Resumption of investigation of a criminal case that has been suspended from investigation in Vietnam

Resumption of investigation of a criminal case that has been suspended from investigation in Vietnam (Internet image)

1. Regulations on resumption of investigation of criminal case in Vietnam

According to Article 235 of the Criminal Procedure Code 2015, the resumption of investigation of criminal cases in Vietnam is as follows:

- Investigation authorities, when having justifications to annul the decision to terminate or suspend investigation, shall decide to resume the investigation if the prescriptive period for criminal prosecution remains effective.

If the investigation is terminated according to Section 5 and Section 6, Article 157 of the Criminal Procedure Code 2015 without the consent of the suspect who petitions for repetition of investigation, investigation authorities or equivalent procuracies shall decide to resume the investigation.

- Investigation authorities, in 02 days upon deciding to resume the investigation, shall send such decision to the equivalent Procuracy, suspects, their defense counsels or representatives and deliver notices to the crime victims, litigants and protectors of their legitimate rights.

2. Resumption of investigation of a criminal case that has been suspended from investigation in Vietnam

According to Article 7 of Joint Circular 01/2020/TTLT-VKSNDTC-TANDTC-BCA-BQP-BNN&PTNT-BTC-BTP, periodically (monthly, 06 months, 01 year) the competent investigating agency and the Procuracy shall coordinate in reviewing, comparing, and classifying cases of temporary suspension of investigation and handling on a case-by-case basis as follows:

- For a case where there is a reason to cancel the decision to suspend the investigation and there is still a statute of limitations for criminal prosecution, the agency competent to investigate shall issue a decision to resume the investigation according to the provisions of Article 235 of the Criminal Procedure Code 2015. The decision to restore the investigation shall be made according to the form prescribed by the Minister of Public Security;

- For a case where the investigation is temporarily suspended but the statute of limitations for criminal prosecution has expired, the investigating authority shall exchange in writing with the procuracies before issuing a decision to terminate the investigation without having to issue a decision to resume the investigation;

- The determination of the statute of limitations for criminal prosecution specified in Clauses 1 and 2, Article 7 of Joint Circular 01/2020/TTLT-VKSNDTC-TANDTC-BCA-BQP-BNN&PTNT-BTC-BTP, shall be based on the provisions of Articles 27 and 28 of the Penal Code and the classification of crimes according to clauses and articles of the Penal Code stated in the decision to prosecute the case or the decision to prosecute the accused.

In case the decision to prosecute the case or the decision to prosecute the accused only states the law, not the clause, and the investigation process has not proved to be clear that the criminal act falls into the case specified in which clause of that article, the determination of the statute of limitations is based on the penalty frame in the basic composition of that law;

- For a case that is temporarily suspended from investigation, there is one of the grounds for investigation suspension as prescribed at Point a, Clause 1, Article 230 of the Criminal Procedure Code 2015, Resolution 32/1999/NQ-QH10, Resolution 33/2009/QH12, Resolution 41/2017/QH14, Law on organization of criminal investigation agencies, Law on enforcement of custody and temporary detention, but the statute of limitations for criminal prosecution remains:

The investigating authority shall discuss in writing with the Procuracy before issuing a decision to resume the investigation of the case, and immediately conduct legal proceedings to investigate, verify grounds for suspension, issue investigation conclusions, and issue decisions to terminate the investigation;

- The assignment, sending, and notification of the decision to terminate the investigation and the decision to resume the investigation shall comply with the provisions of Clause 4, Article 232, and Clause 2, Article 235 of the Criminal Procedure Code 2015.

In cases where the case is filed by an agency tasked with conducting a number of investigation and prosecution activities and then transferred to the investigating authority for investigation according to its competence, when the investigating authority issues the decision to resume the investigation, the decision to terminate the investigation must be notified in writing to the agency tasked with conducting a number of investigative activities.

Within 2 days from the date of issuance of the decision to terminate the investigation, the investigating authority shall send the investigation termination decision together with the case file to the Procuracy for inspection according to the provisions of Clause 3, Article 230 of the Criminal Procedure Code 2015.

Quoc Dat

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