According to Article 41 of the Anti-Domestic Violence Law, the police are responsible for protecting victims of domestic violence, and preventing in a proactive and timely manner, discovering, stopping and taking actions against domestic violence. Article 18.2 of the Law on Domestic Violence Prevention and Control 2007 states that the police, when discovering or being informed of domestic violence acts, must intervene in a timely manner.
Law firms will be involved if hired by the parties in a civil dispute or a criminal case.
Yes, both the civil procedure and criminal procedure require proof.
In a civil lawsuit, the petitioner who files a lawsuit must collect and present evidence to support their claims, per Article 6.1 of the CPC.
In a criminal case, per Article 15 of the Criminal Procedure Code 2015, both proof of the crime and proof of innocence must be clarified.
Vietnam does not have clear standards of proof in legal proceedings.
Yes. In a civil lawsuit, per Article 95 of the CPC, the requirements vary depending on the type of evidence/documents (e.g., a readable document can qualify as evidence if it is the original or a legally notarized copy; a witness's testimony can qualify as evidence if it is recorded in writing or on a tape or disk or video).
Similarly, in a criminal case, the requirements vary depending on the type of evidence/documents (e.g., a witness's testimony cannot qualify as evidence if they cannot explain how they know about the information in their testimony).
Regarding criminal law, Vietnamese laws do not have a clear "beyond a reasonable doubt" principle in the same way as other jurisdictions do. However, the Criminal Procedure Code 2015 expressly says that a person is innocent until proven guilty. If the basis for the conviction is insufficient and unclear, the accused must be declared innocent.
Vietnamese laws do not have the concept of ex parte orders, so the laws do not provide any standard of proof in these cases.
Vietnamese laws have no exact concept of an "affirmative defense." In Vietnam, the defendant has the right to defend themselves or to be defended by a lawyer or another person, according to Article 16 of the Criminal Procedure Code 2015.
In Vietnamese jurisdiction, intent has two types: willful/deliberate intent and involuntary intent. Accordingly, there are deliberate crimes and involuntary crimes. In terms of the crimes relevant to domestic violence[7] in the Criminal Code 2015, willful intent is one of the requirements.
Yes. According to Article 156.1.b of the Criminal Code 2015, if the victim accuses a person of a crime related to domestic violence that is a fabricated crime and they report it to the authorities, the victim may face criminal charges for "slander."
In Vietnamese laws, there is no discussion on "consent" in relation to domestic violence. However, according to the wording of the regulations regarding domestic violence crimes, it can be inferred that consent is absent in cases of domestic violence.
Yes. Insanity and self-defense can be defenses, subject to the degree of insanity or self-defense. For example, if the perpetrator of domestic violence is insane but still able to control their actions, insanity may not qualify as a defense.
In noncriminal procedures: N/A
In criminal procedures:[8] The witness has the duty to honestly testify facts to their knowledge in the case and their reasons for such knowledge of facts.
If a witness gives false testimonies, declines to testify or eludes testifying with any excuse not relating to force majeure or objective obstacles, they will incur criminal liabilities as per the Criminal Code 2015. Force majeure and objective obstacles are generally defined as follows:[9]
- Force majeure means occurrences, circumstances or events that happen in an objective, unforeseeable and irrecoverable manner even though all necessary and possible measures have been applied.
- Objective obstacles mean obstacles that arise from objective circumstances and render persons with rights or obligations unable to know their legitimate rights and interests have been violated or unable to perform their rights or obligations.
Some examples may include a natural disaster, fire or a pandemic.
In noncriminal procedures: N/A
In criminal procedures:[10]
- defense counsels of accused persons
- persons not conscious of the facts pertaining to the case or not capable of giving judicious testimonies due to their mental or physical impairment
In noncriminal procedures: N/A
In criminal procedures:[11]
- force majeure
- objective obstacles
In noncriminal procedures: N/A
In criminal procedures: Yes.
In noncriminal procedures: N/A
In criminal procedures:
- Higher penalties will be applicable.[12]
- Subject to criminal liability, even though the same acts will not be subject to criminal liability in case the victim is not a child, for example, deliberate infliction of bodily harm upon another person with under 11% whole person impairment will not be subject to criminal liability, but if the victim is a person under 16 years old, such offense will be held criminally liable.[13]
If not subject to criminal liability, a first-time domestic violence offense will be charged with administrative sanctions. Some offenses will be held criminally liable the second time (whether or not any administrative sanction was applied for the first-time offense), e.g., maltreatment or abuse of one's grandparent, parent, spouse, child, grandchild or caregiver.[14]