Government to abolish the issuance of Judicial Record Certificate No. 2

Following the 10th session of the 15th National Assembly (NA), on the morning of October 27th, Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh – authorized by the Prime Minister – has presented to the National Assembly the draft Law amending and supplementing several articles of the Law on Judicial Records. One of the key highlights of the draft law is the addition of a provision stipulating that agencies and organizations “shall not request individuals to provide Judicial Records Certificate No. 2.”

Regarding the proposal, Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh said that the Draft Law basically retains the scope of regulation of the 2009 Law while amending and supplementing several provisions to ensure consistency and uniformity within the legal system, address existing difficulties in practice, and meet requirements of state management of judicial records in the coming period.

The provision of public service related to the issuance of Judicial Record Certificates will be transferred from the Ministry of Justice to the Ministry of Public Security.

Elaborating on several proposed amendments and supplements, Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh stated that the draft law expands the purposes of judicial record management and revises the current model of the judicial record database toward a unified, centralized system.

To address the overuse of Judicial Record Certificate No. 2 and ensure compliance with laws on personal data protection, the draft law introduces a new provision prohibiting agencies and organizations from requesting individuals to provide the Judicial Record Certificate No. 2. At the same time, it clarifies the procedures for requesting the issuance of Judicial Record Certificate No. 1 and No. 2.

The draft law also adds several provisions concerning the sources of judicial record information in according with relevant legal regulations. The judicial record database will be interconnected and synchronized with the national population database, and linked and shared with other specialized databases, following the established standards of the judicial record database system.

In its verification report, Chairman of the NA’s Committee on Legal and Judicial Affairs Hoang Thanh Tung stated that the Committee generally agrees with the scope and key contents of the proposed amendments and supplements.

Commenting on certain specific issues, the Committee recommended further study of the provisions on Judicial Record Certificate No. 1 and Judicial Record Certificate No. 2 (Article 41).

Some opinions suggests that a thorough impact assessment should be conducted regarding the provision prohibiting agencies and organizations from requesting individuals to provide Judicial Report Certificate No. 2, as this could create difficulties when carrying out procedures such as applying for visas, exit, or immigration, in cases where the host country requires information related to criminal records. Therefore, these opinions recommended further study and revision of the provision to clearly specify certain circumstances under which agencies or organizations may request individuals to provide a Judicial Record Certificate No. 2.

Others argued that the draft law’s current provisions may still fail to effectively address the overuse of requests for Judicial Record Certificate No. 2, as individuals would still be compelled to provide the certificate if agencies or organizations—particularly foreign ones—continue to require it in order to complete their dossiers and procedures. Therefore, these opinions proposed that the provision on the issuance of Judicial Record Certificate No. 2 be removed entirely.

This information is to be stored solely within the database and used only for reference by competent state authorities. Details regarding an individual’s criminal record status are already reflected in Judicial Record Certificate No. 1; therefore, when necessary, individuals may provide Judicial Record Certificate No. 1 to agencies or organizations requesting such information.

In addition, according to Mr. Hoang Thanh Tung, within the Committee on Legal and Judicial Affairs, there were also opinions that not only Judicial Record Certificate No. 2 but also Judicial Record Certificate No. 1 has been subject to overuse in practice, creating unnecessary burdens for both citizens and state management agencies.

To address this issue, it was proposed that the draft law continue to review and revise the provisions on the purposes of judicial record management to ensure alignment with practical realities and the policy of streamlining and simplifying administrative procedures. The draft law should also include a principle-based provision specifying the circumstances under which agencies and organizations may be permitted to request individuals to provide Judicial Record Certificates.

Regarding the procedures for requesting the issuance of Judicial Record Certificates, the Committee noted that under recent directives on promoting technological solutions and digital transformation in the provision of essential online public services — including the issuance of Judicial Record Certificates — the receiving agencies no longer collect paper-based application components. Therefore, the verifying committee proposed further review and revision of the provisions on procedures and documentation for requesting Judicial Record Certificates in the draft law to ensure full compliance with the directives and requirements of competent authorities.

The draft Law amending and supplementing the Law on Judicial Records will be considered and adopted by the National Assembly under the shortened procedure at the 10th session.

According to Article 41 of the 2009 Law on Judicial Records, there are two types of Judicial Record Certificates: Certificate No. 1 and Certificate No. 2.

– Judicial Record Certificate No. 1 is issued to:

+) Vietnamese citizens and foreigners who are or have been residing in Vietnam and are entitled to request their own judicial record certificates;

+) State agencies, political organizations, and socio-political organizations entitled to request judicial record certificates for personnel management, business registration, and the establishment or management of enterprises and cooperatives.

Contents of Certificate No. 1 include: criminal record status; information on prohibitions against holding certain positions, or establishing and managing enterprises or cooperatives.

– Judicial Record Certificate No. 2 is issued to:

+) Competent procedural agencies for use in investigation, prosecution, and trial;

+) Individuals who wish to know the contents of their own judicial records.

Contents of Certificate No. 2 include: criminal record status; information on prohibitions against holding certain positions, or establishing and managing enterprises or cooperatives.