In which cases should mandatory disease treatment be enforced? What are the regulations on a decision to terminate the enforcement of mandatory disease treatment in Vietnam?
- In which cases should mandatory disease treatment be enforced?
- What are the regulations on the authority to enforce mandatory disease treatment in Vietnam?
- When does the person subject to mandatory disease treatment have a decision to terminate the enforcement of mandatory disease treatment in Vietnam?
In which cases should mandatory disease treatment be enforced?
According to the provisions of Article 49 of the 2015 Criminal Code of Vietnam on mandatory disease treatment for the following cases:
- A person who commits an act dangerous to society while suffering from a disease specified in Article 21 hereof, the Procuracy or Court, according to the forensic examination conclusion or mental forensic examination, shall decide to send him/her to a specialized medical facility for mandatory treatment.
- If a person has criminal capacity when committing the crime but loses his/her awareness or control of his/her acts before conviction, according to the forensic examination conclusion or mental forensic examination, the Court may decide to send him/her to a specialized medical facility for mandatory treatment. After the disease is treated, that person might bear criminal responsibility.
- If a person serving an imprisonment sentence suffers from a disease that causes him/her to lose his/her awareness or control of his/her acts, according to the forensic examination conclusion or mental forensic examination, the Court may decide to send him/her to a specialized medical facility for mandatory treatment. After the disease is treated, that person shall keep serving the sentence if there are no reasons to do otherwise.
The duration of mandatory treatment shall be deducted from the imprisonment duration.
Thus, the 2015 Criminal Code of Vietnam does not stipulate the time limit for applying the mandatory disease treatment, so the time of mandatory disease treatment is not limited, people admitted to specialized medical facilities will be treated until the disease is treated.
At the same time, the determination of whether the offender has recovered from the disease or not must be based on the conclusions of forensic examination and forensic psychiatric assessment of the competent assessment council.
In which cases should mandatory disease treatment be enforced? What are the regulations on a decision to terminate the enforcement of mandatory disease treatment in Vietnam?
What are the regulations on the authority to enforce mandatory disease treatment in Vietnam?
According to the provisions of Article 447 of the 2015 Criminal Procedure Code of Vietnam on the circumstances and authority to enforce mandatory disease treatment specifically as follows:
Circumstances and authority to enforce mandatory disease treatment
1. Investigation authorities, procuracies and courts, as per the progress of legal proceedings, shall requisition forensic psychiatric assessment on the grounds that the perpetrators of acts dangerous to society do not have criminal capacity as per Article 21 of the Cirminal Law.
2. The procuracy shall rely on the findings of the forensic psychiatric assessment to make decisions on the enforcement of mandatory disease treatment during the stage of investigation and prosecution. Similar decisions during the stage of adjudication and sentence enforcement shall fall into the authority of the Court.
Specifically, the authority to enforce mandatory disease treatment shall be implemented as follows:
The procuracy shall rely on the findings of the forensic psychiatric assessment to make decisions on the enforcement of mandatory disease treatment during the stage of investigation and prosecution as prescribed in Articles 449 and 450 of the 2015 Criminal Procedure Code of Vietnam:
- Stage of investigation:
+ When the forensic psychiatric assessment, as requisitioned by investigation authorities, finds the suspect mentally ill or deprived of sense of awareness or ability to control actions due to other diseases, investigation authorities shall propose in writing mandatory disease treatment with findings of the assessment to the equivalent Procuracy for approval.
+ In 03 days upon the receipt of the written proposition from investigation authorities and findings of the assessment, the Procuracy shall decide to enforce medical treatments against the suspect or request the investigation authorities to requisition further or repeated assessments if considering existing grounds insufficient.
In addition, if the Procuracy decides to enforce mandatory disease treatment, the investigation authorities must decide to suspend or terminate investigative activities against the suspect.
- Stage of prosecution:
+ After receiving the case file and investigative findings, the Procuracy, if finding grounds of the suspect’s possession of no criminal capacity, shall requisition a forensic psychiatric assessment.
The procuracy shall consider the findings of the assessment to make one of these decisions: Suspend the case and enforce mandatory disease treatment; or dismiss the case and enforce mandatory disease treatment;
The court decides to enforce mandatory disease treatment during the trial and judgment execution stages as prescribed in Articles 451 and 452 of the 2015 Criminal Procedure Code of Vietnam:
- The court, after accepting the case and grasping grounds that the suspect or defendant does not possess criminal capacity, shall requisition forensic psychiatric assessment.
- The court shall consider the findings of the assessment and make one of these decisions:
+ Suspend or dismiss the case and enforce mandatory disease treatment;
+ Return case files for repeated or further investigation;
+ Grant exemption of criminal liabilities or penalties, and enforce mandatory disease treatment;
+ Try the case.
The prison, detention center or criminal sentence enforcement unit of the provincial Police office shall propose the provincial People’s Court or military Court of the military zone, at the place of a prisoner's imprisonment, to requisition forensic psychiatric assessment on the grounds that such prisoner allegedly succumbs to mental illness or other diseases bereaving him of abilities of perception or action control.
- The president of the provincial People’s Court or military Court of the military zone, at the place of the prisoner’s imprisonment, shall consider the findings of the forensic psychiatric assessment and decide to suspend the execution of the jail sentence and enforce mandatory disease treatment.
The said person, when cured, shall continue serving time if it is unjustifiable to excuse the jail sentence.
When does the person subject to mandatory disease treatment have a decision to terminate the enforcement of mandatory disease treatment in Vietnam?
According to the provisions of Article 454 of the 2015 Criminal Procedure Code of Vietnam on the termination of mandatory disease treatment as follows:
- Mandatory disease treatment shall transpire at a mandatory mental treatment facility designated by the Procuracy or Court according to the laws.
- When the head of the mandatory mental treatment facility announces the successful healing of a person forced to undergo medical treatments, the authority proposing such treatments or the Procuracy or Court enforcing the treatments shall requisition a forensic psychiatric assessment of the conditions of the said person.
The procuracy or court shall consider the assessment's findings on the treated person and decide to terminate mandatory disease treatment.
- The authority proposing mandatory disease treatment or the Procuracy or Court must promptly send the decision to terminate treatments to the treatment facility and the representative of the person forced to receive treatments.
- Legal proceedings and sentences suspended can only be resumed according to this Law.
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