Continuing the 9th Session, on the morning of May 26, before the National Assembly, the Chief Prosecutor of the Supreme People's Procuracy (SPP) presented the Draft Law on Judicial Assistance on Criminal Procedure.
Presentation of the above -mentioned law examination report, Chairman of the National Assembly's Law and Judicial Committee (UBCLTP) Hoang Thanh Tung said that the Committee approves the need to issue a criminal judicial assistance law for the reasons as stated in the report of the VKSNDTC.
Accordingly, the development of the draft Law is based on the separation from the 2007 Law on Judicial Assistance to ensure a legal basis for regulating specific areas of criminal judicial assistance, thereby institutionalizing the Party's policy on promoting judicial reform, enhancing international integration in general and in the criminal justice sector in particular.
The draft Law overcomes limitations and shortcomings after more than 16 years of implementing current legal provisions; continues to internally legalize the provisions of international treaties to which Vietnam is a member; ensures consistency and unity with relevant laws in the legal system; facilitates negotiation, signing and implementation of international treaties.
A notable content is the Draft Law regulating the handling of cases of foreign countries refusing Vietnam's extradition request in Article 25.
Accordingly, the Draft Law stipulates that, for the case where a foreigner commits a crime in the territory of Vietnam that he or she has escaped abroad but does not extradite, the agency is accepting the case to transfer the case file to the VKSNDTC to ask the country of the offender who is present or the criminal country of nationality continues to be examined for penal liability.
When deciding to transfer the case file, the People's Procuracy can transfer all the evidence of the case.
The People's Committee of the Penal Code found that this issue is related to national arbitration. The current Law on Legal Assistance as well as the laws of many countries around the world stipulate the condition of "previously requesting extradition from abroad but being refused extradition by a competent foreign agency" before completing the procedures to request a foreign country to prosecute criminal liability.
Therefore, the People's Committee of the Land Use Right basically agrees with the provisions of the draft Law.
The draft Law also stipulates cases where foreign countries require Vietnam not to apply the death penalty or not to impose the death penalty on those being extradited.
Accordingly, upon receiving the request, the VKSNDTC shall preside over and coordinate with relevant ministries and branches to issue one of the notices.
First, it is announced that the death penalty will not be applied to people related to the request for mutual assistance if that person is not eligible for the death penalty according to the provisions of the Penal Code.
Second, the announcement of not serving the death penalty for those involved in the request for mutual assistance not falling under the above case shall be made after receiving the President's opinion if necessary.
According to the Chairman of the People's Committee of Hoang Thanh Tung, the Basic Commission has approved the addition of this mechanism to remove difficulties and problems recently (some Vietnamese judicial assistance requirements have been rejected by foreign countries due to being involved in the penalty penalty but the current judicial law has no mechanism not to apply death penalties or not executing death penalty).
The addition of this regulation is also consistent with some signed agreements between Vietnam, including the regulation: requests for mutual legal aid may be rejected if related to the investigation, prosecution, trial of a person for a crime that may result in a sentence or execution of the death penalty, unless the requesting party commits not to sentence death, or if the death penalty is imposed, it will not be carried out.
To serve the research and continuation of perfecting the draft Law, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly requested that National Assembly deputies focus on discussing and giving opinions.
