Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Articles of the Criminal Procedure Code No. 39-LCT/HĐNN8

LAW

AMENDMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTS TO CERTAIN ARTICLES

OF THE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CODE

Pursuant to Article 83 of the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;

This Law amends and supplements some Articles of the Criminal Procedure Code adopted by the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on June 28, 1988.

Article 1. Amending and supplementing certain articles of the Criminal Procedure Code as follows:

1- In Articles 20, 28, 42, 159, 166, 174, 184, 191, 198, 203, 205, 217, 218, 249, 251, and 263, replace the phrase "legitimate rights and interests" with the phrase "rights and obligations".

2- Clause 3 of Article 29 regarding the right to request the replacement of the person conducting the proceedings shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"3. The defense counsel; the representative of the victim's rights, the plaintiff in civil proceedings, the defendant in civil proceedings".

3- Point d of Clause 1 of Article 62 concerning the arrest of suspects and defendants for temporary detention shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"d) The Head of Public Security at the district level, Deputy Head of Public Security at the district level; Heads and Deputy Heads of investigation agencies at the provincial level and above; Heads and Deputy Heads of investigation agencies at all levels within the People's Army. In this case, the arrest warrant must be approved by the Procuratorate at the same level before execution".

4- Points b and c of Clause 1 and points a and b of Clause 2 of Article 63 concerning the arrest of persons in urgent cases shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"b) When the victim or a person present at the scene of the crime sees and confirms that the person has committed the crime and it is necessary to immediately prevent their escape;

c) When there are traces of the crime on the person or at the place where the suspected perpetrator resides and it is necessary to immediately prevent their escape or destruction of evidence.

2. The following persons have the authority to issue an arrest warrant in urgent cases:

a) The Head of Public Security, Deputy Head of Public Security at the district level; Heads and Deputy Heads of investigation agencies at the provincial level and above; Heads and Deputy Heads of investigation agencies at all levels within the People's Army;

b) Commanders of independent military units at the regiment level and equivalent; Commanders of border guard posts on islands and borders;"

5- Clause 2 of Article 68 concerning temporary detention shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"2. The persons authorized to issue an arrest warrant in urgent cases as stipulated in Clause 2 of Article 63 of this Code have the authority to issue a temporary detention order".

6- Clause 2 of Article 69 concerning the duration of temporary detention shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"2. In cases of necessity, the agency issuing the temporary detention order may extend the detention period, but not exceeding three days. In exceptional cases, the agency issuing the temporary detention order may extend the detention period for a second time, also not exceeding three days. All extensions of temporary detention must be approved by the Procuratorate at the same level".

7- Clause 1 of Article 70 concerning temporary detention shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"1. Temporary detention may be applied to suspects and defendants who commit serious crimes or are charged with offenses carrying a prison sentence of more than one year under the Penal Code and there is evidence indicating that they may escape or obstruct the investigation, trial, or continue committing crimes".

8- The title and Clauses 2 and 3 of Article 93 concerning the investigative powers of Border Guard Forces, Customs, Forest Rangers, shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 93. Investigative Powers of Border Guard Forces, Customs, Forest Rangers, and other agencies of the People's Police Force, People's Security Force, and the People's Army assigned tasks to conduct certain investigative activities.

2- Within the People's Police Force, People's Security Force, and the People's Army, in addition to the investigative agencies specified in Article 92 of this Code, other agencies assigned tasks to conduct certain investigative activities while performing their duties, if they discover incidents with signs of criminal activity, have the authority to: initiate criminal cases, conduct preliminary investigative activities, and transfer case files to competent investigative agencies within seven days from the date of the decision to initiate the criminal case.

3. Specific tasks and authorities in investigative activities of Border Guard Forces, Customs, Forest Rangers, and other agencies of the People's Police Force, People's Security Force, and the People's Army assigned tasks to conduct certain investigative activities shall be prescribed by the State Council".

9- Point a of Clause 3 of Article 141 concerning the tasks and authorities of the Procuracy over investigative activities shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"a) Supervise the initiation of criminal cases, initiate criminal cases themselves, initiate charges against suspects, and transfer them to investigative agencies to request the commencement of investigations; directly conduct investigations in cases as stipulated in Clause 3 of Article 92 of this Code;"

10- Segment 2 of Clause 1 and Clause 2 of Article 142 concerning the decisions of the Procuracy after the conclusion of the investigation shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"In cases of necessity, the Procurator of the Procuracy may extend the period, but not exceeding thirty days."

"2. After receiving the case file, the Procuracy has the authority to decide on the application, change, or revocation of preventive measures. The detention period shall not exceed the period prescribed in Segment 1 of Clause 1 of this Article. In cases of necessity, the Procurator of the Procuracy may extend the period, but not exceeding thirty days."

11- Segment 2 of Clause 2 of Article 151 concerning the preparation period for trial shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"For complex cases, the Chief Judge of the Court may decide to extend the preparation period for trial, but not exceeding thirty days."

12- Article 152 concerning the application, change, or revocation of preventive measures shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"After receiving the case file, the Court has the authority to decide on the application, change, or revocation of preventive measures. The application, change, or revocation of detention for trial preparation shall be decided by the Chief Judge or Deputy Chief Judge of the Court.

The detention period for trial preparation shall not exceed the preparation period for trial prescribed in Article 151 of this Code.

For defendants who are temporarily detained and whose detention period expires on the day the trial begins, if it is deemed necessary to continue detention to complete the trial, the Court shall issue a detention order until the end of the trial session."

13- Segment 1 of Article 205 concerning those entitled to appeal shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"The defendant, the victim, and their lawful representatives have the right to appeal the first-instance judgment or decision."

Clause 1 of Article 208 regarding the appeal and protest deadlines shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"1. The appeal period is fifteen days, starting from the date of judgment announcement. For defendants and parties who were absent from the trial session, the appeal period starts from the date they receive a copy of the judgment or when it is posted publicly.

The appeal period for the same-level prosecution office is fifteen days, and for the directly superior prosecution office is thirty days, starting from the date of judgment announcement."

15- Article 215 on the time limit for appellate proceedings shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"The provincial people's court, military court at the military region level must convene the appellate hearing within a period not exceeding sixty days; the high military court, the Supreme People's Court Appellate Division must convene the appellate hearing within a period not exceeding ninety days, starting from the date of receiving the case file."

16- Clause 2 of Article 217 on persons participating in the appellate hearing shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"2. Defense counsel, representatives of the interests of the parties, appellants, and those with rights and obligations related to the appeal or protest may be summoned to participate in the hearing. If there is a justified absence, the bench may still proceed with the trial but shall not issue a judgment or decision that is disadvantageous to the defendant or the absent party; in other cases, the hearing must be postponed.

The postponement period under Clause 1 and Clause 2 of this Article or Articles 30, 31, and 33 of this Code shall not exceed thirty days, starting from the date of the decision to postpone the hearing."

17- Clause 1 of Article 232 on temporarily suspending the execution of a prison sentence shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"1. Upon the proposal of the prosecution office or the prison management board, the president of the court that issued the enforcement decision may allow a person sentenced who is not considered dangerous to temporarily suspend the execution of the prison sentence as provided for in Article 231 of this Code. The temporary suspension for retrial through supervisory review or re-trial must be decided by the person who lodged the protest or by the supervisory review or re-trial court."

18- Clause 1 of Article 238 on procedures for reducing the term or exempting from the execution of punishment shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"1. The court with jurisdiction to decide on the reduction of the term of execution of a custodial sentence is the provincial People's Court or the Military Region Military Court where the convicted person serves the sentence.

The court with authority to decide on exemption from the execution of a prison sentence or disciplinary unit punishment of the military is the provincial people's court, military court at the military region level where the convicted person resides or works.

The reduction of the term or exemption from the execution of other punishments or probation period falls within the authority of the county-level people's court, military court area where the convicted person is serving the punishment or undergoing probation."

19- Article 247 on the time limit for lodging a supervisory review protest shall be supplemented with a new Clause 3 as follows:

"3. Protests regarding civil matters in criminal cases against the civil plaintiff, civil defendant, or those with rights and obligations related to the case shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Procedure Law."

20- Article 265 on the time limit for lodging a re-trial protest shall be supplemented with a new Clause 3 as follows:

"3. Protests regarding civil matters in criminal cases against the civil plaintiff, civil defendant, or those with rights and obligations related to the case shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Procedure Law."

Article 2. Supplement some new articles as follows:

1- "Article 42a. Representative of the party's interests.

1. The victim, civil plaintiff, civil defendant, and those with rights and obligations related to the case have the right to seek legal representation from a lawyer, public defender, or another person accepted by the investigation agency, prosecution office, or court to protect their interests.

2. The representative of the party's interests may participate in the proceedings from the stage of indictment.

3. The representative of the party's interests has the right to provide evidence, make requests; access the case file, record necessary information after the completion of the investigation; attend the hearing; lodge complaints about decisions made by the investigative agencies. The representative of the victim, civil plaintiff, or civil defendant has the right to request changes to the investigative personnel, forensic experts, or interpreters according to this Code.

In cases where the party is a minor or has physical or mental disabilities, the representative of their interests has the right to be present when the investigative agency takes statements from the person they represent; has the right to appeal part of the judgment or decision of the court related to the rights and obligations of the person they represent.

4. The representative of the party's interests has the duty to use measures prescribed by law to contribute to clarifying the facts of the case; assist the party legally to protect their legitimate rights."

2- "Article 168a. Time limit for postponing the hearing.

In cases where the hearing must be postponed according to Articles 30, 31, 33, 162, 164, 165, 166, 167, and 168 of this Code, the postponement period for the first-instance hearing shall not exceed thirty days, starting from the date of the decision to postpone the hearing."

3- "Article 215a. The Appellate Court's application, change, or revocation of preventive measures.

After receiving the case file, the appellate court has the authority to decide on the application, change, or revocation of preventive measures.

The detention period shall not exceed the period stipulated in Article 215 of this Code.

For defendants who are temporarily detained and whose detention period expires on the day the trial begins, if it is deemed necessary to continue detention to complete the trial, the Court shall issue a detention order until the end of the trial session."

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This Law was adopted by the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the eighth session, seventh meeting, on June 30, 1990."