Supplementing some regulations related to providing criminal record information

On the morning of October 27, the National Assembly heard reports on the draft laws: Law on Temporary Detention, Temporary Imprisonment and Prohibition from Leaving Place of Residence; Amended Law on Execution of Criminal Sentences and Law on Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Judicial Records.

Proposing that agencies and organizations are not required to provide Criminal Record Form No. 2

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh presented the Proposal on three projects: Law on Temporary Detention, Temporary Imprisonment and Prohibition from Leaving Place of Residence; Law on Execution of Criminal Judgments (amended); Law on Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Judicial Records. Photo: Doan Tan/VNA

Presenting the Government's Summary Report, Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh said that the implementation of current Laws has shown that many regulations have revealed limitations, overlaps or are no longer suitable to the requirements of state management. On the other hand, in the context of implementing the arrangement of a streamlined state apparatus, effective and efficient operations and implementing the 2-level local government model according to the resolutions of the Central Committee, the Politburo and the National Assembly, the People's Public Security force no longer has a district-level organization, leading to the requirement to review and synchronously amend legal regulations related to the tasks and powers of criminal enforcement agencies, temporary detention management, temporary detention management, and judicial record management.

Regarding the Draft Law on amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Judicial Records, Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh said the draft law consists of 3 articles; adds 2 new articles; and abolishes 5/57 articles of the current Law on Judicial Records. The draft law has transferred the implementation of public services of issuing Judicial Records from the Ministry of Justice to the Ministry of Public Security.

The draft law expands the purpose of criminal record management; amends the model of a centralized, unified one-level criminal record database.

Notably, the Draft Law amends and supplements the provision that "agencies and organizations are not allowed to request individuals to provide Criminal Record Certificate No. 2" to overcome the abuse of Criminal Record Certificate No. 2.

The draft law supplements a number of regulations related to the provision of criminal record information to agencies and organizations in place of the Criminal Record Certificate.

Presenting the review report, Chairman of the Law and Justice Committee Hoang Thanh Tung said that the Committee basically agreed with the scope and contents of the amendments and supplements to the Law on Judicial Records as submitted by the Government, but there were two contents that required further study.

Member of the National Assembly Standing Committee Hoang Thanh Tung presented a summary of the Reports on explanation, acceptance and revision of 04 drafts: Law on Extradition; Law on Transfer of Persons Serving Prison Sentences; Law on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters; Law on Mutual Legal Assistance in Civil Matters. Photo: Doan Tan/VNA

Regarding Criminal Record Certificate No. 1 and Criminal Record Certificate No. 2, the Chairman of the Law and Justice Committee said that some opinions suggested that it is necessary to carefully assess the impact of the regulation that agencies and organizations are not allowed to request individuals to provide Criminal Record Certificate No. 2 (Clause 4, Article 7), because it may cause difficulties for people when carrying out procedures for visa application, exit, immigration... in which the host country requires the provision of information related to criminal records.

This opinion suggests studying and revising regulations in the direction of clearly defining a number of specific cases in which agencies and organizations can request individuals to provide Criminal Record Certificate No. 2.

In addition, there is another opinion that the provisions of the draft Law are still difficult to overcome the situation of abuse of the request for issuance of Criminal Record Certificate No. 2 because if agencies and organizations, especially foreign agencies and organizations, still request it, individuals will still be reluctant to provide Criminal Record Certificate No. 2 to be able to complete the records and procedures. Therefore, this opinion suggests studying and completely removing the provisions on the issuance of Criminal Record Certificate No. 2, this content is only stored in the database and serves the lookup and use of competent State agencies. Information on the criminal record status of individuals has been shown on Criminal Record Certificate No. 1, so in case of necessity, individuals can provide Criminal Record Certificate No. 1 to agencies and organizations that request it.

There are also opinions in the examination agency that not only with regard to Judicial Record Certificate No. 2, but in practice, there is also abuse of the requirement to issue Judicial Record Certificate No. 1, creating unnecessary burdens for both the people and the State management agency.

To overcome this situation, opinions in the examining agency suggest continuing to consider and revise the regulations on the purpose of managing criminal records in Clause 4, Article 3 of the draft Law to suit the practical situation and the policy of reducing and simplifying administrative procedures; adding to the draft Law regulations of a principle nature on cases where agencies and organizations are allowed to request individuals to provide a Criminal Record Certificate.

Regarding the procedure for requesting a Criminal Record Certificate, the examining agency proposed to amend the regulations on the order, procedures and documents for requesting a Criminal Record Certificate in the draft Law to ensure proper implementation of the requirements and instructions of competent authorities.

Supplementing regulations on implementing preventive measures to prohibit leaving the place of residence; improving the effectiveness of management and supervision of detainees and prisoners

According to the draft law, the amendment requirement for the Law on Temporary Detention, Temporary Detention and Prohibition from Leaving the Place of Residence is due to the fact that the scope of the 2015 Law does not cover all practical aspects, especially the lack of provisions on measures to prevent "prohibition from leaving the place of residence". At the same time, some regulations on management, supervision, regimes and policies for people in temporary detention and imprisonment are still inadequate and not consistent with the new law.

The amendment of the Law not only aims to expand the scope of regulation and perfect the management and supervision mechanism, but also meets the requirements of adjusting the authority between police levels in the context of no longer having a district level, enhancing the application of science and technology and ensuring the legitimate rights and interests of detainees.

The draft Law on the enforcement of temporary detention, temporary imprisonment and prohibition from leaving the place of residence regulates the organizational system and model of the management and enforcement agencies for temporary detention, temporary imprisonment and prohibition from leaving the place of residence; the detention management regime; the regime of detainees, temporary prisoners, and death-sentenced persons currently in detention; detainees and temporary prisoners who are under 18 years old, pregnant women or women raising children under 36 months old; enforcement of decisions on prohibition from leaving the place of residence; complaints and denunciations in the management and enforcement of temporary detention, temporary imprisonment and prohibition from leaving the place of residence; responsibilities for management and enforcement of temporary detention, temporary imprisonment and prohibition from leaving the place of residence.

Regarding the Law on Enforcement of Criminal Judgments (amended), after 5 years of implementation, a number of provisions are no longer consistent with the new organizational structure of the police force and local authorities; responsibilities and authorities between agencies have not been clarified; and the role of the Commune-level Police - the grassroots unit directly responsible for managing, supervising, and educating people serving sentences in the community - has not been fully promoted. The amendment of the Law aims to adjust the organizational model of the criminal judgment enforcement system to be consistent with the new organizational structure, while supplementing provisions to ensure human rights, civil rights, application of science and technology, and biometric data in management and execution of sentences.

The draft Law on Enforcement of Criminal Judgments (amended) basically maintains the same scope of regulation as the 2019 Law; at the same time, amends and supplements a number of provisions to ensure consistency and uniformity of the legal system and resolve existing problems and difficulties in practice, meeting the requirements of criminal judgment enforcement in the coming time.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/thoi-su/bo-sung-mot-so-quy-dinh-lien-quan-den-viec-cung-cap-thong-tin-ly-lich-tu-phap-20251027102352206.htm