Nghị định 49/2020/ND-CP

DECREE

ON GUIDELINES FOR THE LAW ON EXECUTION OF CRIMINAL JUDGMENT IN TERMS OF COMMUNITY RE-INTEGRATION

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated June 19, 2015;

Pursuant to the Law on Amnesty dated November 19, 2018;

Pursuant to the Law on Execution of Criminal Judgments dated June 14, 2019;

At the request of the Minister of Public Security;

The Government promulgates a Decree on guidelines for the Law on Execution of Criminal Judgment in terms of community re-integration;

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope

This Decree further specifies measures to make necessary preparations for community re-integration of inmates; measures to assure community re-integration for persons who have completely served their prison sentences (hereinafter referred to as community re-integration measures); responsibilities of Ministries, People’s Committees and agencies, organizations, and individuals related to implementation of community re-integration measures.

Article 2. Regulated entities

This Decree applies to inmates who are going to completely serve their prison sentences, inmates who are granted amnesty, inmates who are conditionally released from prison at detention facilities (hereinafter referred to as inmates); Vietnamese, foreigners and non-residents in Vietnam who are pardon recipients, are conditionally released from prison, or completely served prison sentence and come back to the community (hereinafter referred to as persons having completely served their prison sentences); organizations and individuals involved in community re­integration measures.

Article 3. Principles of assurance of community re-integration

1. Compliance with the provisions of this Decree and other relevant provisions of law; assurance of the involvement of agencies, organizations, and individuals and families in implementation of community re-integration measures.

2. Creation of favorable conditions for persons having completely served their prison sentences to re-integrate themselves into the community and stabilize their lives, and prevention of recidivism and violations of law.

3. Acts of disparagement and discrimination against or infringement of the rights and legitimate interests of inmates and persons having completely served their prison sentences are strictly prohibited.

Article 4. Funds for implementation of community re-integration

1. Funds for implementation of community re-integration measures shall be included in the annual budget estimate of current expenditures of units under current state budget decentralization.

2. Community re-integration funds of prisons are established as provided in Article 34 of the Law on Execution of Criminal Judgments 2019 to provide assistance for inmates when they completely served their prison sentences and re-integrate into community. The state encourages entities to establish funds in compliance with law to facilitate community re-integration and help persons having completely served their prison sentences with loans for vocational training, job creation and stability of their lives.

3. Agencies, organizations and individuals directly implementing community re­integration measures may receive money, foreign currencies, articles, valuable papers, and other property rights voluntarily contributed by agencies, organizations and individuals at home and abroad for use under law for the community re-integration:

a) Monetary contribution: Recipients of money shall set up accounting books to keep track of the contributed amounts; if the contribution is in form of foreign currency, diamond, precious stones, precious metal or other valuable articles, it must be sold to a commercial bank or auction house; the amount earned shall be transferred to the account of the eligible beneficiary thereafter;

b) Contribution in kind: Recipients of contribution in kind shall perform certain procedures to take handover, prepare premises and warehousing to ensure that the contribution is adequately secured for use;

c) Non-material contribution: Entities shall receive, manage and use in compliance with the laws and regulations on intellectual property and applicable law;

d) The use of voluntary contributions and other legitimate sources (if any) in community re-integration activities shall be priorly specified in a plan, which clarifies purposes, beneficiaries; implementation, time for performance; quality and detailed budget estimates in line with applicable finance standards and norms.

Chapter II

PREPARATIONS FOR COMMUNITY RE-INTEGRATION OF INMATES

Article 5. Psychological counseling, legal formality assistance for inmates

1. Two months before an inmate completely serves their prison sentence or after an approval for amnesty or conditional parole is granted by the competent authority, the detention facility shall provide psychological counseling and legal formality assistance for the mentioned inmate.

2. Psychological counseling aims to provide inmates with knowledge, orientate and raise their ability to solve their personal difficulties and problems by themselves during their community re-integration. Counseling contents include:

a) Counseling on affection, marriage, family, health; prevention and fight against drugs, HIV/AIDS and debauchery;

b) Counseling on eliminating inferiority complex; build up the will, belief, and ability to cope with and solve problems arising in the process of community reintegration;

c) Counseling on labor, jobs, utilization of vocation training, social insurance, and other relevant matters.

3. Methods of psychological counseling for inmates:

a) Detention facilities shall have prisoners register their need for counseling by ballots stating matters which they need to be consulted or actively detect problems that inmates need to be consulted, thereby assign experienced and specialized officers to counsel the inmates in person. For the same matter, either individual counseling or group counseling is allowed;

b) Individual counseling shall be conducted in counseling rooms furnished with desks, chairs and other equipment necessary for the counseling.

4. Inmates who are going to completely serve their prison sentences shall be provided with legal formality assistance such as: Registration of residence; registration of civil status affairs; issuance of citizen identification cards; application for loans, registration of business, conclusion of labor contracts and other administrative procedures as per the law.

5. Detention facilities may invite officers from justice or education and training sectors, from Lawyers' Association, Youth's Union, universities, and centers for HIV/AIDS prevention, employment service centers, businesses or other specialized agencies to consult and support legal formality assistance for inmates. Those who work for regulatory agencies or social organizations and come to provide counseling or legal formality assistance for inmates must obtain a letter of recommendation made by their employers and be agreed so by the superintendent, detention center, or the head of criminal enforcement agency of district-level police office.

Article 6. Vocational orientation, raising of job-seeking ability for inmates

1. Detention facilities shall examine and appraise the capability, need, conditions, and circumstances of each inmate in order to guide them work out their own community re-integration plan; cooperate with employment service centers to provide labor market information, counseling, career orientation and job placement for inmates.

2. Based on inmates’ abilities and need, labor market and practical conditions, three months before the inmate has completely served their prison sentence, the detention facility shall plan and coordinate with specialized agencies to provide vocational training and advanced training program and issuance of vocational certificates for inmates.

3. Minor inmates shall be given priority to learn jobs and raise their job skills to facilitate their community re-integration.

4. The Ministry of Public Security shall take charge and cooperate with the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs in directing and guiding vocational training for inmates who are going to completely serve their prison sentences and contact enterprises and production establishments to employ them.

Article 7. Grants from community re-integration funds of prisons

1. An inmate who has completely served their prison sentence, is granted amnesty, or is on conditional parole shall be, before coming back their place of residence, awarded a grant from the community re-integration fund of the prison.

2. Depending on the sources of the community re-integration fund, the superintendent shall decide the amount of grant in conformity with conditions and circumstances of every inmate.

Article 8. Notification of inmates' completion of their prison sentences

1. Two months before inmates completely serve their prison sentences, detention facilities shall notify the inmates' completion of their prison sentences to the district-level criminal judgment execution agencies, the commune-level People's Committees or agencies or organizations where the inmates return to reside or work as provided in Clause 1 Article 46 of the Law on Execution of Criminal Judgments 2019.

2. In a case where an inmate, after he/she completely serves his/her prison sentence, is homeless or his/her residence is unidentifiable and is eligible for being cared in social protection establishment, the detention facility shall request the People’s Committee of commune and the labor, war invalid and social affairs agency in locality where the inmate has served the sentence to cooperate in admission of the inmate to the local social protection establishment promptly after he/she completely serves his/her prison sentence.

Chapter III

COMMUNITY RE-INTEGRATION MEASURES FOR PERSONS HAVING COMPLETELY SERVED THEIR PRISON SENTENCES

Article 9. Information, communications and education on community re-integration

1. Information, communications, and education on community re-integration aim to orientate and encourage the community to educate, assist and abolish prejudice, differentiate, discriminate persons having completely served their prison sentences; raise awareness, sense of compliance with law, prevent recidivism and violation of law of persons having completely served their prison sentences.

2. Information, communications and education on community re-integration:

a) Policies and laws of Communist Party and State on community re-integration associated with persons having completely served their prison sentences;

b) Rights and obligations of citizens, rights and obligations of persons having completely served their prison sentences as established in legislative documents;

c) Good measures and experience, advanced and typical model in management, education, assistance and abolishment of prejudice, discrimination against persons having completely served their prison sentences;

d) Positive people involving in community re-integration measures and good examples of typical successful rehabilitation;

dd) Other matters regarding assurance of community re-integration of persons having completely served their prison sentences.

3. Forms of information, communications, and education:

a) Means of mass media, grassroots information system, internet, websites, web portals of relevant agencies and organization;

b) Release of propagation publications, documents;

c) Seminars, community meetings, consultancy, special education held by speakers, local governments, agencies, and unions;

d) Traditional culture, popular culture, literary composition, arts;

dd) Forms of other information, communications, education.

Article 10. Psychological assistance, legal formality assistance

1. Psychological assistance aims to support and help persons having completely served their prison sentences to build up their belief, will, ability to re-integrate into community and deter themselves from negative acts and violations of law. Descriptive psychological assistance: counseling to eliminate inferiority complex; practice life skills, community integration skills; improve the ability of self-solving difficulties and problems in social relations. Psychological assistance shall be undertaken promptly after the persons having completely served their prison sentences come back their places of residence, in the following forms:

a) Individual counseling, group counseling;

b) Provision of information and documents based on the need of persons having completely served their prison sentences;

c) Talks, community meetings, and forums with topics about matters on which persons having completely served their prison sentences need counsel;

d) Social network, websites, emails, telephone and other means of media.

2. Persons having completely served their prison sentences may receive support and guidance on legal formality when they are participants in criminal proceedings, they are litigants in civil or administrative procedures; they are entering into civil contracts; they request the court to issue a criminal record expungement, they apply for issuance of police (clearance) certificate and perform other administrative procedures as per the law.

Article 11. Vocational training, job creation for persons having completely served their prison sentences

1. Persons having completely served their prison sentences who have joined vocational training at college, intermediate level or elementary level for less than 3 months, if eligible for vocational training assistance as per applicable law, shall be granted tuition fee remission, boarder policies, subsidies on training cost, meal allowance and travel expense.

If the persons having completely served their prison sentences are not eligible for vocational training assistance as per applicable law, vocational training assistance for them shall be subject to discretion of the People's Committee of province.

2. Persons having completely served their prison sentences may apply for vocational-training loans as per the law on credit applicable to students; apply for job-creation loans from National Employment Fund, be given priority to register temporary employment policy as per the law on job creation policies and National Employment Fund.

Depending on provincial socio-economic circumstances, Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs shall cooperate with relevant agencies in advising the People's Committee of province to use other credit sources to grant concessional loans to persons having completely served their prison sentences for business or job creation.

3. Persons having completely served their prison sentences less than 18 years of age shall be given priority to join vocational training and take out loans for job hunting; children having completely served their prison sentences may apply appropriate support, intervention and protection measures as prescribed by law.

4. Depending on the need of the person having completely served their prison sentence and labor market, the employment service center shall provide consultancy, job placement free of charge for the person having completely served their prison sentence; then check up on job status of that person and report it to the regulatory agency responsible for job services.

Article 12. Other assistance measures

1. Persons having completely served their prison sentences shall be received, educated, assisted by local administrations, agencies, units, organizations and individuals for community re-integration and prevention of violation of law.

2. The State encourages agencies, units, organizations and individuals to participate in counseling, vocational training and job placement activities to assist persons who have completely served their prisons to re-integrate into the community; and encourages employment of such persons in agencies, organizations, production and business establishments.

3. Agencies, units, organizations and individuals who monitor, educate and assist persons having completely served their prison sentences shall be given priority to lease houses or infrastructure of the state; shall be eligible for tax remission as prescribed in relevant law on taxation and guiding documents thereof.

4. Provincial-level People's Committees shall, according to their competence in land use planning, local land funds and other resources, assist organizations and individuals in organizing vocational training and job creation for persons who have completely served their prison sentences.

Chapter IV

RESPONSIBILITIES OF MINISTRIES, PEOPLE'S COMMITTEES, AGENCIES, ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS FOR IMPLEMENTING COMMUNITY RE­INTEGRATION MEASURES

Article 13. Responsibilities of the Ministry of Public Security

1. Assist the Government in supervising, directing and guiding the implementation of community re-integration measures.

2. Coordinate with related ministries and sectors in studying, formulating and promulgating specific regimes, policies and regulations on community re-integration measures.

3. Direct police offices at all levels to coordinate with the Fatherland Front Committees, the Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs agencies and other related agencies and organizations in assisting the same-level People's Committees in implementing community re-integration measures.

4. Direct detention facilities to make necessary preparations for community re-integration of inmates as prescribed.

5. Examine, inspect, supervise, preliminarily and finally review and periodically or extraordinarily report upon request to the Government on the implementation of community re-integration measures.

Article 14. Responsibilities of the Ministry of Public Security

1. Direct prisons under the Ministry of National Defense and detention camps of military zones to make necessary preparations for community re-integration of inmates.

2. Direct the reception, employment of and payment of benefits to those who were soldiers, national defense workers before sentenced to prison so as to help them settle their lives and re-integrate into community.

3. Guide, examine, inspect, supervise and report to the Government on the situation and results of community re­integration measures.

Article 15. Responsibilities of the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs

1. Cooperate with the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of National Defense in initiating counseling, career orientation, job placement, job hunting for inmates who are going to completely serve their prison sentences; provide guidelines for training and issuance of vocational training for inmates in detention facilities.

2. Direct and guide Labor War Invalids and Social Affairs agencies at all levels to coordinate with local functional agencies in organizing vocational training, counseling, job placement, vocational-training loans, and job creation for persons who have completely served their prison sentences; advise the People's Committee of province to consider deciding vocational training assistance policies, grant concessional loans to persons having completely served their prison sentences who suffer hardships and send persons having completely served their prison sentences but homeless to social protection establishments if they are so eligible.

Article 16. Responsibilities of the Ministry of Justice

1. Direct and guide the civil judgment execution agencies at different levels to compile dossiers to propose exemption from or reduction of civil judgment execution obligations for persons having completely served their prison sentences when conditions are fully met and settle complaints and denunciations about civil judgment execution according to law.

2. Direct the National Judicial Record Center and provincial-level Departments of Justice to actively update information on criminal record remission of persons having completely served their prison sentences and grant police (clearance) certificates upon requests as per the law.

3. Cooperate with the Ministry of Public Security and specialized agencies in studying, modifying and making better legislative documents, creating adequate legal bases to implement community re-integration in such an effective manner.

Article 17. Responsibilities of the Ministry of Information and Communications

Take charge and cooperate with specialized agencies in directing news agencies, central and local press agencies to implement communications and education on community re-integration as prescribed in Article 9 of this Decree.

Article 18. Responsibilities of the Ministry of Finance

Allocate state budget funds for the application of measures to assure community re-integration according to current state budget decentralization.

Article 19. Responsibilities of related ministries, agencies and organizations

Other ministries, agencies and organizations shall, within the ambit of their respective functions, assigned tasks and powers, direct and guide the coordination in the implementation of measures to assure community re-integration.

Article 20. Responsibilities of provincial-level People's Committees

1. Direct the implementation of community re-integration measures, prevention and control of recidivism and violation of law.

2. Formulate programs and plans and assign specific tasks to administrations at different levels, sectors, agencies and organizations for implementing community re­integration measures.

3. Direct district-level People's Committees and related agencies and organizations to guide, direct and urge the reception, management, education and assistance of persons who have completely served their prison sentences in localities; admit persons having completely served their prison sentences but homeless to social protection establishments if they are so eligible.

4. Decide the establishment of social funds and charity funds proposed by agencies, organizations, enterprises, units and individuals to support and assist persons who have completely served their prison sentences in job learning, production organization, job seeking and life stabilization.

5. Allocate budgets according to the State Budget Law for implementation of community re­integration measures; decide vocational training policies, grant concessional loans to persons having completely served their prison sentences for job seeking and encourage entities to enable persons having completely served their prison sentences in joining vocational training, seeking jobs, stabilizing their lives and integrating into community.

Article 21. Responsibilities of district-level People's Committees

1. Implement community re­integration measures; encourage entities to enable persons having completely served their prison sentences in joining vocational training, seeking jobs, and stabilizing their lives.

2. Direct the commune-level People's Committees, agencies, unions, social organizations in the implementation of the reception, management, education and assistance of persons who have completely served their prison sentences and return to reside in localities.

3. Conduct vocational training, job creation to assist persons who have completely served their prison sentences in community re-integration and adopt other assistance polices as per the law.

Article 22. Responsibilities of commune-level People's Committees

1. Adopt community re-integration measures for persons having completely served their prison sentences who return to reside in localities.

2. Assign organizations and individuals to undertake the management, education and assistance of persons who have completely served their prison sentences; to inspect and urge the implementation and mobilize people in population quarters to closely coordinate with families in managing, educating and assisting persons who have completely served their prison sentences.

3. Mobilize and create favorable conditions for enterprises, production and business establishments, organizations and individuals to employ persons who have completely served their prison sentences.

4. Provide psychological assistance, legal formality assistance and request the competent court to consider expunging criminal convictions in special case of persons having completely served their prison sentences who has made excellent progress and has made merits as per the law; request the competent authority to consider shortening probation period; exempt serving the additional penalty for the remaining period; reduce or cancel civil judgment execution obligation imposed on persons having completely served their prison sentences when adequate conditions are met as per the law; accord priority to persons having completely served their prison sentences to participate in public employment policy; apply support, intervention and protection measures to children having completely served their prison sentences; adopt policies applied to persons having completely served their prison sentences eligible for social protection beneficiaries.

Article 23. Responsibilities of provincial-level Police Departments

1. Advise the President of provincial-level People's Committees on implementation of community re-integration measures for persons who have completely served their prison sentences.

2. Work out plans for, and direct, guide district-level police offices in the reception. management, education and assistance of persons who have completely served their prison sentences, create conditions for them to exercise their civil rights and fulfill other civil duties under law.

3. Assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with various committees, sectors, mass organizations and social organizations in, assisting persons who have completely served their prison sentences in overcoming difficulties and stabilizing their lives.

4. Direct criminal judgment execution agencies of local police forces to periodically or upon request summarize data and assess the results of reception, management, education and assistance of persons who have completely served their prison sentences in community re­integration; send reports to the Ministry of Public Security and same-level People's Committee.

Article 24. Responsibilities of district-level police offices

1. Advise the People’s Committee of district to adopt community re-integration measures for persons having completely served their prison sentences who return to reside in localities.

2. Coordinate with agencies, organizations and functional units in assisting the commune-level People's Committees in organizing the management, supervision, education and assistance of persons who have completely served their prison sentences to re-integrate into community.

3. Coordinate with agencies, committees, mass organizations and social organizations in mobilizing enterprises, production and business organizations as well as individuals to provide financial supports and recommend jobs for persons who have completely served their prison sentences.

4. Direct the criminal judgment execution agencies of the district-level police offices to consider shortening probation period; exempt serving of additional penalty for remaining period; reduce or cancel civil judgment execution obligation imposed by persons having completely served their prison sentences when adequate conditions are met as per the law; summarize periodically or upon request data, reasons and results of reception, management, supervision, education and assistance of persons who have completely served their prison sentences in their community re-integration, and report them to provincial-level Police Departments and same-level People's Committees.

Article 25. Responsibilities of commune-level police offices

1. Advise the People’s Committee of commune to adopt community re-integration measures for persons having completely served their prison sentences who return to reside in localities.

2. Actively inquire into the situation, conditions, circumstances, feelings and legitimate aspirations of persons who have completely served their commune-level in order to advise and propose the commune-level People's Committees to assist them in solving their difficulties and stabilizing their lives.

3. Compile dossiers on management and education of persons who have completely served their prison sentences; to coordinate with the Fatherland Front Committees, organizations and social organizations in advising the chairpersons of commune-level People's Committees on assigning organizations and individuals to directly manage, educate and assist persons who have completely served their prison sentences.

4. Guide and assist persons who have completely served their prison sentences in carrying out procedures for registration of civil status affairs, issuance of citizen cards and police (clearance) certificates, application for criminal record expungement; take initiative in reporting the People’s Committee of commune to request the competent court to consider expunging criminal convictions of persons having completely served their prison sentences in special case as per the law.

5. Maintain security and order, to assist and create conditions for establishments, organizations and individuals to participate in the education, vocational guidance, vocational training, job creation and employment of persons who have completely served their prison sentences.

6. Promptly consider and propose the chairpersons of commune-level People's Committees to issue decisions to apply intervention and protection measures for children having completely served their prison sentences; the measure of education at commune, ward or township to and handle according to law persons who have completely served their prison sentences when they commit recidivism or violations of law or obligations.

7. Make periodical or extraordinary review reports on the community re-integration situation and results and propose matters related to the management, education and assistance of persons who have completely served their prison sentences.

Article 26. Agencies, organizations, and individuals involved in education and assistance of persons having completely served their prison sentences

1. Take initiate in grasping situation, advantages and difficulties of persons having completely served their prison sentences so as to cooperate with local administrations and relevant entities in agreeing on education and assistance measures for persons having completely served their prison sentences to work out their own plan to re-integrate into community; job seeking and life stability.

2. Encourage and warn persons having completely served their prison sentences to comply with policies and law of the state, regulations of local administrations; fulfill their commitments and obligations, work, study and join social activities in an active manner; discover and report police authority, the People’s Committee of commune and specialized agency, in a timely manner, signs and acts of violation committed by persons having completely served their prison sentences for further appropriate measures.

Chapter V

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 27. Entry in force

1. This Decree comes into force on June 15, 2020.

2. Decree No. 80/2011/ND-CP dated September 16, 2011 of the Government on community re-integration measures for persons having completely served their prison sentences cease to be effective from the effective date of this Decree.

Article 28. Implementation guidance

The Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Information and Communications and related ministries and sectors shall, within the ambit of their respective functions, tasks and powers, coordinate in guiding and inspecting the implementation of this Decree.

Article 29. Implementation responsibility

Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies and chairpersons of provincial-level People's Committees shall implement this Decree./.