Adjudication of criminal cases involving victims aged under 18 a comparison between vietnamese criminal procedure law and international norms and standards on juvenile justice

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF LAW *** FACULTY OF CRIMINAL LAW NGUYỄN HOÀNG NAM ADJUDICATION OF CRIMINAL CASES INVOLVING VICTIMS AGED UNDER 18: A COMPARISON BETWEEN VIETNAMESE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE LAW AND INTERNATIONAL NORMS AND STANDARDS ON JUVENILE JUSTICE BACHELOR THESIS Supervisor: Dr LÊ HUỲNH TẤN DUY HO CHI MINH CITY, YEAR 2022 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF LAW *** FACULTY OF CRIMINAL LAW BACHELOR THESIS ADJUDICATION OF CRIMINAL CASES INVOLVING VICTIMS AGED UNDER 18: A COMPARISON BETWEEN VIETNAMESE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE LAW AND INTERNATIONAL NORMS AND STANDARDS ON JUVENILE JUSTICE STUDENT: NGUYỄN HOÀNG NAM SCHOOL YEAR: 2018 - 2022 STUDENT ID: 1853801012126 CLASS: SUPERVISOR: 97-CLC43B Dr LÊ HUỲNH TẤN DUY HO CHI MINH CITY, YEAR 2022 DECLARATION I declare that this thesis, which is named “Adjudication of Criminal Cases Involving Victims Aged Under 18: A Comparison between Vietnamese Criminal Procedure Law and International Norms and Standards on Juvenile Justice”, is my original work The thesis, which is implemented under the supervision of Dr Lê Huỳnh Tấn Duy, ensures honesty and complies with rules regarding citation, the note of references promulgated by the Faculty of Criminal Law and Ho Chi Minh City University of Law I hereby take full responsibility for this declaration of mine Author Nguyễn Hoàng Nam LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS No Abbreviation Beijing Rules Circular No 01/2017 Meaning UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice 1985 Circular No 01/2017/TT-TANDTC Circular No 02/2018 Circular No 02/2018/TT-TANDTC CPC Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims Vietnam Criminal Procedure Code 2015 Havana Rules HRC ICCPR 10 Joint Circular No 01/2022 Joint Circular No 06/2018 Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power 1985 United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty 1990 Human Rights Committee International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966 Joint Circular No 01/2022/TTLT-VKSNDTCTANDTC-BCA-BQP-BLĐTBXH Joint Circular No 06/2018/TTLT-VKSNDTCTANDTC-BCA-BTP- BLĐTBXH Model Law on Justice in Matters Involving Child Victims and Witnesses of Crime 2009 UN Model Strategies and Practical Measures on the Elimination of Violence against Children in the Field of Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice 2015 11 Model Law 12 Model Strategies 13 Resolution No 06/2019 14 Riyadh Guidelines 15 Rome Statute 16 UDHR 17 UN Declaration 18 UN Guidelines 19 UN Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid 20 Vienna Guidelines 21 p / pp Guidelines for Action on Children in the Criminal Justice System 1997 Page / pages 22 para Paragraph Resolution No 06/2019/NQ-HĐTP Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency 1990 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 UN Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power 1985 UN Guidelines on Justice in Matters involving Child Victims and Witnesses of Crime 2005 United Nations Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION CHAPTER GENERAL COMPREHENSION OF THE ADJUDICATION OF CRIMINAL CASES INVOLVING VICTIMS UNDER 18 YEARS OF AGE 1.1 Basic definitions relating to the adjudication of criminal cases involving victims under 18 years of age 1.1.1 Victims under 18 years of age 1.1.2 Adjudication of criminal cases involving victims under 18 years of age 12 1.2 Characteristics of the adjudication of criminal cases involving victims under 18 years of age 13 1.3 Bases for regulations on the adjudication of criminal cases involving victims under 18 years of age 18 1.3.1 Theoretical bases 18 1.3.2 Regulatory bases 20 1.3.3 Practical bases 24 1.4 Reasons for comparing Vietnamese criminal procedure law with international norms and standards on the adjudication of criminal cases involving victims under 18 years of age 25 CONCLUSION TO CHAPTER 28 CHAPTER INTERNATIONAL NORMS AND STANDARDS ON THE ADJUDICATION OF CRIMINAL CASES INVOLVING VICTIMS UNDER 18 YEARS OF AGE 29 2.1 Overview of international instruments governing the adjudication of criminal cases involving victims under 18 years of age 29 2.1.1 Human rights and child rights instruments 29 2.1.2 Special international instruments 34 2.2 2.2.1 2.2.2 2.3 The scope of application and fundamental principles 36 Scope of application 36 Fundamental principles 38 Legal and other appropriate assistance 39 2.3.1 Legal assistance 39 2.3.2 Other appropriate assistance 40 2.4 The right to privacy 42 2.5 Special court and procedure of the first-instance trial 45 2.5.1 Special court 45 2.5.2 Procedure of the first-instance trial 46 CONCLUSION TO CHAPTER 51 CHAPTER COMPARING VIETNAMESE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE LAW WITH INTERNATIONAL NORMS AND STANDARDS ON THE ADJUDICATION OF CRIMINAL CASES INVOLVING VICTIMS AGED UNDER 18 AND RECOMMENDATIONS 52 3.1 General introduction to Vietnamese criminal procedure law governing the adjudication of criminal cases involving victims under 18 years of age 52 3.2 Comparing some core provisions of Vietnamese criminal procedure law with international norms and standards on the adjudication of criminal cases involving victims under 18 years of age 55 3.2.1 The scope of application and general principles 55 3.2.2 Legal and other appropriate assistances 58 3.2.3 The right to privacy 60 3.2.4 Special court and procedure of the first-instance trial 63 3.3 Recommendations for reforming the Vietnamese criminal procedure law governing the adjudication of criminal cases involving victims under 18 years of age based on relevant international norms and standards 66 CONCLUSION TO CHAPTER 69 EPILOGUE 70 BIBLIOGRAPHY I INTRODUCTION Problem statement Victims aged under 18, despite suffering from crimes against themselves, are inexorably dragged into the complicated criminal justice proceedings However, these victims are particularly vulnerable due to their young age, lack of fully developed mental and physical health, etc Thus, upon being infringed by crimes, they tend to be severely traumatized and suffer badly If they are not protected well during the aforementioned complex criminal justice proceedings, they themselves would even be victimized once again and suffer from even more traumas Unfortunately, it is evidenced that contrary to the well-known juvenile justice system applicable to offenders under 18, and same adequate attention has not been paid to promulgate rigid mechanisms to best protect victims under 18 years of age.3 Perhaps acknowledging such shortcomings, over recent years, the United Nations has issued a variety of instruments with the aim, inter alia, to extend the protection for not only the child offenders but also the child victims Vietnam has always held onto a unified and coherent approach on matters relating to children and juveniles In 2012, Political Bureau promulgated its Direction No 20/CT-TW on Enhancing the Communist Party’s Leadership for Caring, Educating, and Protecting Children in the New Situation This document yields a foundation to better protect children and juveniles upon being infringed by crimes and dragged into the justice system Further, being a party to many of these international instruments, Vietnam owes the duty and thus has implemented many of its commitments into its domestic legal system Such implementations can be well found in the Vietnamese Constitution 2013, Criminal Procedure Code 2015, Law on Children 2016, etc However, it is indisputable that there still exist many shortcomings that can be identified under these legal documents, especially during the adjudication stage For instance, they lack provisions on assigning people who provide victims aged under 18 with legal and other appropriate assistance These shortfalls shall put them in a Switchboard 111, “Operation Results of the National Child Protection Switchboard 111 since its operation until now”, http://tongdai111.vn/tin/ket-qua-hoat-dong-cua-tong-dai-quoc-gia-bao-ve-tre-em-111-tu-khi-van-hanhden-nay, accessed on 20 June 2022 Uli Orth (2002), “Secondary Victimization of Crime Victims by Criminal Proceedings”, Social Justice Reasearch, Vol 5, No 4, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235912615_Secondary_Victimization_of_Crime_Victims_by_Crimin al_Proceedings, accessed on 20 June 2022 David Finkelhor, Theodore P Cross, and Elise N Cantor (2005), The Justice System for Juvenile Victims: A Comprehensive Model of Case Flow, Trauma, Violence & Abuse, Vol 6, No 2, p 83, http://www.jstor.org/stable/26638265, accessed on 11 May 2022 See Truc Phuong (2021), “It is necessary to protect both the juvenile accused and juvenile victims”, https://plo.vn/can-bao-ve-ca-bi-cao-lan-bi-hai-la-nguoichua-thanh-nien-post652724.html, accessed on 20 June 2022 disadvantageous position amid the criminal proceedings and also have negative impacts on their recovery The author observes that the number of research into the topic of criminal cases involving victims under 18 has increased considerably However, most works spread their focus among the entire criminal proceedings, including early stages such as lodging and processing criminal information, filing of charges, investigating, prosecuting, and even enforcing judgements Notably, there have been some rare authors carrying out research on the adjudication stage of criminal cases involving victims under 18 years of age Perhaps due to the length limitation of these works, they have not assessed closely enough Besides, international norms and standards have not been examined thoroughly and holistically enough to point out the gap between them and our domestic law However, being successful at conducting this comparison shall surely provide instrumental pieces of information that shall help legislators reform the Vietnamese Criminal Procedure Law and bridge the gap with the international norms and standards For the above reasons, the author decided to conduct the thesis, which is named “Adjudication of Criminal Cases Involving Victims Aged Under 18: A Comparison between Vietnamese Criminal Procedure Law and International Norms and Standards on Juvenile Justice”, with a hope that it shall contribute to the overall better protection of the legitimate rights and interests of victims under 18 years of age Literature review Having done research on and synthesized a variety of documents, there are theses and publications that are relevant to the topic: • Bachelor Theses - Tran Van Nhien (2010), Protecting children and juveniles under Vietnamese Criminal Procedure Law from the perspective of victims – the current situation and recommendations, Bachelor Thesis, Ho Chi Minh City University of Law; - Pham Thi Nguyen (2012), Protecting human rights of victims in criminal procedures, Bachelor Thesis, Ho Chi Minh City University of Law; - Cao Thi Hien (2013), Victims in Criminal Procedures, Bachelor Thesis, Ho Chi Minh City University of Law; - Ngo Thi Huynh Nhu (2021), Adjudication of Criminal Cases involving Sexual Abuse of People under 16 years of age pursuant to Vietnam Criminal Procedure Law, Bachelor Thesis, Ho Chi Minh City University of Law • LL.M Theses - Huynh Thi Truc Mai (2014), Protecting the human rights of the juvenile victims during the first-instance trial stage, LL.M Thesis, Ho Chi Minh City University of Law; - Do Cao Ngoc Han (2019), Victims’ rights: A Comparison with Russia’s Criminal Procedure Law and Experience for Vietnam, LL.M Thesis, Ho Chi Minh City University of Law; - Tran Thi My Dung (2019), Legal aid for victims under 18 years of age in accordance with Vietnamese criminal procedure law, LL.M Thesis, Ho Chi Minh City University of Law; - Do Cam Lai (2020), Protecting Legitimate Rights and Interest of Victims by People Providing Legal Assistance Under Vietnamese Criminal Procedure Law, LL.M Thesis, Ho Chi Minh City University of Law • Ph.D Theses - Pham Thi Thanh Nga (2015), The Rights of the Child in the Judicial Sector in Vietnam: Compliance with International Legal Standards, Ph.D Thesis, University of Wollongong • Student scientific research - Truong Nhat Minh, Nguyen Hoai Thuong, Tran Thi Huong (2018), Protecting the victims under 18 years of age pursuant to the UN’s guidance and Experience for Vietnam, Student scientific research piece at University Level, Ho Chi Minh City University of Law; - Tran Ngoc Hoang Quan, Ho Thi Xuan Hoang & Nguyen Pham Xuan Thy (2021), Procedures for dealing with sexual cases against persons under 16 years of age: Comparative research and lessons for Vietnam, Student scientific research piece at University Level, Ho Chi Minh City University of Law • Other publications - David Finkelhor, Theodore P Cross, and Elise N Cantor (2005), “The Justice System for Juvenile Victims: A Comprehensive Model of Case Flow”, Trauma, Violence & Abuse, Vol 6, No 2; - Pham Thi Thanh Nga (2014), “The establishment of juvenile courts and the fulfillment of Vietnam’s obligations under the convention on the rights of the child”, Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts – Papers, University of Wollongong; - Le Van Dong (2015), “Discussion about the procedures applicable to persons under 18 committing a crime pursuant to Criminal Procedure Code 2015”, Journal of Procuratorate studies; - Nguyen Hai Ninh (2016), “Protection of crime whistleblowers, witnesses, victims and other participants in criminal proceedings”, Protection of crime whistleblowers, witnesses, victims and other participants in criminal proceedings Journal; - Le Thi Nga (2016), “Rights of child victims and child witnesses in criminal justice in Viet Nam”, Asia-Pacific Journal on Human Rights and the Law, 17(2016), 88–101; - Pham Thanh Tu (2017), “Some opinions to protect the legitimate rights and interests of victims under 18 years old in the Criminal Procedure Code 2015”, Democracy and Law Journal, Ministry of Justice,; - Vu Thi Quyen (2017), “Criminal Proceedings applicable for Victims under 18 Years of Age Under Vietnamese Criminal Procedure Code 2015”, State and Law Journal, Vol 1(345); - Dinh Van Doan (2017), “Criminal Proceedings Applicable to Victims under 18 Years of Age Under Vietnamese Criminal Procedure Law”, State and Law Journal, Vol 6; - Nguyen Thi Loc (2018), “The rights to privacy of the victims aged under 18 in criminal procedure”, Journal of Procuratorate studies; - Nguyen Cao Cuong (2018), “Taking testimony and commanding the taking testimony of victims aged under 18 pursuant to the provisions of Vietnamese Procedure Code 2015, Journal of Procuratorate; - Le Huynh Tan Duy (2018), Perfecting the Vietnamese Criminal Procedure Law concerning People Under 18 Years of Age based on the UN’s Legal Framework, Ho Chi Minh City National University Publication; - Nguyen Thi My Huong (2020), “The Principle of ensuring The right to privacy of Persons under 18 years of age pursuant to Vietnam Criminal Procedure Law”, Ho Chi Minh City University of Law; - Pham Thi Bich Ngoc (2020), “Legal provisions and practical trials of criminal cases against child victims and recommendations for improvement”, Online Journal of People’s Court; - Le Huynh Tan Duy, Marilyn McMahon (2021), “Protecting the Identity of Juveniles in Criminal Proceedings in Viet Nam and Victoria: Open Trials and Restricted Publication”, Asia-Pacific Journal on Human Rights and the Law; - Le Huynh Tan Duy, Yvon Dandurand (2021), “The Treatment of Juvenile Victims and Witnesses of Crime in the Vietnamese Justice System”, Ho Chi Minh City University of Law As can be observed, the aforementioned documents shall be valuable sources on which the author can rely to understand both the theoretical and practical aspects 66 victims shall be settled in an expeditious and timely manner.358 However, as of now, Vietnam lacks legislation mentioning the need to ensure the trial schedule is arranged appropriately for the child In addition, matters relating to recesses during court trials have not been clarified Finally, there is a concern about the presiding judge’s authority to intervene in cases where defense lawyers abuse their right to engage in the questioning session359 and pose threatening questions to child victims.360 Overall, Vietnam has implemented a basic framework for special courts and special procedures for first-instance trials of criminal cases involving child victims However, several shortcomings need addressing, thus shall be discussed in the final part of this thesis – the recommendations for reforming the Vietnamese Criminal Procedure Law 3.3 Recommendations for reforming the Vietnamese criminal procedure law governing the adjudication of criminal cases involving victims under 18 years of age based on relevant international norms and standards Based on the research, analysis, assessment of the Vietnam Criminal Procedure Law, and comparison with international norms and standards, several recommendations for reforming domestic regulations relating to the adjudication of criminal cases involving victims under 18 years of age shall be hereby provided Firstly, the scope of application of special procedures for child victims should be extended to those turning 18 during the justice process As mentioned, neuroscience evidence indicates that adolescents’ brains shall continue to develop even after they reach 18 years of age If child victims immediately lose access to special procedures upon turning 18, their best interests shall not be ensured Therefore, the CPC should be amended and include the provision that “special procedures applicable to victims under 18 years of age shall also be applicable to victims who are under 18 years of age at the time of the offense but turn 18 during the criminal process” This regulation shall help child victims not only in the adjudication stage but even be beneficial for them to recover quickly from the traumas Secondly, fundamental principles under Chapter XXVIII of the CPC should be amended Fundamental principles must be strictly obeyed during the entire criminal proceedings Therefore, it is of paramount importance to get them fully developed and 358 CPC, Article 414.7; Joint Cỉcular 06/2018, Article 13 Pursuant to Criminal Procedure Code, defense lawyer is entitled to engage in debates and questioning session See CPC, Article 73.1.(m) 360 Hai Phong City People’s Procuracy (2020), Discussion - Results of the implementation process of Joint Circular No 03/2018; Interim Procedure No 264/2020 on audio or video recording; Joint Circular No 06/2018 related to the tasks and powers of the Procuracy, Supreme People’s Procuracy 359 67 applicable Thus, relating to fundamental principles, several aspects are being suggested herein On the one hand, these principles should be enumerated in a logical order Their naming scheme should also be reconsidered since it is observed that these principles’ names are rather long and distracting 361 Besides, the contents of each principle should be adequately clarified to ensure a unified application.362 On the other hand, a critical principle that international norms and standards have pointed out – the principle of ensuring procedures appropriate for each gender and appropriate for each gender-based violence – should also be added Thirdly, provisions on legal assistance and other appropriate assistance should be amended As of now, legal assistance shall not be provided if victims are under 18 years of age yet not have financial difficulties However, to fill the gap with international norms and standards, legal assistance should be provided free of charge to all child victims Besides, the presence of people providing other appropriate assistance is immensely meaningful to children since they can be assisted in numerous ways Therefore, their presence at trials should be mandatory Finally, Vietnamese Criminal Procedure Law should require people providing legal assistance and other appropriate assistance to undertake relevant training Given that the subject these persons are going to work with is child victims, relevant training would be beneficial to ensure the quality of assistance provided Fourthly, a complete overhaul must be undertaken to ensure child victims’ right to privacy First, a clear legislative definition of the identifying information that must not be disclosed about a juvenile must be brought about as soon as possible to ensure the unified application and interpretation of the law Besides, most prominently, a court should always be tried in closed sessions where possible As of now, trials held behind closed doors are only optional, leaving wildly broad discretion for judges to decide This indeed goes directly against what has been recommended internationally Therefore, the law should be amended to regulate that any criminal cases involving child victims should be tried in closed session, except for cases where the best interests of them demand otherwise In addition, since the privacy of child victims might be at risk when the judgements are pronounced, the law should also mention that upon pronouncing judgements, the presiding judge must ensure that such pronouncement shall not lead to the identification of child victims 361 Nguyen Phuong Thao (2018), Criminal Procedural Proceedings applicable to the accused under 18 years of age: A comparison and Experience for Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City University of Law, p 81 362 However, it is suggested that legislators can also consider eradicating contents of each principle and distill them into specific provisions See Ibid 68 Fifthly, the jurisdiction of Family and Juvenile Courts should be extended to enable such courts to administer all criminal cases involving child victims International norms and standards encourage the establishment of special courts to deal with criminal cases involving child victims Vietnam has followed such recommendations and provided for the establishment of Family and Juvenile Courts ever since 2014 However, the present regulation limits the jurisdiction of such courts to only some cases involving child victims Therefore, to better comply with international norms and standards, the jurisdiction of Family and Juvenile Courts should be expanded In addition, Family and Juvenile Courts should also be established at district-level courts since most first-instance trials of criminal cases involving child victims are being resolved there Sixthly, procedures of first-instance trials should be amended as well First of all, procedures of first-instance trials are now only applied in very limited cases (it requires that victims must be under 18 years of age and must have serious psychological damage; or they need support in terms of living and studying conditions due to the lack of a healthy family environment like others under 18 years of age), which is not compliant with international norms and standards Thus, the first thing that needs to be tackled is to expand the scope of application of these special procedures to first-instance trials of all criminal cases involving child victims As for these procedures themselves, the law should also be amended to compel that all child victims shall be ensured not to meet or witness the accused Besides, the court should refrain from summoning all child victims instead of only sexually assaulted ones At court, it should be clarified to what extent judges can intervene and erupt the right to engage in questioning sessions of the defense lawyers when they deem necessary Finally, provisions on ensuring trial schedules being appropriate for child victims and ensuring recesses during trials should be added as well Finally, sanctions and penalties should be established It can be observed that current legislation contains a variety of regulations mentioning different duties and obligations of different types of subjects in society However, as of now, there still lacks a mechanism to execute it.363 Therefore, to better ensure compliance with legal regulations, legislators should also consider promulgating sanctions that shall be imposed upon those breaching the law 363 See Le Huynh Tan Duy, Marilyn McMahon (2021), above n 331 69 CONCLUSION TO CHAPTER Detailed yet systematic assessment of general comprehension on the adjudication of criminal cases involving victims under 18 years of age and international norms and standards in two previous chapters has laid a solid ground for this Chapter In this final chapter, the author follows the logic sequence by first providing a general introduction to the Vietnamese Criminal Procedure Law governing the adjudication of criminal cases involving victims under 18 years of age Following that, specific matters relating to the realm, including the scope of application and general principles, legal and other appropriate assistance, the right to privacy, and special court and procedure of the first-instance trials are respectively addressed Herein, the comparison with international norms and standards has also been conducted to extract pieces of information not only illustrating achievements in our legislation but also exposing shortcomings Relying on the aforementioned assessments, a variety of recommendations have been provided for the way forward To achieve this end, recommendations have been broken down into seven different aspects, each of which in turn encompasses several suggestions and recommendations for legal reform Much diligent as it was to provide these recommendations, they cannot cover all aspects that might arise Nevertheless, with the solid ground deriving from international norms and standards, the author strongly believes that these recommendations, by and large, have contributed hugely to perfecting our domestic law 70 EPILOGUE Children are different from adults in the sense of their limited physical and psychological development The daunting litany of challenges for the entire human race in protecting these vulnerable individuals has resulted in the increasingly high demand for establishing legal protection specifically tailored to children This need becomes even more urgent when children are being victimized Therefore, it is little surprising that considerable evidence suggests that this realm has not attracted adequate attention, thus leaving child victims’ protection upon being dragged into a complicated justice system long overdue With the universal acknowledgment of such necessity, the international community has been channeling tremendous efforts into developing a more comprehensive international framework on child justice Outstandingly, many instruments were adopted to specifically target at regulating the adjudication stage of criminal cases involving child victims Well within the scope of this thesis, some of the most significant comprehension of the adjudication of criminal cases involving child victims were distilled The focus is then shifted to the international norms and standards In this regard, the most notable aspects of universally adopted regulations were assessed Such understandings have shed light on the last chapter A close analysis of Vietnamese Criminal Procedure Law has been conducted, through which several recommendations for Vietnam were proffered The frontline duty to better protect children, in general, is not solely exerted on any single individual or authority, but it is instead a work of all branches of power joining their hands If each legal provision can yield slow but firm steps forward, the ripple effects in the entirety of the juvenile system will benefit many generations to come Finally, should amendments be made to the legislation and proper implementation be secured, Vietnam shall be able to bring its child justice system into line with international norms and standards, thereby bridging the gap that is somewhat impermissibly wide as it is now i BIBLIOGRAPHY A I LEGAL DOCUMENTS INTERNATIONAL INSTRUMENTS UN Charter 1945; Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948; Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms 1950 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966; International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 1966; American Convention on Human Rights 1969; African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights 1981; The UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice 1985; Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for victims of Crime and Abuse of Power 1985; Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989; UN Standard Minimum Rules for Non-custodial Measures 1990; UN Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty 1990; Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency 1990; Guidelines for Action on Children in the Criminal Justice System 1997; Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court 1988; Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography 2000; Basic Principles on the Use of Restorative Justice Programmes in Criminal Matters 2002 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Guidelines on Justice in Matters Involving Child Victims and Witnesses of Crime 2005; Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law 2006; Model Law on Justice in Matters Involving Child Victims and Witnesses of Crime 2009; Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children 2010; General Comment No 10 of the Committee on the Rights of the Child; General Comment No 21: Article 10 (Humane Treatment of Persons Deprived of Their Liberty of the Human Rights Committee; ii 24 25 General Comment No 12 (2009): The Right of the Child to be Heard of the Committee on the Rights of the Child; General Comment No 32: Article 14: Right to equality before courts and 27 tribunals and to a fair trial of the Human Rights Committee; United Nations Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems 2012; UN Model Strategies and Practical Measures on the Elimination of Violence II 28 against Children in the Field of Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice 2015 VIETNAM LEGAL INSTRUMENTS Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on 28 November 2013; 26 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 Law on Children (Law No 102/2016/QH13) on 05 April 2016; Law on Grassroots Conciliation (Law No 35/2013/QH13) on 20 June 2013; Law on Handling of Administrative Violations (Law No 15/2012/QH13) on 20 June 2012; Penal Code 2015 (Code No 100/2015/QH13) on 27 November 2015 (amended in 2017); Criminal Procedure Code 2015 (Code No 101/2015/QH13) (amended in 2021); Law on Legal Aid (Law No 11/2017/QH14) on 20 June 2017; Law on Organization of People’s Courts (Law No 62/2014/QH13) on 24 November 2014; Law on Enforcement of Custody and Temporary Detention (Law No 94/2015/QH13) on 25 November 2015; Law on the Execution of Criminal Judgement (Law No 41/2019/QH14) on 14 June 2019; Law on Special Amnesty (Law No 30/2018/QH14) on 19 November 2018; Press Law 2016 (Law No 103/2016/QH13) (amended in 2019); Resolution No 03/2004/NQ-HĐTP on guiding the implementation of some regulations on the First part “General Regulations” of the Criminal Procedure Code 2003; Joint Circular No 01/2011/TTLT-VKSTC-TANDTC-BCA-BTP-BLĐTBXH on Guiding the Implementation of A Number of Provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code for Juvenile Participants; Joint Circular No 13/2013/TTLT-BCA-BQP-VKSNDTC-TANDTC on providing Guidelines for the implementation of certain regulations in the iii 43 Criminal Procedure Code 2003 on Protection of the Life, Health and Property of denouncers, testifiers, victims and their kindred during Criminal Procedure; Circular No 01/2017/TT-TANDTC on the Regulations on Courtrooms; 44 Joint Circular No 02/ 2017/TTLT-VKSNDTC- TANDTC-BCA-BQP on the cooperation of procedure-conducting authorities in implementing some provisions of the CPC 2015 regarding the case files return for additional investigation; 45 Resolution No 03/2017/NQ-HĐTP on the Issuance of Criminal Judgments, Decisions on the Courts’ Web Portals; Circular No 02/2018/TT-TANDTC on detailed regulations on the adjudication 46 47 48 49 B of criminal cases involving participants in legal proceedings under 18 years of age and belonging to the jurisdiction of family and juvenile court; Joint Circular No 06/2018/TTLT-VKSNDTC-TANDTC-BCA-BTPBLĐTBXH on cooperation in implementing some provisions of the CPC 2015 regarding the procedures applicable to criminal cases involving juveniles; Resolution No 06/2019/NQ-HDTP on Guiding the Application of A Number of Regulations of Articles 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, and 147 of the Criminal Code and Settlement of Cases of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse of Persons under 18; Circular No 01/2022/TTLT-VKSNDTC-TANDTC-BCA-BQP-BLĐTBXH on cooperation in receiving, handling denunciations and information on crimes, requisitions for initiation of criminal proceedings, investigation, prosecution, first-instance trials of criminal cases of sexual assaults of persons under 18 years of age; REFERENCES I 50 VIETNAMESE MATERIALS Le Huynh Tan Duy (2018), Perfecting the Vietnamese Criminal Procedure Law concerning People Under 18 Years of Age based on the UN’s Legal Framework, Ho Chi Minh City National University Publication; 51 Nguyen Phuong Thao (2018), Criminal Procedural Proceedings applicable to the accused under 18 years of age: A comparison and Experience for Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City University of Law; Tran Huu Trang (2010), Matters relating to victims of the crimes, Hanoi Law University 52 II ENGLISH MATERIALS iv 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 Spalek, Basia (2005), Crime Victims: Theory, Policy And Practice Macmillan International Higher Education; Jan Van Dijik and Jo 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