DECREE

STIPULATING THE EXECUTION OF SUSPENDED SENTENCES

THE GOVERNMENT

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government of September 30, 1992;
For the execution of suspended sentences according to the provisions in Article 60 of the Penal Code and Articles 227, 234, 237 and 238 of the Criminal Procedure Code;
At the proposal of the Minister of Justice,

DECREES:

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1.-

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2. Suspended sentence servers shall be subject to probation under the supervision and education by the supervising and educating agencies and organizations as well as their families.

Where a suspended sentence server has served half of the probation period and made much progress, the court may consider and shorten their probation period as provided for in Clause 4, Article 60 of the Penal Code.

Article 2.-

1. The supervising and educating agencies and organizations shall have to take necessary measures to ensure the effective execution of suspended sentences and coordinate with the concerned agencies and organizations in supervising and educating the suspended sentence servers.

2. Families of suspended sentence servers shall have to educate and help such persons to redress themselves, not relapse into law violations and new offenses; closely coordinate with the supervising and educating agencies and organizations in supervising and educating such persons.

3. The concerned agencies and organizations as well as the population community where the suspended sentence servers reside shall have to coordinate with the supervising and educating agencies and organizations in educating and helping such persons during the probation period.

Article 3.- Supervising and educating agencies and organizations mentioned in this Decree shall include:

1. Agencies and organizations that directly manage the suspended sentence servers who are officials, employees or students at education and training establishments;

2. Army units at the company, equivalent or higher level, if the suspended sentence servers are army men or defense workers;

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4. The People’s Committees of communes, wards or townships where reside the suspended sentence servers who do not fall under the categories specified in Clauses 1,2 and 3 if this Article.

Chapter II

OBLIGATIONS AND RIGHTS OF SUSPENDED SENTENCE SERVERS

Article 4.- The suspended sentence servers shall have the following obligations:

1. To strictly abide by the State’s laws; actively perform civic obligations and observe the rules of the hamlets, villages or population clusters where they reside;

2. To fill in all contents prescribed in the suspended sentence server’s monitoring book and hand it over to the persons directly supervising and educating them upon the expiry of the probation period;

3. To fulfill all additional penalties and compensation obligations (if any);

4. To make monthly reports on their self-training and reform and send them to the persons directly supervising and educating them; where they are away from their residence places for over 30 days, such reports must be commented by the police of the area or commune where they temporarily stay.

5. To make self-criticism reports on the process of their self-training and reform and send them to the heads of the supervising and educating agencies or organizations when they have already served half of the probation period. Such self-criticism report must be commented by the persons directly supervising and educating them as well as the quarter or commune police or the leaders of the population clusters or the heads of the hamlets or villages where they reside;

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7. Cases where the suspended sentence servers are away from their residence places:

a/ If they are officials, public employees, army men, defense workers or wage earners, they must ask for permission from the heads of the agencies organizations where they work and, at the same time, to notify such to the quarter or commune police or leaders of the population clusters or the heads of the hamlets or villages where they reside;

b/ If they are students of education and training establishments, they must ask for permission therefrom and notify such to the quarter or commune police or leaders of the population clusters or the heads of the hamlets or villages where they reside;

c/ If they are placed under the supervision and education of the commune/ward/township People’s Committees, they must report to the persons directly supervising and educating them. Where they are away from their residence places for over 30 days, they must report such in writing to the presidents of the commune, ward or township People’s Committees that supervise and educate them, stating clearly the absence duration and the place of temporary residence;

d/ In cases specified at Points a, b and c of Clause 7 of this Article, if the suspended sentence servers stay overnight away from their residence places, they must, immediately upon their arrival, report themselves and hand over the suspended sentence server’s monitoring book to the police of the areas or communes where they stay overnight.

Article 5.-

1. If the suspended sentence servers who are officials, public employees, army men, defense workers or wage earners are permitted to continue working at the agencies, organizations or army units where they used to work before committing offences, they shall be assigned jobs suitable to the supervision and education requirements and purposes and entitled to the regime as prescribed for officials, public employees, army men, defense workers or wage earners doing the same jobs.

2. If the suspended sentence servers who used to be students at education and training establishments are permitted to continue their study at such establishments, they shall enjoy the benefits according to the regulations of such establishments.

3. The suspended sentence servers falling outside the categories specified in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article shall be assisted by the commune, ward or township People’s Committees that supervise and educate them in finding jobs and stabilizing their life in the localities.

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5. For the suspended sentence servers who are officials, public employees, army men, defense workers or wage earners, their probation period shall be included in their working or seniority but not in the time for consideration of pay rise or rank promotion according to schedule. The probation period shall be counted from the date the agencies or organizations that supervise and educate such persons receive the sentence execution decision or the judgment extract.

Article 6.- The suspended sentence servers may propose to the supervising and educating agencies or organizations to request the district-level courts or the regional military courts of the places where they are on probation to consider and shorten their probation period after they have already served half of the probation period and make much progress.

During the probation period, if the suspended sentence servers commit new offenses, they shall not be permitted to continue serving their suspended sentence but must serve in prison the whole sentence of the last judgment augmented with the penalty of the new judgment according to Clause 5, Article 60 of the Penal Code.

Chapter III

RESPONSIBILITIES AND RIGHTS OF AGENCIES, ORGANIZATIONS AND FAMILIES IN SUPERVISING AND EDUCATING THE SUSPENDED SENTENCE SERVERS

Article 7.-

1. The agencies and organizations supervising and educating the suspended sentence servers shall have the following responsibilities and rights:

a/ To assign persons to directly supervise and educate the suspended sentence servers;

b/ To create conditions for the suspended sentence servers to participate in collective activities of the supervising and educating agencies or organizations where they work or reside;

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d/ To request the suspended sentence servers to fulfill all their obligations; to take timely preventive and remedial measures when the suspended sentence servers show negative signs and notify such to the competent authorities for handling when necessary;

d/ To praise in time the suspended sentence servers when they make much progress and actively participate in social activities or record outstanding achievements;

e/ To permit the suspended sentence servers to leave their residence places;

f/ To propose at their own initiative or the requests of the suspended sentence servers the district-level courts or the regional military courts of the places where such persons are on probation to consider the shortening of their probation period after they have already served half of the probation period and made much progress;

g/ To issue certificates of completion of the probation period to the suspended sentence servers according to the set form;

h/ To make written comments on the suspended sentence servers’ probation process in their monitoring books when they move to other places.

2. When requesting the courts to consider shortening the probation period as prescribed at Point f, Clause 1 of this Article, the agencies or organizations that supervise and educate the suspended sentence servers must send dossiers requesting for a shortened probation period.

Such a dossier shall comprise:

a/ The written request of the supervising and educating agency or organization for a shortened probation period for the suspended sentence server;

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c/ The court’s decision on the execution of the suspended sentence and an extract of its judgment;

d/ An application for a shortened probation period, made by the suspended sentence server, if he/she so requests;

e/ The self-criticism report of the suspended sentence server;

f/ The minutes of the meeting to assess the suspended sentence server’s behavior.

3. For suspended sentence servers who are officials, public employees, army men, defense workers, wage earners or students at education and training establishments and are undergoing their probation period at their agencies, organizations, army units or education and training establishments, apart from the responsibilities and rights prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article, the heads of such agencies, organizations, army units or education and training establishments shall have to coordinate with the People’s Committees of the communes, wards or townships where such persons reside.

4. The supervising and educating agencies and organizations must not impose on the suspended sentence servers any obligations and restrictions other than obligations prescribed in Article 4 of this Decree and restrictions clearly stated in the court’s judgments.

Article 8.-

1. In cases prescribed at Points f and h, Article 7 of this Decree, the supervising and educating agencies or organizations shall hold meetings where the suspended sentence servers can make self-criticism, which shall serve as basis for the commenting and assessment of the probation period of the suspended sentence servers.

2. The self-criticism shall proceed as follows:

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b/ The students at the education and training establishments shall make self-criticism before the collectives of their classes;

c/ Those who are placed under the supervision and education of the commune, ward or township People’s Committees shall make self-criticism before the people of the hamlets or villages or the population groups of the places where they reside;

d/ The self-criticism meetings must be attended by the persons directly supervising and educating the concerned suspended sentence servers and the minutes thereof must be made.

Article 9.- The persons assigned to directly supervise and educate the suspended sentence servers shall have the following responsibilities and rights:

1. To take initiative in meeting with the suspended sentence servers so as to encourage and help them to strictly abide by the State’s laws and actively fulfill civic obligations during their probation period;

2. Once every three months, in unexpected cases or at the request by the supervising and education agencies or organizations, to report to the heads of such agencies or organizations on the serving of the suspended sentences by the suspended sentence servers;

3. When the suspended sentence servers have satisfied all conditions for consideration of a shortened probation period as prescribed in Clause 4, Article 60 of the Penal Code, to report such to the heads of the supervising and educating agencies or organizations so that the latter can request the courts to consider the shortening of their probation period; Where such persons have completed the probation period, to request the heads of such agencies or organizations to issue certificates of completion of the probation period to them;

4. To propose concrete measures for coordination with the suspended sentence servers’ families and organizations where such persons undergo their probation in supervising and educating them.

5. To coordinate with the quarter or commune police or the leaders of the street population groups or the heads of the villages or hamlets, where the suspended sentence servers reside, in supervising and educating them;

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7. To compile dossiers for monitoring the serving of suspended sentence by the suspended sentence servers.

Article 10.-

1. A dossier for monitoring the suspended sentence server’s probation shall comprise:

a/ The suspended sentence server’s monitoring book issued by the court;

b/ The judgment’s extract and the sentence execution decision;

c/ The decision of the head of the agency or organization that supervises and educates the suspended sentence server on the assignment of a person to directly supervise and educate such person;

d/ The written commitment of his/her family, if the suspended sentence server is a minor;

e/ The report of the suspended sentence server to the person directly supervising and educating him/her on his/her self-training and reform;

e/ The report of the person assigned to supervise and educate the suspended sentence server on his/her serving of the suspended sentence;

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h/ The written self-criticism of the suspended sentence server;

i/ The written comments on the probation process of the suspended sentence server;

j/ The court’s decision to shorten the probation period (if any);

k/ The certificate of completion of the probation period;

l/ Other documents related to the supervision and education of the suspended sentence server.

2. When a suspended sentence server has completed his/her probation period, the person directly supervising and educating him/her shall have to hand over the dossier prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article to the following agency or organization for management:

a/ The personnel management section of the agency, organization, army unit, education or training establishment directly managing the suspended sentence server who is an official, public employee, army man, defense worker, wage earner or student at the education/training establishment;

b/ The People’s Committee of the commune, ward or township where such person resides, if he/she does not fall under the category mentioned at Point a, Clause 2 of this Article.

Article 11.- Where the suspended sentence sever moves to another place, the supervising and educating agency or organization shall have to immediately notify such and send his/her dossier to the court that has issued the sentence execution decision so that the latter can complete the necessary procedures for assigning an agency or organization in the place where he/she moves in to continue the supervision and education of such person.

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1. To pay constant attention to, keep in close touch with and take concrete measures to help the suspended sentence servers to redress themselves and not commit law-breaking acts; remind and rectify them in time when such persons do any things wrong;

3. To notify the agencies or organizations that supervise and educate the suspended sentence servers of the results of their self-training and reform at the latter’s request;

4. To attend the meetings to assess the suspended sentence servers;

5. To pay compensation for damage caused by the suspended sentence servers who are minors. If the suspended sentence servers are minors aged between full 15 and under 18 years, to pay compensation only when they have not enough property therefor.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 13.- Those who violate the provisions of this Decree shall, depending on the seriousness of their violations, be disciplined, administratively sanctioned or examined for penal liability according to the provisions of law.

Article 14.- This Decree takes effect 15 days after its signing.

Article 15.- The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the agencies attached to the Government and the presidents of the provinces and centrally-run cities shall have to implement this Decree.-

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ON BEHALF OF THE GOVERNMENT
PRIME MINISTER




Phan Van Khai