Joint Circular No. 03/2006/TTLT/VKSNDTC-TTrCP-BCA-BQP on the relationship and coordination in detecting, investigating, and handling cases with signs of criminal offenses proposed for prosecution by inspection agencies.

JOINT CIRCULAR

On the relationship and coordination in detecting, investigating, and handling cases with signs of criminal offenses proposed for prosecution by Inspection Agencies

declare a crime for which the Inspectorate recommends prosecution

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To ensure close coordination among Inspection Agencies, Investigation Agencies, and the People's Procuracy in detecting, investigating, and handling cases with signs of criminal offenses proposed for prosecution by Inspection Agencies according to the Criminal Procedure Code, the Inspection Law, the Organization Law of the People's Procuracy, the Anti-Corruption Law, and the Organization Regulation on Criminal Investigation, the Supreme People's Procuracy, the Government Inspectorate, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of National Defense hereby jointly issue the following guidelines:

1. On the scope of the coordination relationship

This Circular stipulates the coordination relationship between Inspection Agencies, Investigation Agencies, and the People's Procuracy (including those within the military) in detecting, investigating, and handling cases with signs of criminal offenses proposed for prosecution by Inspection Agencies.

2. On the coordination relationship in handling cases with signs of criminal offenses proposed for prosecution by Inspection Agencies

2.1. During the performance of inspection tasks, if an Inspection Agency discovers a case with signs of a criminal offense, it shall transfer the case file and the indictment proposal to the competent Investigation Agency for consideration of initiating a criminal case within five days from the date of discovering the signs of a criminal offense, and simultaneously notify the same-level People's Procuracy in writing.

If the case with signs of a criminal offense occurs at an agency or unit under the management of a district, province, or military unit, the indictment proposal file shall be transferred to the Investigation Agency at that level; if the case occurs at an agency or unit under the management of a ministry or the government, the indictment proposal file shall be transferred to the Criminal Police Investigation Department of the Ministry of Public Security or the Military Investigation Agency of the Ministry of National Defense. After receiving the file and the indictment proposal, if the Investigation Agency finds insufficient grounds to initiate a criminal case, it shall request the Inspection Agency to cooperate in collecting additional evidence to supplement the indictment proposal file. In the event that the Inspection Agency has supplemented additional evidence but still lacks sufficient grounds to determine signs of a criminal offense, the Investigation Agency shall issue a decision not to initiate a criminal case and return the file to the Inspection Agency for resolution within its authority. The handover of files between the Investigation Agency and the Inspection Agency shall take place at the Investigation Agency's office. If the supplementary evidence confirms the signs of a criminal offense and falls within the jurisdiction of the Inspection Agency that proposed the indictment, the Inspection Agency shall be informed. Within twenty-four hours from issuing the decision to initiate or not initiate a criminal case, the Investigation Agency must send these decisions along with related documents to the same-level People's Procuracy for supervision of the initiation of the case as provided for in Article 104 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

In cases where the violation involves complex circumstances and multiple levels and sectors, if deemed necessary, the Inspection Agency may convene a meeting of relevant sector leaders including the Inspection Agency, the Investigation Agency, and the same-level People's Procuracy to analyze and evaluate the collected evidence. If the joint sector agrees that the case clearly shows signs of a criminal offense, the Inspection Agency shall promptly establish a file and submit a proposal to the competent Investigation Agency to initiate a criminal case.

2.2. Upon completion of the inspection, if the Inspection Agency does not propose prosecution but the Investigation Agency discovers signs of a criminal offense in the inspected case, it shall issue a decision to initiate a criminal case and send this decision along with related documents to the same-level People's Procuracy for supervision of the initiation of the case. In such a case, if requested by the Investigation Agency, the Inspection Agency shall have the responsibility to provide relevant materials collected during the inspection process to assist in determining the criminal offense.

2.3. The Investigation Agency shall accept the indictment proposal file transferred by the Inspection Agency and within twenty days from receipt of the file, the Investigation Agency must issue one of the following decisions:

a) Decision to initiate a criminal case;

b) Decision not to initiate a criminal case;

c) Decision to transfer the violation case file to the competent Investigation Agency to initiate a criminal case.

In cases where the indicted criminal offense has complex circumstances or requires verification in multiple locations, the resolution period may be extended but not exceed sixty days; beyond this period, if the Inspection Agency does not receive a written notification about the resolution result from the Investigation Agency, it has the right to request the same-level People's Procuracy to review and resolve the matter. If dissatisfied with the resolution of the competent People's Procuracy, the Inspection Agency may request the higher-level People's Procuracy to direct and resolve the matter. Lower-level Investigation Agencies must comply with the business guidance of the higher-level People's Procuracy.

2.4. When the Investigation Agency receives and reviews the indictment proposal file from the Inspection Agency and finds that the criminal act does not fall within its jurisdiction, it shall coordinate with the same-level People's Procuracy before issuing a decision to transfer the file to the competent Investigation Agency to initiate a criminal case, and simultaneously notify the Inspection Agency that proposed the indictment, the People's Procuracy notified by the Inspection Agency, and the same-level People's Procuracy with the competent Investigation Agency that received the file in writing. When the competent Investigation Agency issues a decision to initiate or not initiate a criminal case, it must immediately send the decision along with related documents to the same-level People's Procuracy for supervision of the initiation of the case as provided for in Article 104 of the Criminal Procedure Code. At the same time, it must notify the Inspection Agency that proposed the indictment in writing.

2.5. Upon receiving the decision to initiate criminal proceedings or the decision not to initiate criminal proceedings from the Investigative Agency, the Prosecutor's Office shall immediately assign a Prosecutor to examine the grounds and legality of such decisions and propose in writing to the leadership of the Prosecutor's Office one of the following decisions:

a) If the decision not to initiate criminal proceedings by the Investigative Agency lacks grounds, then the Prosecutor's Office shall issue a decision to revoke that decision and issue a decision to initiate criminal proceedings, transferring it to the competent Investigative Agency for investigation in accordance with Article 109 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

b) If the decision to initiate criminal proceedings by the Investigative Agency lacks grounds, then the Prosecutor's Office shall issue a decision to revoke that decision and request the Investigative Agency to return the file to the Inspection Agency that made the recommendation for handling according to its authority.

2.6. In cases where the Investigative Agency disagrees with the decisions of the Prosecutor's Office as stipulated in points a and b of Section 2.5 of this Circular, the Investigative Agency must still comply but has the right to report to the higher-level Prosecutor's Office and report to the higher-level Investigative Agency; if it is a central-level Investigative Agency, it may report to the Chief Prosecutor of the Supreme People's Procuracy and the Chief Prosecutor of the Central Military Procuracy for consideration and decision. Within twenty days from the date of receipt of the report, if the highest-level Prosecutor's Office agrees with the report of the Investigative Agency, it shall issue a decision to revoke the decision of the lower-level Prosecutor's Office; if it does not agree, it shall notify in writing the reasons to the reporting Investigative Agency and the lower-level Prosecutor's Office. The results of the resolution by the higher-level Prosecutor's Office, the decision of the Chief Prosecutor of the Supreme People's Procuracy, and the decision of the Chief Prosecutor of the Central Military Procuracy are final decisions.

2.7. In cases where the Inspection Agency disagrees with the decision not to initiate criminal proceedings by the Investigative Agency, but the same-level Prosecutor's Office considers that the decision has grounds and therefore does not revoke it; or the Inspection Agency disagrees with the decision to revoke the decision to initiate criminal proceedings by the Prosecutor's Office, it has the right to report to the higher-level Prosecutor's Office. If it is the Government Inspectorate, it may report to the Chief Prosecutor of the Supreme People's Procuracy for consideration and decision. If it is the Defense Ministry Inspectorate, it may report to the Chief Prosecutor of the Central Military Procuracy for consideration and decision. Within twenty days from the date of receipt of the report, if the higher-level Prosecutor's Office agrees with the report of the Inspection Agency, it shall revoke the decision of the lower-level Prosecutor's Office; if it does not agree with the report of the Inspection Agency, it shall notify in writing the reasons. The results of the resolution by the higher-level Prosecutor's Office, the decision of the Chief Prosecutor of the Supreme People's Procuracy, and the decision of the Chief Prosecutor of the Central Military Procuracy are final decisions.

2.8. When the Investigative Agency has initiated a case, but during the investigation process, collecting evidence yields results different from those recorded in the Recommendation for Initiation of Criminal Proceedings by the Inspection Agency, the Investigative Agency shall request the Inspection Agency to cooperate in verifying and clarifying the objective truth of the case to handle it in accordance with the law.

3. File for Recommending Initiation of Criminal Proceedings

3.1. The person issuing the inspection decision has the authority to transfer the file and recommend the Investigative Agency to consider initiating criminal proceedings. The documents in the file for recommending initiation of criminal proceedings are primary documents; if they are photocopies, the Head of the Inspection Team must sign to confirm, stamp them as true copies, and bear legal responsibility for the file.

3.2. The file for recommending initiation of criminal proceedings includes:

a) The recommendation to the Investigative Agency to consider initiating criminal proceedings signed by the person issuing the inspection decision, clearly stating the criminal act indicated, the subject committing the violation of the law, the damage caused by the violation of the law, the time and place of the violation of the law.

b) The inspection decision, the verification record of the violation of the law by the Inspection Team, the explanation and statement of the inspected entity;

c) The report by the Head of the Inspection Team on the violations of the law by the inspected entity indicating criminal acts. In cases where the inspection has ended and the person issuing the inspection decision requests the Investigative Agency to initiate criminal proceedings, the file for recommending initiation of criminal proceedings must include the excerpt of the inspection conclusion regarding the violation of the law that the Inspection Agency recommends initiating criminal proceedings.

Along with the file for recommending initiation of criminal proceedings, the Inspection Agency must transfer all related documents, invoices, certificates, ledgers to the Investigative Agency. Any items, money, gold... directly related to the violation of the law obtained during the inspection must be managed and handled in accordance with the law.

4. Transfer and Receipt of Files for Recommending Initiation of Criminal Proceedings

When transferring the file for recommending initiation of criminal proceedings to the Investigative Agency, the Inspection Agency must prepare a detailed list of all documents and items in the file. The transfer and receipt of the file shall take place at the Investigative Agency's office and a handover record must be established, signed by both the transferring and receiving parties and their full names noted.

5. Implementation organization

The Supreme People's Procuracy, the Government Inspectorate, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of National Defense shall organize the implementation of this Circular. Each year, the Supreme People's Procuracy shall organize a meeting of leaders of the inter-sectoral Inspection, Investigative, and Prosecutorial agencies at the same level to evaluate and draw lessons from the cooperation in detecting and handling cases involving criminal acts recommended for initiation by the Inspection Agencies, while also discussing further cooperation measures.

6. Effectiveness of the Circular

This Joint Circular shall take effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette. During the implementation period, if there are difficulties or need for additional guidance, the Investigative Agency, Prosecutor's Office, and local Inspection Agencies shall reflect these issues to the Supreme People's Procuracy, the Government Inspectorate, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of National Defense for timely explanation and supplementary guidance./.