Chương III Nghị định 23/2016/NĐ-CP : Quản lý, sử dụng nghĩa trang

Chapter III

MANAGEMENT AND USE OF CEMETERIES

Article 14. General provisions on management and use of cemeteries

1. Cemeteries must be constructed according to construction planning, urban planning or provincial cemetery planning/detailed cemetery construction planning approved by the competent authority.

2. Regarding cemeteries that are being used or closed, graves must be periodically cared and maintained, cremains must be stored in columbaria, works in cemeteries must be maintained; regulations on environmental hygiene must be ensured.

3. The environmental safety distance from the cemetery fence to residential area and public works must be compliant with technical regulation on construction planning.

4. Cemetery land shall be managed and used as follows:

a) Cemetery land must be managed according to the detailed cemetery construction planning approved by the competent authority and other applicable regulations to ensure that burial land is used for the right purposes;

b) The maximum area of land used for an individual grave (excluding the area of land for road between grave lots and rows) must be compliant with regulations specified in Article 4 of this Decree.

c) Regarding the cemeteries funded by off-budget capital: the People’s Committee of the province shall prescribe the area of burial land already used for constructing technical infrastructures according to the detailed cemetery construction planning approved by the competent authority and forms of managing such area of land which will be used for dead social policy beneficiaries within the area in conformity with local natural conditions and scope and coverage of the cemetery construction project;

d) Individual graves shall be registered and transferred as follows:

- The person who is entitled to register an individual grave in advance as prescribed in Point a, Clause 5 of this Article shall not transfer the individual grave;

- The transfer of the right to use land where infrastructure is located for construction of individual grave (hereinafter referred to as “transfer of the right to use individual grave”) in the cemetery funded by off-budget capital shall be made under the contract signed between the investor representative and service user. The contract may be made separately from or jointly with the cemetery service contract. The service user who signed the contract but wishes to donate or transfer the contract to another person must remake the contract signed between the investor and the receiver or transferee in accordance with applicable regulations of law.

5. Conditions for registration before use of individual grave in the cemetery funded by state budget are as follows:

a) The persons who are entitled to register an individual grave in cemetery in advance include the person aged 70 or older, person suffering from a deadly disease prescribed by the Ministry of Health, person whose spouse is interred in the cemetery;

b) An application for advance registration of individual grave includes: application form, identity documents (ID card or family register); certificate of deadly disease treatment issued by the hospital (for the person suffering from a deadly disease); death certificate and marriage certificate (for the person whose spouse is interred in the cemetery);

c) The registration application shall be submitted at the cemetery authority within the area. The application shall be processed within 15 working days from the date on which the valid application is received. The documents specified in Point b of this Clause are copies enclosed with their originals for comparison or certified copies.

6. According to applicable regulations and local conditions, the People's Committee of the province shall issue specific regulations to be satisfied by the social policy beneficiaries within its province according to Point c, Clause 4 and provide guidelines for registration before use of individual graves in cemeteries according to Clause 5 of this Article.

Artile 15. Responsibility and rights of the investor in cemeteries

1. The investor shall only put the cemetery into operation if the following conditions are met:

a) Technical infrastructure works and works in cemeteries are constructed according to progress of the project approved by the competent authority;

b) Approved regulations on cemetery management are available;

c) Land, construction and environmental protection-related procedures are completed according to progress of the project approved by the competent authority;

d) The prices of transfer of the right to use individual grave in the cemetery funded by off-budget capital are published on mass media.

2. Regulations on cemetery management shall be made and approved as prescribed in Article 17 of this Decree.

3. Social policy beneficiaries shall be exempted from burial land levy as prescribed in Point c, Clause 4, Article 14 of this Decree. If investor has paid levy on the land reserved for social policy beneficiaries, such land levy shall be refunded or deducted from the financial obligations paid to state budget by the investor in accordance with regulations of the law on land and tax incentives shall be given.

Article 16. Preparation and retention of cemetery documents

1. Cemetery documents include the following contents:

a) Maps showing the location of dedicated areas, grave lots, grave groups and graves; maps showing the location of niches where urns are held;

b) All numbered graves in a cemetery and numbered niches where urns are held;

c) Books for monitoring burial, storage of cremains in columbaria based on time and storage of basic information of the person who is interred or has his/her cremains stored and his/her relatives.

2. Information technology is recommended to be used for management of cemetery documents.

Article 17. Regulations on cemetery management

1. Cemetery must have management regulations.

2. Regulations on cemetery management contain the following basic contents:

a) Boundaries and scope of cemeteries and dedicated areas in cemeteries;

b) Construction, renovation and maintenance of technical infrastructure works and graves in cemeteries;

c) Types of cemetery services and prices of cemetery services, prices of transfer of the right to use individual graves;

d) Burial registration and organization; storage of cremains in cemeteries;

dd) Ritual activities, visitor guidance and management of activities carried out in cemeteries;

e) Cemetery protection and environmental protection;

g) Violations and penalties;

h) Responsibilities of management authority, cemetery service users and visitors.

3. The power to approve regulations on cemetery management is as follows:

a) The properly mandated People’s Committees shall approve regulations on management of the cemeteries covered by budget within their area;

b) Organizations and individuals shall approve regulations on management of the cemeteries funded by off-budget capital. After issuance of such regulations, organizations and individuals must submit them to the properly mandated People’s Committees.

Article 18. Selection of cemetery management authority

1. The properly mandated People’s Committees shall select state-funded cemetery management authority in accordance with applicable regulations on provision of public-utility products.

2. Organizations and individuals constructing cemeteries by using off-budget capital shall directly manage, operate or hire an authority to manage cemeteries invested in themselves.

Article 19. Responsibilities of cemetery management authority

1. Manage cemeteries in accordance with regulations of law and approved regulations on cemetery management.

2. Provide sufficient human resources, technical and personal protective equipment necessary for interment in cemeteries to ensure environment and occupational safety requirements. Workers must sign employment contract and pay social insurance premiums.

3. Prepare and retain cemetery documents, provide cemetery services for users, ensure service quality and provide information for organizations and individuals upon request in accordance with regulations of law.

4. Treat waste water in cemeteries to ensure fulfillment of environmental standards, sign a contract with the solid waste collection, transport and treatment authority or treat solid wastes generated from cemeteries itself in accordance with regulations of the law on waste management.

5. Submit annual report on management and use of cemeteries to the regulatory authority charged with cemetery management that is properly mandated by the People's Committee of the province.