Proposal to notify not to impose the death penalty on people being extradited

On the afternoon of April 15, continuing the 44th session, the National Assembly Standing Committee gave opinions on a number of draft laws, including the Extradition Law.

Presenting the report, Deputy Minister of Public Security Le Van Tuyen said that the purpose of developing the Law on extradition is to perfect the law on extradition in a synchronous and modern direction, ensuring strictness, feasibility, and compliance with international laws and practices.

According to the Deputy Minister of Public Security, the draft Law stipulates that in cases where foreign countries require Vietnam not to impose the death penalty on those requested for extradition, the Ministry of Public Security shall preside over and coordinate with relevant ministries, branches and agencies to report to the President.

Based on the opinion of the President, the Ministry of Public Security or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall notify foreign countries about not implementing the death penalty.

In case Vietnam requests foreign countries not to impose the death penalty on those requested for extradition, the Ministry of Public Security requests foreign countries to make a written commitment to this content.

The Law assigns the Minister of Public Security to preside over and coordinate with the Chief Prosecutor of the Supreme People's Procuracy, the Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and heads of other relevant agencies to provide detailed instructions on this matter.

Reviewer, Chairman of the Law and Justice Committee Hoang Thanh Tung said that the Committee basically agreed with this provision of the draft Law and found this to be a new and important issue.

The addition of this regulation aims to ensure the implementation of relevant international treaties to which Vietnam is a member, and to handle difficulties and problems in practical implementation.

In addition, there were cases where foreign countries asked Vietnam to make a commitment not to apply the death penalty. However, the draft Law does not have provisions to handle this case.

Therefore, the inspection agency proposed to specify the handling plan for cases where foreign countries require Vietnam to commit not to apply the death penalty.

In addition, there are opinions suggesting considering the content of the above regulation because it will certainly affect the independence of the court.

At the same time, because the draft Law stipulates this authority to the President, it is necessary to continue to study carefully to ensure suitability with the position of the head of State in a specific issue of extradition activities.

According to Deputy Minister Le Van Tuyen, the draft Law stipulates that in cases where foreign countries request Vietnam to arrest people in an emergency to extradite according to the provisions of international treaties to which Vietnam and that country are members, they must comply with the provisions of Article 113 of the Criminal Procedure Code, if the country requests to provide sufficient information and commits to fully implement the commitments.

Also at the meeting, Politburo member and National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man noted that the draft Law needs to clarify the principle of extradition, add more detailed regulations, and not extradite Vietnamese citizens in some cases to avoid arbitrary application.

The National Assembly Chairman also said that it is necessary to stipulate more clearly the refusal to extradite and increase the signing of bilateral agreements, especially for countries with a large number of Vietnamese citizens.

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