Chương XVI Bộ luật Tố tụng Hình sự 2003: Thẩm quyền của Tòa án các cấp

Chapter XVI: JURISDICTION OF COURTS AT ALL LEVELS

Article 170.- Adjudicating jurisdiction of courts at all levels

1. The district-level people’s courts and the regional military courts shall conduct first-instance trial of criminal cases involving less serious offenses, serious offenses and very serious offenses, excluding the following offenses:

a/ Offenses of infringing upon national security;

b/ Offenses of undermining peace, against humanity, and war crimes;

c/ Offenses prescribed in Articles 93, 95, 96, 172, 216, 217, 218, 219, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 263, 293, 294, 295, 296, 322 and 323 of the Penal Code.

2. The provincial-level people’s courts and the military zone-level military courts shall conduct first-instance trial of criminal cases involving offenses not falling under the jurisdiction of the district-level people’s courts and the regional military courts or cases falling under the subordinate courts, which they take for trial.

Article 171.- Territorial jurisdiction

1. The courts competent to adjudicate criminal cases are the courts of the places where the offenses were committed. Where an offense is committed in different places or if the place where an offense was committed is unknown, the court competent to adjudicate the case shall be the one of the place where the investigation is completed.

2. For defendants committing offenses abroad, if they are to be adjudicated in Vietnam, the provincial-level people’s courts of their last residences in the country shall adjudicate them. If the defendants’ last residences in the country cannot be determined, the President of the Supreme People’s Court shall on a case-by-case basis issue decisions to assign the People’s Court of Hanoi city or Ho Chi Minh City to adjudicate such cases.

For defendants committing offenses abroad, if they fall under the adjudicating jurisdiction of a military court, they shall be adjudicated by the Military Court of the military-zone or higher level under decisions of the President of the Central Military Court.

Article 172.- Jurisdiction to adjudicate offenses committed on board aircraft or sea-going ships of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, which are operating outside the airspace or the territorial sea of Vietnam

Offenses committed on board aircraft or sea-going ships of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam which are operating outside the airspace of the territorial sea of Vietnam shall fall under the jurisdiction of the Vietnamese courts of the places of the first return airports or seaports or the places where such aircraft or sea-going ships are registered.

Article 173.- Adjudication of defendants committing many offenses falling under the jurisdiction of courts at different levels

For defendants committing many offenses, one of which falls under the adjudicating jurisdiction of the superior court, the superior court shall adjudicate the entire cases.

Article 174.- Transfer of cases

When realizing that cases do not fall under their jurisdiction, the courts shall transfer the cases to those with jurisdiction to adjudicate. The transfer of cases to courts outside the territory of a province or centrally run city or outside the territory of a military zone shall be decided by the provincial-level people’s courts or military zone-level military courts.

The transfer of a case to another court shall be effected only when the case has not been adjudicated yet. In this case, the transfer of the case shall be decided by the president of the court. If a case which falls under the jurisdiction of a Military Court or a superior court has been adjudicated, it must still be transferred to the competent court. In this case, the transfer of the case shall be decided by the trial panel.

Within two days after issuing decisions to transfer the cases, the courts must notify the procuracies of the same level and inform the accused and persons involved in the cases thereof.

Article 175.- Settlement of disputes over adjudicating jurisdiction

1. The settlement of disputes over adjudicating jurisdiction shall be decided by the presidents of the immediate superior courts.

2. The settlement of disputes over adjudicating jurisdiction between district-level people’s courts of different provinces or centrally run cities shall be decided by the presidents of the provincial-level people’s courts of the places where the investigation is completed.

3. The settlement of disputes over the adjudicating jurisdiction between people’s courts and military courts shall be decided by the President of the Supreme People’s Court.