On the morning of November 26th, the National Assembly voted to pass four laws: the Extradition Law, the Law on Transfer of Persons Serving Prison Sentences, the Law on Mutual Legal Assistance in Civil Matters, and the Law on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters.
The four laws recently passed by the National Assembly will all take effect from July 1, 2026.
The Extradition Law was passed with 426 out of 430 National Assembly deputies present (89.97% of the total number of National Assembly deputies). The law consists of 4 chapters and 45 articles, stipulating the principles, authority, conditions, procedures, and processes for extradition between Vietnam and foreign countries; and the responsibilities of Vietnamese state agencies in extradition.
The percentage of National Assembly delegates voting to pass the Extradition Law (Photo: Hong Phong).
One of the new provisions is that the law clearly stipulates the detention of individuals in emergency situations before an extradition request is made.
Accordingly, the document requesting the detention of a person in an emergency situation must state the reason and purpose; information about the crime and the penalty range; and a commitment to compensate for damages in case of wrongful detention of the person in an emergency situation before an extradition request is made.
The Ministry of Public Security will verify the validity of the document requesting the detention of a person in accordance with regulations. If the request is valid, the Ministry of Public Security will forward it to the competent police agency to decide on the detention and placement of the person in a detention facility.
The period of detention in emergency cases is 45 days from the date of admission to the detention facility. The Minister of Public Security will specify the details of detention in emergency cases before an extradition request is made.
Regarding conditional extradition, the new law stipulates that if a foreign country requests Vietnam to meet certain conditions in order to agree to extradition, the Ministry of Public Security, in coordination with competent Vietnamese authorities, may accept part or all of these conditions in accordance with the extradition principles stipulated in this law.
The National Assembly session on the morning of November 26 (Photo: Hong Phong).
In cases where a foreign country needs to meet certain conditions for Vietnam to agree to extradition, the Ministry of Public Security, in coordination with competent Vietnamese authorities, will request the competent foreign authority to accept and commit to fulfilling these conditions.
The Law on Transferring Persons Serving Prison Sentences was passed by the National Assembly with 429 out of 430 attending National Assembly deputies voting in favor (90.51% of the total number of National Assembly deputies), comprising 4 chapters and 48 articles.
A notable aspect of the law is the conversion of prison sentences. According to the law, if the prison sentence imposed by the court of the transferring country on a person serving a sentence is inconsistent with the provisions of the Criminal Code and other laws of Vietnam, it must be converted accordingly.
The conversion of prison sentences is based on the circumstances of the case as stated in the judgment or decision issued by the court of the transferring country.
The convertible prison sentence must not be more severe than the prison sentence imposed by the court of the transferring country in terms of nature and duration. The time already served in prison in the transferring country will be deducted from the term of imprisonment to be served in Vietnam.
The law also stipulates that persons serving prison sentences who are repatriated to Vietnam must not be convicted a second time for the same crime as stated in the judgment or decision of the court of the transferring country.
In its report explaining this matter, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly stated that the conversion of prison sentences is a complex issue, directly affecting the rights of those serving prison sentences, while Vietnam's criminal policy differs significantly from that of other countries.
The Chairman of the Committee on Law and Justice presents the report explaining and incorporating feedback on 4 draft laws before the National Assembly votes to approve them (Photo: Hong Phong).
Therefore, to ensure that the provisions of the law are feasible, stable, and convenient to apply, the law assigns the "Minister of Public Security to preside over and coordinate with the Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court and the Prosecutor General of the Supreme People's Procuracy to provide detailed regulations on this matter."
The Law on Mutual Legal Assistance in Civil Matters received 429 out of 430 votes in favor (90.51% of the total number of delegates), comprising 4 chapters and 38 articles, stipulating the principles, authority, procedures, and processes for implementing mutual legal assistance in civil matters between Vietnam and foreign countries; and the responsibilities of Vietnamese State agencies in mutual legal assistance in civil matters.
The Law on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters was passed with 426 out of 427 delegates voting in favor (89.87% of the total number of delegates). The law consists of 4 chapters and 42 articles, stipulating the principles, authority, procedures, and processes for implementing mutual legal assistance in criminal matters between Vietnam and foreign countries; and the responsibilities of Vietnamese state agencies in mutual legal assistance in criminal matters.
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/thoi-su/cong-an-co-quyen-giu-nguoi-khan-cap-toi-da-45-ngay-de-dan-do-20251126084331575.htm
Comment (0)