On 5/9, the National Assembly Standing Committee discussed a draft law amending the Law on Criminal Records. The draft law states that there are two types of criminal record excerpts: number 1 and number 2, both issued to individuals.
Excerpt number 2 is provided upon an individual's request solely for them to be aware of their own criminal record. Its use requires the consent of the individual, in accordance with personal data protection laws.
While agreeing with this policy, National Assembly Vice Chairman Nguyen Khac Dinh proposed adding a principled regulation outlining the specific cases where excerpt number 2 can be requested. He also emphasized the need for the draft law to strictly prohibit agencies and organizations from requiring citizens to provide this excerpt unnecessarily.
He believes this law should end the misuse of criminal record checks and align with personal data protection regulations.
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National Assembly Vice Chairman Nguyen Khac Dinh. Photo: Pham Thang |
National Assembly Vice Chairman Nguyen Khac Dinh. Photo: Pham Thang
National Assembly Vice Chairman Nguyen Thi Thanh agreed that agencies and organizations should only have the right to request criminal record information, not the actual excerpt. However, she noted that if these entities bypass this process by requiring individuals to submit excerpt number 2 for administrative procedures, the misuse will likely continue.
She proposed clearer regulations stating that agencies and organizations should not require individuals to submit excerpt number 2, unless otherwise specified by law.
National Assembly Vice Chairman Vu Hong Thanh pointed out that excerpt number 2 contains comprehensive personal information, including expunged records. Requiring this excerpt for job applications could lead to discrimination and infringe on citizens' rights, especially for those with expunged records.
He suggested an automatic update mechanism for expunged records on excerpt number 2 once the competent authority has cleared them.
Regarding administrative procedures, he supported the Inspectorate's view that the government should have the flexibility to regulate the details, focusing on reducing time and procedures, rather than including them in the law.
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Deputy Minister of Public Security Nguyen Van Long. Photo: Pham Thang |
Deputy Minister of Public Security Nguyen Van Long. Photo: Pham Thang
Addressing the automatic update of expunged records, Deputy Minister of Public Security Nguyen Van Long stated that the Ministry of Public Security is working towards this. The government is developing a shared platform for the entire political system to connect Party, government, National Assembly, and Vietnam Fatherland Front agencies based on the principles of sufficiency, accuracy, relevance, and interconnectivity, from central to local levels.
However, real-time expungement updates present a significant challenge. The main obstacle relates to the database of court verdicts and decisions, which is crucial for issuing criminal records. Millions of historical verdicts and decisions pose a data cleansing challenge, as there were no prior regulations on data structure for these documents.
The Ministry of Public Security is collaborating with the court system to implement this shared platform and database. Once achieved, all information related to court verdicts and decisions will be updated in real time.
The draft law will be submitted to the National Assembly for discussion and approval in the October session.
Son Ha
