DECISION

PROMULGATING THE REGULATION OF THE LEGAL SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT FACILITY

THE PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the December 25,2001 Law on Organization of the Government;
Pursuant to the Governments Decree No.17/2001/ND-CP of May 4, 2001, promulgating the Regulation on the management and use of official development assistance (ODA) sources;
Pursuant to the Governments Decree No.103/1998/ND-CP of December 26, 1998, on management of legal cooperation with foreign countries;
At the proposal of the Justice Minister,

DECIDES:

Article 1. To promulgate together with this Decision the Regulation of the Legal System Development Facility.

Article 2. This Decision takes effect 15 days after its publication in CONG BAO

Article 3. The Justice Minister, the ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the Government-attached agencies, the presidents of the Peoples Committees of the provinces or centrally-run cities, and the heads of the concerned agencies and organizations shall have to implement this Decision.

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Phan Van Khai

REGULATION

OF THE LEGAL SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT FACILITY
(Promulgated together with the Prime Ministers Decision No. 153/2005/QD-TTg of June 21, 2005).

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of regulation and subjects of application of the Regulation.

1. This Regulation prescribes the mobilization, management and use of the Legal System Development Facility (hereinafter referred to as the Facility) stated in the document of Project VIE/02/015 Assistance for the Implementation of Vietnams Legal System Development Strategy signed on September 4, 2003, between the Vietnamese Government and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and other donors (hereinafter referent to as the Project).

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a/ The project-executing agency and the project-implementing agencies;

b/ The facility-using agencies;

c/ The donors.

Article 2. Interpretation of terms

In this Regulation, the following terms and phrases are construed as follows:

1. Strategy means the Strategy on development of Vietnams legal system till 2010.

2. Project-implementing agencies mean agencies involved in the project implementation stated in the document of Project VIE/02/015 and other agencies identified in the project execution process.

3. Facility-using agencies mean agencies and organizations provided with financial supports by the Facility for the performance of jobs within the Project.

4. Donors mean donors which have made financial contributions to the Facility.

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Article 3. Objectives of the Facility

1. To mobilize capital sources from donors to facilitate the implementation of the Strategy on development of Vietnams legal system till 2010.

2. To render financial supports for priority contents identified in the Project document and newly emerging contents to be identified in the process of implementing the Strategy on development of Vietnams legal system till 2010.

Article 4. Rules of the Facility.

1. Financial supports shall be provided in a quick and timely manner for the already approved contents.

2. The mobilization, management and use of financial sources of the Facility shall comply with the provisions of this Regulation and the National Execution Manual for Vietnam (NEX)

3. The mobilization, management and use of financial sources of the Facility must be transparent and efficient.

4. The Facility shall operate within the duration of the Project and terminate on the ending date of the Project or at any time afterwards under the Agreement on Project Prolongation between the Vietnamese Government and the other signatories to the Project.

Article 5.. The nature of the Facility and financial contributions to the Facility.

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2. Financial contributions to the Facility are mobilized principally from ODA sources.

3. Financial contributions to the Facility shall be made only when the Justice Ministrys consent is obtained.

4. The budget balance of the Facility shall be USD 3,000,000 (three million US dollars). Any excess of this balance must be proposed by the Justice Ministry to the Prime Minister for decision.

5. The Justice Ministry shall act as the coordinator in mobilizing financial contributions to the Facility, report on and explain the mobilization, management and use of the Facility to the Government and concerned donors.

Chapter II

ESTABLISHMENT, CRITERIA FOR ASSESSMENT, COMPETENCE AND ORDER FOR APPROVING CONTENTS ELIGIBLE FOR THE FACILITYS SUPPORTS

Article 6. Domains to be considered for supports

Contents in the following domains shall be considered to be included in the list of contents eligible for the Facilitys supports:

1. Contents aiming to help enhance the capacity of the mechanism of implementation of the Strategy as well as the management, coordination, evaluation and oversight of the implementation of the Strategy.

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3. Key projects aiming to strengthen capacity of law enforcement agencies at the central and local levels.

4. Law dissemination and education, raising of legal awareness of grassroots officials and people, especially those in rural, mountainous, island, deep-lying and remote areas.

5. Training and fostering of key legal experts who are qualified to satisfy the requirements on building and perfection of the legal system and law enforcement set forth in the Strategy.

6. Other contents emerging in the process of implementing the Strategy, which need supports of the Facility.

Article 7. Criteria for assessing contents in need of supports.

Based on the domains stated in Article 6 of this Regulation, contents which satisfy the following criteria shall be considered for the Facilitys supports:

1. Being in line with the objectives and development orientations set forth in the Strategy and the objectives of the Project.

2. Being truly needs at the time of requesting supports.

3. Being highly feasible.

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5. Not concurrently enjoying financial supports from other sources.

6. Support-requesting agencies are capable of operating and spending financial supports.

Article 8. Competence to approve the use of the Facilitys budget.

1. On the basis of the objectives and development orientations set forth in the Strategy, the Justice Minister shall base himself on the existing money amount of the Facility to personally approve specific contents requesting supports after consulting opinions of the donors.

2. In special cases, the Justice Minister shall consult opinions of the Governments aid-coordinating agencies or report to the Prime Minister before approving specific contents.

Article 9. Order, procedures and time limit for approval.

1. Contents of agencies and organizations requesting supports shall be described according to set form and sent to the Justice Ministry before October 15 of each calendar year.

2. Specific contents eligible for supports, which have been approved by the Justice Minister, shall be incorporated in the subsequent years operation plan of the Facility.

3. The Facility shall use the account of Project VIE/02/015.

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ESPONSIBILITIES AND POWERS OF RELEVANT AGENCIES

Article 10 . Responsibilities of the Facility-using agencies

1. To conduct supporting activities strictly according to the plans and schedules already explained in the approved support-requesting dossiers.

2. To conduct all regular activities related to the Facilitys finance in compliance with the regulations of the National Execution Manual (NEX)

3. To make and send to the Justice Ministry quarterly reports on the progress of activities and the use of financial supports in strict compliance with the regulations of the NEX

4. To make reports reviewing activities and reports on financial settlement upon conclusion of activities in compliance with the regulations of the Project and the NEX

5. To create favorable conditions for periodical or extraordinary in section and assessment of the Facilitys activities by the national Project Director and the donors.

Article 11. Responsibilities of the Justice Minister

1. The Justice Minister has the following responsibilities:

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b/ To organize the inspection and assessment of the performance of the Facilitys activities in order to ensure the efficient use of the Facilitys financial sources;

c/ To convene and chair meeting between the Inter-Branch Steering Committee and the donors when necessary in order to unify plans, monitor and inspect the Facilitys activities, including the management and use of the Facility;

d/ To prepare annual reports on results of management and use of the Facility.

2. The National Director of Project VIE/02/015 shall assist the Justice Minister in performing the functions and tasks prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 12. Effect of the Regulation

This Regulation takes effect 15 days after its publication in CONG BAO

In cases where the operation duration of the Facility is prolonged under the agreement between the Vietnamese Government and the donors, this Regulation shall continue to be effective within such prolonged duration.

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This Regulation shall be amended and/or supplemented at the Justice Ministers requests to suit each period.