Newest regulations on forms and procedures for the death sentence execution in Vietnam

Newest regulations on forms and procedures for the death sentence execution in Vietnam (Image from Internet)

1. Death sentence execution dossier in Vietnam

The Death sentence execution dossier in Vietnam according to Article 80 of the Law on on Execution of Criminal Judgments 2019 includes:

- The Death sentence execution dossier comprises the following documents:

+ The legally effective first-instance judgment; the appellate judgment in case the first-instance judgment is appealed or protested against under the appellate procedures;

+ The cassation or reopening decision (if any);

+ The decision not to protest by the Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court and the decision not to protest by the Chief Procurator of the Supreme People's Procuracy;

+ A copy of the President's decision rejecting the petition for commutation of the death sentence (if any);

+ The decision to execute the death sentence;

+ The decision to establish the Council for death sentence execution;

+ The record of the Council for death sentence execution meeting;

+ The plan for death sentence execution;

+ Personal identification documents, identity cards, record of identity verification of the person to be executed;

+ Record of examination and verification that the person to be executed does not fall under the exclusions specified in Clause 3, Article 40 of the Criminal Code 2015;

+ Documents related to the postponement of execution in case of postponement;

+ Forensic examination record of the corpse of the executed person;

+ One photograph of the executed person;

+ Execution record of the death sentence;

+ Report on the result of the execution of the death sentence;

+ Other related documents.

- The Death sentence execution dossier is made, managed, preserved, and stored by the criminal judgment execution agency of the provincial-level police or the military zone-level criminal judgment execution agency according to record management policies stipulated by the Minister of Public Security and the Minister of National Defense.

2. Newest regulations on forms and procedures for the death sentence execution in Vietnam

According to Article 82 of the Law on on Execution of Criminal Judgments 2019, the forms and procedures for death sentence execution in Vietnam are as follows:

- Execution of the death sentence is carried out by lethal injection. The procedure for administering the lethal injection is prescribed by the Government of Vietnam.

- Before execution, the Council for death sentence execution must check the personal identification documents, identity cards, and criminal record of the person to be executed; if the person to be executed is female, the Council must check documents related to exceptions for execution according to the Criminal Code 2015.

- Before being taken for execution, the person to be executed is allowed to eat, drink, write letters, and record messages for their relatives.

- The procedure for death sentence execution is carried out as follows:

+ Based on the execution decision and the request of the Chairman of the Council for death sentence execution, the criminal judgment execution police and judicial support officers or judicial guard escort the person to be executed to the working place of the Council;

+ Upon the request of the Council, specialized officers from the People's Police or the People's Army roll fingerprints, check personal identification documents, compare with the criminal record and related documents; photograph, videotape the fingerprinting process, check and make a record; report the verification results to the Council;

+ The Chairman of the Council announces the execution decision, the decision not to protest by the Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court and the decision not to protest by the Chief Procurator of the Supreme People's Procuracy, and the decision of the President rejecting the petition for commutation of the death sentence.

Immediately after the Chairman of the Council announces the decisions, the criminal judgment execution police and judicial support officers or judicial guards hand over the decisions to the person to be executed for them to read. If the person to be executed is illiterate, does not know Vietnamese, or cannot read by themselves, the Council appoints someone to read or interpret the decisions for them. The announcement and reading process must be photographed, videotaped, recorded, and included in the execution dossier.

+ According to the order of the Chairman of the Council, specialized officers appointed by the provincial-level police criminal judgment execution agency or the military zone-level criminal judgment execution agency carry out the execution and report the results to the Chairman;

+ According to the order of the Chairman, the forensic doctor determines the condition of the executed person and reports the results to the Council;

+ The Council makes an execution record; reports the execution process and results to the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuracy, and the criminal judgment execution management agency. The provincial-level police criminal judgment execution agency or the military zone-level criminal judgment execution agency handles the death certification procedures at the commune-level People's Committee where the execution took place;

+ The provincial-level police criminal judgment execution agency or the military zone-level criminal judgment execution agency is responsible for preserving the body, organizing the funeral, drawing the grave diagram of the executed person. The commune-level People's Committee where the burial takes place has the duty to cooperate with the provincial-level police criminal judgment execution agency or the military zone-level criminal judgment execution agency in the burial and management of the grave of the executed person;

+ Within 3 working days from the execution date, the provincial-level police criminal judgment execution agency or the military zone-level criminal judgment execution agency notifies the relatives of the executed person, except as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 83 of the Law on on Execution of Criminal Judgments 2019.

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