DECREE No. 115 /1997/ND-CP OF DECEMBER 17, 1997 ON REGIME OF OBLIGATORY INSURANCE FOR CIVIL RESPONSIBILITY OF THE OWNERS OF MOTORIZED VEHICLES

THE GOVERNMENT

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government of September 30, 1992;

Pursuant to the Civil Code of October 28, 1995;

Pursuant to the Ordinance of the Handling of Administrative Violations of July 6, 1995;

At the proposal of the Minister of Finance,

DECREES:

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1.-This Decree provides for the regime of obligatory insurance for civil responsibility of the owners of motorized vehicles with a view to protecting the legitimate and legal interests of the persons who suffer physical or material damage caused by motorized vehicles and also to helping the owners of motorized vehicles overcome the financial consequences, thus contributing to stabilizing the economic and social situation.

Article 2.- The insurance enterprises, the owners of motorized vehicles including foreign owners of motorized vehicles on the territory of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam are duty bound to carry out the regime of obligatory insurance for civil responsibility of the owners of motorized vehicles under the provisions of this Decree.

Article 3.- In this Decree the following terms are construed as follows:

1. An insurance enterprise is an enterprise permitted to be founded and to carry out legal insurance business in Vietnam allowed by the Ministry of Finance to conduct professional insurance activities concerning motorized vehicles;

2. Owner of motorized vehicles is an individual or organization having ownership right over a motorized vehicle or any person allowed to use motorized vehicles or conduct passenger transport business with motorized vehicles;

3. Motorized vehicles are all kinds of vehicles taking part in transport on land roads by the motor of these vehicles, except mopeds.

Article 4.- Those who suffer physical or property damage caused by vehicles which have taken part in the civil responsibility insurance of owners of motorized vehicles, are entitled to file a direct complaint against the insurance enterprise and to demand appropriate and timely indemnities as prescribed by law.

Chapter II

CONTENTS OF REGIME OF CIVIL RESPONSIBILITY INSURANCE OF THE OWNERS OF MOTORIZED VEHICLES

Article 5.- The regime of civil responsibility insurance of the owner of a motorized vehicle defined in this Decree comprises insurance of responsibility of paying damages outside the contract caused by the motorized vehicle against a third person, insurance of civil responsibility of the owner of motorized vehicle toward the passenger according to the passenger transport contract.

Article 6.- The obligation of taking part in the regime of insurance of civil responsibility of the owner of a motorized vehicle defined in this Decree shall be reflected through the signing of the insurance contract between the owner of a motorized vehicle and the insurance enterprise.

Basing themselves on the rules, fee rates and obligatory insurance responsibility issued by the Ministry of Finance, the insurance enterprise and the owner of a motorized vehicle shall sign a contract on civil responsibility insurance of the owner of a motorized vehicle.

The insurance certificate is the evidence of the signing of a contract on civil responsibility insurance of the owner of the motorized vehicle.

Article 7.- Obligation and interests of the owner of motorized vehicle.

1. Obligation of the owner of motorized vehicle:

a/ To buy the insurance of responsibility for paying damages outside contract caused by the motorized vehicle. In addition, the owner of vehicle doing passenger transport business shall also have to buy the insurance of civil responsibility toward the passengers under the passenger transport contract;

b/ To take along and produce when requested by the traffic police the valid certificate of civil responsibility insurance of the owner of the motorized vehicle issued by the insurance enterprise while using the vehicle.

2. Interests of the owner of a motorized vehicle:

a/ For an owner of a motorized vehicle that is a production or business unit, the insurance fee shall be accounted in the production cost or the transport fee; for an owner of motorized vehicle that is an administrative or other non-productive unit, the insurance fee is accounted in the fee supplied by the State budget;

b/ When a violation occurs within the insurance responsibility, the insurance enterprise shall represent the owner of the motorized vehicle to pay to the person who suffers physical and property damages caused by the motorized vehicle which has taken part in the insurance scheme and other necessary and reasonable expenditures which the owner of the vehicle has made to reduce the losses or to carry out the instructions of the insurance enterprise.

Article 8- Obligation and interests of the insurance enterprise.

1. Obligation of the insurance enterprise:

a/ To sell insurance of responsibility for damages outside contract caused by the motorized vehicles; insurance of civil responsibility of the owner of a motorized vehicle toward passengers under the passenger transport contract and at the request of the owner of the motorized vehicle;

b/ To fully observe the rules, fee rate and level of obligatory responsibility insurance issued by the Ministry of Finance;

c/ When selling the obligatory civil responsibility insurance of the owner of a motorized vehicle, the insurance enterprise must fully explain to the owner of the motorized vehicle the information related to the interests and obligations of the owner of the motorized vehicle and of the insurance enterprise, and supply information about the rules, fee rate, the level of obligatory responsibility insurance issued by the Ministry of Finance or the fee rate and other responsibility insurance levels which the insurance enterprise has registered with the Ministry of Finance;

d/ Right after signing the contract of civil responsibility insurance of the owner of the motorized vehicle, the insurance enterprise must issue to the owner of the vehicle a certificate of obligatory insurance of civil responsibility of the owners of motorized vehicles with all the contents prescribed by law;

e/ To expeditiously examine and pay appropriate and timely indemnities as prescribed by law when the owner of the vehicle or the person who suffers physical or property damage caused by the motorized vehicle which has taken part in the insurance scheme.

2. Interests of the insurance enterprise:

The insurance enterprise is protected by the State for its legitimate and lawful interests in the process of the business activities of obligatory civil responsibility insurance of the owner of the motorized vehicle.

Chapter III

RESPONSIBILITY OF THE MINISTRIES AND THE PEOPLE'S COMMITTEES OF THE PROVINCES AND CITIES DIRECTLY UNDER THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT IN ENSURING IMPLEMENTATION OF THE REGIME OF CIVIL RESPONSIBILITY OF THE OWNERS OF MOTORIZED VEHICLES

Article 9.- The Ministry of Finance has the responsibility:

1. To lay down the conditions and criteria of the insurance enterprises engaged in the business of insurance of motorized vehicles;

2. To issue rules, fee rates and levels of obligatory insurance of civil responsibility of the owners of motorized vehicles;

3. To organize the guidance of the supervision and inspection of the insurance enterprises in the implementation of the regime of obligatory insurance of civil responsibility of the owners of motorized vehicles and the good discharge of the task of paying indemnities to the persons who suffer damage and the task of prevention against and limitation of losses;

4. To penalize the insurance enterprises which violate the regime of obligatory insurance of civil responsibility of the owners of motorized vehicles.

Article 10.- The Ministry of the Interior has the responsibility:

1. To organize the guidance of the supervision and inspection of the owners of motorized vehicles in the implementation of the regime of obligatory insurance of civil responsibility of the owners of motorized vehicles;

2. To penalize the owners of the motorized vehicles who violate the regime of obligatory insurance of civil responsibility of the owners of motorized vehicles;

3. To assume the main responsibility in investigating and handling the traffic accidents on land roads;

4. To assume the main responsibility and coordinate with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Communications and Transport and the People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government in carrying out well the provisions of this Decree;

5. To supply the necessary papers to determine the faults and responsibility of the related parties and the results of the investigations into the accidents to the insurance enterprises in case of legitimate request in order to examine and settle promptly and appropriately the demands for timely compensation to the owners of vehicles or the victimized persons.

Article 11.- The Ministry of Communications and Transport has the responsibility:

1. To issue the technical norms and the processes and rules and economic and technical targets under the authority of the branch aimed at ensuring the safety of the operation of motorized vehicles in the transportation of passengers;

2. To coordinate with the Ministry of the Interior in analyzing the causes and in handling the traffic accidents on land roads and create conditions for the insurance enterprises to implement well the regime of obligatory insurance of civil responsibility of the owners of motorized vehicles;

3. To coordinate with the Ministry of Finance in using measures to prevent and limit the losses in land traffic.

Article 12.- The Ministry of Culture and Information has the responsibility to direct the cultural and information agencies, the press at the center and in the localities to campaign among the population and to popularize to the population the regime of obligatory insurance on the civil responsibility of the owners of motorized vehicles, and to encourage the latter and the insurance enterprises to carry out this Decree seriously.

Article 13.- The People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government shall have to popularize this Decree and coordinate with the People's Police, the transport service and the Ministry of Finance in applying measures to prevent and limit losses, creating conditions for the insurance enterprises taking part in the settlement of the accidents to help the owners of vehicles and the victimized persons quickly overcome the financial consequences and stabilize quickly the economic and social life.

Chapter IV

HANDLING OF VIOLATIONS

Article 14.-

1. The certificate of civil responsibility insurance of the owner of a motorized vehicle is considered one of the papers which the owner of the vehicle must be equipped with and carry along permanently when using the vehicle as prescribed by current legislation on ensuring order and safety of land traffic and order and safety of urban transport and must be produced when requested by the traffic police.

2. The owner of a motorized vehicle who violates the obligation defined in Clause 1 of Article 7 of this Decree shall, depending on the seriousness of the violation, be sanctioned administratively as provided for in current legislation concerning the violations of land road traffic and urban traffic order and safety.

Article 15.- An insurance enterprise which violates the obligations prescribed in Clause 1 of Article 8 of this Decree shall, depending on the seriousness of the violation, be handled according to the current legislation on the management of activities in insurance business.

Chapter V

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 16.- All complaints and denunciations about the implementation of the regime of obligatory insurance of civil responsibility of the owners of motorized vehicles defined in this Decree shall be settled according to the order and procedures of the Ordinance on Complaints and Denunciations by Citizens and the Ordinance on the Handling of Administrative Violations.

Article 17.- This Decree takes effect 15 days after its signing and replaces Decree No.30-HDBT of March 10, 1988 of the Council of Ministers (now the Government) on the regime of obligatory insurance for civil responsibility of the owners of motorized vehicles and the documents guiding its implementation.

Article 18.- The Minister of Finance, the Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Communications and Transport shall, depending on their functions and tasks, have to guide and organize the implementation of this Decree.

Article 19.- The Ministers, the Heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the Heads of the agencies attached to the Government and the Presidents of the People's Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government shall have to implement this Decree.

On behalf of the Government

For the Prime Minister

Deputy Prime Minister

NGUYEN TAN DUNG