Tiếng Việt| THE GOVERNMENT | SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM |
| No. 31-CP | Hanoi, May 18, 1996 |
ON THE ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION OF THE STATE NOTARIZATION
THE GOVERNMENT
Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government of September 30, 1992;
With a view to strengthening the administrative-judicial work and the management of society by law;
At the proposal of the Minister of Justice,
DECREES:
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Foreigners who want their documents to be notarized and who are not fluent in Vietnamese must solicit assistance from translators.
Notarization shall be done at a State Notarization Office unless the requester cannot go there for a plausible reason or otherwise prescribed by law.
The notarized documents must bear the signature of the notary public, be sealed and be logged in the Notarization Logbook.
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The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice shall set the fee for each type of notarization and lay down the regime for management and use of the notarization fees.
STATE MANAGEMENT OF NOTARIZATION
The Ministry of Justice shall exercise State management over notarization work and has the following tasks:
1. To submit to the Government for the issue or, within its jurisdiction, to issue itself the documents providing guidance on the organization and operation of the notarization work;
2. To guide and direct the notarization work in terms of organization and operation;
3. To appoint the notaries public at the proposal of the Director of the provincial of Justice Service, and to issue the notary card;
4. To train and foster the notaries public on professional matters;
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6. To control and inspect the organization and operation of the notaries public;
7. To carry out cooperation in notarization.
1. To make decision on establishing the State Notarization Office under the Provincial of Justice Service; to appoint and dismiss the heads of these offices. In the cities directly under the Central Government and large provinces where the requests for public notarization are numerous, a number of State Notarization Offices under the Provincial Justice Service may be established.
2. To determine the payrolls of the Notarization Offices within their localities and ensure the material basis and operational instruments for the work of the State Notarization Offices.
Article 11.- The Director of the Provincial Justice Service has the following powers and tasks:
1. To submit to the President of the People’s Committee of the province or city directly under the Central Government the proposal for establishing the State Notarization Office under the Provincial Justice Service and to recommend the appointment and dismissal of the Head of such Office;
2. To appoint and dismiss the Deputy Heads of the State Notarization Office;
3. To manage and control the organization and operation of the State Notarization Office;
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5. To settle complaints lodged by the organizations and individuals concerning the execution of the professional duties of the notaries public;
6. Half-yearly and yearly to report on the notarization work to the Ministry of Justice and the provincial People’s Committee.
ORGANIZATION OF THE STATE NOTARIZATION SYSTEM
The Head and Deputy Heads of the State Notarization Office are selected and appointed from among the notaries public.
1. To draw up the work plan of the Notarization Office and direct its implementation;
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3. Half-yearly and yearly report on the organization and operation of the Notarization Office to the Director of the Provincial Justice Service.
In conducting the notarization work, the Head and Deputy Heads of the State Notarization Office shall sign the notarized documents in their capacity as a notary public.
1. Having good political and moral quality, transparency, honesty, diligence and the sense of objectivity;
2. Having graduated from the Law University;
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4. Having passed a refresher training course on notarization work.
The notary public shall work full time and shall not assume any other work at a State agency or economic organization, and shall not be party to any free enterprise.
Article 18.- The State Notarization Office shall carry out the following tasks:
1. To certify economic contracts, contracts for auction of fixed assets, contracts for keeping of properties, civil contracts with foreign elements; to certify the minutes of the Council for pricing of properties used as initial investments of private entrepreneurs; certify the presentation of protests on maritime transport; certify the translations of the affidavits, verdicts and civil rulings of Foreign Courts, and of the awards of Foreign Arbitrators concerning Vietnamese citizens or organizations for consideration by Vietnamese Courts for recognition and execution in Vietnam; certify the translations of the documents in foreign languages concerning the marriage of a foreigner to a Vietnamese citizen, the recognition of a Vietnamese as a child out of wedlock, the adoption of a Vietnamese child and the provision of sponsorship to a Vietnamese; and certify the translations of wills in foreign languages into Vietnamese.
2. To certify the undertakings which by provision of law must be notarized.
3. To certify affairs at the request of the concerned parties, as required by law that the notary public shall certify them or the People’s Committee of the authorized level shall verify them.
The People’s Committees of the communes, wards and townships shall verify the authenticity of the refusals of inherited properties, of the wills and other affairs as required by law.
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1. To inform the concerned parties of the procedure and proceedings of the notarization as required by law;
2. To receive and check the documents and papers presented by the concerned persons;
3. To directly perform the notarization, sign the notarized documents and take responsibility before law for the notarization administered by him/her.
4. To explain to the notarization requester the legitimate rights, obligations and interests, and the legal significance of the notarization work.
Article 22.- In performing the notarization, the notary public has the rights:
1. To request the concerned persons to produce all the necessary documents and papers required by the notarization;
2. To request the professional agency to provide expertise or consultancy when the need arises;
3. To refuse notarization in the cases specified in Article 23 of this Decree.
Article 23.- The notary public shall not give any certification in one of the following cases:
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2. The request for notarization is against the law;
3. The affairs is related to the notary public him/herself or to members of his/her family: spouse; siblings (including siblings of the spouse and adopted siblings), parents (including parents of the spouse and adopted parents), paternal and maternal grand-parents, children (including adopted and in-law children); and grand-children (children of their own sons, daughters and adopted children).
The Executive Vice President of the District People’s Committee or the member of the District Peoples Committee who is also the Director of the Office of the District People’s Committee shall give certification in accordance with the provisions of Articles 21, 22 and 23 of this Decree.
The documents which are certified by an overseas diplomatic representative or consular office of Vietnam shall have the same validity as those notarized and certified in Vietnam.
PROCEDURE AND PROCEEDINGS FOR NOTARIZATION
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The contracts for changing real estate ownership must be certified at the State Notarization Office or the People’s Committee of the district where the real estate is located.
In requesting notarization of a contract which is related to a property the ownership of which by law must be registered, the concerned person must submit his/her identity card and the certificate of his/her ownership of that property.
With regard to property the ownership of which is registered, the certification of the documents which are used as mortgage, pledge and guaranty shall be conducted at the State Notarization Office at the locality where the property is registered.
The will maker shall declare the content of the will to the notary public. The notary public shall take note of the content of the will as declared by the will maker. The will maker shall sign or finger-print the will after verifying that the will has been recorded accurately and manifest correctly his/her will. The notary public shall put his/her signature to the will.
The will maker may request the notary public to come to his/her residence to witness the making of the will. The notary public shall take part in the writing of the will at the residence of the will maker only in the presence of at least two witnesses.
In case the will maker requests a change, supplement, replacement or removal of a part or the whole of the will which has been notarized, a re-notarization shall be needed.
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In case the will is to be kept at the State Notarization Office, the notary public shall be the announcer of the will. The announcement of the will shall be recorded in writing. Upon the opening of the inheritance, the notary public has to send duplicates of the will to all the persons concerned with its content. All the duplicates must be noratized by the notary public.
The Pricing Council established by decision of the President of the People’s Committee of the province or city directly under the Central Government is composed of:
- A representative of the State management agency in charge of pricing of the province or city directly under the Central Government, who shall serve as Chairman of the Council.
- Experts in pricing the property to be priced, who shall serve as members.
- A representative of the agency which issues the business license to the private enterprise, who shall serve as a member.
The Notary Public shall not seat in the Pricing Council.
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The translators who are listed as permanent assistants to the Notarization Office shall be recognized by the Director of the Provincial Justice Service at the recommendation of the Head of the Notarization Office.
The translator has to sign the translation and take responsibility for its precision. The notary public shall certify the signature of the translator in the translation.
Upon considering the maritime protest and hearing clarifications from the captain and maybe two more witnesses on the vessel (one in the vessel command and the other among the sailors), the notary public shall certify the reception of the maritime protest.
At the proposal of the captain, the notary public may request the professional agency to conduct the expertizing.
The agencies and organizations authorized to issue duplicates of the documents are also allowed to take fees as provided for by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice.
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The complaints and denunciations against notarization shall be examined and handled in accordance with the provisions of law on complaints and denunciations.
ON BEHALF OF THE GOVERNMENT
FOR THE PRIME MINISTER
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
Phan Van Khai