Supreme People's Court of Vietnam clarifies some issues in adjudication work

Supreme People's Court of Vietnam clarifies some issues in adjudication work

On April 24, 2023, the Judicial Council of the Supreme People's Court of Vietnam held an online conference to address certain issues in the adjudication process of various courts. Based on the issues raised and the clarifications provided by the Judicial Council, the Supreme People's Court of Vietnam has announced the results of the clarification of several issues.

For example, an issue raised is:

The defendant asked someone else to forge a travel document and then used the fabricated document to perform an illegal act. In this case, does the defendant commit two crimes: "fabricating an organization's seal or documents" and "using fabricated seal or documents" or the crime of "fabricating an organization's seal or documents and use thereof"?

This issue is clarified as follows:

Article 341 of the Criminal Code 2015 (amended and supplemented in 2017) stipulates fabricating an organization's seal or documents and use thereof. These are two separate crimes specified under the same legal provision. If the defendant's actions constitute both crimes, the defendant must be prosecuted and tried for both independent crimes, with the sentences then combined.

If the defendant is not the person who directly fabricated the travel document but merely asked someone else to do so and then used the fabricated travel document to commit an illegal act, in this case, the defendant commits the crime of "using fabricated seal or documents" if all elements of the crime are met, without constituting the crime of "Forging seals, documents of agencies or organizations."

More details can be found in Official Dispatch 196/TANDTC-PC dated October 3, 2023.

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