Joint Circular No. 04-TTLN on reducing the term of imprisonment

CIRCULAR

JOINT CIRCULAR OF THE SUPREME PEOPLE'S COURT - THE SUPREME PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE - THE MINISTRY OF INTERIOR - THE MINISTRY OF JUSTICE NO. 04/89/TTLN ON AUGUST 15, 1989 REGARDING THE REDUCTION OF THE PERIOD OF ENFORCEMENT OF PRISON SENTENCES
To implement the provisions of the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code regarding the reduction of the period of enforcement of prison sentences, the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office, the Ministry of Interior, and the Ministry of Justice provide guidance as follows:
I. AUTHORITY TO DECIDE ON THE REDUCTION OF THE PERIOD OF ENFORCEMENT OF PRISON SENTENCES¹

According to Clause 1, Article 238 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the authority to decide on the reduction of the period of enforcement of prison sentences is the People's Court at provincial level and Military Court at military zone level where the convicted person is serving their sentence; therefore, from January 1, 1989 onwards, the Criminal Division of the Supreme People's Court and the High Military Court no longer have the authority to review requests for the reduction of the period of enforcement of prison sentences under Articles 49 and 51 of the Criminal Code, but all such work now falls under the jurisdiction of the People's Courts at provincial level and Military Courts at military zone level.

II. PROCEDURE FOR REVIEWING REQUESTS FOR THE REDUCTION OF THE PERIOD OF ENFORCEMENT OF PRISON SENTENCES

The specific procedure for reviewing requests for the reduction of the period of enforcement of prison sentences is as follows:

1. The prison responsible for managing and reforming offenders, referred to as the correctional facility, managed by the provincial police (including cases where the correctional facility managed by this provincial police is located in other provinces, such as some correctional facilities under the management of the police of Hanoi City or Ho Chi Minh City), shall prepare a file requesting the reduction of the period of enforcement of the prison sentence for the persons under its management and reform responsibilities, then transfer that file for examination by the provincial police. For those serving sentences in correctional facilities managed by the military zone, the correctional facility shall prepare the file and transfer it to the management agency of the correctional facility in the military zone for examination. For those serving sentences in correctional facilities directly managed by the Ministry of Interior, the correctional facility shall prepare the file and transfer it to the Ministry of Interior for examination.

For those serving sentences in correctional facilities directly managed by the Ministry of National Defense, the correctional facility shall prepare the file and transfer it to the management agency of the correctional facilities of the Ministry of National Defense for examination.

2. When processing the request for the reduction of the period of enforcement of the prison sentence, the correctional facility must copy the decision portion of the judgment. If the convicted person has previously been granted a reduction in the period of enforcement of the sentence, it must clearly state the number of times the reduction was granted, the time already served of the sentence, the attitude towards reform, health condition, family circumstances, and clearly specify the proposed reduction amount. In cases with reasons worthy of additional leniency, there must be a confirmation letter about these reasons (such as a certificate from the Medical Appraisal Board regarding serious illness, a certificate from the People's Committee, state agencies, or social organizations regarding meritorious deeds...).

3. The Ministry of Interior shall examine the request of the correctional facility directly managed by the Ministry of Interior, propose its opinion, and notify that opinion to the Supreme People's Prosecutor’s Office while transferring the file to the provincial-level People's Prosecutor’s Office where the aforementioned correctional facility is located.

4. The management agency of the correctional facilities directly managed by the Ministry of National Defense shall examine the request of the correctional facility, propose its opinion, and notify that opinion to the Central Military Prosecutor’s Office while transferring the file to the Military Prosecutor’s Office at the military zone where the aforementioned correctional facility is located.

5. The provincial police or the management agency of the military correctional facility in the military zone shall examine the request of the correctional facility managed by the provincial police or the military zone, propose its opinion, and transfer the file to the provincial People's Prosecutor’s Office or the Military Prosecutor’s Office at the same level.

6. The provincial-level People's Prosecutor’s Office shall study the file transferred from the provincial police or the file transferred from the Ministry of Interior, propose its opinion, and transfer the file to the Military Prosecutor’s Office at the military zone to study the file transferred from the management agency of the military correctional facility in the military zone or the file transferred from the management agency of the correctional facilities directly managed by the Ministry of National Defense, propose its opinion, and transfer the file to the Military Court at the military zone.

7. The People's Court at provincial level or the Military Court at the military zone shall review the reduction of the period of enforcement of the prison sentence by a panel consisting of three judges, with the participation of a representative of the People's Prosecutor’s Office at the same level as a prosecutor.

8. The panel reviewing the reduction of the period of enforcement of the prison sentence shall convene at the court premises, but may also go to the correctional facility to conduct the review, and if necessary, may meet with the convicted person at the correctional facility.

9. In accordance with the spirit of Clause 3, Article 238 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the review of the reduction of the period of enforcement of the prison sentence shall proceed as follows: One member of the panel presents the file of the correctional facility requesting the reduction of the period of enforcement of the prison sentence for the convicted person, and the opinions of the police agencies or the management agencies of the military correctional facilities regarding the request of the correctional facility.

Subsequently, the prosecutor representing the provincial-level People's Prosecutor’s Office or the Military Prosecutor’s Office at the military zone shall express their opinion on the request of the correctional facility, on the opinions of the provincial police agencies or the management agencies of the military correctional facilities, and propose their own opinion.

After hearing the opinion of the representative of the People's Prosecutor’s Office, the panel shall discuss and decide whether to accept the entire or part of the request for the reduction of the period of enforcement of the prison sentence for the convicted person or not to accept the request.

10. The decision of the court on the review of the reduction of the period of enforcement of the prison sentence can be appealed by the People's Prosecutor’s Office at the same level or the higher-level People's Prosecutor’s Office through the appellate procedure within seven days from the date the court makes a decision to accept or reject the request for the reduction of the period of enforcement of the prison sentence. Within seven days from the end of the appeal period, the court that conducted the review of the reduction of the period of enforcement of the prison sentence must transfer the file of the review of the reduction of the period of enforcement of the prison sentence together with the appeal to the corresponding appellate court, which are the Appellate Courts of the Supreme People's Court or the High Military Court.

After hearing the opinions of the representative of the Office of the Prosecutor, the Council discusses and decides whether to accept the entire or part of the request for reduction of the term of imprisonment or not to accept such request.

10. The Court's decision on reducing the term of imprisonment may be subject to protest by the same-level Office of the Prosecutor or the higher-level Office of the Prosecutor through appellate procedure within seven days from the date the Court issues its decision accepting or rejecting the request for reduction of the term of imprisonment. Within seven days from the expiration of the protest period, the Court that has conducted the examination of the reduction of the term of imprisonment must transfer the file of the examination of the reduction of the term of imprisonment together with the protest to the corresponding appellate court, which are the Appellate Courts of the Supreme People's Court or the High Military Court.

11. The appellate review of decisions of the Court regarding the reduction of the term of imprisonment shall be conducted in accordance with Article 225 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

The appellate court has the authority to:

- Amend the decision of the first-instance court in favor of the convicted person.

- Amend the decision of the first-instance court against the interests of the convicted person, if there is a protest in that direction.

- Uphold the decision of the first-instance court.

- Revoke the decision of the first-instance court and reject the request for reduction of the term of imprisonment.

12. Decisions that have become legally binding on accepting or rejecting requests for reduction of the term of imprisonment may be protested and reviewed according to the cassation or revision procedures provided for in Chapters XXIX and XXX of the Criminal Procedure Code if errors are discovered.

13. In order to enhance the educational aspect and encourage determination in rehabilitation, correctional facilities must widely publicize the Court's decisions on the reduction of the term of imprisonment so that all inmates of the correctional facility are informed.

III. Conditions and Levels of Reduction of the Term of Imprisonment

1. Conditions for Eligibility: A person serving a prison sentence who meets both of the following conditions shall be eligible for consideration for reduction:

a) Has served one-third (one part out of three) of the sentence. If sentenced to life imprisonment, has served ten years.

b) "Demonstrates determination to reform," which is reflected in the following aspects:

- Showing sincere remorse.

- Actively working and studying.

- Strictly adhering to the rules and regulations of the correctional facility.

Generally speaking, for those who commit particularly dangerous crimes endangering national security, recidivists, professional criminals, violent ruffians, and murderers in especially serious cases (such as murder for robbery, multiple murders...), the consideration for reduction of the term of imprisonment must be very strict. For those who have been sentenced and have shown good rehabilitation, wider consideration can be given.

Those sentenced to less than twenty years of imprisonment may be reduced by one month to three years each time. Cases where reductions up to three years are granted must involve truly excellent rehabilitation.

- Each person may be reduced multiple times, but it must ensure that the actual time served is half of the originally imposed sentence.

- A person sentenced to life imprisonment for the first time may be reduced to twenty years, and even after multiple reductions, they must ensure that the actual time served is fifteen years.

- Generally, each person may only be considered for reduction once a year. However, if after being reduced, there are special reasons for further leniency such as significant meritorious service, serious illness, then another reduction may be considered within the same year.

3. Reduction of the Term of Imprisonment in Special Cases:

- According to Clause 1 of Article 51 of the Penal Code, for persons serving a prison sentence who have special reasons for further leniency, they may be considered for earlier reduction or higher levels of reduction compared to the time and level specified in Articles 49 and 51 of the Penal Code (as mentioned in points 1 and 2 above). Reasons for further leniency include:

- The convicted person has performed meritorious acts such as reporting crimes, assisting correctional facilities or investigative agencies in discovering crimes; having valuable innovations or improvements in production that save lives in perilous situations; saving state, collective, or citizen property during storms, floods, fires, etc.

The convicted person is excessively old or seriously ill. Excessively old means over seventy years old or over sixty years old and frequently ill. Seriously ill means suffering from diseases that are extremely dangerous to life such as severe tuberculosis, cancer, paralysis, etc.

The Penal Code does not specify clearly how much earlier and at what higher level compared to the time and level specified in Articles 49 and 51. However, at least the convicted person must have served one-quarter of the sentence; if sentenced to life imprisonment, they must have served eight years before being eligible for the first reduction. The maximum amount of reduction each time could be four years, but it must ensure that the actual time served is at least two-fifths of the original sentence. If sentenced to life imprisonment, the actual time served must be at least ten years.

4. Reduction of Prison Sentence for New Offenders: For those who have already had their sentences reduced and then commit a new serious crime, the Court will only consider further reduction after they have served two-thirds of the combined sentence of the two judgments or fifteen years if the combined sentence is life imprisonment.

5. Reduction of the Term of Imprisonment for Minors.

According to Article 66 of the Penal Code, minors who have been sentenced and show good rehabilitation may be considered for earlier reduction or higher levels of reduction compared to the time and level specified in Article 49 of the Penal Code. Therefore, if they have served one-quarter of the sentence and shown good rehabilitation, they may be considered for reduction. Each time, they may be reduced by up to four years, but it must ensure that the actual time served is at least two-fifths of the original sentence. If they perform meritorious service or suffer from a serious illness, they may be immediately considered for reduction and possibly exempted from serving the remaining sentence.

6. Reduction of the Term of Imprisonment for Military Personnel:

Military personnel who have been sentenced and show good rehabilitation may also be considered for reduction of the term of imprisonment according to Articles 49 and 51 of the Penal Code, similar to civilians as guided in the sections above. The implementation of Circular Joint No. 05/TT-LN dated December 26, 1986 of the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuracy, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Interior "on reducing the term of imprisonment or exempting from serving the sentence and terminating the execution of judicial measures."

1. When local police still manage some prisons, they must strictly follow this Circular.

- Specifically, in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the Deputy Commander of Public Security and a member of the PC 12 staff must participate as secretaries in the Review Board for Reduction of Sentences.