Circular No. 555/TT-THA guiding certain issues regarding civil enforcement proceedings

CIRCULAR

HGuidelines on certain issues regarding civil enforcement proceedings

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To implement Decree No. 30-CP dated June 2, 1993 of the Government on the organization, tasks, and powers of agencies managing civil enforcement proceedings, civil enforcement agencies, and enforcement officers, Directive No. 266-TTg dated June 2, 1993 of the Prime Minister on the implementation and handover of civil enforcement proceedings and strengthening such proceedings, Circular Joint No. 01-TT/LN dated May 26, 1993 guiding the handover of civil enforcement proceedings, the Ministry of Justice hereby provides the following guidelines:

I. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF CIVIL ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES

To implement Point b Clause 1 Article 2 of Decree No. 30-CP dated June 2, 1993, Point a Clause 1 of Directive No. 266-TTg dated June 2, 1993 of the Prime Minister, Clause 1 Section III of Circular Joint No. 01-TT/LN dated May 26, 1993, the Ministry of Justice requests:

1. Directors of Provincial Departments of Justice under central cities shall promptly establish plans for organizing Civil Enforcement Departments under Provincial Departments of Justice and Civil Enforcement Teams under District, County, City, and Town Departments of Justice, to be submitted to the Civil Enforcement Management Department under the Ministry of Justice no later than June 20, 1993, for the Minister of Justice to issue decisions on establishment.

The organizational plan for enforcement agencies must clearly state the organizational structure of the Civil Enforcement Department, Civil Enforcement Team, staffing, number of enforcement officers and other personnel involved in enforcement work, sources and plans for arranging staff (including兼任情况), proposed candidates for appointment as enforcement officers. Along with the plan, the Director of the Provincial Department of Justice shall process procedures to propose candidates to the Director of the Civil Enforcement Management Department under the Ministry of Justice to request the Minister of Justice to appoint enforcement officers and heads of provincial enforcement teams. The Director of the Provincial Department of Justice shall process procedures to request the Minister of Justice to appoint enforcement officers and heads of district, county, city, and town enforcement teams.

In the meantime, it is suggested that the Director of the Provincial Department of Justice arrange, organize, and utilize enforcement officers, team leaders, and enforcement personnel transferred from courts. Recruitment of new personnel for appointment as enforcement officers or supplementation of enforcement staff must be strictly conducted in accordance with established standards for enforcement officers, avoiding hasty appointments or additions without meeting the criteria.

The Ministry of Justice anticipates allocating staffing for Civil Enforcement Departments and Teams as follows:

aFor Civil Enforcement Departments under Provincial Departments of Justice:

- Hanoi City and Ho Chi Minh City, not exceeding 15 people;

- Provinces in plains and midlands, Hai Phong City, not exceeding 10 people;

- Mountainous provinces, not exceeding 7 people.

b) For Civil Enforcement Teams under District Departments of Justice:

- Districts of Hanoi City and Ho Chi Minh City, not exceeding 10 people;

- Cities under provinces, districts of Hai Phong City, not exceeding 6 people;

- Towns, not exceeding 5 people;

- Plains and midland counties, from 3 to 5 people.

- Mountainous counties, 2 people

Based on the anticipated staffing of the Ministry, the Director of the Provincial Department of Justice shall establish plans based on local conditions to request the Minister of Justice to allocate staffing for Civil Enforcement Departments and Teams.

2. For districts, counties, towns, and cities under provinces where difficulties prevent the immediate establishment of District Departments of Justice, the Director of the Provincial Department of Justice shall establish plans for organizing District Departments of Justice with proposed structures for Civil Enforcement Teams, to be submitted to the People's Committee for issuance of decisions on establishment, while reporting to the Civil Enforcement Management Department to request the Minister of Justice to issue decisions on establishment of Civil Enforcement Teams. Until the District Department of Justice is established, the Director of the Provincial Department of Justice shall directly manage and direct the activities of the Civil Enforcement Team.

3. In counties where the annual number of civil judgments and decisions requiring enforcement is too small, a Civil Enforcement Team need not be established, but enforcement officers must still be present; if there are no enforcement officers, the Director of the Provincial Department of Justice shall promptly select personnel and process procedures to request the Minister of Justice to appoint them.

In counties where a Civil Enforcement Team has not been established, decisions on enforcement matters that according to Clause 1 Article 4 of the Civil Enforcement Ordinance fall within the authority of the Team Leader of the Civil Enforcement Team shall be handled by the Head of the Civil Enforcement Department under the Provincial Department of Justice.

4. In provinces and centrally-administered cities where a Civil Enforcement Department has been established but lacks a Head, the Director of the Provincial Department of Justice shall select enforcement officers to be sent to the Director of the Civil Enforcement Management Department under the Ministry of Justice for review, requesting the Minister of Justice to issue a decision granting that officer the authority of Head of the Civil Enforcement Department.

In counties, districts, towns, and cities under provinces where a Civil Enforcement Team has been established but lacks a Team Leader, the Director of the Provincial Department of Justice shall select enforcement officers and, after reaching agreement with the Director of the Civil Enforcement Management Department, request the Minister of Justice to issue a decision granting that officer the authority of Team Leader of the Civil Enforcement Team.

5. In areas where enforcement agencies have staffing of enforcement officers and enforcement personnel of 10 or more and a relatively large annual volume of judgments and decisions requiring enforcement, a Deputy Head of the Civil Enforcement Department under the Provincial Department of Justice and a Deputy Team Leader of the Civil Enforcement Team under the District, County, Town, or City Department of Justice may be appointed.

The Deputy Head of the Civil Enforcement Department shall be appointed by the Director of the Civil Enforcement Management Department from among enforcement officers in provinces and centrally-administered cities at the proposal of the Director of the Provincial Department of Justice.

The Deputy Team Leader of the Civil Enforcement Team shall be appointed by the Director of the Provincial Department of Justice from among enforcement officers in districts, counties, towns, and cities under provinces at the proposal of the Head of the District Department of Justice.

II. APPLICATION OF STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS FOR ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS

1. The application of the standard "equivalent" to a Law Degree stipulated in Point a Clause 2 and Point a Clause 3 Article 13 of Decree No. 30-CP dated June 2, 1993 of the Government is specified as follows:

a) The standard "equivalent" to a Law University degree shall be applied to individuals who have completed the Law University program but have not yet been awarded a Law University degree, or those who have graduated from Court College, Prosecution College, Police College, Security College and are currently engaged in legal work, or those who are currently enrolled in a part-time Law University program and have completed three-quarters of the program, or those who have completed five training courses under the Law University program.

b) In mountainous districts, highland areas, remote regions, and island districts where there is no person meeting the criteria for an enforcement officer or chief enforcement officer, the Director of the Department of Justice shall apply the knowledge of law standards prescribed in Circular No. 394-QLTA dated May 22, 1990 of the Ministry of Justice to select cadres to be included in the list for recommendation to the Minister of Justice for appointment as enforcement officers or chief enforcement officers.

2. Enforcement officers and chief enforcement officers in office before the date this Circular takes effect shall continue to perform their duties until they are appointed according to the new regulations.

The Director of the Civil Enforcement Management Bureau and the Director of the Department of Justice within the scope of their duties and powers shall conduct a review of the current enforcement officer team, complete the procedures to recommend the Minister of Justice for the appointment and replacement of enforcement officer and chief enforcement officer cards no later than the end of the third quarter of 1993. Within this period, the Director of the Department of Justice shall organize training courses on enforcement procedures for enforcement officers and chief enforcement officers who have not yet received such training.

The application of the enforcement officer and chief enforcement officer criteria stipulated in points a and b, Clause 1, Section II of this Circular shall only be implemented within a five-year period, starting from the date this Circular takes effect. Beyond this period, if enforcement officers and chief enforcement officers still do not meet the conditions specified in Article 13 of Decree No. 30-CP dated June 2, 1993 of the Government, their continued retention of these positions will be reconsidered.

3. The appointment of enforcement officers and chief enforcement officers as prescribed in Article 14 of Decree No. 30-CP dated June 2, 1993 of the Government shall be carried out as follows:

a) The Director of the Department of Justice shall prepare files to submit to the Director of the Civil Enforcement Management Bureau for examination and recommendation to the Minister of Justice for the appointment of enforcement officers and chief enforcement officers at the provincial and centrally-administered city levels.

The Director of the Department of Justice shall prepare files to recommend the Minister of Justice for the appointment of enforcement officers and chief enforcement officers at the district, county, town, and provincial city levels.

b) The file for recommending the appointment of enforcement officers and chief enforcement officers shall include:

- A voluntary application form for the position of enforcement officer or chief enforcement officer from the person being recommended for appointment;

- A personal resume in accordance with the model prescribed by the Civil Enforcement Management Bureau under the Ministry of Justice;

- A copy of the Law University degree, equivalent certificate to a Law University degree, health certificate issued by a health authority at the district, county, town, or provincial city level or higher, and a certificate of completion of training courses on enforcement procedures.

- A recommendation letter for appointment from the Director of the Department of Justice or the Director of the Civil Enforcement Management Bureau under the Ministry of Justice.

For the appointment of chief enforcement officers, the file for recommending the appointment must also include a written opinion from the People's Committee at the same level.

III. REGARDING THE MANAGEMENT OF THE BUDGET AND ENFORCEMENT EXPENSES

After reaching consensus with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Justice shall guide the management of the budget and enforcement expenses, which includes three stages: planning, allocation, and settlement as follows:

1. Starting from July 1, 1993, based on the approved budget plan and expense limit, the Ministry of Justice shall directly allocate enforcement expenses including personnel costs, operational costs, other costs, and costs for expanding and improving facilities to the Civil Enforcement Departments under the Provincial and Centrally-Administered City Departments of Justice. For the enforcement expenses of the Enforcement Teams under the District, County, Town, and Provincial City Justice Departments, these expenses shall be allocated through the Treasury Office accounts of the Provincial and Centrally-Administered City Civil Enforcement Departments, while simultaneously notifying the expense limits for the Enforcement Teams.

2. Based on the allocated expense limit and the notification of expense limits for the Enforcement Teams, the Head of the Civil Enforcement Department under the Provincial Department of Justice shall be responsible for allocating the correct and sufficient enforcement expenses to the Enforcement Teams, without arbitrarily withholding, reallocating, or balancing the allocated expenses among other Enforcement Teams without approval from the Ministry of Justice leadership.

The Head of the Civil Enforcement Department and the Head of the Enforcement Team shall be responsible for spending and accounting for enforcement expenses in accordance with the current financial system.

The Director of the Provincial Department of Justice shall be responsible for supervising and monitoring the financial expenditure of the Civil Enforcement Department and Enforcement Teams in accordance with the current financial system.

The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice will issue a joint circular to provide detailed guidance on the management of the budget and enforcement expenses.

IV. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE JUDICIAL ORGAN AND THE ENFORCEMENT ORGAN AT THE SAME LEVEL

The relationship between the judicial organ and the enforcement organ as stipulated in Articles 4, 5, 6, and 13 of Decree No. 30-CP dated June 2, 1993 of the Government shall be further clarified as follows:

1. The Head of the Civil Enforcement Department may concurrently hold the position of Deputy Director of the Provincial Department of Justice if he meets the criteria for a chief enforcement officer.

2. The Head of the Civil Enforcement Department assists the Director of the Provincial Department of Justice in managing civil enforcement activities, and directly organizes the execution of court judgments and decisions in accordance with the Civil Enforcement Law and this Circular.

3. The Head of the Enforcement Team may concurrently hold the position of Deputy Head of the District Justice Department if he meets the criteria for a chief enforcement officer.

4. The Head of the District Justice Department manages the Enforcement Team administratively, organizes, and supervises the enforcement activities of the Enforcement Team, and directly assists the Chairman of the People's Committee at the same level and the Director of the Provincial Department of Justice in managing state affairs related to civil enforcement activities in the locality.

V. REGARDING THE HANDOVER OF CIVIL ENFORCEMENT WORK

The person authorized by the Director of the Department of Justice to receive the transfer of civil enforcement work as stipulated in Clause 2, Section I of Joint Circular No. 01-TT/LN dated May 26, 1993, shall be specified as follows:

1. In localities where the Civil Enforcement Office has been established, the heads of such offices shall directly receive the transfer of civil enforcement work;

2. In localities where there is a Legal Affairs Office but a Civil Enforcement Team has not yet been established, the Head of the Legal Affairs Office shall directly receive the transfer of civil enforcement work;

3. In localities where it is difficult to immediately establish a Legal Affairs Office, the Head of the Civil Enforcement Office under the Department of Justice shall directly receive the transfer of civil enforcement work, or the Director of the Department of Justice may appoint an officer to receive the transfer;

4. In localities where it is not possible to arrange a dedicated staff member for accounting and treasury duties during the enforcement process, the Director of the Department of Justice or the Head of the Legal Affairs Office shall arrange for a judicial agency staff member to concurrently perform these duties, but the accounting officer for enforcement shall not concurrently serve as the treasury officer for enforcement;

5. Based on the handover record, the Director of the Department of Justice shall issue a decision to accept the head enforcement officer, enforcement officers, and staff members engaged in enforcement work transferred from the Court to the Civil Enforcement Office and the Civil Enforcement Team;

During implementation, if any difficulties arise, the Director of the Department of Justice shall report to the Ministry of Justice for timely specific guidance./.