Chương I Luật tổ chức Toà án nhân dân 2014: Những quy định chung

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of regulation

This Law prescribes functions, duties, powers and organizational structure of people’s courts; judges, assessors and other staffs in people’s courts; and assurance of operation of people’s courts.

Article 2. Functions, duties and powers of people’s courts

1. People’s courts are the judicial bodies of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and exercise judicial power.

People’s courts have the duty to safeguard justice, human rights, citizens’ rights, the socialist regime, the interests of the State, and the lawful rights and interests of organizations and individuals.

Through their activities, courts shall contribute to educating citizens in the loyalty to the Fatherland, strict observance of law, respect for rules of social conduct and the sense of struggle to prevent and combat crimes and other violations.

2. In the name of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, courts shall adjudicate criminal, civil, marriage and family, business, commercial, labor and administrative cases and settle other matters as prescribed by law; examine documents and evidences collected in the legal process in an adequate, objective and comprehensive manner; and base themselves on results of the adversarial process to make judgments or decisions on guilt or innocence, to apply or not to apply penalties and judicial measures, or decisions regarding property rights and obligations and personal rights.

Judgments and decisions of people’s courts which have taken legal effect shall be respected by agencies, organizations and individuals and strictly observed by concerned agencies, organizations and individuals.

3. When performing the duty of adjudicating criminal cases, courts have the following powers:

a/ To examine and conclude on the legality of procedural acts and decisions of investigators, procurators and defense counsels in the course of investigation, prosecution and trial; to consider the application, change or cancellation of deterrent measures; to cease or suspend cases;

b/ To examine and conclude on the legality of evidences and documents collected by investigating agencies, investigators, procuracies and procurators; and those provided by lawyers, the accused, defendants and other procedure participants;

c/ When finding it necessary, to return case files to procuracies for additional investigation; to request procuracies to add documents and evidences, or to examine, verify, collect or add evidences in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Code;

d/ To request investigators, procurators and other people to present matters related to cases at hearings; to institute criminal cases when detecting omission of crimes;

e/ To make decisions to exercise other powers in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Code.

4. Courts shall verify and collect documents and evidences to settle civil, marriage and family, business, commercial, labor and administrative cases and matters, and exercise other powers as prescribed by the procedural law.

5. Courts shall handle administrative violations; consider requests of state management agencies and decide whether to apply administrative handling measures related to human rights and citizens’ fundamental rights in accordance with law.

6. Courts shall issue decisions on execution of criminal judgments, postponement of the serving of imprisonment penalty, suspension of the serving of imprisonment penalty, reduction of, or exemption from serving, penalty, remission of previous criminal convictions, exemption from or reduction of the judgment serving obligation related to state budget remittances; and exercise other powers prescribed by the Penal Code, the Law on Execution of Criminal Judgments and the Law on Enforcement of Civil Judgments.

Courts shall issue decisions on postponement of, exemption from, reduction or suspension of execution of, administrative handling measures they apply, and exercise other powers prescribed by the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations.

7. During the trial of cases, courts shall detect and recommend competent agencies to consider and amend, supplement or annul legal documents which contravene the Constitution, laws or resolutions of the National Assembly, or ordinances or resolutions of the National Assembly Standing Committee in order to guarantee lawful rights and interests of individuals, agencies and organizations; and competent agencies shall reply to courts on results of handling such legal documents in accordance with law to serve as a basis for courts to settle cases.

8. Courts shall ensure the uniform application of law in trial.

9. Courts shall exercise other powers prescribed by law.

Article 3. Organization of people’s courts

1. The Supreme People’s Court.

2. Superior people’s courts.

3. Courts of provinces and centrally run cities.

4. Courts of rural districts, urban districts, towns, provincial cities and the equivalent.

5. Military courts.

Article 4. Competence to establish and dissolve people’s courts of rural districts, urban districts, towns, provincial cities and the equivalent, people’s courts of provinces and centrally run cities, superior people’s courts and military courts

1. The National Assembly Standing Committee shall decide to establish and dissolve people’s courts of rural districts, urban districts, towns, provincial cities and the equivalent; people’s courts of provinces and centrally run cities; and superior people’s courts, and stipulate the scope of territorial jurisdiction of superior people’s courts at the proposal of the Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court.

2. The National Assembly Standing Committee shall decide to establish and dissolve regional military courts and military courts of military zones and the equivalent, and stipulate the scope of territorial jurisdiction of each court at the proposal of the Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court after reaching agreement with the Minister of National Defense.

Article 5. Principle of organization of people’s courts

People’s courts shall be independently organized based on their jurisdiction.

Article 6. Guarantee of the first-instance and appellate trial system

1. The first-instance and appellate trial system shall be guaranteed.

First-instance judgments and decisions of courts may be appealed or protested against in accordance with the procedural law. First-instance judgments and decisions that are not appealed or protested against within the time limit prescribed by law shall take legal effect.

Cases in which first-instance judgments or decisions are appealed or protested against shall be brought to appellate trial. Appellate judgments and decisions of courts shall take legal effect.

2. In case a violation of law is detected in a legally effective judgment or decision of a court or a new circumstance arises as prescribed by the procedural law, such judgment or decision shall be re-considered according to cassation or reopening procedures.

Article 7. Appointment of judges, election or nomination of assessors

1. The appointment of judges is applicable to courts.

2. The election of people’s assessors is applicable to people’s courts of provinces and centrally run cities, and people’s courts of rural districts, urban districts, towns, provincial cities and the equivalent. The nomination of army men’s assessors is applicable to military courts of military zones and the equivalent and to regional military courts.

Article 8. Trials with participation of assessors

Except trials conducted by summary procedure, assessors shall participate in first-instance trials by courts in accordance with the procedural law.

Article 9. Judges and assessors shall conduct trials independently and obey only the law

1. Judges and assessors shall conduct trials independently and obey only the law; agencies, organizations and individuals are prohibited from interfering in trials conducted by judges and assessors.

2. Individuals, agencies and organizations that commit acts of interfering in trials conducted by judges and assessors shall, depending on the nature and severity of their acts, be disciplined, administratively sanctioned or examined for penal liability in accordance with law.

Article 10. People’s courts shall conduct trials on a collegial basis

Except trials conducted by summary procedure, people’s courts shall conduct trials on a collegial basis and make decisions by a vote of majority. The composition of a trial panel at each level of adjudication shall be prescribed by the procedural law.

Article 11. People’s courts shall conduct trials in a prompt, impartial and public manner

1. People’s courts shall promptly conduct trials within a time limit prescribed by law, ensuring impartiality.

2. People’s courts shall hold their hearings in public. In special cases which require protection of state secrets, conformity with the nation’s fine traditions and customs, protection of minors or protection of private life at the legitimate request of involved parties, people’s court may hold closed hearings.

Article 12. Guarantee of the right to equality before people’s courts

Courts shall conduct trials on the principle that everyone is equal before law, regardless of his/her ethnicity, sex, belief, religion, social class and position; individuals, agencies and organizations are all equal before court.

Article 13. Guarantee of the adversarial principle in trial

The adversarial principle in trials shall be guaranteed. Courts shall enable procedure participants to exercise the right to adversarial process in trial. The application of the adversarial principle in trial must comply with the procedural law.

Article 14. Burden of proving crimes and guarantee of the right to defense of the accused and defendants and the right to protection of lawful interests of involved parties

A person charged with a criminal offense shall be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to the procedure established by law and the sentence of the court takes legal effect.

The right to defense of the accused and defendants and the right to protection of lawful interests of involved parties shall be guaranteed.

The accused and defendants have the right to defend themselves in person and ask defense counsels or other people to defend them; other parties involved in a case may defend themselves in person or ask others to defend their lawful interests.

Courts shall guarantee the right to defense of the accused and defendants and the right to protection of lawful interests of involved parties.

Article 15. Spoken and written language used before people’s courts

The spoken and written language used before court is Vietnamese.

Courts shall guarantee the right of procedure participants to use spoken and written languages of their own ethnicities before people’s courts; in this case interpreters shall be required.

Article 16. Guarantee of effective and efficient operation of people’s courts

1. Individuals, agencies and organizations shall respect courts.

2. Any act in contempt or obstructing operation of people’s courts is strictly prohibited. Persons who commit such an act shall, depending on the nature and severity of their violations, be disciplined, administratively sanctioned or examined for penal liability in accordance with law.

3. When performing their duties and exercising their powers, judges and assessors may contact state agencies, the Central Committee and member organizations of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, other social organizations and citizens. Within the ambit of their functions, duties and powers, agencies, organizations and citizens shall fulfill requests of and create conditions for judges and assessors to perform their duties.

Article 17. Responsibility of people’s courts to coordinate with agencies and organizations

1. People’s courts shall coordinate with agencies and organizations in bringing into play the educational effect of court hearings and creating favorable conditions for the enforcement of their judgments and decisions.

2. People’s courts shall join agencies and organization in studying and proposing policies and laws on prevention and combat of violations of law and crimes, and assurance of national security and social order and safety.

3. In case of necessity, in addition to making judgments and decisions, people’s courts shall make recommendations for agencies and organizations to apply measures to do away with causes and conditions for the commission of crimes or violations of law in such agencies and organizations. The agencies and organizations receiving such recommendations shall implement them and notify the courts of results of implementation within 30 days after receiving the recommendations.

Article 18. Organizational management of people’s courts

1. The Supreme People’s Court shall manage people’s courts organizationally.

2. The Supreme People’s Court shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of National Defense in, managing military courts organizationally.

The regulation on coordination between the Supreme People’s Court and the Ministry of National Defense in managing military courts organizationally shall be promulgated by the National Assembly Standing Committee.

Article 19. Supervision of operation of people’s courts

The National Assembly and its agencies, deputy delegations and deputies, People’s Councils and their deputies, the Vietnam Fatherland Front and its member organizations shall supervise operation of people’s courts in accordance with law.