What are regulations on the preservation of exhibits, documents, and items from the year 2025 in Vietnam?

What are regulations on the preservation of exhibits, documents, and items from the year 2025 in Vietnam?​ (Image from the internet)

On October 30, 2024, the Government of Vietnam issued Decree 142/2024/ND-CP stipulating the management of evidence and document storages.

What are regulations on the preservation of exhibits, documents, and items from the year 2025 in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 15 of Decree 142/2024/ND-CP, the preservation of evidence, documents, and items in Vietnam is regulated as follows:

- Evidence, documents, and items are preserved in accordance with the law; they are to be classified, arranged neatly and scientifically to avoid confusion, loss, damage, prevent environmental pollution, and facilitate the management, receipt, dispatch, and preservation of evidence, documents, and items.

- All evidence, documents, and items must be stored in evidence and document storages, except in the following cases:

+ Items that cannot be brought to the evidence and document storages for preservation, have been rented for preservation, or entrusted to the rightful owner, legal custodian, or their relatives, local authorities, agencies, or organizations at the location needing preservation;

+ Items are documents such as papers, paintings, photos, electronic data storage media filed in case dossiers and are handed over to competent procedural authorities for management according to file management policies;

+ items that have been handed over to the competent procedural authorities for management to serve investigation, prosecution, and trial;

+ Items that are quickly perishable or difficult to preserve are transferred to specialized agencies for handling according to the law and funds are transferred to the temporary holding account of the competent authority at the State Treasury for management (if any);

+ Items such as cash or foreign currency in cash must be appraised and deposited into the temporary holding account of the competent procedural authority at the equivalent level State Treasury where the authority is headquartered. Precious assets, valuable papers, gold, silver, precious metals, gemstones, antiques must be appraised, sealed, and deposited at the equivalent level State Treasury where the authority is headquartered;

+ Items, which are cash or foreign cash, precious assets, valuable papers, gold, silver, precious metals, gemstones, antiques bearing traces of crime must be appraised immediately upon collection, sealed (registered in the case dossier, proceeding minutes) and deposited at the equivalent level State Treasury where the authority is headquartered;

+ Items that are military weapons, explosives, explosive precursors, fireworks, liquid combustibles, gaseous combustibles must be appraised, sealed, and stored in the evidence and document warehouse within the weapons and technical equipment warehouse of the Provincial Military Command where the authority is headquartered;

+ Items that are poisonous substances must be appraised, sealed, and stored at specialized facilities under the management of the Health, Defense, Public Security, Industry and Trade, Agriculture and Rural Development sectors;

+ Items that are radioactive substances, radiation sources must be appraised, sealed, and stored at the Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute under the Ministry of Science and Technology;

+ Items that are wild animals are transferred to specialized management agencies for storage at zoos, wildlife rescue centers, national conservation rescue centers, forest animal rescue facilities, zoological gardens, forest animal breeding facilities that satisfy the conditions for a biodiversity conservation license, scientific research facilities, environmental education facilities, specialized museums, special-use forest management boards with nearby animal rescue facilities or where the competent procedural authority is headquartered;

+ Items that are plants are sent to forestry agencies, plant research, and development centers; forestry companies, botanical gardens, and plant breeding facilities that meet the conditions;

+ Items that are medical specimens, infectious substances, bacteria, viruses, harmful parasites, blood samples, tissues, human body parts, vaccines, and other medical-related items requiring special preservation conditions must be sealed and stored at specialized facilities under regulations of the healthcare sector.

- Agencies, organizations, and individuals assigned to preserve evidence, documents, and items specified in clause 2 of this Article are responsible for promptly organizing their reception and preservation; the transferring or dispatching agency bears the responsibility to cooperate for the preservation of evidence, documents, and items according to the law.

- In cases where due to itemive conditions, the evidence, documents, and items mentioned in this Decree cannot be transferred to the management agency of evidence and document storages or specialized agencies as per legal regulations for preservation, then the procedural authority shall organize preservation. Once these itemive conditions are overcome, items must be immediately transferred to the management agency of evidence and document storages or specialized agencies as per legal regulations for preservation.

Refer to the detailed content at Decree 142/2024/ND-CP, which comes into effect on January 1, 2025.