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THE
GOVERNMENT
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SOCIALIST
REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM
Independence - Freedom – Happiness
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No.
31-CP
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Hanoi,
May 18, 1996
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DECREE
ON THE ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION OF THE STATE NOTARIZATION
THE GOVERNMENT
Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the
Government of September 30, 1992;
With a view to strengthening the administrative-judicial work and the
management of society by law;
At the proposal of the Minister of Justice,
DECREES:
Chapter I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1.- Notarization
is the certification of the authenticity of the contracts and documents in
accordance with the provisions of law with a view to protecting the legitimate
rights and interests of the citizens and State agencies, economic and social
organizations (hereafter referred to as organizations), and contributing to the
prevention of violation of law and the strengthening of the socialist law
enforcement.
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Article 2.- In providing
the notarization, the notary public has to comply with the principles, work
order and procedures specified in this Decree, the other provisions of law and
International Conventions which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam has acceded
to or signed.
Article 3.- The language
and script to be employed in the notarized documents shall be the Vietnamese
language and script.
Foreigners who want their documents to be
notarized and who are not fluent in Vietnamese must solicit assistance from
translators.
Article 4.- The notaries
public and other clerks of the State Notarization Office shall, in the
discharge of their duties, be just and lawful, responsible for maintaining
secrets concerning the persons who request notarization, the content of the
notarized documents and the knowledge of the business-related activities of the
notarization requesters, except for cases otherwise provided by law.
Article 5.- The citizens
and organizations may request notarization at any State Notarization Office,
except for cases the notarization of which shall by provisions of law be
administered by a designated State Notarization Office.
Notarization shall be done at a State
Notarization Office unless the requester cannot go there for a plausible reason
or otherwise prescribed by law.
Article 6.- The
notarization requester must be a person with capacity required by law, and must
produce all the legal papers and documents of action for notarization.
Article 7.- The content
of the notarization must be presented clearly and in accordance with the
unified form set by the Ministry of Justice.
The notarized documents must bear the signature
of the notary public, be sealed and be logged in the Notarization Logbook.
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The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of
Justice shall set the fee for each type of notarization and lay down the regime
for management and use of the notarization fees.
Chapter II
STATE MANAGEMENT OF
NOTARIZATION
Article 9.- The
Government shall exert unified State management over the notarization work
throughout the country.
The Ministry of Justice shall exercise State
management over notarization work and has the following tasks:
1. To submit to the Government for the issue or,
within its jurisdiction, to issue itself the documents providing guidance on
the organization and operation of the notarization work;
2. To guide and direct the notarization work in
terms of organization and operation;
3. To appoint the notaries public at the
proposal of the Director of the provincial of Justice Service, and to issue the
notary card;
4. To train and foster the notaries public on
professional matters;
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6. To control and inspect the organization and
operation of the notaries public;
7. To carry out cooperation in notarization.
Article 10.- The
Presidents of the People’s Committees of the provinces and cities directly
under the Central Government have the following powers and tasks:
1. To make decision on establishing the State
Notarization Office under the Provincial of Justice Service; to appoint and
dismiss the heads of these offices. In the cities directly under the Central
Government and large provinces where the requests for public notarization are
numerous, a number of State Notarization Offices under the Provincial Justice
Service may be established.
2. To determine the payrolls of the Notarization
Offices within their localities and ensure the material basis and operational
instruments for the work of the State Notarization Offices.
Article 11.- The
Director of the Provincial Justice Service has the following powers and tasks:
1. To submit to the President of the People’s
Committee of the province or city directly under the Central Government the
proposal for establishing the State Notarization Office under the Provincial
Justice Service and to recommend the appointment and dismissal of the Head of
such Office;
2. To appoint and dismiss the Deputy Heads of
the State Notarization Office;
3. To manage and control the organization and
operation of the State Notarization Office;
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5. To settle complaints lodged by the
organizations and individuals concerning the execution of the professional
duties of the notaries public;
6. Half-yearly and yearly to report on the
notarization work to the Ministry of Justice and the provincial People’s
Committee.
Chapter III
ORGANIZATION OF THE
STATE NOTARIZATION SYSTEM
Article 12.- The State
Notarization Office under the Provincial Justice Service has the status of a
legal person and a seal and bank account as provided for by the Government.
Article 13.- The State
Notarization Office has a Head, Deputy Heads, notaries public and other staff
members.
The Head and Deputy Heads of the State
Notarization Office are selected and appointed from among the notaries public.
Article 14.- The Head
of the State Notarization Office is responsible for conducting its operation
and has the following powers and tasks:
1. To draw up the work plan of the Notarization
Office and direct its implementation;
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3. Half-yearly and yearly report on the
organization and operation of the Notarization Office to the Director of the
Provincial Justice Service.
In conducting the notarization work, the Head
and Deputy Heads of the State Notarization Office shall sign the notarized
documents in their capacity as a notary public.
Article 15.- The
People’s Committees of the districts, towns and provincial cities (hereafter
referred to as the district level) shall notarize the affairs specified in Item
1, Article 19, of this Decree and other affairs provided for by law.
Article 16.- The
diplomatic representative or consular office of the Socialist Republic of
Vietnam shall perform notarization at the request of Vietnamese citizens and
organizations overseas as provided for in the Ordinance on Consular Work.
Chapter IV
THE NOTARY PUBLIC
Article 17.- A
Vietnamese citizen who is residing in Vietnam and meets the following criteria
may be considered for selection and appointment as a notary public:
1. Having good political and moral quality,
transparency, honesty, diligence and the sense of objectivity;
2. Having graduated from the Law University;
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4. Having passed a refresher training course on
notarization work.
The notary public shall work full time and shall
not assume any other work at a State agency or economic organization, and shall
not be party to any free enterprise.
Article 18.- The State
Notarization Office shall carry out the following tasks:
1. To certify economic contracts, contracts for
auction of fixed assets, contracts for keeping of properties, civil contracts
with foreign elements; to certify the minutes of the Council for pricing of
properties used as initial investments of private entrepreneurs; certify the
presentation of protests on maritime transport; certify the translations of the
affidavits, verdicts and civil rulings of Foreign Courts, and of the awards of
Foreign Arbitrators concerning Vietnamese citizens or organizations for
consideration by Vietnamese Courts for recognition and execution in Vietnam;
certify the translations of the documents in foreign languages concerning the
marriage of a foreigner to a Vietnamese citizen, the recognition of a
Vietnamese as a child out of wedlock, the adoption of a Vietnamese child and
the provision of sponsorship to a Vietnamese; and certify the translations of
wills in foreign languages into Vietnamese.
2. To certify the undertakings which by
provision of law must be notarized.
3. To certify affairs at the request of the
concerned parties, as required by law that the notary public shall certify them
or the People’s Committee of the authorized level shall verify them.
Article 19.- The
People’s Committees of the districts and provincial towns shall verify the
affairs which must by law be verified and verify the authenticity of copies
made on original documents, except for the affairs provided for in Items 1 and
2, Article 18, of this Decree.
The People’s Committees of the communes, wards
and townships shall verify the authenticity of the refusals of inherited
properties, of the wills and other affairs as required by law.
Article 20.- The
agencies and organizations which are authorized to issue the originals of the
documents such as birth certificates, marriage registration certificates,
diplomas, certificates and other papers are also authorized to issue duplicates
of the originals to the concerned persons.
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1. To inform the concerned parties of the
procedure and proceedings of the notarization as required by law;
2. To receive and check the documents and papers
presented by the concerned persons;
3. To directly perform the notarization, sign
the notarized documents and take responsibility before law for the notarization
administered by him/her.
4. To explain to the notarization requester the
legitimate rights, obligations and interests, and the legal significance of the
notarization work.
Article 22.- In
performing the notarization, the notary public has the rights:
1. To request the concerned persons to produce
all the necessary documents and papers required by the notarization;
2. To request the professional agency to provide
expertise or consultancy when the need arises;
3. To refuse notarization in the cases specified
in Article 23 of this Decree.
Article 23.- The notary
public shall not give any certification in one of the following cases:
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2. The request for notarization is against the
law;
3. The affairs is related to the notary public
him/herself or to members of his/her family: spouse; siblings (including
siblings of the spouse and adopted siblings), parents (including parents of the
spouse and adopted parents), paternal and maternal grand-parents, children
(including adopted and in-law children); and grand-children (children of their
own sons, daughters and adopted children).
Article 24.- The
Executive Vice President of the District People’s Committee or the member of
the District People’s Committee who is also the Director of the Office of the
District People’s Committee shall give the certification in line with the
provisions of Item 1, Article 19 of this Decree, and seal it with the seal of
the District People’s Committee. The Bureau of Justice at the district level
shall assist the Vice President and Director of the Office of the District
People’s Committee in performing this task.
The Executive Vice President of the District
People’s Committee or the member of the District Peoples Committee who is also
the Director of the Office of the District People’s Committee shall give
certification in accordance with the provisions of Articles 21, 22 and 23 of
this Decree.
Article 25.- The
official who is assigned the task of giving certification at the overseas
diplomatic representative or consular office of Vietnam must comply with the
provisions of Articles 21, 22 and 23 of this Decree.
The documents which are certified by an overseas
diplomatic representative or consular office of Vietnam shall have the same
validity as those notarized and certified in Vietnam.
Chapter V
PROCEDURE AND
PROCEEDINGS FOR NOTARIZATION
Article 26.- The notary
public shall give certification to the agreements on the contents of the
contracts for sales of dwelling houses, sales and purchase of auctioned
properties, exchanging or donating properties, renting dwelling houses, leasing
properties, keeping of properties and mandating.
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The contracts for changing real estate ownership
must be certified at the State Notarization Office or the People’s Committee of
the district where the real estate is located.
In requesting notarization of a contract which
is related to a property the ownership of which by law must be registered, the
concerned person must submit his/her identity card and the certificate of
his/her ownership of that property.
Article 27.- The notary
public shall certify documents which are used as mortgage, pledge and guaranty.
With regard to property the ownership of which
is registered, the certification of the documents which are used as mortgage, pledge
and guaranty shall be conducted at the State Notarization Office at the
locality where the property is registered.
Article 28.- The notary
public shall certify the will of the citizen at the request of that very person
only, not through a representative.
The will maker shall declare the content of the
will to the notary public. The notary public shall take note of the content of
the will as declared by the will maker. The will maker shall sign or
finger-print the will after verifying that the will has been recorded
accurately and manifest correctly his/her will. The notary public shall put
his/her signature to the will.
The will maker may request the notary public to
come to his/her residence to witness the making of the will. The notary public
shall take part in the writing of the will at the residence of the will maker
only in the presence of at least two witnesses.
In case the will maker requests a change,
supplement, replacement or removal of a part or the whole of the will which has
been notarized, a re-notarization shall be needed.
Article 29.- The person
who requests the notary public to certify the refusal of an inherited property
shall have to hand in an application and the other required documents to the
State Notarization Office.
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Article 30.- The will
maker may request the State Notarization Office to keep his/her will. In taking
possession of the will, the notary public has to record the act in two copies
of the same content, one of which shall be handed to the will maker and the
other kept in the archive of the State Notarization Office.
In case the will is to be kept at the State
Notarization Office, the notary public shall be the announcer of the will. The
announcement of the will shall be recorded in writing. Upon the opening of the
inheritance, the notary public has to send duplicates of the will to all the
persons concerned with its content. All the duplicates must be noratized by the
notary public.
Article 31.- The notary
public shall only certify the minutes of the Council for Pricing of the
Property used as initial investment of a private entrepreneur when the private
entrepreneur requests such a certification and produce papers to verify his/her
ownership of the property.
The Pricing Council established by decision of
the President of the People’s Committee of the province or city directly under
the Central Government is composed of:
- A representative of the State management
agency in charge of pricing of the province or city directly under the Central
Government, who shall serve as Chairman of the Council.
- Experts in pricing the property to be priced,
who shall serve as members.
- A representative of the agency which issues
the business license to the private enterprise, who shall serve as a member.
The Notary Public shall not seat in the Pricing
Council.
Article 32.- The
translation of the affidavits and civil verdicts and rulings of the Foreign
Court and the awards of the Foreign Arbitrators which are related to Vietnamese
citizens or organizations for consideration by the Vietnamese Court for
recognition and execution in Vietnam, the translations of the documents from
foreign languages concerning the marriage of foreigners to Vietnamese citizens,
the recognition of Vietnamese as children out of wedlock, the adoption of
Vietnamese children, the tutoring of Vietnamese, the translations of wills and
documents from foreign languages into Vietnamese or from Vietnamese into
foreign languages, shall be handled by translators of university-level training
in those foreign languages or by people with university-level training in law
who are fluent in those foreign languages.
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The translators who are listed as permanent
assistants to the Notarization Office shall be recognized by the Director of
the Provincial Justice Service at the recommendation of the Head of the
Notarization Office.
The translator has to sign the translation and
take responsibility for its precision. The notary public shall certify the
signature of the translator in the translation.
Article 33.- The notary
public shall receive the maritime protest filed by the vessel captain
concerning a happenstance during the vessel travel on the sea or its anchoring
at the port.
Upon considering the maritime protest and
hearing clarifications from the captain and maybe two more witnesses on the
vessel (one in the vessel command and the other among the sailors), the notary
public shall certify the reception of the maritime protest.
At the proposal of the captain, the notary
public may request the professional agency to conduct the expertizing.
Article 34.- The
People’s Committees of the district level and the communal, ward and township
level shall, in certifying the documents as specified in the provisions of
Article 19 of this Decree, comply with the procedures and proceedings provided
for in Chapter V of this Decree and shall be allowed to take fees as provided
for the certification made by the Notary Public.
The agencies and organizations authorized to
issue duplicates of the documents are also allowed to take fees as provided for
by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice.
Chapterr VI
FINAL PROVISIONS
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The complaints and denunciations against
notarization shall be examined and handled in accordance with the provisions of
law on complaints and denunciations.
Article 36.- Any notary
public who violates the law while conducting his/her duty in administering
notarization shall, depending on the degree of seriousness of his/her
violation, be subject to disciplinary measure or examined for penal liability;
and if the violation incurs material losses, he/she shall have to pay
compensation.
Article 37.- This
Decree takes effect on the date of its signing and shall replace Decree
No.45-HDBT of February 27, 1991, of the Council of Ministers on organization
and operation of the State Notary Public.
Article 38.- The
Minister of Justice is responsible for providing guidance for the
implementation of this Decree.
Article 39.- The
Ministers, the Heads of the ministerial-level Agencies, the Heads of the
Agencies attached to the Government, and the Presidents of the People’s
Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government
are responsible for the implementation of this Decree.
ON BEHALF OF
THE GOVERNMENT
FOR THE PRIME MINISTER
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
Phan Van Khai