National Assembly Standing Committee discusses draft amendments to the Law on Notarization
WVR - On the morning of March 2, at the National Assembly House, during the 55th session of the UBTVQH, chaired by Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Khac Định, the National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee provided opinions on the draft amendments to the Law on Notarization.
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| Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Khac Định presides over the session. (Source: National Assembly) |
Strengthening the principle of decentralization in state management of notarization
Presenting the summary of the draft amendments to the Law on Notarization, Deputy Minister of Justice Đặng Hoàng Oanh emphasized the necessity of drafting and issuing amendments to institutionalize the views and directives of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, the Politburo, and the Secretariat on streamlining organizational structures and decentralizing authority to localities, as well as breakthroughs in science, technology, innovation, and national digital transformation.
This is also to ensure consistency and uniformity with related legal regulations and to anticipate the development of notarization activities in the coming period.
The draft law focuses on amending and supplementing regulations related to district-level administrative units in line with the two-tier local government organization and decentralization in state management of notarization; regulations on the notarization database (CSDLCC); the use of data to replace paper documents in notarization requests, and other regulations to simplify notarization procedures.
The basic content of the draft law involves amendments to enhance the principle of decentralization in state management of notarization, aligning with the two-tier local government model in establishing and operating notarization practice organizations (TCHNCC) (from Clause 2 to Clause 8 of Article 1 of the draft law), including:
Firstly, amending regulations on the authority to recognize equivalence for those trained in notarization abroad, appoint, reappoint, and dismiss notaries in Articles 11, 13, 16, and 17 of the 2024 Law on Notarization, thoroughly decentralizing authority to localities, specifically stipulating in the law the authority of the provincial People's Committee Chairman to recognize equivalence in notarization training abroad or transferring authority from the Minister of Justice to the provincial People's Committee Chairman (for appointing, reappointing, and dismissing notaries).
Secondly, amending some regulations on TCHNCC, replacing district-level administrative units with commune-level administrative units; in cases of changing the office location of a Notary Office (VPCC), it can be relocated to another commune-level administrative unit where there is no TCHNCC, and the commune-level administrative unit where the VPCC is currently located must still have at least one active TCHNCC.
Amending some Notarization Procedures towards simplification
The draft law also amends some notarization procedures towards simplification, adhering to the principle of utilizing data during the submission and processing of notarization requests, while ensuring the basic principles of content notarization.
Amendment of Clause 3, Article 68 of the 2024 Law on Notarization allows providing the original notarized document to judicial authorities upon request to serve the verification and assessment of documents during legal proceedings.
Amendment of the notarization database regulation in Article 66 of the 2024 Law on Notarization replaces two CSDLCCs (CSDLCC of the Ministry of Justice and CSDLCC of localities) with one centralized CSDLCC managed by the Ministry of Justice, ensuring uniformity from central to local levels.
Regarding additional content, Deputy Minister of Justice Dang Hoang Oanh stated that the draft law supplements regulations on using replacement data when processing notarization requests in Clause 7a, Article 42 of the draft law. Accordingly, if data on the information in the notarization request file components is available in databases announced by the database managing agency as exploitable, the requester does not need to provide documents containing that information; the notary accepts the notarization request file, utilizing available information in the national database and other announced databases to review and process the notarization request file; no requirement to present original documents for comparison as per Clause 7 of this Article.
Notaries can only request the requester to supplement the notarization request file if the information cannot be accessed on the day of processing the notarization request or if the accessed information is incomplete or inaccurate.
Regarding content reduction and simplification of administrative procedures, the draft law stipulates that the recognition of equivalence in notarization training abroad, appointment, reappointment, and dismissal of notaries is assigned to the provincial People's Committee Chairman instead of the Minister of Justice, aiming to simplify procedures, reduce processing time, and serve as a basis for implementing full online public services for these administrative procedures.
Deputy Minister Đặng Hoàng Oanh clarified that although notarization procedures are not administrative procedures, the draft law's regulations (Clauses 9 and 10, Article 1) on using data to replace paper documents when processing notarization requests also help simplify the method of file submission, ensuring the use of legally provided electronic data, reducing time, costs, and manpower for notarization procedures.
Regarding decentralization, Deputy Minister of Justice Dang Hoang Oanh stated that tasks related to recognizing equivalence for those trained in notarization abroad, appointing, reappointing, and dismissing notaries are decentralized from the Minister of Justice to the provincial People's Committee Chairman. Additionally, the provincial People's Committee is authorized to proactively issue management and development plans for TCHNCCs in accordance with the law, guiding documents, and local conditions.
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| Deputy Minister of Justice Dang Hoàag Oanh presents the summary of the draft amendments to the Law on Notarization. (Source: National Assembly) |
Agreement on amendments to the Law on Notarization
In a preliminary review of the draft law, Chairman of the Legal and Judicial Committee Hoang Thanh Tung stated that the Standing Committee of the UBPLTP agrees on the necessity and purpose of drafting amendments to the Law on Notarization; generally agrees with the scope of amendments. The content of the draft law is basically consistent with the Party's policies and guidelines, ensuring constitutionality, coherence with the legal system, and compatibility with international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party. The draft law dossier has been prepared seriously, meticulously, and in accordance with the Law on Promulgation of Legal Documents.
The Government is requested to continue reviewing the draft law's provisions to fully and promptly institutionalize the XIV Congress Resolution and related Party policies and guidelines, innovate legal thinking, ensure consistency and coherence with the legal system; thoroughly assess difficulties and obstacles during the implementation of the laws and emerging issues to propose amendments, ensuring feasibility and practical relevance.
Regarding specific content of the draft law, the Standing Committee of the Legal Committee generally agrees with the amendments to the Law on Notarization, including:
Firstly, amending some provisions in Articles 11, 13, 16, and 17 to transfer authority from the Minister of Justice to the provincial People's Committee Chairman; some provisions on notarization practice organizations in Articles 19, 20, 21, 23, and 26 to align with the two-tier local government model.
Secondly, adding exceptions allowing the relocation of a Notary Office outside the commune-level administrative unit where it is located in cases specified at the end of Clause 1, Article 26.
Thirdly, simplifying some notarization procedures in Articles 42 and 57.
Fourthly, clearly defining and expanding the scope of real estate transactions subject to notarization regardless of administrative boundaries, and authorizing the Government to develop a roadmap for implementing notarization of real estate transactions regardless of administrative boundaries in Article 44.
Fifthly, the model of the notarization database constructed and centrally managed by the Ministry of Justice, ensuring uniformity from central to local levels in Article 66.
Improve the model for managing the number of Notary offices by Commune-Level Administrative Units flexibly
Additionally, the Standing Committee suggests further research and improvement on several aspects:
Firstly, research and revise criteria for transactions requiring notarization in Article 3 of the current Law on Notarization based on updates to current legal regulations, international experiences, etc., as a basis for stipulating transactions requiring notarization towards narrowing the scope of these transactions, enhancing voluntary notarization, facilitating and reducing compliance costs for organizations and individuals.
Secondly, continue researching and improving the model for managing the number of offices by commune-level administrative units flexibly to meet the requirements of reorganizing administrative units at all levels and organizing two-tier local government activities, while aiming to change management thinking for offices avoiding unhealthy competition among notarization offices, ensuring balanced distribution, avoiding excessive concentration of offices in central areas, and ensuring objectivity, feasibility, efficiency, and effectiveness in managing notarization activities.
Thirdly, revise the procedure for reissuing operational registration certificates for offices in Clause 2, Article 26 of the current Law on Notarization, allowing offices to choose to reissue operational registration certificates or record changes in the operational registration certificate of offices to simplify administrative procedures.
Fourthly, review and revise regulations on information fields, management entities, to ensure rigor and feasibility. Regulate the management and exploitation of information fields regarding asset origins and transaction status in database to maximize the benefits of data in state management and notarization activities; clarify the provincial People's Committee's management responsibilities at the local level during the transition phase.
Fifthly, review and revise regulations on storing notarization files in Clause 3, Article 68 of the current Law on Notarization to meet verification and assessment requirements during legal proceedings, while clarifying the responsibilities of related parties in case of loss or damage to the original notarized document, and clarifying solutions for issuing copies or amending, supplementing, or canceling notarized documents while the original is being used by judicial authorities for verification and assessment.
Sixthly, continue reviewing, revising, and completing regulations on transitional provisions to ensure completeness, rigor, feasibility, and avoid arising issues in legal application; adjust the effective date to ensure the swift implementation of the Law's provisions in practice.
