If a foreign court is summoned to provide evidence, does the Vietnamese litigant need to be present?

If a foreign court is summoned to provide evidence, does the Vietnamese litigant need to be present?

In Article 14 of the Agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and Spain issued together with Notice 34/2017/TB-LPQT, accordingly:

1. If the requesting Party's judicial authorities request the presence of a person in its territory to give evidence or other information, this request should be clearly stated in the request for assistance. The competent authorities of the Requested Party shall invite that person to appear at the authorities in the territory of the Requesting Party and notify the Requesting Party of the person's response as soon as possible.

2. A request to summon a person to appear before the authorities of the Requesting Party must be received by the Central Authority of the Requested Party at least ninety (90) days before the date on which the person is required to be present in the territory of the requesting Party. In urgent cases, the Requested Party may not apply this deadline.

3. The request for summons as prescribed in this Article may not be accompanied by sanctions or penalty provisions; If any, those sanctions or penalty provisions will not be effective in case the summoned person is not present.

4. In the request for mutual assistance, the authorities of the requesting Party must fully state the costs they must pay.

Thus, if the Spanish side requests the two Vietnamese litigants to return to continue the investigation, they must be present in this country's territory in accordance with regulations.

In case this country's authorities entrust the Vietnamese side to take testimony and provide evidence, the two artists must be present at the competent Vietnamese agency.

Can foreign authorities apply preventive measures to violators in Vietnam?

According to Article 3 of the Agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and Spain issued together with Notice 34/2017/TB-LPQT, as follows:

Mutual legal assistance includes:

a) location and person identification;

b) send of judicial documents;

c) collection of evidence, including taking statements;

d) execution of search and seizure warrants;

e) send of the summons to obtain the consent of the person requested to provide evidence or assist in the investigation in the Requesting Party, and in the case of that person being detained, organize the temporary transfer of that person to the requesting Party;

f) search, freeze, seize and confiscate criminal property and criminal tools and means;

g) transfer of objects including the return of objects and evidence on loan for presentation in court;

h) exchange of information on crimes and criminal proceedings in the Requested Party;

i) exchange of information on criminal records of citizens of the other Party;

j) transfer of criminal prosecution;

k) other forms of mutual assistance consistent with the purposes of this Agreement and not contrary to the law of the Requested Party.

According to this Article, Spanish authorities cannot apply preventive measures to these two litigants. In addition, if Vietnamese authorities do not make a decision to prevent them, these two people will not be subject to any preventive measures.

When can Vietnam refuse to assist foreign authorities?

Pursuant to Article 4 of the Agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and Spain issued together with Notice 34/2017/TB-LPQT, as follows:

1. The requested party will refuse assistance in the following cases:

a) if the request is not in accordance with international treaties to which the Requested Party is a member and the provisions of law of the Requested Party;

b) if the execution of the request may prejudice sovereignty, security, public order or other essential public interests;

c) if the request for assistance relates to the prosecution of a person for an offense for which that person has been convicted, acquitted, granted amnesty or amnesty in the Requested Party or for which the person cannot be prosecuted due to the expiration of the statute of limitations if the crime was committed within the jurisdiction of the Requested Party;

d) if the conduct relating to the request does not constitute a crime under the law of the Requested Party;

e) if the request relates to a crime for which the death penalty is punishable in the territory of the requesting Party but for which the crime in the territory of the requested Party is not punishable by the death penalty or is generally not applicable this penalty, unless the Requesting Party gives an undertaking to the satisfaction of the Requested Party that the death penalty will not be imposed, or if imposed, will not be carried out.

With this regulation, the Vietnamese side will be allowed to refuse assistance to foreign officials if they fall into the above cases.

Best regards!