Chương VII Bộ luật Tố tụng Hình sự 2003: Biên bản, thời hạn, án phí

Chapter VII: MINUTES, TIME LIMITS, LEGAL COSTS

Article 95.- Minutes

1. When carrying out proceedings, it is compulsory to make minutes thereon according to set forms.

A minutes must clearly indicate the place, date and hour when the proceeding is conducted, the starting and ending time, contents of the proceeding, the persons conducting, participating in, or related to, the proceeding, their complaints, requests or proposals.

2. Minutes of court sessions must be signed by the presiding judges and court clerks. Minutes of other proceedings must be signed by the persons prescribed by this Code for each specific case. Any corrections made in minutes must be also confirmed by the signatures of such persons.

Article 96.- Calculation of time limits

1. Time limits prescribed by this Code shall be counted in hours, days and months. Night time shall be counted from 22:00 hrs to 6:00 hrs of the following day.

When a time limit is counted in days, it shall expire at 24:00 hrs of its last day. When a time limit is counted in months, it shall expire on the same date of the subsequent month; if that month has no same date, the time limit shall expire on the last day of that month; if a time limit expires on a holiday, the first following working day shall be counted as the last day of that time limit.

When calculating a custody or temporary detention time limit, the expiry date of that time limit shall be inscribed in the order. If a time limit is counted in months, a month shall consist of thirty days.

2. Where applications or papers are sent by post, the time limit shall be counted according to the postmarks of the sending places. If applications or papers are sent through the superintendence boards of the temporary detention centers or prisons, the time limit shall be counted from the date the superintendence boards of the temporary detention centers or prisons receive such applications or papers.

Article 97.- Restoration of time limits

For expired time limits, if plausible reasons do exist, the procedure-conducting bodies must restore such time limits.

Article 98.- Legal costs

Legal costs are all expenses for conducting criminal proceedings, including remuneration for witnesses, victims, experts, interpreters or defense counsels in cases where they are appointed by the procedure-conducting bodies, and other expenses prescribed by law; civil legal costs in criminal cases.

Article 99.- Responsibility to incur legal costs

1. Legal costs shall be incurred by the convicts or by the State according to law provisions.

2. The convicts must pay legal costs under court decisions.

3. Where a case is instituted at the request of the victim, if the defendant is pronounced not guilty by the court or the case is ceased under the provisions of Clause 2, Article 105 of this Code, the victim shall have to pay legal costs.