When Organizing the Destruction of Confidential Documents, It Is Mandatory to Establish a Council

To be specific, Clause 1, Article 19 of Circular 04/2015/TT-TTCP stipulates that when organizing the destruction of confidential documents, a council must be established, comprising: the head of the agency or unit with the confidential documents as the Chairman of the council; representatives of the units with the confidential documents to be destroyed, the office, the person directly managing the confidential documents, officials doing security tasks, and representatives of relevant units (as decided by the Chairman of the council).

Illustrative image (Source: Internet)

The council for the destruction of confidential documents has the following responsibilities:

- Based on current legal regulations, if it is determined that the document, material, or item containing state secrets falls under the category of state archives, a list and a report proposal must be prepared and submitted to the Chief Inspector of the Government, the head of the competent authority as stipulated at point c, Clause 1, Article 5 of this Circular for consideration and decision on destruction;

- During the process of destroying confidential documents, the following must be ensured:

- No leakage or disclosure of the contents of the confidential documents;- For confidential documents and printed materials on paper, they must be burned, torn, or shredded into pieces that cannot be reconstructed;- For confidential documents in the form of items bearing state secrets (used tapes, discs, films, etc.), their entire appearance and functional properties must be altered so that they can no longer be restored, exploited, or used.

- A record must be made, fully inventorying each confidential document destroyed, specifying the document number, copy number, and essential content summary. The content of the record must reflect the method, procedure, and individuals involved in the destruction of the confidential documents. The record must bear the signatures of all participating members and then be submitted and stored at the confidentiality department of the agency or unit.

Note: In special cases where it is impossible to organize the destruction of confidential documents according to current legal regulations, if the confidential documents are not destroyed immediately, causing severe consequences for national security, defense, or other state interests, the person managing those confidential documents has the right to self-destruct but must immediately report in writing to the competent authorities (the head of the agency managing the confidential documents, the same-level police agency). If the self-destruction of confidential documents is unjustifiable, the person who self-destructs must be held responsible before the law.

For details, see Circular 04/2015/TT-TTCP, effective from September 15, 2015

Le Hai

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