Procedures for executing the decisions to transfer inmates serving prison sentences back to Vietnam

Procedures for executing the decisions to transfer inmates serving prison sentences back to Vietnam (Illustrative image)

Article 34 of Decree 133/2020/ND-CP stipulates the procedures for executing the decisions to transfer inmates serving prison sentences back to Vietnam as follows:

1. Organizing the escort of the transferred person

- The warden of the prison where the transferred person is serving their sentence shall be responsible for organizing the escort of the transferred person along with certified copies of the execution documents in the inmate's file with the prison's seal, health check-up records, inmate's health records (if any), an inventory report of the inmate’s papers, assets, objects, personal belongings, and money (if any) to the location and at the time agreed upon by the competent authorities of Vietnam and the receiving country for the handover procedure. The contingent includes: the warden or deputy warden as the head of the delegation; criminal enforcement and judicial support police assigned for escorting; and file staff;

- The escort of the transferred person must ensure absolute safety; ensure that the person specified in the Court's Transfer Decision is escorted to the agreed handover location and time.

2. Organizing the handover of the transferred person

- The delegation for handing over the transferred person includes: a representative from the lead agency of the Ministry of Public Security of Vietnam regarding the transfer of individuals serving prison sentences as the head of the delegation; a representative from the criminal enforcement management agency under the Ministry of Public Security; a representative from the immigration management agency under the Ministry of Public Security; a representative of the Vietnamese diplomatic mission abroad in cases where the transfer location is outside Vietnamese territory; the warden or deputy warden of the prison where the transferred person is serving their sentence; and an interpreter;

- The handover process must strictly follow legal procedures, adhere to diplomatic principles, comply with international practices, and ensure absolute safety; and hand over the correct person specified in the Court's Transfer Decision to the receiving country. The handover must be documented into minutes in 03 copies in Vietnamese, 03 copies in English, and 03 copies in the language of the receiving country; with signatures of representatives from the competent authority of the receiving country and representatives from the agencies specified in point a, clause 2 of this Article.

3. If the requesting country does not accept the transferred person within 07 days from the scheduled handover time without a legitimate reason, the lead agency of the Ministry of Public Security of Vietnam regarding the transfer of individuals serving prison sentences shall record this and promptly notify the Court that issued the transfer decision to consider canceling the transfer decision, and inform the requesting country.

4. Within 05 working days from the date of receiving the Court’s decision to cancel the transfer execution decision, the lead agency of the Ministry of Public Security of Vietnam regarding the transfer of individuals serving prison sentences shall notify the requesting country, the criminal enforcement management agency under the Ministry of Public Security, and the prison where the transferred person is serving their sentence to continue enforcing the sentence against the individual for whom the transfer decision has been canceled by the Court.

More details can be found in Decree 133/2020/ND-CP, which comes into force in Vietnam from December 25, 2020.

Le Vy

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