Guidelines for periodic grading of compliance with imprisonment penalties for inmates in Vietnam

Guidelines for periodic grading of compliance with imprisonment penalties for inmates in Vietnam (Internet image) 

Regarding this matter, LawNet would like to answer as follows: 

1. Guidelines for periodic grading of compliance with imprisonment penalties for inmates in Vietnam

According to Article 18 of Decree 133/2020/ND-CP, the guidelines for periodic grading of compliance with imprisonment penalties for inmates in Vietnam are as follows:

- Inmates currently serving prison sentences are periodically evaluated and graded (hereinafter referred to as "grading"): weekly, monthly, quarterly, every 6 months, and annually, as follows:

+ Inmates who have been evaluated and assessed on their attitude and the results of their compliance with imprisonment penalties for 4 or more days within a week are graded weekly. The weekly grading takes place on Fridays. The period for weekly grading is counted from the Saturday of the previous week to the Friday of the following week.

+ Inmates who have been graded for 3 or more weeks within a month are graded monthly. The monthly grading takes place on the 25th of each month. The period for monthly grading is counted from the 26th of the previous month to the 25th of the following month. In the case where an inmate has served 20 days within a month, the period for grading is counted from the 6th to the 25th of that month.

+ Inmates who have been graded for 2 or more months within a quarter are graded quarterly. The grading for the 1st quarter takes place on February 25th, for the 2nd quarter on May 25th, for the 3rd quarter on August 25th, and for the 4th quarter on November 25th. The period for quarterly grading is counted from the 26th of the last month of the previous quarter to the 25th of the last month of the following quarter.

+ Inmates who have been graded for 4 or more months within 6 months are graded every 6 months. The grading for the first 6 months of the year takes place on May 25th, and for the last 6 months of the year on November 25th. The period for grading the first 6 months of the year is counted from November 26th of the previous year to May 25th of the following year, and for the last 6 months of the year from May 26th to November 25th of that year.

+ Inmates who have been graded for 10 or more months within a year are graded annually. The annual grading takes place on November 25th every year. The period for annual grading is counted from November 26th of the previous year to November 25th of the following year.

- The period for grading is calculated from the date of recording the admission of inmates to the prison, the management section of inmates in temporary detention facilities, or the management chamber of inmates in temporary custody designated to enforce imprisonment penalties. If inmates are transferred between different inmate holding facilities, the grading period and results are continuously calculated both before and after the transfer.

- Each section of the prison establishment establishes a Subcommittee for grading the compliance with imprisonment penalties for inmates. Inmate holding facilities establish a Council for grading compliance with imprisonment penalties for inmates. The subcommittee and council meet to grade inmates on a quarterly, 6-month, and annual basis. Inmates with positive contributions will be considered for an upgrade in their grading of compliance with imprisonment penalties. In the case of inmates filing complaints about their grading, the head of the inmate holding facility must provide a written response to the inmates within 5 working days from the date of receiving the complaint.

- The decisions on quarterly, 6-month, and annual grading, as well as the Inmate Evaluation Report, are kept in the inmates' files. The head of the inmate holding facility is responsible for publicly announcing the results of the quarterly, 6-month, and annual grading to the inmates; and informing the family members or legal representatives of the inmates about the status of compliance with imprisonment penalties, the grading for the first 6 months, the grading for the last 6 months, and the annual grading.

2. Guidelines for handling violating inmates in Vietnam

Guidelines for handling violating inmates in Vietnam according to Article 20 of Decree 133/2020/ND-CP are as follows:

- Violating inmates must be promptly and strictly disciplined in accordance with the law. Each violation is subject to disciplinary action only once, using a specific disciplinary measure. In cases where multiple inmates violate the same incident, each inmate is individually disciplined for their own violation. In cases where an inmate commits multiple violations within the same incident, a single disciplinary measure is applied without separating each violation for different disciplinary actions.

- When disciplining inmates, it is necessary to consider and evaluate the nature, severity, consequences, motives, purposes, and causes of the violations. Mitigating or aggravating circumstances should be taken into account when determining the appropriate disciplinary measures. The degree of remorse, repentance, sincere declaration, and determination to rectify the violations and remedy the consequences should also be considered. If disciplinary actions are found to be inconsistent with the regulations, they must be canceled or modified to align with the nature, severity, and behavior of the violations.

- In cases where inmates show mitigating circumstances, remorse, repentance, and a positive commitment to rectifying the violations or making amends, lighter disciplinary measures may be considered.

- Inmates who are undergoing disciplinary action and are transferred to another detention facility must continue to serve their disciplinary penalties. The head of the detention facility has the authority to issue, modify, or cancel disciplinary decisions for inmates through written communication and keep records of the disciplinary actions in the inmates' files.

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