to serve the management of criminal records.

4. The agency managing the criminal record database is responsible for implementing measures to prevent insects, mold, acid, and other factors causing damage to criminal record books.

Article 17. General Provisions on Recording, Correcting, and Amending Information in Forms and Criminal Record Books

1. The content recorded in forms and criminal record books must be accurate, clear, written in the same type of black ink, and not erased or obliterated.

2. In case of errors when recording or printing the content in the Criminal Record Certificate, the certificate must be canceled and re-recorded or re-printed.

3. In case of correcting or amending the content in the Criminal Record, approval from the head of the agency managing the criminal record database or the authorized person is required. After approval, the staff assigned to update and process information will strike out the incorrect part, clearly write the corrected or amended content, sign, and clearly write the name of the person making the correction or amendment in the "updater" column.

In case of errors in the content of the criminal record book, the incorrect part must be struck out, the corrected content must be clearly written in the note section, signed, and the name of the person making the correction must be clearly written, and confirmed by the person in charge of that department.

4. It is strictly prohibited to arbitrarily erase, correct, or supplement information causing distortion of the recorded content in forms and criminal record books.

Article 18. Effective Date

1. This Circular takes effect from August 10, 2011.

2. Abolish the Application Form for Issuance of Criminal Record Certificates and the Criminal Record Certificate model issued together with Joint Circular No. 07/1999/TTLT-BTP-BCA dated February 8, 1999, of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Public Security regarding the issuance of Criminal Record Certificates.

3. During the implementation of this Circular, if there are difficulties or obstacles, agencies, organizations, and individuals should promptly report in writing to the Ministry of Justice for research and guidance on resolution./.