Currently, the law regarding judicial records does not provide clear and uniform regulations on the validity period of the judicial record certificate. The validity is still dependent on the provisions in the documents of each related field of law.
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According to the provisions of Clause 4 Article 2 of the Law on Judicial Records 2009, the Judicial Record Certificate is a certificate issued by the authority managing the judicial record database, which has the value of proving whether an individual has a criminal record; whether the individual is prohibited or not prohibited from holding a position, establishing, managing enterprises, or cooperatives in case the enterprise or cooperative is declared bankrupt by the court.
The Judicial Record Certificate consists of two types: Judicial Record Certificate No. 1 and Judicial Record Certificate No. 2. Specifically:
- Judicial Record Certificate No. 1 is issued to individuals, agencies, or organizations;- Judicial Record Certificate No. 2 is issued to procedural authorities (including Police, Procuracy, and Courts) and issued at the request of individuals for them to know the content of their judicial record.
Authority to Issue Judicial Record Certificates
The authorities empowered to issue Judicial Record Certificates include the National Center for Judicial Records and the Department of Justice. Specifically:
- The National Center for Judicial Records issues Judicial Record Certificates in the following cases:- Vietnamese citizens whose permanent or temporary residence cannot be determined;- Foreigners who have resided in Vietnam.- The Department of Justice issues Judicial Record Certificates in the following cases:- Vietnamese citizens residing domestically;- Vietnamese citizens residing abroad;- Foreigners residing in Vietnam.
Validity Period of the Judicial Record Certificate
Currently, the law on judicial records, including the Law on Judicial Records 2009 and the detailed regulations and implementation guidelines, does not stipulate the validity period of the Judicial Record Certificate. However, depending on the nature and management field, the validity period of the Judicial Record Certificate is stipulated differently in other legal documents.
Validity regulations of the Judicial Record Certificate in specific fields:
- According to Point d Clause 1 Article 20 of the Law on Nationality 2008, the Judicial Record Certificate issued by a competent Vietnamese authority for the period the person applying for Vietnamese nationality resides in Vietnam and the Judicial Record Certificate issued by a competent foreign authority for the period the person applying for Vietnamese nationality resides abroad. The Judicial Record Certificate must be issued no more than 90 days from the date of submission;- According to Article 5 of the Decree 19/2011/ND-CP, the validity period of papers, including the Judicial Record Certificate, for domestic adopters is valid if issued within the last 06 months from the submission date to the commune-level People’s Committee; the Judicial Record Certificate of the head of the foreign adoption organization is valid if issued within the last 12 months, from the submission date to the Adoption Department; the Judicial Record Certificate of those adopting Vietnamese children abroad is valid if issued within the last 12 months from the submission date to the Adoption Department.- The U.S. visa application for individuals aged 16 and older requires a Judicial Record Certificate issued within the last 1 year.- Additionally, some applications require a Judicial Record Certificate but do not specify the validity period, such as applications for the appointment of notaries or applications for law practice certificates requiring a Judicial Record Certificate.
Therefore, the validity period of the Judicial Record Certificate in Vietnam is currently not clearly and uniformly stipulated but depends on the provisions in the legal documents of different fields and the discretion of the agencies and organizations requiring information about the individual’s criminal status. Thus, a uniform regulation on the validity period of the Judicial Record Certificate is necessary to ensure objective, scientific, and appropriate application of the law, avoiding inconsistencies.
