Part One
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Chapter II
FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES

Article 9. No person shall be considered guilty until a court judgment on his/her criminality takes legal effect
No person shall be considered guilty and be punished until a court judgment on his/her criminality takes legal effect.

Part One
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Chapter II
FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES

Article 9. No person shall be considered guilty until a court judgment on his/her criminality takes legal effect
No person shall be considered guilty and be punished until a court judgment on his/her criminality takes legal effect.

Article 10. Determination of facts of criminal cases
Investigating bodies, procuracies and courts must apply every lawful measure to determine the facts of criminal cases in an objective, versatile and full manner, to make clear evidences of crime and evidences of innocence, circumstances aggravating and extenuating the criminal liabilities of the accused or defendants.
The responsibility to prove offenses shall rest with the procedure-conducting bodies. The accused or defendants shall have the right but not be bound to prove their innocence.

Article 11. Guarantee of the right to defense of detainees, accused and defendants
The detainees, accused and defendants shall have the right to defend by themselves or ask other persons to defend them.
Investigating bodies, procuracies and courts shall have the duty to ensure that the detainees, accused and defendants exercise their right to defense under the provisions of this Code.

Part One
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Chapter II
FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES

Article 18. Public trial
Courts shall conduct trial in public, everybody shall have the right to attend such trial, unless otherwise prescribed by this Code.
In special cases where State secrets should be kept or the fine national customs and practices should be preserved or the involved parties’ secrets must be kept at their legitimate requests, courts shall conduct trial behind closed door but must pronounce the judgments publicly.

Part One
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Chapter II
FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES

Article 24. Spoken and written language used in the criminal procedure
Spoken and written language used in the criminal procedure is Vietnamese. Participants in the criminal procedure may use spoken and written languages of their own nationalities; in this case, interpreters shall be required.

Part One
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Chapter IV
PARTICIPANTS IN THE PROCEDURE

Article 61. Interpreters
1. Interpreters shall be required by investigating bodies, procuracies or courts in cases where the procedures are participated by persons who cannot use Vietnamese.

2. Interpreters must appear in response to the summonses of investigating bodies, procuracies or subpoenas of courts and must interpret truthfully, must not disclose investigation secrets; if they interpret falsely, the interpreters shall bear penal liability according to Article 307 of the Penal Code.

3. Interpreters must refuse to participate in the procedure or be changed if:
a/ They fall into one of the cases defined in Clause 1 and Clause 3, Article 42 of this Code;
b/ They have conducted the procedure in the capacity as head, deputy head of the investigating body, investigator, chairman or vice-chairman of the procuracy, procurator, president or vice-president of the court, judge, juror or court clerk, or have participated in the capacity as defense counsel, witness or expert in such cases.
The change of interpreters shall be decided by the requesting agencies.

4. The provisions of this Article shall also apply to persons who know signs of the dumb and the deaf.

Article 55
Rights of persons during an investigation
1. In respect of an investigation under this Statute, a person:
(a) Shall not be compelled to incriminate himself or herself or to confess guilt;
(b) Shall not be subjected to any form of coercion, duress or threat, to torture or to any other form of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;
(c) Shall, if questioned in a language other than a language the person fully understands and speaks, have, free of any cost, the assistance of a competent interpreter and such translations as are necessary to meet the requirements of fairness; and
(d) Shall not be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention, and shall not be deprived of his or her liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with such procedures as are established in this Statute.
2. Where there are grounds to believe that a person has committed a crime within the jurisdiction of the Court and that person is about to be questioned either by the Prosecutor, or by national authorities pursuant to a request made under Part 9, that person shall also have the following rights of which he or she shall be informed prior to being questioned:
(a) To be informed, prior to being questioned, that there are grounds to believe that he or she has committed a crime within the jurisdiction of the Court;
(b) To remain silent, without such silence being a consideration in the determination of guilt or innocence;
(c) To have legal assistance of the person's choosing, or, if the person does not have legal assistance, to have legal assistance assigned to him or her, in any case where the interests of justice so require, and without payment by the person in any such case if the person does not have sufficient means to pay for it; and
(d) To be questioned in the presence of counsel unless the person has voluntarily waived his or her right to counsel.

Article 63
Trial in the presence of the accused
1. The accused shall be present during the trial.
2. If the accused, being present before the Court, continues to disrupt the trial, the Trial Chamber may remove the accused and shall make provision for him or her to observe the trial and instruct counsel from outside the courtroom, through the use of communications technology, if required. Such measures shall be taken only in exceptional circumstances after other reasonable alternatives have proved inadequate, and only for such duration as is strictly required.

Article 66
Presumption of innocence
1. Everyone shall be presumed innocent until proved guilty before the Court in accordance with the applicable law.
2. The onus is on the Prosecutor to prove the guilt of the accused.
3. In order to convict the accused, the Court must be convinced of the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt.

Article 67
Rights of the accused
1. In the determination of any charge, the accused shall be entitled to a public hearing, having regard to the provisions of this Statute, to a fair hearing conducted impartially, and to the following minimum guarantees, in full equality:
(a) To be informed promptly and in detail of the nature, cause and content of the charge, in a language which the accused fully understands and speaks;
(b) To have adequate time and facilities for the preparation of the defence and to communicate freely with counsel of the accused's choosing in confidence;
(c) To be tried without undue delay;
(d) Subject to article 63, paragraph 2, to be present at the trial, to conduct the defence in person or through legal assistance of the accused's choosing, to be informed, if the accused does not have legal assistance, of this right and to have legal assistance assigned by the Court in any case where the interests of justice so require, and without payment if the accused lacks sufficient means to pay for it;
(e) To examine, or have examined, the witnesses against him or her and to obtain the attendance and examination of witnesses on his or her behalf under the same conditions as witnesses against him or her. The accused shall also be entitled to raise defences and to present other evidence admissible under this Statute;
(f) To have, free of any cost, the assistance of a competent interpreter and such translations as are necessary to meet the requirements of fairness, if any of the proceedings of or documents presented to the Court are not in a language which the accused fully understands and speaks;
(g) Not to be compelled to testify or to confess guilt and to remain silent, without such silence being a consideration in the determination of guilt or innocence;
(h) To make an unsworn oral or written statement in his or her defence; and
(i) Not to have imposed on him or her any reversal of the burden of proof or any onus of rebuttal.
2. In addition to any other disclosure provided for in this Statute, the Prosecutor shall, as soon as practicable, disclose to the defence evidence in the Prosecutor's possession or control which he or she believes shows or tends to show the innocence of the accused, or to mitigate the guilt of the accused, or which may affect the credibility of prosecution evidence. In case of doubt as to the application of this paragraph, the Court shall decide.