Directive No. 15/2000/CT-TTg On the Implementation of the Marriage and Family Law 2000

DIRECTIVE

ON THE ORGANIZATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MARRIAGE AND FAMILY LAW 2000

The Marriage and Family Law 2000 was adopted by the tenth session of the National Assembly at its seventh meeting on June 9, 2000, and took effect from January 1, 2001.

To promptly implement the Marriage and Family Law and Resolution No. 35/2000/QH10 dated June 9, 2000 of the National Assembly regarding the implementation of the Marriage and Family Law 2000, the Prime Minister issues the following Directive:

I. ORGANIZING THE REVIEW TO AMEND AND SUPPLEMENT CURRENT LEGAL DOCUMENTS OR ISSUE NEW GUIDELINES FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MARRIAGE AND FAMILY LAW

1. From now until the end of 2000, the Ministry of Justice shall take the lead and complete the review of current legal documents concerning marriage and family to propose to the Government and other competent agencies to amend, supplement, or abolish those documents related to marriage and family that are no longer in line with the new Marriage and Family Law.

2. The Ministry of Justice shall take the lead and coordinate with relevant agencies and organizations to prepare sub-law documents to be submitted to the Government or the Standing Committee of the National Assembly for issuance to guide the implementation of the provisions of the Law, particularly issues related to land use rights, residential land, housing, and registration of marriage and adoption in remote areas, registration of marriage and family relations involving foreign elements, including registration of marriage and family relations involving foreign elements in border areas with neighboring countries; administrative penalties in the field of marriage and family. These tasks must be completed by the second quarter of 2001.

3. The Commission for Ethnic Minorities and Mountainous Areas shall take the lead in preparing to submit to the Government for issuance in the first quarter of 2001 a Decree stipulating the application of the Marriage and Family Law to ethnic minorities, solutions for actual adoption cases in minority regions, along with a list of outdated customs and practices regarding marriage and family that should not be applied, and a list of good customs and practices regarding marriage and family that should be encouraged.

II. SPREADING, PROMOTING, AND EDUCATING ABOUT THE MARRIAGE AND FAMILY LAW

1. The work of spreading, promoting, and educating about the Marriage and Family Law must be carried out continuously and extensively among cadres, civil servants, employees, military personnel, and the people, especially in communes, wards, towns, clusters of households, agencies, organizations, enterprises, schools, and families.

The dissemination and promotion activities must aim to ensure that everyone understands clearly the principles and basic contents of the Law, especially the newly amended and supplemented contents and the National Assembly's Resolution on addressing actual marriage situations, thereby fostering self-awareness and proactive compliance, enhancing individual awareness and understanding, and increasing concern about personal responsibility in building families, making each family truly a warm home for individuals, and making Vietnamese society a true large family where all Vietnamese people shoulder together to build an independent, free, prosperous, and happy country.

Starting from the third quarter of 2000, Ministries, agencies equivalent to ministries, government agencies, and People's Committees at all levels must establish and implement plans for disseminating, promoting, and educating about the Marriage and Family Law within their agencies, units, and localities; considering this as a key task in the dissemination, promotion, and education of laws in the last six months of 2000 and throughout 2001, while also innovating methods and measures for promoting and educating about marriage and family laws to deepen these activities, avoiding superficial mass movements with low effectiveness.

2. The Ministry of Justice shall be responsible for coordinating with the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, the Vietnam Women's Union, the General Confederation of Labor of Vietnam, the Communist Youth Union of Ho Chi Minh, the Vietnam Farmers' Association, the Vietnam Veterans' Association, the Ministry of Culture and Information, the National Committee for Child Protection and Care, the Population and Family Planning Committee, the Vietnam Bar Association, and central and local media outlets to widely disseminate, promote, and educate about the Marriage and Family Law and the National Assembly's Resolution on implementing this Law; guiding and instructing the strengthening of legal counseling activities related to marriage and family, encouraging the establishment of various types of Family Clubs where people can participate in activities based on gender, age, profession, or interest to exchange experiences and learn from each other about responsibilities as spouses, parents, grandparents, etc., to avoid misunderstandings and unfortunate incidents right from the start in the important mission of family life.

The Inter-Ministerial Coordination Council for Legal Education and Dissemination under the Government shall be responsible for determining the content and program for disseminating and promoting the Marriage and Family Law and the National Assembly's Resolution on implementing this Law; coordinating with relevant agencies and organizations to compile outlines and training materials suitable for different target groups and training speakers to disseminate and promote the Marriage and Family Law.

3. The Ministry of Culture and Information shall coordinate with the Central Propaganda and Ideology Department and the Ministry of Justice to direct mass media to prioritize the dissemination and promotion of the Marriage and Family Law from now until the end of 2000 and 2001; guiding the development and implementation of community living rules related to the provisions of the Marriage and Family Law.

4. The People's Daily, Voice of Vietnam Radio, Vietnam Television, and other central and local mass media shall regularly have programs and special sections introducing and explaining the contents and new aspects of the Marriage and Family Law.

5. The Ministry of Justice shall take the lead and coordinate with the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuracy to organize specialized training on the Law on Marriage and Family for judges, prosecutors, court clerks, people's assessors, civil registry officers, and other judicial staff to ensure uniform application and supervision of the enforcement of the Law on Marriage and Family.

6. The Ministry of Education and Training shall take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Justice to direct the review of teaching curricula and materials of universities and colleges, as well as citizenship education materials related to the Law on Marriage and Family in vocational schools, high schools, and junior high schools, to develop plans for timely supplementation and amendment to align with the Law on Marriage and Family; organize training for teachers teaching law and citizenship education on the Law on Marriage and Family.

7. The Committee for Ethnic Minorities and Mountainous Areas shall take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Justice to develop plans to disseminate and promote the Law on Marriage and Family among ethnic minority groups.

8. The Ministry of Finance shall take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Justice to develop plans to guide budget balancing and ensure necessary funding for the implementation and enforcement of the Law on Marriage and Family, including the Resolution on the Implementation of the Law on Marriage and Family adopted by the National Assembly, from drafting guiding documents for the Law, organizing marriage registration, adoption registration in remote areas, organizing training sessions and extensive dissemination and promotion among officials and civilians.

9. The Chairpersons of the People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities shall direct local agencies to develop specific plans to address actual marriage situations in their localities according to the National Assembly's Resolution on the Implementation of the Law on Marriage and Family, creating favorable conditions for marriage registration, including on-site registration, to resolve this issue thoroughly in the years 2001 and 2002.

The Prime Minister requests that Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of agencies under the Government, and Chairpersons of the People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities within the scope of their management responsibilities develop specific plans to implement this Directive.

The Ministry of Justice and the Office of the Government shall be responsible for monitoring and urging the implementation of this Directive and compiling reports on the results of its implementation to the Prime Minister./.