Who are the suspects? Regulations on filing of charges against suspects in Vietnam

Who are the suspects? Regulations on filing of charges against suspects in Vietnam (Source: Internet)

1. Who are the suspects?

According to Clause 1, Article 60 of Vietnam's Criminal Procedure Code 2015,  Suspects are physical persons or juridical persons facing criminal charges. The rights and duties of juridical persons as suspects are executed by their legal representatives according to the Law.

2. Rights and obligations of the suspects

The rights and obligations of the accused are specified in Clauses 2 and 3, Article 60 of Vietnam's Criminal Procedure Code 2015 as follows:

* Suspects are entitled to:

- Be informed of reasons for charges against them;

- Be informed or explained about their rights and duties as per this Article;

- Acquire decisions on charges against suspects and amendments to such decisions; written approvals of such decisions or amendments; decisions on enforcement, change or termination of preventive and coercive measures; final reports of investigation; decisions on suspension and suspension of investigations; decisions of suspension and suspension of lawsuits; charges, decisions on prosecution and other decisions on legal proceedings according to this Law;

- Give statements and opinions and bear no obligation to testify against themselves or admit to guilt;

- Present evidences, documents, items and requests;

- Confer on relevant evidences, documents and items and request authorized procedural persons to check and evaluate such;

- Requisition expert examinations, valuation; changes of authorized procedural persons, expert witnesses, valuators, interpreters and translators;

- Defend themselves or be defended;

- Read and write digital documents or copies of such regarding charges and vindication or other copies related to their defense, upon requests, after the end of investigations;

- Complain about authorized procedural persons’ decisions and actions of legal procedure.

* Suspects bear these duties:

- Be present as per subpoenas by persons given authority to institute legal proceedings. If suspects are absent due to any but not force majeure or objective obstacles, they may be delivered by force. Fugitives shall be sought;

- Comply with competent procedural authorities and persons’ decisions and requests.

3. Regulations on filing of charges against suspects

According to Article 179 of Vietnam's Criminal Procedure Code 2015, the prosecution of the accused is as follows:

- When a person or juridical person is found on sufficient evidences to commit an act defined by the Criminal Code as a crime, investigation authorities shall decide to file charges against suspects.

- A decision to charge a suspect shall specify time and location for the issuance of such decision; full name and position of the issuer; date of birth, nationality, ethnicity, religion, gender, residential place, occupation of the suspect; crimes against which the suspect is charged, Articles and Sections quoted from the Criminal Code; time, location and other facts of the crimes.

If the suspect is charged against multiple crimes, the decision to charge must specify each crime and Articles and relevant Sections quoted from the Criminal Code.

- Investigation authorities, in 24 hours upon their decision to charge suspects, must send such decision and relevant documents on charges against suspects to the equivalent Procuracy for approval. The procuracy, in 03 days upon receiving a decision to charge suspects, shall approve or annul such decision or request additional evidences and documents that support its approval and respond to the investigation authority in prompt manner.

If the Procuracy requests further documents and documents, it shall, in 03 days upon receiving such additional evidences and documents, approve or annul the decision to charge suspects.

- The procuracy, upon the exposure of a perpetrator committing uncharged acts defined as crimes by the Criminal Code, shall request investigation authorities to file charges against the suspect or, if investigation authorities do not respond to such request, shall directly press charges. The procuracy, in 24 hours upon issuing a decision to charge a suspect, must send such decision to investigation authorities for investigation.

The procuracy, when acquiring investigative documents and findings and uncovering other perpetrators of uncharged acts defined as crimes in the Criminal Code, shall press charges against such suspects and return documents to investigation authorities for further investigation.

5. Investigation authorities, upon receiving the Procuracy's decision to charge or approval of their decisions to charge the suspects, must promptly deliver such decision(s) and explain the suspects' rights and duties.

Investigation authorities, upon receiving the approval of their decisions to charge suspects, must take photographs and make identity records of accused persons for the case file.

The delivery of the said decisions shall be executed in writing as per Article 133 of Vietnam's Criminal Procedure Code 2015.

4. Regulations on suspect interrogation

According to Article 183 of Vietnam's Criminal Procedure Code 2015, the suspect interrogation is as follows:

- Investigators, upon the issuance of a decision to charge a suspect, shall interrogate suspects. A suspect may be interrogated at the investigated scenes or at suspects' place of residence.

Investigators, before interrogating a suspect, must inform procurators and defense counsels of the time and location for interrogation. Procurators, if necessary, shall participate in the suspect interrogation.

- Investigators, before conducting the first session of interrogation, must explain to the suspect his rights and duties as defined in Section 2. Such activities shall be recorded in writing.

If there are several suspects, they shall be separately interrogated and prevented from interacting with each other. A suspect may be permitted to write his statements.

- Suspect interrogation does not occur at night, unless otherwise indispensable. Reasons must be clarified in the written record.

- Procurators interrogate suspects, who claim innocence or complain of investigative activities, or in the presence of grounds showing investigative activities' non-compliance with laws or in other events deemed necessary. Procurators’ suspect interrogation shall be governed in accordance with the law.

- Investigators, investigation officers, procurators and checkers extorting statements and torturing suspects shall incur criminal liabilities as per the Criminal Code.

- Suspect interrogation at a detention facility or the office of investigation authorities or units assigned to investigate shall be recorded by sound or sound-and-visual means.

Suspect interrogation at various places shall be recorded by sound or sound-and-visual means at the requests for the suspect or competent procedural authorities and persons.

Quoc Dat

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