Considering Conditional Early Release in 3 Phases/Year

To be specific, consideration shall be given to granting conditional early release to inmates sentenced to imprisonment during three intervals in the year, specifically on the following occasions:

- Liberation Day of Southern Vietnam and National Reunification (April 30);- National Day (September 2);- Lunar New Year.Prisons and detention centers under the Ministry of Defense may conduct consideration of conditional early release on the occasion of Vietnam People's Army Foundation Day and All People's National Defense Day (December 22) as a replacement for the Lunar New Year.

Documentation required for a petition for conditional early release

| No. | Document composition || --- | --- ||

1.  

| Petition for conditional early release by the inmate. Accompanied by a commitment not to violate the law and obligations that must be complied with upon conditional early release. ||

2.  

| Copy of the legally effective judgment; enforcement of sentence (EO) decision. ||

3.  

| Copy of the decision to reduce the serving term of imprisonment for those convicted of serious crimes or more. ||

4.  

| Documents and evidence showing completion of additional penalties such as fines, court fees, and civil obligations. ||

5.  

| Documents regarding the inmate’s personal and family circumstances. ||

6.  

| Results of the quarterly, bi-annual, and annual assessment of the inmate’s compliance with imprisonment; commendation decisions or certificates from competent authorities proving the inmate's meritorious actions (if any). ||

7.  

| Petition for conditional early release by the documenting authority. ||

8.  

| Documents proving significant progress and good rehabilitation awareness, specifically a decision or a copy of a decision rating the inmate's compliance with imprisonment as fair or better.

• Lifelong inmates whose sentences have been reduced to term sentences must have a decision rating their compliance with imprisonment as fair or better for at least the 20 consecutive quarters leading up to the time of consideration for conditional early release, along with documents reflecting subsequent good rehabilitation performance.
• Inmates sentenced to more than 20 to 30 years must have a decision rating their compliance with imprisonment as fair or better for at least 16 consecutive quarters...
• Inmates sentenced to more than 15 to 20 years must have a decision rating their compliance with imprisonment as fair or better for at least 12 consecutive quarters...
• Inmates sentenced to more than 10 to 15 years must have a decision rating their compliance with imprisonment as fair or better for at least 8 consecutive quarters...
• Inmates sentenced to more than 5 to 10 years must have a decision rating their compliance with imprisonment as fair or better for at least 6 consecutive quarters...
• Inmates sentenced to more than 3 to 5 years must have a decision rating their compliance with imprisonment as fair or better for at least 4 consecutive quarters...
• Inmates sentenced to more than 2 to 3 years must have a decision rating their compliance with imprisonment as fair or better for at least 2 consecutive quarters...
• Inmates sentenced to up to 2 years must have a decision rating their compliance with imprisonment as fair or better for at least 1 quarter leading up to the time of consideration for conditional early release, along with documents reflecting subsequent good rehabilitation performance.

The subsequent period is calculated from the 26th day of the last month of the quarterly assessment (Quarter I: February 25, Quarter II: May 25, Quarter III: August 25, Quarter IV: November 25) to the meeting date of the conditional early release consideration council at the prison or detention center, and the meeting date of the conditional early release consideration panel of the district-level Criminal Enforcement Police Agency. ||

9.  

| Decision to reduce the serving term of imprisonment for those convicted of serious crimes, very serious crimes, or especially serious crimes. ||

10.  

| Documents proving the completion of additional penalties such as fines, court fees, and civil restitution obligations, or the court's decision to waive fines and court fees; agreements from the victim or the victim's legal representative regarding the waiver of civil obligations as per the judgment, validated by the communal People's Committee where the convict resides or the civil enforcement agency handling the case; decision to suspend enforcement by the Head of the competent civil enforcement agency under the laws on civil enforcement. ||

11.  

| Documents determining the actual period of imprisonment served. Specifically, this includes the legally effective court judgment, enforcement of sentence decision.


   The actual period of imprisonment served is the time the individual was held in custody, detention, or served imprisonment terms in detention facilities, or the time the individual was mandatorily treated in medical facilities during the investigation, prosecution, and trial process, excluding the time on bail, postponed, temporarily suspended sentences, and the served term reduction period. ||

12.  

| In cases where the convict is a person with merits toward the revolution or a relative of such a person, someone aged 70 or older, a person with severe or particularly severe disability, a woman raising a child under 36 months old, or a person serving a sentence under 18 years old, one must provide one of the following proving documents:

• Documents proving that the convict is a person with merits toward the revolution or a relative of such a person under legal regulations on preferential treatment toward people with merits toward the revolution. In cases where the relative is a person with merits, a certificate or copy of documents proving the relative's merits issued by the commune-level People's Committee where the convict resides or the unit where the relative has worked, studied must be provided. In cases where the convict is the legal foster child, mother, or father of a person with merits, there must be a decision from the competent authority made before the convict committed the crime.
• Copy of birth certificate or excerpt from the judgment determining that the person serving imprisonment is under 18 years old or is aged 70 or older.
• Copy of birth certificate or delivery certificate of the convict’s child under 36 months old.
• Certificate confirming that the convict is a person with severe or particularly severe disability issued by the Disability Assessment Council or medical examination conclusion from the Medical Examination Council.

If these details are stated in the judgment, additional documents are not required.

Reduction of the probation period

Conditions:

- Having served at least half of the probation period;- Showing significant progress as shown by strict compliance with the obligations of the conditionally released individual during the probation period; actively working, studying, and correcting mistakes;- Written proposal for probation period reduction from the communal People's Committee or the military unit responsible for management and education.

Time of implementation:

Implemented three times annually, on the following occasions:

- Liberation Day of Southern Vietnam and National Reunification (April 30);- National Day (September 2); and;- Lunar New Year. The People's Army may conduct the consideration for probation period reduction on the occasion of the Vietnam People's Army Foundation Day and All People's National Defense Day (December 22) instead of the Lunar New Year.

Reduction level:

- A person granted conditional early release once a year can have their probation period reduced by 1 to 3 months;- For a person granted conditional early release under 18 years old or showing significant merit or suffering from a terminal illness, the probation period reduction for each instance can be higher, but not exceeding 1.5 times the aforementioned period;- For a person who has been conditionally granted early release and then violates conditions requiring the return to a detention facility to continue serving the sentence, the remaining time of the prison sentence shall be subtracted by the already reduced probation period.

See the full text Draft Inter-ministerial Circular

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