Full text of the Law on Archives 2024 available in Vietnam

Full text of the Law on Archives 2024 available in Vietnam (Internet image) 

Full text of the Law on Archives 2024 available in Vietnam

On June 21, 2024, the National Assembly of Vietnam approved the Law on Archives 2024, which comes into force in Vietnam from July 1, 2025.

The Law on Archives 2024 stipulates the management of archival documents and archival document databases; archival operations; special valuable archival documents and the promotion of the value of archival documents; private archiving; archival service activities and state management of archiving.

Transition provisions in the Law on Archives 2024 are as follows:

- From the effective date of the Law on Archives 2024:

+ Within 10 years, the Provincial People's Committee is responsible for organizing the rectification and valuation of documents according to the provisions of the Law on Archives 2011 and submitting them to the provincial historical archive for documents of permanent preservation value formed during the activities of the People's Council, the Commune People's Committee before the Law on Archives 2024 takes effect;

+ Within 5 years, agencies and organizations that are required to submit archives according to the provisions of the Law on Archives 2011 must complete the rectification and valuation of documents formed before the Law on Archives 2024 takes effect but have not yet been rectified according to the provisions of the Law on Archives No. 01/2011/QH13, and submit them to historical archives as stipulated by the Law on Archives 2024;

+ Within 10 years, the historical archive must complete the rectification and valuation of documents according to the provisions of Law on Archives No. 01/2011/QH13 for documents being preserved at historical archives but have not yet been rectified according to the provisions of Law on Archives No. 01/2011/QH13;

+ Organizations and individuals eligible to provide document rectification services according to the provisions of the Law on Archives 2011 and organizations and individuals providing archival consultancy services according to the provisions of the Law on Archives 2024 may carry out the rectification and valuation of documents as stipulated in Points a, b, and c Clause 1 Article 65 of the Law on Archives 2024;

+ Within 5 years, agencies and organizations that have identified state secrets are responsible for presiding, coordinating with historical archives to carry out the declassification of documents submitted to historical archives according to the provisions of the law on the protection of state secrets. The declassification of archival documents submitted to historical archives in cases where the state secret-determining agency is no longer operational shall comply with the provisions of the law on the protection of state secrets and the provisions of Clause 2 Article 65 of the Law on Archives 2024.

- The declassification of archival documents in cases where the state secret-determining agency is no longer operational stipulated in Point e, Clause 1 Article 65 of the Law on Archives 2024 is regulated as follows:

+ The head of the advisory agency, assisting the Minister of Home Affairs, Provincial People's Committee in state management of archives, decides on the declassification of archival documents if necessary to meet the practical requirements of protecting national and ethnic interests; socio-economic development; international integration and cooperation;

+ The head of the historical archive performs forms to determine the declassification of archival documents in case the documents no longer belong to the list of state secrets;

+ Do not declassify archival documents in cases where declassification may harm national, ethnic interests.

- The destruction of archival documents containing state secrets submitted to historical archives before the Law on Archives 2024 takes effect is regulated as follows:

+ The Minister of Home Affairs decides to destroy documents in the central historical archive; the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee decides to destroy documents in the provincial historical archive;

+ Archival documents containing state secrets are destroyed in the following cases: when not necessary to retain, and the destruction of documents does not harm national, ethnic interests; if not destroyed, it would harm national, ethnic interests;

+ The destruction of archival documents containing state secrets must ensure the requirements according to the provisions of the law on the protection of state secrets.

- Temporary archival documents stored at historical archives before the Law on Archives 2024 takes effect, the historical archive continues to preserve until the expiration.

- Archival practice certificates issued according to the provisions of the Law on Archives 2011 continue to be used until the expiry date recorded on the Certificate.

- For files and documents of permanent preservation value of agencies and organizations required to submit to historical archives formed before the Law on Archives 2024 takes effect, the submission period to historical archives follows the provisions of the Law on Archives 2011 but no later than July 1, 2030.

More details can be found in the Law on Archives 2024 which comes into force in Vietnam from July 1, 2025.

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