General regulations on devices for organizing online court trials in Vietnam

General regulations on devices for organizing online court trials in Vietnam (Image from the Internet)

On June 20, 2024, the Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court issued Decision 163/QD-TANDTC providing guidelines on the Devices and installation of devices for organizing online court trials in courtrooms at all levels.

General regulations on devices for organizing online court trials in Vietnam

Devices installed in the courtrooms of all levels' courts for online court trials must meet the following general regulations:

- Uniformity and compliance with technical standards, system structures, and devices ensuring information security and safety; compatibility and good connectivity and operation with the online trial platform developed by the Supreme People's Court.

- Audio and video signal compression and decoding devices (Codecs) equipped in the courtroom must ensure backup capability or temporary replacement, performing the functions of other Codecs in the courtroom in case of Devices malfunction to ensure that the online court trial is not interrupted.

- Clear origin, widespread applicability, and suitability for the climatic conditions of various regions in Vietnam; warranty policies in accordance with the manufacturer's standards and convenient for warranty and maintenance in case of incidents; encouraged selection of devices with higher warranty policies than those stipulated in this Decision; easy management, operation, use, and remote support.

- Ensuring good audio and video quality; optimal technology to save bandwidth; easy scalability without needing to replace the system in the future.

- Installation ensuring safety, aesthetics, and not affecting the solemnity of the courtroom.

- Depending on the current status of each courtroom, device installation can be adjusted in position and installation method as appropriate.

- Minimize ceiling fans in online courtrooms to avoid noise interference and installation of cameras.

- Ensure basic network information security requirements according to the law.

(Section II Guidelines on Devices and installation of devices for organizing online court trials in courtrooms at all levels issued with Decision 163/QD-TANDTC in 2024)

Cases eligible for organizing Online Court Trials in Vietnam

Online court trials (or online trials) are trials held in a courtroom utilizing electronic devices connected via network environments, allowing defendants, victims, litigants, and other participants in the proceedings to participate from locations determined by the court while still being able to fully follow images, sounds, and engage in procedural acts continuously and publicly at the same time.

People's courts are permitted to conduct online trials for the first-instance, appeal hearings of criminal, civil, and administrative cases with simple details and nature; clear documents and evidence in the case file, except for the following cases:

- Criminal, civil, and administrative cases involving state secrets;

- Criminal cases involving any of the crimes infringing upon national security defined in Chapter XIII of the Criminal Code;

- Criminal cases involving any of the crimes of disturbing peace, crimes against humanity, and war crimes defined in Chapter XXVI of the Criminal Code.

Note: The organization of online court trials must comply with the law, ensuring security, network information safety, and adequate technical and material conditions; maintain the solemnity of the trial.

(Article 1 Resolution 33/2021/QH15)

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