Phần thứ ba Bộ luật Tố tụng hình sự 2015: Truy tố

PART THREE

PROSECUTION

Chapter XVIII

GENERAL

Article 236. Duties and authorities of The procuracy exercising prosecution rights during the stage of prosecution

1. Decide to implement, alter or terminate preventive and coercive measures; request investigation authorities to issue wanted notices against suspects.

2. Request authorities and entities to provide documents related to the case when necessary

3. A Court returns documents to investigation authorities, which The procuracy deems unnecessary, for further investigation; therefore, the Procuracy is entitled to directly carry out certain activities of investigation. Moreover, its direct investigative activities can contribute to the verification and addition of documents and evidences for making decisions to prosecute.

4. Decide to press charges, amend or supplement decisions to file lawsuits or charges against suspects upon the detection of criminal acts or other offenders not charged or investigated.

5. Decide to return documents to investigation authorities for further investigation.

6. Decide to join and separate cases; transfer lawsuits to competent authorities for prosecution, implement summary procedures and civil commitment.

7. Decide to or not to extend the time limit for prosecution, and duration of preventive and coercive measures.

8. Decide to prosecute.

9. Decide to dismiss or adjourn cases; to dismiss or adjourn lawsuits against suspects; to resume cases or lawsuits against suspects.

10. Carry out other duties and powers to make decisions on prosecution as per this Law.

Article 237. Duties and authorities of The procuracy administering activities during the stage of prosecution

1. The procuracy, when administering activities during the stage of prosecution, bears these duties and authority:

a) Administer criminal proceedings of participants in legal procedure; request competent authorities and entities to implement strict measures against participants in legal proceedings, who breach laws;

b) Request concerned authorities and organizations to implement preventive measures against crimes and breach of laws;

c) Perform other duties and authority to administer activities during the stage of prosecution according to this Law.

2. Competent authorities and entities, in 10 days upon receiving requests as stated in Point a and Point b, Section 1 of this Article, shall be responsible for informing The procuracy of the their fulfillment of such requests.

Article 238. Delivery of case files and written conclusions of investigation

1. When investigation authorities and units assigned to investigate hand over case files and written conclusions of investigation for prosecution and evidences (if any), the Procuracy shall inspect and handle information in the following manner:

a) If case files and accompanying exhibits (if any) suffice according to the list of documents and evidences and suspects or their representatives receive the written conclusion of investigation, the Procuracy shall obtain case files;

b) If case files and accompanying exhibits (if any) do not suffice according to the list of documents and evidences, or the written conclusion of investigation is not given to suspects or their representatives, the Procuracy shall refuse to take in case files and request investigation authorities and units assigned to investigate to supplement documents and exhibits or to provide suspects or their representatives with the written conclusion of investigation.

2. The delivery of case files and written conclusion of investigation shall be executed in writing as per Article 133 of this Law and inputted into case files.

Article 239. The authority to prosecute

1. The procuracy exercising prosecution rights and administering investigative activities shall make decisions on prosecution. A procuracy’s authority to prosecute shall be subject to the Court's jurisdiction over the case.

If a case goes beyond a Procuracy's authority to prosecute, the Procuracy shall promptly decide to transfer the case to another competent Procuracy. A provincial People’s Procuracy or Military procuracy of a military zone shall decide the transfer of cases to procuracies out of the province, centrally-affiliated city or military zone.

A superior Procuracy shall decide to prosecute cases, against which it exercises prosecution rights and administer investigation. The superior Procuracy, in 02 month prior to the closure of the investigation, must inform the lower Procuracy, at the level equivalent to that of the first-instance Court having jurisdiction over the case, to assign procurators to examine case files. The superior Procuracy, when issuing a decision to prosecute, shall assign the lower Procuracy to exercise prosecution rights and administer the process of adjudication. The competent inferior Procuracy, upon receiving case files and charging documents, shall exercise prosecution rights and administer the process of adjudication as per this Law.

2. A Procuracy, in 03 days upon issuing a decision on case transfer, must inform in writing the investigation authority closing the investigation, suspects or their representatives, defense counsels, aggrieved persons and other participants in legal proceedings.

The delivery of case files and charging documents shall occur as per Section 2, Article 240 of this Law. In such event, the time limit for prosecution shall commence after the prosecutor authorized to prosecute receives case files.

Article 240. Time limit for the issuance of decisions to prosecute

1. A Procuracy, in 20 days for misdemeanors and felonies or 30 days for horrific and extremely severe felonies upon receiving case files and written conclusion of investigation, must make one of the following decisions:

a) Prosecute suspects in a Court;

b) Return documents for further investigation;

c) Dismiss or adjourn the case; dismiss or adjourn lawsuits against suspects;

The head of The procuracy, when necessary, may extend the time limit for the issuance of a decision to prosecute for 10 more days for misdemeanors or felonies or 15 more days for horrific felonies or at most 30 more days for extremely severe felonies.

2. The procuracy, in 03 days upon making one of the decisions as stated in Section 1 of this Article, must inform suspects, their defense counsels or representatives and crime victims of the return of documents for further investigation. Moreover, it shall in 03 days provide suspects or their representatives, investigation authorities and defense counsels with charging documents, decisions to adjourn or dismiss the case or lawsuit against suspects. Furthermore, it shall send notices to crime victims, litigants and protectors of their legitimate rights and benefits.

The delivery of the said documents shall be executed in writing according to Article 133 of this Law and be inputted in case files.

If the case is complex, the time limit for the delivery of charging documents and decisions on suspension or dismissal of the case to suspects or their representatives may be extended for 10 more days at most.

3. The decisions as stated in Section 1 of this Article, when made, must be promptly sent to the superior Procuracy. The head of the superior Procuracy shall be entitled to revoke, terminate or annul decisions deemed groundless or unlawful and to request the lower Procuracy to make lawful decisions.

Article 241. Implementation, alteration and termination of preventive and coercive measures

The procuracy, when receiving case files and written conclusion of investigation, shall be entitled to decide to implement, alter or terminate preventive and coercive measures according to this Law.

The time limit for preventive measures during the stage of prosecution shall not exceed that defined in Section 1, Article 240 of this Law.

Article 242. Joinder or separation in cases during the stage of prosecution

1. The procuracy shall decide to join issues into one case in the following events:

a) The suspect commits multiple crimes;

b) The suspect commits a crime in multiple times;

c) Several suspects commit one crime, or there are accomplices and accessories who conceal or fail to report the suspect or use property obtained by crime.

2. When the lawsuit against the suspect is suspended, the Procuracy shall decide to separate issues from a case in the following events, if separation is deemed not to affect the determination of unbiased and comprehensive truths:

a) Suspects abscond;

b) Suspects suffer from fatal diseases;

c) Civil commitment is imposed on suspects.

Chapter XIX

DECISION TO PROSECUTE SUSPECTS

Article 243. Decision to prosecute suspects

The procuracy shall decide to prosecute a suspect in a Court through charging documents.

Charging documents shall detail the progress and acts of crime; evidences clarifying suspects’ crimes, their artifices, motives, purposes, nature and degree of damage caused by the crimes; preventive and coercive measures enforced, altered or terminated; factors aggravating and mitigating criminal liabilities, traits and personal record of suspects; seizure and impoundment of documents and items, handling of evidences; reasons and circumstances leading to the crimes and other facts significant to the case.

The conclusion of the charging documents shall specify offence titles and articles, sections and points quoted from the Criminal Code.

Charging documents shall specify their date of issuance, full name and position of the person releasing such documents and bear his signature.

Article 244. Transfer of case files and charging documents to the Court

The procuracy, in 03 days upon issuing charging documents, must submit case files and charging documents to the Court. The time limit for filing papers and charging documents of a complex case in the Court may be extended for 10 more days at most.

If suspects are in detention, the Procuracy shall, in 07 days prior to the end of the detention, inform the Court to consider and decide the detention of such suspects before obtaining case files.

Article 245. Return of case files for further investigation

1. The procuracy shall decide to return case files and request investigation authorities to conduct further investigative activities in one of the following events:

a) Evidences do not suffice to evince one of the matters as stated in Article 85 of this Law; however, the Procuracy fails to supplement evidences by itself;

b) There are justifications to press charges against the suspect for one or many crimes;

c) Accomplices or other offenders related to the case have not been charged;

d) Serious violations of legal procedure occur.

2. A decision to return documents and request further investigation must detail additional issues to be investigated according to Point 1 of this Article and Point 2, Article 132 of this Law.

3. Investigation authorities shall be responsible for fulfilling requests that are stated in the Procuracy’s decision to return documents for further investigation. If they fail to accomplish the requests due to force majeure or objective obstacles, reasons of such failure must be clearly reported in writing.

Investigation authorities, when closing additional investigation, shall conclude such investigation in writing. The written conclusion of the additional investigation shall specify additional findings and standpoints for the settlement of the case. If the additional findings basically conflict with previous ones, investigation authorities shall issue a new conclusion of investigation to replace the old one.

The transfer of case files and additional conclusion of investigation to The procuracy and the delivery of notices of additional findings shall be governed by Article 232 and Article 238 of this Law

Article 246. Handling of the Court’s request for further investigation

If the Court decides to return case files and request further investigation, the Procuracy shall consider justifications for further investigation and handle such request in the following manner:

1. The Court reach a justified decision to return documents to investigation authorities, which The procuracy deems unnecessary, for further investigation; therefore, the Procuracy is entitled to directly carry out certain activities of investigation to supplement documents and evidences. However, the Procuracy, if unable to conduct further investigation, shall forward documents to investigation authorities for additional investigative activities.

If additional findings alter the fundamentals of existing charging documents, the Procuracy shall redress such documents and convey documents to the Court.  If additional findings lead to the dismissal of the case, the Procuracy shall decide to have the case dismissed and send a notice to the Court;

2. The procuracy, if finding no justifications for the return of documents for further investigation, shall state its reasons, maintain the decision to prosecute and send documents back to the Court.

Article 247. Suspension of cases

1. The procuracy shall decide to suspend a case in the following events:

b) If judicial expert examination finds that the suspect suffer from mental illness or fatal diseases, the case may be suspended prior to the expiration of the time limit for the issuance of a decision to prosecute;

b) Though the time limit for issuing a decision to prosecute expires, the suspect absconds to an unknown location. In this event, investigation authorities shall be requested to release a wanted notice against the suspect prior to the suspension of the case. The search for the suspect shall abide by Article 231 of this Law;

c) Time limit for issuing a decision to prosecute expires while expert examination, valuation process or judicial assistance, though requested, does not progress. In such event, expert examination, valuation process and judicial assistance shall continue until results are achieved.

2. A decision to suspend a case must specify reasons and justifications for suspension, relevant details and other matters as stated in Section 2, Article 132 of this Law.

If there are several suspects in one case but the reason for case suspension does not apply to all of them, the lawsuit against each suspect shall be suspended separately.

Article 248. Dismissal of cases

1. The procuracy shall decide not to prosecute and to dismiss the case when possessing one of the justifications as defined in Section 2, Article 155 and Article 157 of this Law or as stated in Article 16 or Article 19 or Section 2, Article 91 of the Criminal Code.

2. A decision to dismiss a case must specify reasons and justifications for the dismissal of the case, termination of preventive and coercive measures, handling of evidences, documents and items impounded (if any), other relevant matters and other details as stated in Section 2, Article 132 of this Law. If there are many suspects in one case but the justifications for case dismissal do not apply to all of them, the case shall be dismissed separately for each suspect.

Article 249. Resumption of cases

1. The procuracy, when having justifications to annul the decision to suspend or dismiss a case, shall decide to resume the case if the prescriptive period for criminal prosecution remains effective. If the case is dismissed according to Section 5 and Section 6, Article 157 of this Law without the consent of the suspect who petitions for case resumption, the Procuracy shall decide to resume the case. The case can be resumed fully or partly against each suspect.

2. A decision to resume a case must specify reasons and justifications for case resumption, relevant matters and details as stated in Section 2, Article 132 of this Law.

3. The procuracy, in 03 days upon making the decision, shall send the decision to resume case or lawsuit against a suspect to the suspect, his defense counsel or representative, authorities closing the investigation; and send a notice to the crime victims, litigants and protectors of their legitimate rights and benefits.

The delivery of the decision to resume the case or lawsuit against the suspect shall be executed in writing and inputted into the case file.

4. The time limit for issuing a decision to prosecute upon the resumption of the case shall be subject to universal stipulations in this Law and commence upon the Procuracy’s issuance of the decision to resume the case.

5. The procuracy, when resuming a case, shall be entitled to enforce, alter or terminate preventive and coercive measures as per this Law.

If there are justifications for detention as per this Law, the duration of detention for the resumption of the case shall not exceed the time limit for the issuance of a decision to prosecute.