Joint Circular No. 302/1997/TTLT-BTCCBCP-BTP guiding the implementation of certain provisions on the organization of legal affairs at ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and government agencies.

JOINT CIRCULAR

Guidelines for Implementing Certain Provisions on Legal Affairs Organizations in Ministries, Agencies Equivalent to Ministries, and Government Agencies

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To implement uniformly certain provisions of Decree No. 94-CP dated September 6, 1997 of the Government on legal affairs organizations in ministries, agencies equivalent to ministries, and government agencies (hereinafter referred to collectively as legal affairs organizations of ministries), the Ministry of Justice and the Government Organization-Human Resources Council provide guidelines for certain aspects of legal affairs organizations of ministries as follows:

I. ESTABLISHMENT AND REORGANIZATION OF LEGAL AFFAIRS ORGANIZATIONS OF MINISTRIES

1. For ministries, agencies equivalent to ministries, and government agencies with state management functions that have not yet established legal affairs organizations, they shall establish a Department of Legal Affairs or a Legal Affairs Office based on their own legal work requirements and workload, in accordance with Article 3 of Decree No. 94-CP. The Legal Affairs Office may be under the Ministry's Office or directly under the Minister or Head of the agency.

The establishment of a Legal Affairs Department shall be decided by the Prime Minister based on the proposal of the Minister, Head of the agency equivalent to a ministry, or Head of the government agency, with the opinion of the Minister of the Government Organization-Human Resources Council and the Minister of Justice.

The establishment of a Legal Affairs Office shall be decided by the Minister or Head of the agency equivalent to a ministry, or Head of the government agency.

2. In cases where a Legal Affairs Department or Office has already been established, it may retain its current organizational structure or reorganize according to the provisions of Point 1 of this Section based on the requirements and workload of legal affairs.

3. Where a combined legal affairs organization (such as a Legal Affairs-General Department; Inspection-Legal Affairs Department; Policy-Legal Affairs Department; Legal Affairs-General Office under the Ministry's Office, etc.) has been established, the legal affairs function must now be separated and reorganized according to the provisions of Point 1 of this Section. At the same time, there must be an organizational plan for the previous areas of work that were combined with the legal affairs organization, assigning them to relevant organizations responsible for those areas; if necessary, a separate organization should be established for these areas, which must be reported to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision.

II. DESIGNATION AND STANDARDS FOR LEGAL AFFAIRS OFFICERS OF MINISTRIES

The designation and standards for legal affairs officers of ministries are specified in Article 2 of Decree No. 94-CP, determined according to the professional standards of administrative civil service ranks in the field of justice issued together with Decision No. 483/TCCB-QĐ dated July 26, 1993 of the Minister of Justice, applied to the industry and sector managed by the ministry or agency as follows:

1. Legal affairs officers must have a bachelor's degree in law and specialized knowledge and expertise in their respective ministry or agency.

2. Attention should be paid to selecting, arranging, and utilizing officers and civil servants from the specialist level and above to ensure the effective performance of the duties and powers of legal affairs officers and legal affairs organizations of ministries.

3. In cases where legal affairs officers have a bachelor's degree in law, practical experience in drafting documents, but lack specialized knowledge, the ministry or agency needs to develop plans for continued training to meet the requirements for specialized knowledge.

4. In cases where legal affairs officers have a bachelor's degree in a specialized field, professional experience, and involvement in drafting documents, but lack legal knowledge, the ministry or agency needs to cooperate with the Ministry of Justice to develop plans for further education and enhancement of legal knowledge and skills.

Annually, the Ministry of Justice organizes courses on technical document drafting for laws and regulations, and introduces newly issued legal documents to the legal affairs officer team.

III. TIMEFRAME AND PROGRESS FOR ESTABLISHING OR REORGANIZING LEGAL AFFAIRS ORGANIZATIONS OF MINISTRIES

To implement Article 7 of Decree No. 94-CP, Ministers, Heads of agencies equivalent to ministries, and Heads of government agencies must complete the establishment or reorganization of legal affairs organizations of ministries within three months from the date this Decree takes effect. Therefore, according to the above provision, the establishment and reorganization of legal affairs organizations of ministries must be completed by December 21, 1997. The Ministry of Justice and the Government Organization-Human Resources Council request ministries and agencies that have not yet established and reorganized legal affairs organizations to urgently expedite the establishment and reorganization process.

The Ministry of Justice and the Government Organization-Human Resources Council request ministries, agencies equivalent to ministries, and government agencies to submit reports on the organization and operation of their legal affairs organizations to the Government Organization-Human Resources Council and the Ministry of Justice before January 30, 1998.