Joint Circular No. 14/2014/TTLT-BTC-BTP stipulates the preparation of budget estimates, management, use, and settlement of state budget funds to ensure the dissemination, education on laws, and standard access to laws for the public at grassroots levels.

JOINT CIRCULAR

Regulations on the preparation of budget estimates, management, use, and settlement of state budget funds to ensure work on popularizing, educating about laws, and ensuring access to laws for people at the grassroots level

Ensuring work on popularizing, educating about laws, and ensuring access to laws for people at the grassroots level

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Pursuant to the State Budget Law No. 01/2002/QH11 dated December 16, 2002;

Pursuant to the Law on Popularizing and Educating About Laws No. 14/2012/QH13 dated June 20, 2012;

Pursuant to Decree No. 118/2008/NĐ-CP dated November 27, 2008 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

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 measures to implement the Law on Popularizing and Educating About Laws;

Pursuant to Decision No. 06/2010/QĐ-TTg dated January 25, 2010 of the Prime Minister on the construction, management, and exploitation of Legal Bookshelves;

Pursuant to Decision No. 09/2013/QĐ-TTg dated January 24, 2013 of the Prime Minister promulgating regulations on ensuring access to laws for people at the grassroots level;

Pursuant to Decision No. 27/2013/QĐ-TTg dated May 19, 2013 of the Prime Minister stipulating the composition, tasks, and powers of the Steering Committee for Popularizing and Educating About Laws at all levels.

The Minister of Finance and the Minister of Justice issue this Joint Circular regulating the preparation of budget estimates, management, use, and settlement of state budget funds to ensure work on popularizing, educating about laws, and ensuring access to laws for people at the grassroots level as follows:

Article 1. Scope of Regulation and Applicability

1. This Joint Circular regulates the preparation of budget estimates, management, use, and settlement of state budget funds to ensure work on popularizing, educating about laws, and ensuring access to laws for people at the grassroots level; funds serving the activities of the Steering Committees for Popularizing and Educating About Laws at all levels; the Evaluation Committees for Access to Laws at all levels; Programs, Projects, and Plans on popularizing, educating about laws, and ensuring access to laws for people at the grassroots level (hereinafter referred to as work on popularizing and educating about laws and ensuring access to laws).

2. This Joint Circular applies to agencies and units related to the preparation of budget estimates, management, use, and settlement of state budget funds to ensure work on popularizing, educating about laws, and ensuring access to laws.

Article 2. Principles for managing, using, and settling funds for popularizing, educating about laws, and ensuring access to laws

1. State budget funds ensuring work on popularizing, educating about laws, and ensuring access to laws at each level shall be guaranteed by the corresponding level's budget according to the current budget decentralization and allocated in the budgets of Ministries, agencies equivalent to Ministries, government agencies, central-level organizations, People's Committees at all levels in accordance with the State Budget Law and other relevant legal documents.

2. The central budget will support funds to implement tasks of popularizing and educating about laws for localities that have not yet achieved balanced budgets to carry out key activities of popularizing and educating about laws, including activities:

a) Organizing training sessions on new legal documents and enhancing skills in popularizing and educating about laws for those engaged in such work;

b) Developing special sections on popularizing and educating about laws to be published on the online portal of the Department of Justice;

c) Funding for Legal Bookshelves; implementing popularizing and educating about laws for specific groups as stipulated by the Law on Popularizing and Educating About Laws;

d) Supporting the implementation of key tasks of Programs and Projects on popularizing and educating about laws.

3. State budget funds ensuring work on popularizing, educating about laws, and ensuring access to laws must be managed, used for their intended purposes, in accordance with established procedures, and in compliance with the provisions of this Joint Circular.

Article 3. Source of Funding

1. Funds for popularizing and educating about laws and ensuring access to laws for agencies and units benefiting from state budget funds shall be guaranteed by the state budget and raised from other legitimate sources of funding.

2. Sources of funding for constructing and managing Legal Bookshelves shall be implemented according to Decision No. 06/2010/QĐ-TTg dated January 25, 2010 of

Article 4. Contents of Expenditure

1. Expenses for the activities of the Steering Committees for Popularizing and Educating About Laws at all levels, the Evaluation Committees for Access to Laws at all levels, and the Steering Committees for Programs and Projects on popularizing and educating about laws and ensuring access to laws, including:

a) Expenses for organizing professional seminars, roundtable discussions, regular and extraordinary meetings, and advisory sessions of the Committees and Steering Committees;

b) Expenses for office supplies and compiling materials to serve the activities of the Committees and Steering Committees;

c) Expenses for directing and inspecting activities;

d) Expenses for mid-term reviews, final evaluations, competitions, and awards.

2. Expenses for information dissemination, communication, popularizing, educating about laws, and ensuring access to laws through mass media, including:

a) Developing programs and special sections on popularizing and educating about laws and ensuring access to laws, conducting communication through newspapers, magazines, radio stations, television stations, periodicals, bulletins, mobile information, thematic exhibitions, information boards, and information boxes;

b) Conducting press releases, including expenses for compiling materials and office supplies to serve press release activities; expenses for organizing press conferences and publishing press releases on mass media;

c) Through banners, slogans, billboards, posters, and other forms of popularizing and educating about laws;

d) Through the grassroots-level public address system, including expenses for compiling news and articles for broadcasting; remuneration for announcers; support for equipping or renting equipment to serve the broadcasting of news and articles on popularizing and educating about laws and ensuring access to laws.

3. Expenses for compiling and translating materials to serve work on popularizing and educating about laws and ensuring access to laws, including:

a) Compiling outlines to introduce Laws and Ordinances;

b) Preparing, printing, publishing, or posting on websites, electronic news pages various types of books, legal research materials, reference materials, general guidance materials for legal education and popularization, legal access standards serving legal reporters, legal propagandists, individuals invited to participate in legal education and popularization, and staff implementing legal education and popularization activities, legal access standards;

c) Preparing, printing, publishing, or posting on websites, electronic news pages general legal books, legal pamphlets, legal stories, audiovisual materials, legal sketches, and other materials suitable for specific subjects;

d) Translating, printing, and publishing legal materials in minority languages;

đ) Translating legal materials from foreign languages into Vietnamese, and from Vietnamese into foreign languages;

e) Funding the preparation of reference materials and guidance for legal education and popularization, developing programs, reviewing, and updating lecture programs for teachers and students;

4. Funding the direct, mobile, and specialized topic activities of Legal Clubs, core groups, including:

a) Funding the preparation of legal education and popularization materials;

b) Funding the purchase and copying of materials related to legal education and popularization content;

c) Providing legal information through pamphlets, pocket books, legal handbooks, and other publications and legal materials;

d) Funding travel expenses for staff participating in direct, mobile legal education and popularization activities, and participating in specialized topic activities with Legal Clubs, core groups;

đ) Funding the purchase or rental of equipment to serve legal education and popularization activities and Legal Club meetings, ensuring economy and effectiveness;

e) Funding meals for members attending the launch meeting of Legal Clubs; water for participants at Legal Club meetings, core group meetings. The People's Committee of communes, wards, towns shall be responsible for creating conditions to support the venue for Legal Club activities;

g) Funding mid-term and final reviews of Legal Club and core group activities;

h) Funding for translating minority languages, hiring guides (if necessary);

5. Funding the construction, management, and operation of legal bookshelves in agencies, units, enterprises, schools, communes, wards, towns, residential areas, including:

a) Funding the purchase of legal materials and books for new legal bookshelves; updating and supplementing new legal books and materials for legal bookshelves according to the needs of cadres and people; funding for purchasing new bookshelves or regular maintenance of legal bookshelves;

b) Funding services for readers and reporting on reader service situations for legal materials of legal bookshelves;

c) Other funding directly serving the construction, management, and operation of legal bookshelves;

6. Funding the construction, management, exploitation, and updating of databases on legal access standards, national legal databases, websites on legal education and popularization; collecting information and materials, establishing computerized databases to serve legal education and popularization work; updating and posting new regulatory documents needed for legal education and popularization and legal access standards;

7. Funding the organization of law knowledge contests, legal education and popularization vocational contests, legal access standard contests, including written exams, stage performances, online exams, radio and television broadcasts;

8. Funding the organization of training courses, capacity building, and seminars to enhance the skills and expertise of staff implementing legal education and popularization work and legal access standards, legal reporters, legal propagandists, individuals invited to participate in legal education and popularization, teachers, and students. For training courses that issue certificates, there will be additional funding for exam preparation, answer keys, grading, and certificate printing;

9. Funding the organization of collaborator meetings; meetings to implement legal education and popularization work and legal access standards programs and projects; seminars and roundtable discussions exchanging experiences related to legal education and popularization activities, legal education and popularization vocational skills, and legal access standards;

10. Funding remuneration for legal reporters, legal propagandists, individuals invited to participate in legal education and popularization, and guidance on specialized topic activities of Legal Clubs and core groups; remuneration for collaborators and experts participating in legal access standard evaluation activities;

11. Funding legal education in schools, including:

a) Funding surveys and assessments of the current situation and needs of students and teachers;

b) Funding the preparation, printing, and publication of legal education materials;

c) Funding the development and implementation of legal education programs;

d) Funding the standardization of citizen education and legal education teachers;

đ) Funding extracurricular legal education activities, summer camps, and summer holiday activities for students;

12. Funding the review, statistics, and systematization of documents and materials serving legal education and popularization work and legal access standards; implementing tasks of programs, projects, plans, and proposals to improve laws on legal education and popularization and legal access standards, administrative reform;

13. Funding the organization of surveys and investigations on the need for training and education of staff implementing legal education and popularization work and legal access standards; the need for legal education and popularization among different strata of the population; students' and young people's understanding of the law; surveys on the implementation of citizen education and legal education curricula and textbooks; investigations and surveys to implement legal education and popularization plans and programs and projects approved;

14. Funding the purchase, rental of equipment, assets, and other purchases and rentals serving legal education and popularization work and legal access standards.

15. Expenditure for inspection, interim review, and final evaluation of legal awareness dissemination and education work and standard access to law, as well as related Programs, Proposals, and Plans.

16. Expenditure for commendation and awards for collectives and individuals with outstanding achievements in legal awareness dissemination and education work and standard access to law.

17. For Programs, Proposals, and Plans on legal awareness dissemination and education and standard access to law that have been approved, in addition to implementing the expenditure items specified in Clauses 1 to 16 of this Article, expenditures for management, supervision, and assessment of such Programs, Proposals, and Plans at various levels (central and local) shall be as follows:

a) Expenditure for drafting outlines; developing and perfecting; reviewing and appraising Programs, Proposals, and Plans;

b) Expenditure for night shift wages, overtime pay; office supplies, materials, equipment, and other expenses directly serving the activities of Programs, Proposals, and Plans;

c) Expenditure for drafting management documents, directives, guidelines, and inspections of Programs, Proposals, and Plans; expenditure for periodic annual, mid-term, and final inspections of Programs, Proposals, and Plans; expenditure for acceptance of Program, Proposal, and Plan products;

d) Other expenditures directly related to the management, supervision, and assessment of the implementation of Programs, Proposals, and Plans.

18. Other expenditures directly related to legal awareness dissemination and education work and standard access to law (if any).

19. Expenditure for implementing projects funded from foreign sources based on international cooperation documents approved by competent authorities; in cases where the parties do not have specific agreements on expenditure items and amounts, provisions of this Circular may be applied.

Article 5. Funding Levels

1. Expenditures for legal awareness dissemination and education work and standard access to law shall be implemented in accordance with current financial expenditure standards and norms, specifically as follows:

a) Travel expenses for those on official business, including legal awareness disseminators, legal education propagandists, invited participants in legal awareness dissemination and education, collaborators, and experts involved in assessing standard access to law, shall be carried out according to Circular No. 97/2010/TT-BTC dated July 6, 2010, issued by the Ministry of Finance, which stipulates travel expense regulations and expenditure standards for organizing conferences for state agencies and public service units;

b) Expenditure for training, seminar organization, and professional skill enhancement for staff engaged in legal awareness dissemination and education, standard access to law, legal awareness disseminators, legal education propagandists, and invited participants in legal awareness dissemination and education; enhancement and training to improve professional skills to standardize the teaching staff for civic education and law; expenditure for direct and mobile legal awareness dissemination to the people, students, and special groups; legal summer camps, extracurricular activities, and summer activities for students (for training and enhancement courses that issue certificates, additional expenditure for test preparation, answer keys, grading, and certificate printing) shall be carried out according to Circular No. 139/2010/TT-BTC dated September 21, 2010, issued by the Ministry of Finance, which stipulates the preparation, management, and use of state budget funds for staff and civil servant training and enhancement;

Support for food, accommodation, and transportation for trainees who are the target groups of Programs, Proposals, and Plans on legal awareness dissemination and education and standard access to law, including village-level cadres and civil servants, non-professional workers at the commune level when attending skill training and professional enhancement courses (as stipulated in Decree No. 92/2009/NĐ-CP dated September 22, 2009, issued by the Government regarding the positions, number, and some policies for village-level cadres and civil servants and non-professional workers at the commune level) and other groups shall be carried out according to the support expenditure standards set forth in Joint Circular No. 225/2012/TTLT-BTC-BKHĐT-BTTTT dated December 26, 2012, issued by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, and the Ministry of Information and Communications guiding the management and use of state budget funds for the National Target Program to bring information to mountainous areas, remote regions, border areas, and islands during the period 2012-2015;

c) Expenditure for press conferences; seminars, roundtable discussions on exchanging experiences in legal awareness dissemination and education, standard access to law, solutions for implementing Programs, Proposals, and activities of the Coordination Council for Legal Awareness Dissemination and Education, the Evaluation Council for Access to Law; organizing meetings of collaborators, advisory sessions of the Council and the Steering Committee shall be carried out according to Joint Circular No. 44/2007/TTLT-BTC-BKHCN dated May 7, 2007, issued by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Science and Technology, guiding the establishment and allocation of budgets for scientific and technological projects using state funds;

d) Expenditure for specialized meetings, summary meetings, and deployment meetings for legal awareness dissemination and education work and standard access to law, as well as Programs, Proposals, and Plans, shall be carried out according to Circular No. 97/2010/TT-BTC dated July 6, 2010, issued by the Ministry of Finance, which stipulates travel expense regulations and expenditure standards for organizing conferences for state agencies and public service units;

d) Costs for building, managing the national legal information database, websites for legal dissemination and education; collecting information and materials, establishing computerized databases to serve legal dissemination, education, and standard access to law; implementing legal dissemination and education on electronic information websites and websites in accordance with Circular No. 194/2012/TT-BTC dated November 15, 2012, issued by the Ministry of Finance guiding the cost levels for creating electronic information to maintain regular operations of state agencies and units funded by the state budget, and Joint Circular No. 19/2012/TTLT-BTC-BKH&ĐT-BTTTT dated February 15, 2012, issued by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, and the Ministry of Information and Communications guiding management and use of funds for the National Program on Information Technology Application in State Agency Operations.

e) Costs for compiling and translating materials to serve legal dissemination, education, and standard access to law, including:

- Costs for compiling outlines (or lectures) introducing Laws and Ordinances; press releases, books, special issues, specialized legal materials, reference materials, guidance on legal dissemination and education and standard access to law for distribution or posting on websites and electronic information pages, and compiling legal education programs, books, reference materials, and guidance on legal education in schools, in accordance with Circular No. 123/2009/TT-BTC dated June 17, 2009, issued by the Ministry of Finance stipulating the content and cost levels for building framework programs and compiling programs and textbooks for university and college courses (at the level for university and college training). For books and materials systematizing legal documents, the cost level for secondary vocational training applies.

- Costs for developing programs and columns; printing publications and materials; producing and distributing banners, slogans, tapes, discs to serve legal dissemination, education, and standard access to law; implementing communication through newspapers, magazines, television stations, periodicals, bulletins, mobile information, specialized exhibitions, making information boards and boxes, in accordance with the norms and unit prices of similar industries and actual expense vouchers approved by competent authorities in the annual budget estimate.

- Costs for translating legal dissemination and education materials and standard access to law materials (including ethnic languages not widely spoken) in accordance with Circular No. 01/2010/TT-BTC dated January 6, 2010, issued by the Ministry of Finance stipulating expenditure regulations for hosting foreign guests working in Vietnam, organizing international conferences and seminars in Vietnam, and hosting domestic guests.

g) Costs for supporting production and re-broadcasting programs and columns on legal dissemination, education, and standard access to law on radio and television broadcasts in accordance with Joint Circular No. 225/2012/TTLT-BTC-BKHĐT-BTTTT dated December 26, 2012, guiding management and use of state budget funds for the National Target Program on Bringing Information to Mountainous Areas, Remote Areas, Border Areas, and Islands during the 2012-2015 period.

h) Costs for rewarding individuals and groups with outstanding achievements in legal dissemination, education, and standard access to law in accordance with current regulations on competition and rewards.

i) Costs for conducting surveys and assessments on legal dissemination, education, and standard access to law work, Programs, Projects, Plans; assessing the current situation and needs of learners and teachers, in accordance with Circular No. 58/2011/TT-BTC dated May 11, 2011, issued by the Ministry of Finance stipulating management, use, and settlement of funds for statistical surveys.

k) Costs for organizing writing contests, stage competitions, internet contests on understanding laws, legal dissemination and education skills, and standard access to law, including:

- Costs for supporting food and accommodation for members of the organizing committee and examination board during the contest period, in accordance with current regulations of the Ministry of Finance regarding travel expenses for civil servants and public officials.

- Costs for supporting food and accommodation for contestants participating in the contest (including practice and exam days, up to a maximum of ten days), applying the support level for non-salaried delegates in accordance with current regulations of the Ministry of Finance regarding conference costs; those who have received such support shall not be reimbursed for travel expenses at their respective agencies.

- Costs for prizes and other expenses depending on the scale and nature of the contest to determine specific prize amounts but not exceeding the maximum limit specified in the appendix to this joint circular.

- Costs for organizing stage competitions, internet contests, and radio-television contests, including additional costs for hiring hosts, performing arts shows incorporating legal skits; post-production costs, venue rental, equipment, and other expenses serving the contest, in accordance with the cost levels set out in the appendix accompanying this joint circular and actual expense vouchers approved by competent authorities in the annual budget estimate.

l) The cost level for building, operating, and managing Legal Bookshelves, implemented according to Decision No. 06/2010/QĐ-TTg dated January 25, 2010,

m) Costs for reviewing and systematizing documents and materials to serve legal dissemination, education, and standard access to law, implementing tasks of programs, projects, and proposals to improve legal dissemination, education, and standard access to law, administrative reform, in accordance with Joint Circular No. 122/2011/TTLT-BTC-BTP dated August 17, 2011, issued by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice stipulating the preparation, management, use, and settlement of funds to ensure inspection, handling, review, and systematization of legal regulatory documents.

n) For conducting statistics, reporting, and evaluating the work of disseminating and educating the law and legal access standards, including costs for statistical data collection, processing information and figures from annual evaluation reports of ministries, sectors, and localities; writing and completing regular, ad hoc, specialized, interim, final reports according to the expenditure levels set out in the Appendix accompanying this Joint Circular;

o) For inspecting, supervising, and evaluating the work of disseminating and educating the law and legal access standards on an annual, mid-term, and final basis, carried out in accordance with the provisions of Circular No. 06/2007/TT-BTC dated January 26, 2007 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the preparation of budget estimates, management, and use of funds to ensure inspection activities, and Circular No. 97/2010/TT-BTC dated July 6, 2010 of the Ministry of Finance stipulating the travel expense system and expenses for organizing meetings for state agencies and public service units;

For inter-ministerial and inter-agency inspection and supervision teams: the leading agency or unit of the inspection team is responsible for covering the travel expenses (train and vehicle fares, accommodation allowances, rental fees for lodging at the destination, and baggage and document transportation charges) for team members according to the prescribed regulations. To avoid duplicate expenditures, the leading agency or unit must notify in writing (in the invitation or summons letter) the sending agency or unit that their personnel do not need to pay these expenses;

p) Costs for purchasing and renting equipment and other items necessary for the dissemination and education of the law and legal access standards, based on valid invoices and receipts in accordance with current legal regulations;

q) Payment for night work and overtime wages, implemented in accordance with the provisions of Joint Circular No. 08/2005/TTLT-BTC-BNV dated January 5, 2005 of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Home Affairs guiding the implementation of wage systems for night and overtime work for civil servants and public officials;

r) Costs for implementing Programs, Proposals, Plans for the dissemination and education of the law and legal access standards that have been approved, activities of the Coordination Council for Dissemination and Education of the Law, the Legal Access Evaluation Council, and Steering Committees for Programs and Proposals, in addition to the expenditure items and levels specified from point a to point q of Clause 1 of this Article, certain expenditure levels shall be implemented as follows:

- Costs for drafting Program, Proposal, and Plan outlines; contributing to and perfecting Programs, Proposals, and Plans; reviewing and appraising Programs, Proposals, and Plans; costs for drafting management, guidance, and direction documents for Programs, Proposals, and Plans according to the expenditure levels set out in the Appendix accompanying this Joint Circular;

- Office supplies, materials, equipment, and other direct costs serving the activities of Programs, Proposals, and Plans according to valid actual expenditure receipts and approved in the annual budget estimate by the competent authority;

s) Other related costs directly associated with the work of disseminating and educating the law and legal access standards (if any), according to valid actual expenditure receipts and approved in the annual budget estimate by the competent authority;

2. This Joint Circular guides certain special expenditure items in the work of disseminating and educating the law and legal access standards (as attached in the Appendix).

Article 6. Preparation, execution, and settlement of funds for popularizing, educating on laws, and ensuring access to laws

The preparation, execution, and settlement of funds for popularizing, educating on laws, and ensuring access to laws shall be carried out as follows:

1. Preparation of Budget Estimates:

a) Each year, ministries, sectors, and localities base their actions on their functions and tasks as stipulated in the Law on Popularizing and Educating Laws and guiding documents, Decision No. 09/2013/QĐ-TTg dated January 24, 2013,

b) Based on plans to implement tasks related to popularizing, educating on laws, and ensuring access to laws, agencies and units prepare detailed budget estimates together with their regular expenditure budgets, which they submit to the financial authorities at the same level for consolidation and submission to the competent authority for approval of the annual state budget allocation for the unit. The preparation, management, disbursement, payment, and settlement of funds shall be carried out in accordance with the State Budget Law, Accounting Law, and guiding documents for these laws;

Ministries and sectors assigned the main responsibility for implementing approved Programs shall, based on the objectives of each Program, prepare budget estimates (funds guaranteed by the central government) to be included in their own ministry or sector's budget estimate, which they send to the Ministry of Finance (after receiving the review opinion of the Ministry of Justice regarding the content and implementation plan) for consolidation and submission to the Prime Minister for approval and inclusion in the annual state budget of the ministries or sectors responsible for the Programs. For Programs that include Sub-Programs, the agencies responsible for the Programs must have the responsibility to consolidate the content and activity plans of the Sub-Programs and send them to the Ministry of Justice for comprehensive review;

Ministries and sectors assigned the main responsibility for Sub-Programs within approved Programs shall, based on the objectives of each Sub-Program, prepare budget estimates (funds guaranteed by the central government) to be included in their own ministry or sector's budget estimate, which they send to the Ministry of Finance (after receiving the opinion of the agency responsible for the Program regarding the content and implementation plan) for consolidation and submission to the competent authority for approval and inclusion in the annual state budget of the ministries or sectors responsible for the Sub-Programs;

c) Regarding funds for building and managing Legal Libraries:

- Funds for building Legal Libraries at agencies and units: Each year, based on the expenditure standards and plans for building Legal Libraries decided by the competent authority, agencies and units prepare budget estimates for building Legal Libraries to be included in their own unit's budget estimate and submit it to the competent authority according to the分级处理这个文本并进行翻译任务。

- The preparation of budget estimates and the disbursement of central government funds for building Legal Libraries in communes, wards, and towns in provinces that have not yet achieved balanced budgets and villages in poor counties as defined in Resolution No. 30a/2008/NQ-CP dated December 27, 2008 of the Government on the Program to rapidly and sustainably reduce poverty in 61 poor counties shall be implemented in accordance with the provisions of point m, Clause 1, Article 5 of this Joint Circular.

d) Regarding central government funds supporting the work of popularizing and educating on laws in provinces that have not yet achieved balanced budgets as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 39 of the Law on Popularizing and Educating Laws:

Each year, based on the consolidated budget estimates for funds ensuring the work of popularizing and educating on laws in the locality, the projected revenue, and expenditure tasks of the locality, the People's Committee of the province compiles the budget estimate and requests central government support according to the support contents specified in Clause 2, Article 2 of this Joint Circular, and reports to the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Finance;

The Ministry of Justice compiles the budget estimate requesting central government support for the provinces in the planning year and sends it to the Ministry of Finance for review and submission to the competent authority for decision in accordance with the State Budget Law. After the competent authority approves the budget estimate, the Ministry of Finance notifies the provinces receiving support of the funds so they can withdraw the budget for implementation;

The deadline for provinces to request support from the central government budget to ensure the work of popularizing and educating on laws is in accordance with the State Budget Law's deadline for reporting the annual state budget estimate (before July 25); if the report exceeds the prescribed deadline, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Finance will not be responsible for consolidating the demand for fund support.

2. The management, expenditure, settlement, and auditing of funds for popularizing and educating on laws and ensuring access to laws; the operating funds of the Coordination Council for Popularizing and Educating Laws and the Access to Law Evaluation Council shall be carried out in accordance with current financial management systems and regulations.

Article 7. Effectiveness and Implementation Provisions

1. This Circular shall take effect from March 14, 2014, and replace the provisions on the establishment, management, use, and settlement of funds for popularizing and educating about laws as stipulated in Joint Circular No. 73/2010/TTLT-BTC-BTP dated May 14, 2010, issued by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice guiding the establishment, management, use, and settlement of funds for popularizing and educating about laws. As for the provisions on expenditure items and expenditure limits serving grassroots dispute resolution work, they will continue to be implemented according to the provisions of Joint Circular No. 73/2010/TTLT-BTC-BTP until replaced by another document.

2. The expenditure levels for implementing popularization and education on laws and standard access to laws specified in this Joint Circular are the maximum expenditure levels; based on budget capacity and actual conditions at the local level, the People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities shall submit to the People's Councils at the same level to specify the expenditure levels for agencies and units under their jurisdiction; the Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, and government-affiliated agencies shall specify the expenditure levels for subordinate agencies and units based on the allocated state budget estimates, but not exceeding the maximum expenditure levels set forth in this Joint Circular. In cases where ministries, sectors, and localities have not issued specific regulations on expenditure levels, agencies and units may apply the expenditure regulations stipulated in this Joint Circular.

During implementation, if the regulatory legal documents cited for application in this Circular are amended, supplemented, or replaced by new regulatory legal documents, then the new documents shall be applied.

3. During the implementation process, if there are difficulties or obstacles, agencies and units are requested to report them to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice for study and appropriate amendment and supplementation.