The court’s sentences and rulings that are immediately enforced in Vietnam

The court’s sentences and rulings that are immediately enforced in Vietnam

Pursuant to Article 363 of the Criminal Procedure Code 2015, the court's sentences or rulings, though appealable, shall be immediately enforced when the first-instance court decides to dismiss the case for a defendant in detention or declare that defendant guiltless or exempt from criminal liabilities or punishments. Moreover, alternatives to incarceration or suspended prison sentences or jail sentences, whose length of time is equal to or shorter than the detention time served, shall take immediate effect.

Warnings shall be delivered in court.

The court’s sentences and rulings that are immediately enforced in Vietnam (Internet image) 

 Authority and procedure to order the enforcement of sentences in Vietnam

 Authority and procedure to order the enforcement of sentences are specified in Article 364 of the Criminal Procedure Code 2015 as follows:

- The Chief Justice of the Court that conducted the first instance trial has the authority to issue a decision to execute the judgment or authorize the Chief Justice of another Court at the same level to issue a decision to execute the judgment.

- The president of the court that held the first-instance trial shall assume authority to order the enforcement of sentences or delegate the president of an equivalent court to order the execution of sentences.

- The time limit for the issuance of an order for sentence enforcement shall be 07 days upon the effect of the first-instance court's sentences and rulings or upon the receipt of sentences and rulings from the appellate court or decisions generated through cassation or reopening procedures.

The court president, when delegated by the president of the court that held the first-instance trial, shall in 07 days upon the receipt of the written delegation issue an order to enforce the sentences.

- If a person on bail is sentenced to jail, the order on the enforcement of such prison sentence must state that the said person must in 07 days upon receiving the written order present himself to a criminal sentence enforcement unit of a district police office to serve time.

If a person on bail and sentenced to jail absconds, the President of the Court that has ordered the sentence enforcement shall request a wanted notice to be issued by the criminal sentence enforcement police unit of the provincial Police office at the location where the prison sentence was passed.

Explication and revision of the Court’s sentences and rulings in Vietnam

Pursuant to Article 365 of the Criminal Procedure Code 2015, explication and revision of the Court’s sentences and rulings are as follows:

- Criminal and civil sentence enforcement authorities, procuracies, sentenced persons, crime victims and litigants in connection with the enforcement of sentences shall be entitled to petition the Court that passed such sentences and rulings for its explication and revision of obscure details of such judgments and decisions for the purpose of enforcement.

- The presiding judge of the court that pronounced the sentences and rulings shall be held responsible for explicating and revising vague details of the Court’s judgments and decisions. The president of the Court that passed the sentences and rulings, if the presiding judge cannot explicate or revise such, shall undertake the tasks.

Settlement of motions against the Court’s sentences and rulings in Vietnam

Pursuant to Article 366 of the Criminal Procedure Code 2015, if a criminal or civil sentence enforcement authority makes a motion for revision of the Court’s sentences or rulings through the reopening or cassation procedures, the competent Court shall be responsible for responding to such motion in 90 days upon the receipt of the motion made in writing.

The time limit for response, in complex cases, can be extended for 120 more days at most upon the receipt of the written motion.

Mai Thanh Loi

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