THE GOVERNMENT

DECREES:

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

1. The commune/ward/township-based education measure decided by the courts for juvenile offenders aims to create conditions for such persons to labor and study in the community and prove their repentance right in the normal social environment under the supervision and with the assistance of the commune/ward/township People�s Committees, social organizations and families.

2. When juvenile offenders have served half of their terms of commune/ward/township-based education and made many progresses, the courts may issue decisions to terminate the commune/ward/township-based education duration for them under the provisions of Clause 4, Article 70 of the Penal Code.

1. The commune/ward/township People�s Committees or social organizations assigned to supervise and educate juvenile offenders shall have to undertake necessary measures to ensure the efficiency of the commune/ward/township-based education measure and closely coordinate with the concerned agencies, organizations and families in supervising and educating them so as to help them redress their wrongdoings, have the sense of abiding by laws and rules of the communal life and become citizens useful to society.

2. Families of juvenile offenders shall have to educate and help them redress their wrongdoings, not to break laws nor commit new offenses; and closely coordinate with the commune/ward/township People�s Committees or social organizations assigned to supervise and educate juvenile offenders in supervising and educating them.

3. The concerned agencies and organizations as well as population community in areas where juvenile offenders reside shall have to coordinate with the commune/ward/township People�s Committees or social organizations assigned by the courts to supervise and educate juvenile offenders in educating and helping them.

Article 3.- The application of the commune/ward/township-based education measure must be effected regularly and persistently with the sense of responsibility and lenity for juvenile offenders.

Chapter II

OBLIGATIONS AND RIGHTS OF JUVENILE OFFENDERS

Article 4.- Juvenile offenders shall have the obligations:

1. To strictly abide by the State�s laws; actively perform the citizen�s obligations and observe the rules of villages, hamlets and population quarters where they reside.

2. To make written commitments with the commune/ward/township People�s Committees or social organizations assigned to supervise and educate them, clearly stating measures to actively redress themselves. Such commitments must be commented by the persons who are assigned to directly supervise and educate them.

3. To strictly observe their commitments, actively redress their wrongdoings; study, honestly work for their living and participate in the collective activities in the communities where they reside.

4. To make self-criticism reports on their self-training and reforming process and send such reports to the presidents of the commune/ward/township People�s Committees or the heads of the organizations assigned to supervise and educate them when they have served half of the trial terms. The self-criticism reports must be commented by the persons directly supervising and educating them or the quarter/commune police officers or the heads of the villages or hamlets where such persons reside.

5. Monthly, to send reports on their self-training and reforming results to the persons assigned to supervise and educate them; cases of leaving residential places for more than 30 days must be reported and offenders must get remarks on their temporary residence duration from the police of the quarter or commune where they temporarily reside.

Article 5.- Juvenile offenders shall have the rights:

1. Not to be discriminated due to their wrongdoings.

2. To be assisted to participate in labor and study activities at their residential places; to take part in the recreation and entertainment activities in community like other citizens.

3. To request the commune/ward/township People�s Committees or social organizations assigned to supervise and educate them to fill in the procedures, proposing the district-level people�s courts at their residential places to issue decisions on termination of their commune/ward/township-based education terms.

Article 6.- While serving the commune/ward/township-based education terms, juvenile offenders may be away from their residential places if having plausible reasons but must comply with the following stipulations:

1. In case of overnight absence at their permanent residential places, they must report such to the persons directly supervising and educating them, and make declaration with the police of the quarters or communes where they temporarily reside right after arriving there.

2. In case of leaving their permanent residential places for more than 30 days, they must make a written application for permission of the presidents of commune/ward/township People�s Committees or the heads of the social organizations assigned to supervise and educate them. Such applications must be commented by the persons directly supervising and educating them.

The presidents of the commune/ward/township People�s Committees or the heads of the social organizations assigned to supervise and educate juvenile offenders shall have to notify in writing the presidents of the People�s Committees of the communes, wards or townships where such offenders temporarily reside of the latter�s residence for coordination in supervising and educating them.

Upon the expiry of their temporary residence duration, juvenile offenders shall have to make reports as provided for in Clause 5, Article 4 of this Decree, which must be certified by the presidents of the People�s Committees of the communes, wards or townships where they temporarily reside.

3. In case of plausible reasons like changing their permanent residential places, having their schoolings or finding permanent jobs in other localities, juvenile offenders shall have to make written requests therefor with comments of the persons directly supervising and educating them and send them to the commune/ward/township People�s Committees or social organizations assigned with the supervision and education responsibility.

The commune/ward/township People�s Committees or social organizations assigned to supervise and educate juvenile offenders shall have to forward the entire dossiers on such offenders to the courts that have issued decisions on the application of the commune/ward/township-based education measure so that the latter may complete necessary procedures to transfer the dossiers to the commune/ward/township People�s Committees or social organizations of the localities where the offenders move to reside for further supervision and education.

Article 7.- When juvenile offenders have served half of their terms of education in communes, wards or townships and made many progresses, the commune/ward/township People�s Committees or social organizations assigned to supervise and educate them may consider or at the offenders� requests propose the district-level courts of the localities where such offenders are serving their terms to issue decisions on termination of the application of this measure.

Chapter III

RESPONSIBILITIES OF FAMILIES, COMMUNE/WARD/TOWNSHIP PEOPLE�S COMMITTEES AND SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS IN SUPERVISING AND EDUCATING JUVENILE OFFENDERS

Article 8.- Families of juvenile offenders shall have the responsibility:

1. To make written commitments on the management and education of juvenile offenders with the commune/ward/township People�s Committees or social organizations assigned to supervise and educate them.

2. To pay compensation for damage caused by juvenile offenders. For juvenile offenders aged between full 15 years and under 18 years, compensation shall be paid only when such persons have not enough property for compensation.

3. To take care of, be close with and take concrete measures to help juvenile offenders clearly realize their wrongdoings, actively redress themselves and not to break laws; and promptly remind and criticize them when they commit wrongdoings.

4. To share and sympathize with difficulties and mistakes of juvenile offenders so as to help them get rid of the inferiority complex, quickly integrate into family and communal life.

5. To contact the commune/ward/township People�s Committees and social organizations assigned to supervise and educate juvenile offenders so as to take concrete measures for coordinated assistance rendered to them.

6. To report on the juvenile offenders� self-training and reforming results to the commune/ward/township People�s Committees and social organizations assigned to supervise and educate them.

7. To attend meetings for criticism of juvenile offenders.

1. The commune/ward/township People�s Committees and social organizations assigned to supervise and educate juvenile offenders shall have the responsibility:

a/ To nominate people to directly supervise and educate juvenile offenders;

b/ To create conditions for juvenile offenders to learn and find jobs in order to stabilize their lives;

c/ To coordinate with concerned agencies and organizations as well as families of juvenile offenders in educating and reforming them, helping them to redress their wrongdoings;

d/ To ask juvenile offenders to fully perform their obligations; take timely preventive and remedial measures when such persons show negative signs and notify such to the competent agencies for handling when necessary;

e/ To promptly commend juvenile offenders when they make progresses, actively participate in social activities or record achievements;

f/ To consider and permit juvenile offenders to leave their residential places;

g/ To propose, at their own initiative or at the juvenile offenders� requests the district-level courts of the localities where the offenders are serving their commune/ward/township- based education terms to issue decisions to terminate the term of serving such penalty when such offenders have served half of their terms and make progress.

h/ To issue to juvenile offenders certificates of completion of their commune/ward/township- based education terms.

2. A dossier sent to the court proposing the issuance of a decision on termination of the term mentioned at Point f, Clause 1 of this Article includes:

a/ The juvenile offender�s curriculum vitae;

b/ The commune/ward/township People�s Committee�s or social organization�s written proposal on termination of the commune/ward/township- based education term for the juvenile offender;

c/ The juvenile offender�s application for termination of his/her commune/ward/township- based education term (if he/she is the requester);

d/ The court�s decision and copy of its judgement on the application of the commune/ward/township- based education measure;

e/ The juvenile offender�s self-criticism report on the fulfillment of his/her commitments;

f/ The written remarks of the commune/ward/township People�s Committee and social organization in the locality where the juvenile offender resides on the latter�s process of serving the commune/ward/township- based education measure;

g/ The minutes of meetings for criticism of such juvenile offender.

Article 10.- The persons directly supervising and educating juvenile offenders shall have the responsibility:

1. To propose the presidents of the commune/ward/township People�s Committees or the heads of the social organizations assigned to supervise and educate juvenile offenders to take specific measures for coordination with their families, schools, youth union and concerned organizations in the localities where juvenile offenders reside in managing and educating them.

2. To take initiative in meeting with juvenile offenders in order to find out the reasons and circumstances for committing offenses as well as their ideas and aspirations, make explanations and provide guidance for them to well fulfill their obligations.

3. To coordinate with the quarter or commune police, the chiefs of the residential quarters� teams and the heads of the villages or hamlets where juvenile offenders reside in supervising and educating them.

4. To promptly notify the commune/ward/township People�s Committees or social organizations assigned to supervise and educate juvenile offenders of any of such offenders� law violations for appropriate measures to prevent and handle them.

5. To report on the situation of implementation of the commune/ward/township- based education measure by juvenile offenders to the commune/ward/township People�s Committees or social organizations assigned to supervise and educate them, when so requested.

6. To compile dossiers for overseeing the implementation of the commune/ward/township- based education measure by juvenile offenders.

1. A dossier for overseeing the implementation of the commune/ward/township- based education measure by a juvenile offender includes:

a/ The juvenile offender�s curriculum vitae;

b/ The excerpts of the court�s judgement and decision on the application of the commune/ward/township- based education measure;

c/ The decision on nominating persons to directly supervise and educate the juvenile offender, issued by the president of the commune/ward/township People�s Committee or the head of the social organization assigned with the supervision and education responsibility.

d/ The written commitment of the juvenile offender and his/her family on the management and education of him/her;

e/ The report of the person directly supervising and educating the juvenile offender on the situation of implementation of the commune/ward/township- based education measure by such offender;

f/ The juvenile offender�s self-criticism report on the fulfillment of his/her commitments;

g/ The court�s decision to terminate the application of the commune/ward/township- based education measure ahead of time or the certificate of completion of the commune/ward/township- based education duration, issued by the commune/ward/township People�s Committee or social organization assigned to supervise and educate the juvenile offender;

h/ Other documents related to the supervision and education of the juvenile offender;

2. When the juvenile offender has fully served his/her commune/ward/township- based education term, the person directly supervising and educating him/her shall have to transfer the dossier stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article to the commune/ward/township People�s Committee or social organization assigned to supervise and educate such offender for management.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 12.- Any person violating the provisions of this Decree shall, depending on the seriousness of his/her violation, be disciplined, administratively sanctioned or examined for penal liability as prescribed by law.

Article 13.- This Decree takes effect 15 days after its signing.

Article 14.- The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the agencies attached to the Government, the presidents of the People�s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities shall have to implement this Decree.

On behalf of the Government
Prime Minister
PHAN VAN KHAI