Circular No. 2795/HC-TP stipulates certain specific points regarding forensic medical examination work.

CIRCULAR

JOINT MINISTRY OF HEALTH-LAW DECREE NO. 2795/HC-TP ON DECEMBER 12, 1956 REGULATING CERTAIN SPECIFIC POINTS IN THE WORK OF FORENSIC MEDICAL EXAMINATION
REGARDING THE FORENSIC MEDICAL EXAMINATION WORK

Respectfully submitted to: - Administrative Committees of regions, cities, and provinces,

- People's Courts of regions, cities, and provinces,

- Health Departments and Health Bureaus,

Up until now, the coordination between health agencies and the Public Security and Courts in forensic medical examination work has yielded good results, helping investigative agencies uncover several criminal cases.

However, there are still shortcomings and difficulties...

In order to address this situation, the joint ministries consider it necessary to regulate certain specific points in forensic medical examination work as follows:

I. SITUATIONS REQUIRING FORENSIC MEDICAL EXAMINATION

Generally, a forensic medical examination should be requested when the expertise of a forensic medical specialist is needed to assist the police and courts in assessing situations where there is suspicion of a crime or determining the responsibility of the perpetrator for sentencing and punishment accurately. Such situations include the following:

a- When someone dies with unclear cause, suspected of being a homicide.

b- Women suspected of being raped or having had an abortion;

c- Criminal suspects suspected of having mental illness;

d- Workers who have become disabled due to workplace accidents;

e- Individuals injured from assault, etc.

II. AUTHORITIES WITH AUTHORITY TO REQUEST FORENSIC MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS
The following officials have the authority to request forensic medical examinations:

a- Prosecutors, Deputy Prosecutors, Chief Judges, and Deputy Chief Judges of Provincial People's Courts, First Instance Courts, Second Instance Courts in regions, or city courts.

b- Chiefs and Deputy Chiefs of Public Security Bureaus in provinces, Directors and Deputy Directors, Chiefs and Deputy Chiefs of Political Protection Departments, and Chiefs and Deputy Chiefs of Administrative Order Departments in Public Security Departments.

c- Chiefs and Deputy Chiefs of Military Justice Departments, and Chiefs and Deputy Chiefs of Military Justice Bureaus.

c- The Chief and Deputy Chief of the Military Justice Department, the Chief and Deputy Chief of the Military Justice Bureau.

III. SELECTION OF FORENSIC EXAMINERS

To ensure professionalism, medical staff responsible for forensic medical examinations must be doctors of medicine, and under current conditions, medical assistants may also be selected, but these assistants must be trained in forensic medicine.

The number of medical staff responsible for forensic medical examinations shall be listed annually for each locality as follows:

At the end of the accounting period, determine the difference between the sales volume of foreign exchange sold ( AT Hanoi and Haiphong cities from 3 to 5.

b- AT Provinces and cities such as Nam Dinh from 2 to 3.

AT Regions do not need to establish a list of forensic examiners for the region. When needed, they will request forensic examiners from the list of the province where the crime occurred or from any other province within the region.

The list of forensic examiners for the province shall be proposed by the provincial People's Court after consulting with the Health Bureau and approved by the People's Court of the region. For cities and areas directly led by the Central Government, the list of forensic examiners shall be proposed by the People's Court of those cities and areas after consulting with the relevant health department and approved by the Ministry of Justice.

Medical staff selected to serve as forensic examiners in a locality shall form a Forensic Medical Examination Board with assigned responsibilities so that whenever they are requested, they can immediately carry out their duties.

On the other hand, the collective working style in the Forensic Medical Examination Board helps forensic examiners to make more accurate judgments in complex and difficult cases.

In addition to the doctors and medical assistants already appointed to the list of forensic examiners, the investigative agency has the right to request other doctors and medical assistants in urgent cases.

Doctors and medical assistants who are requested to serve as forensic examiners but fail to fulfill their duties will be dealt with according to Article 5 of Decree No. 162/SL dated August 25, 1946, and Article 12 of Decree No. 68/SL dated November 30, 1945.

IV. ATTITUDE TOWARDS FORENSIC MEDICAL EXAMINATION WORK

Forensic examiners and investigative agencies must have the correct attitude towards forensic medical examination work. From the perspective of forensic examiners, it involves contributing their professional knowledge to the investigation and discovery of criminal cases to protect public order and security, suppress criminals, thus recognizing their primary responsibility and adopting a proactive and active attitude within their scope of responsibility, without indifference. Instead, close cooperation with investigative agencies during the autopsy process ensures better results.

Investigative agencies must also have the correct attitude towards forensic medical examination work, avoiding dependence on forensic examiners or making demands beyond their capabilities. Based on scientific knowledge, forensic examiners provide objective phenomena as clues for investigations. Therefore, investigative agencies need to closely cooperate with forensic examiners to inform them about the events that occurred and the background of the person being examined. This way, the autopsy proceeds correctly and fulfills the requirements of the investigation. Of course, investigative agencies do not need to disclose all investigation results, especially points that need to be kept confidential, as disclosing them would hinder the discovery of criminal acts, which would not benefit the autopsy even if known by the forensic examiner.

V. PROCEDURES FOR CONDUCTING FORENSIC MEDICAL EXAMINATION WORK

a- Each time a forensic examination is requested, the competent authority sends a "forensic examination request letter" to the medical staff responsible for the Forensic Medical Examination Board, who then assigns forensic examiners based on the nature of the case and the division of labor within the board.

However, in places where it is possible to pre-assign forensic examiners, the Forensic Medical Examination Board informs the competent authority so that when needed, a specific doctor can be named to conduct the examination quickly.

b- The request letter clearly states:

- Name, age, and place of residence of the person to be examined.

- A brief description of the incident.

- Specific points of doubt requiring examination.

- If a preliminary examination has been conducted, the preliminary examination record is attached.

- If a mobile examination is required, the location is specified. Investigative staff will accompany the forensic examiner and witness the examination.

c- Forensic examiners have the right to use all examination methods (such as autopsy, taking samples for analysis, etc.) to meet the requirements of the examination.

d- If it is necessary to send a part of the corpse to the Institute of Microbiology for analysis to find toxins, the forensic examiner must be responsible for sending it and monitoring to ensure timely conclusions for the investigating authority. When sealing, the forensic examiner and the investigating officer must also witness. In cases where it is necessary for someone to bring items for testing to the Institute of Microbiology, the local health authority shall request assistance from the Administrative Committee.

e- After completing the examination, the forensic examiner shall prepare a written report. The content and conclusion of the report must be concise and comprehensive so that people outside the medical field can understand and accurately address the points of doubt raised by the investigating authority.

Besides the points of doubt raised by the investigating authority, the forensic examiner may discover additional points.

g- The forensic examiner must keep confidential the results of the examination and the information provided by the investigating authority.

h- The court may invite the forensic examiner to present the findings of the examination at the trial.

VI. FEES FOR FORENSIC EXAMINERS

The fees paid to forensic examiners will be stipulated in another decree of the Ministry of Health - Ministry of Finance - Ministry of Justice.