Perfecting the law on criminal enforcement and judicial records

Discussing at Group 7 (including the National Assembly delegations of Nghe An and Lam Dong provinces) on the morning of November 4, the National Assembly deputies agreed on the necessity of amending and supplementing the Law on Enforcement of Criminal Judgments and the Law on Judicial Records. Opinions focused on clarifying the requirements for ensuring human rights, in line with the process of judicial reform and digital transformation; at the same time, creating favorable conditions for people, especially overseas Vietnamese, when carrying out administrative procedures.

Expanding the scope of regulation, increasing humanity in execution of judgments

Delegates basically agreed with the Government's submission and the inspection report of the Committee on Law and Justice , saying that comprehensively amending the 2019 Law on Enforcement of Criminal Judgments is necessary to overcome shortcomings after more than 5 years of implementation.

National Assembly Delegate Duong Khac Mai ( Lam Dong ) speaks. Photo: Pham Thang

National Assembly Deputy Duong Khac Mai (Lam Dong) said that the draft has expanded the scope of regulation, covering all activities of enforcing penalties and judicial measures against individuals and commercial legal entities. The delegate agreed with this expansion direction, and at the same time suggested clarifying the boundary between the enforcement of criminal judgments and the enforcement of judicial measures, avoiding overlap between judicial and administrative agencies.

Regarding the principles of execution of judgments, delegates proposed to supplement regulations on the security of personal information and biometric data of judgment enforcers, in accordance with the Law on Personal Data Protection 2025 and the 2013 Constitution. In addition, it is necessary to clarify the data protection mechanism to avoid the risk of privacy violations during the digital transformation process.

Delegates agreed with the policy of assigning commune-level police to preside over the supervision, education , and management of people serving sentences in the community, but suggested clearly defining the responsibility for coordination between the police and commune-level People's Committees to avoid shifting the responsibility, especially when people serving sentences reoffend.

National Assembly Delegate Nguyen Tao (Lam Dong) speaks. Photo: Pham Thang

Regarding detention management, delegates proposed adding the authority to extract prisoners for medical examination and treatment or to care for children under 36 months old accompanying their mothers, reflecting practical difficulties in prisons.

This draft law is also considered to have many humane provisions, ensuring the rights of those serving sentences such as: vocational training, medical examination and treatment, online visits when there are compelling reasons, and the right to donate tissues and body parts. However, delegates proposed strict regulations on the conditions for donating human tissues and body parts, ensuring transparency, preventing abuse and distortion of humanitarian policies.

Overview of the discussion session. Photo: Pham Thang

Opinions also agreed on the need to specify vocational training criteria associated with reintegration needs, create a coordination mechanism between prisons and businesses, and at the same time make transparent the management of prisoner labor funds to avoid negativity.

Data security, facilitating the issuance of criminal records

Regarding the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Judicial Records, delegates agreed on the necessity of amendments, in the context of the requirements for administrative reform, digital transformation and transferring the task of state management of judicial records from the Ministry of Justice to the Ministry of Public Security.

National Assembly Deputy Nguyen Huu Thong (Lam Dong) speaks. Photo: Pham Thang

National Assembly Deputy Nguyen Huu Thong (Lam Dong) said that the construction of a centralized criminal record database at the Department of Professional Records, Ministry of Public Security is appropriate, but an independent monitoring mechanism and data security are needed to avoid abuse of power and unauthorized access. The delegate suggested adding regulations on access authorization, access recording and sanctions for violations to protect personal data.

Regarding the Criminal Record Certificate, the delegate said that there is currently a widespread requirement for Forms No. 1 and No. 2 in many administrative procedures. Therefore, it is necessary to assign the Government to issue a specific list of cases requiring the submission of the Certificate and strictly prohibit requests outside the list to reduce the burden on the people.

Regarding Criminal Record Certificate No. 2, the draft has narrowed the right to request, only allowing its use with the consent of the individual, demonstrating progress in protecting privacy. However, delegates suggested adding exceptions for cases of security, national defense, immigration or according to international treaties to which Vietnam is a member, to ensure feasibility in practice.

National Assembly Deputy Tran Hong Nguyen (Lam Dong) speaks. Photo: Pham Thang

National Assembly Deputy Tran Hong Nguyen (Lam Dong) expressed his opinion on the procedure for issuing Criminal Records Certificates to overseas Vietnamese, pointing out many difficulties in submitting applications online via VNeID and difficulties in having to go directly to diplomatic missions. The delegate recommended studying the addition of an online service portal specifically for overseas Vietnamese, allowing them to submit applications, pay fees and receive results online, ensuring convenience while still ensuring information security.

According to delegates, the synchronous amendment of these two laws is an important step in perfecting institutions, ensuring human rights, judicial reform and digital transformation, towards improving the effectiveness of law enforcement, better serving people and society.

Source: https://daibieunhandan.vn/hoan-thien-phap-luat-thi-hanh-an-hinh-su-va-ly-lich-tu-phap-10394318.html