Chương IV Luật Thi hành án hình sự 2010: Thi hành án tử hình

Chapter IV

EXECUTION OF THE DEATH SENTENCE

Article 54. Decision to execute the death sentence

1. The president of the court which has conducted the first-instance trial shall issue a decision to execute the death sentence. Such decision must clearly indicate the date of issuance, full name and position of the issuer; the judgment or decision to be executed; the full name, date of birth and place of residence of the sentenced person.

2. Within 3 working days after issuing a decision lo execute the sentence, the court shall send it lo the following agencies:

a/ The same-level procuracy and criminal judgment execution agency;

b/ The detention camp in which the sentenced person is held:

c/ The provincial-level Justice Department of the place in which the issuing court is based.

Article 55. Decision to form a death sentence execution council

1. Immediately after issuing a decision to execute the death sentence, the president of the issuing court shall send a written request to the chairman of the same-level procuracy and the head of the criminal judgment execution agency of the provincial-level police department or military zone to appoint representatives to the death sentence execution council.

2. Within 7 days after issuing the execution decision, the president of the issuing court shall issue a decision to form a death sentence execution council chaired by the president or vice president of the court. A decision to form a death sentence execution council must clearly indicate the date of issuance, full name and position of the issuer: ground for issuing the decision; and full names and positions of council members.

Article 56. Tasks and powers of a death sentence execution council

1. A death sentence execution council has the following tasks and powers:

a/ To decide the plan and prepare conditions to ensure the execution;

b/ To examine conditions on the person to be executed as required by the Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code; to issue a decision to postpone the execution and report it to the president of the court having issued the execution decision, if the sentenced person is ineligible for execution;

c/ To request related agencies and organizations to provide information and documents necessary for the execution; to request the people's armed forces unit, agencies and organizations to assist in assuring safety for the execution when necessary;

d/ To administer the execution according to plan:

e/ To notify the execution result to the criminal judgment execution management agency;

f/ To dissolve after fulfilling its tasks.

2. The chairman of the death sentence execution council shall hold a meeting to announce decisions related to the execution, decide on the lime of execution: contents to be kept secret: conditions to ensure the implementation of the execution plan: and the burial location in case receipt of the corpse is disallowed or there is no petition for receipt of the corpse. The meeting must be recorded in a minutes to be included in the death sentence execution dossier.

Death sentence execution dossiers shall be managed by criminal judgment execution agencies of provincial-level police departments or military zones.

Article 57. Regime of incarceration management, food, living, clothing, daily activities, sending and receipt of letters, articles and cash, meeting with relatives, and medical care

The regime of incarceration management, food, living, clothing, daily activities, sending and receipt of letters, articles and cash, meeting with relatives, and medical care complies with the law on temporary detention.

Article 58. Postponement of execution of the death sentence

1. A death sentence execution council may decide to postpone execution of the death sentence in the following cases:

a/ The sentenced person falls into a case specified in Article 35 of the Penal Code;

b/ There is a force, majeure circumstance;

c/ Immediately before the execution, the sentenced person reports new circumstances of the crime.

2. When deciding to postpone execution of the death sentence, the council must make a minutes clearly indicating the hour, date and place of execution; full names and positions of the council members; and reason for the postponement. The minutes must be signed by all council members and inserted in the death sentence execution dossier and reported to the president of the court which has issued the execution decision, the chairman of the provincial-level or military zone-level procuracy and the provincial-level or military zone-level criminal judgment execution agency.

3. Judicial assistance police or judicial security guards shall escort and deliver the person whose execution is postponed to the detention camp for continued incarceration. The delivery and receipt of the person whose execution is postponed shall be recorded in a minutes.

4. Cases of postponed execution under Point a, Clause 1 of this Article comply with the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code.

For cases of postponed execution under Points b and cs Clause 1 of this Article, when the reason for postponement no longer exists, the president of the court which has issued the execution decision shall request the death sentence execution council to proceed with the execution. In case of change of a council member, the president of the court which has issued the execution decision shall decide on the addition of the council member or form a death sentence execution council under Article 55 of this Law.

Article 59. Form and sequence of execution of the death sentence

1. The death sentence shall be executed by lethal injection. The process of lethal injection shall be stipulated by the Government.

2. Prior to execution, the death sentence execution council shall examine the personal identification statement, fingerprint sheet and personal history records of the person to be executed: in case the person to be executed is a female, the council shall examine all documents related to conditions for non-execution as prescribed by the Penal Code.

3. Prior to being taken out for execution, the sentenced person shall be given food and drink, write letters and have his/her messages recorded for sending to his/her relatives.

4. The death sentence shall be executed in the following order:

a/ Pursuant to the death sentence execution decision and request of the death sentence execution council, the judicial assistance police or judicial security guards shall escort the person to be executed to the working place of the death sentence execution council:

b/ At the request of the death sentence execution council, a professional officer of the people's police or army shall press the fingerprints, check the personal identification statement and fingerprint sheet and compare them with related dossiers and documents; take photo and video-record the process of carrying out the procedures of taking the fingerprints, checking and making a minutes; and report checking results to the death sentence execution council;

c/ The chairman of the death sentence execution council shall announce the death sentence execution decision, the non-protest decision of the President of the Supreme People's Court and the non-protest decision of the Chairman of the Supreme People's Procuracy, the decision of the Judges* Council of the Supreme People's Court rejecting the protest of the President of the People's Supreme Court or the Chairman of the Supreme People's Procuracy, the decision of the State President rejecting the petition for death sentence commutation.

Immediately after the chairman of the death sentence execution council announces the decisions, the judicial assistance police or judicial security guards shall hand over these decisions to the person to be executed for reading. If such person does not know Vietnamese or cannot read these decisions, the death sentence execution council shall appoint a person to read or translate these decisions to such person. The process of announcing and reading the decisions shall be photographed, video and audio recorded for filing;

d/ By the order of the chairman of the death sentence execution council, professional officers of the provincial-level or military zone-level criminal judgment execution agency shall execute the sentence and report the result to the council chairman;

e/ By the order of the chairman of the death sentence execution council, a forensic medicine doctor shall determine the conditions of the executed person and report the result to the council;

f/ The death sentence execution council shall make a minutes of the execution; report on the process and result of the execution to the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuracy, the criminal judgment management agency, the provincial-level or military zone-level criminal judgment execution agency for carrying out death declaration procedures at the commune-level People's Committee of the place in which the execution is carried out:

g/ The criminal judgment execution agency of the provincial-level police department or military zone shall preserve the corpse of the executed person, organize burial and draw a map of the grave. The commune-level People's Committee of the place in which the execution was carried out shall coordinate with the criminal judgment execution agency of the provincial-level police department or military zone in the burial and management of the grave of the executed person;

h/ Within 3 days after the execution is carried out, the criminal judgment execution agency of the provincial-level police department or military zone shall inform it to relatives of the executed person, except for the case specified in Clause 1, Article 60 of this Law.

5. Expenses for organizing execution of the death sentence shall be covered by the state budget.

Article 60. Settlement of requests for receipt of corpses and remains of executed persons

1. The settlement of the receipt of the corpse is as follows:

a/ Prior to the execution, a relative or lawful representative of the sentenced person shall make a petition and have it certified by the commune-level People's Committee of the place of his/her residence then send it to the president of the court which has conducted the first-in stance trial for settling the receipt of the corpse of the person to be executed for burial; if the sentenced person is a foreigner, such petition must be certified by a competent agency or a Vietnam-based representative mission of the country of which the sentenced person is a citizen, and be translated into Vietnamese. Such petition must clearly indicate the full name and address of the person to receive the corpse; his/her relationship with the sentenced person and commitments to ensure security, order and environmental sanitation requirements and to pay all arising expenses;

b/ The president of the court which has conducted the first-instance trial shall notify in writing the petitioner of the permission to receive the corpse or the rejection if there is a ground to believe that receipt of the corpse would affect security, order and environmental sanitation. If the sentenced person is a foreigner, the president of the court which has conducted the first-instance trial shall notify its decision to the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs for notification to a competent agency or a Vietnam-based representative mission of the country of which the sentenced person is a citizen;

c/ Immediately after the execution is carried out, the criminal judgment execution agency of the provincial-level police department or military zone shall notify it to the petitioner to come to receive the corpse for burial. The delivery and receipt of the corpse shall be carried out within 24 hours after the notification and recorded in a minutes signed by the delivering and receiving persons; past this time limit, if the petitioner fails to receive the corpse, the criminal judgment execution agency of the provincial-level police department or military zone shall bury it.

2. In case the receipt of the corpse is rejected or relatives of the executed person make no petition for receipt of the corpse for burial, the criminal judgment execution agency of the provincial-level police department or military zone shall organize the burial. Past 3 years after the date of execution, relatives or lawful representative of the executed person may make a petition and have it certified by the commune-level People's Committee of the place of his/her residence then send it to the criminal judgment execution agency of the provincial-level police department of the place or the criminal judgment execution agency of the military zone in which the execution was carried out for permission to receive the remains. Such petition must clearly indicate the full name and address of the person to receive the remains, relationship with the executed person: and commitments to meet security, order and environmental sanitation requirements and to pay all arising expenses. Within 7 days after receiving the petition the criminal judgment execution agency of the provincial-level police department or military zone shall consider and settle it.

If the executed person is a foreigner, the petition must be certified by a competent agency or a Vietnam-based representative mission of the country of which the sentenced person is a citizen, and be translated into Vietnamese. Such petition shall be considered and decided by the criminal judgment management agency.