Duration of Temporary Detention and Custody according to the Criminal Procedure Code 2015

1. Temporary Detention

Subjects:

(1) Persons detained in an emergency:

- There is sufficient basis to identify that the person is preparing to commit a very serious crime or a particularly serious crime;- Persons who jointly committed the crime or victims or eyewitnesses at the crime scene who directly witnessed and confirmed that it was the person who committed the crime and it is deemed necessary to immediately prevent them from escaping;- There are traces of the crime on the person or at their residence or workplace or on their vehicle, and it is deemed necessary to immediately prevent them from escaping or destroying evidence.

(2) Persons caught in the act of committing a crime, persons who confess or surrender concerning the crime, or persons arrested under a wanted decision.

Duration:

- Not more than 03 days from when the Investigation Agency, the agency assigned to carry out some investigative activities receives the detained person, the arrested person, or escorts the detained/arrested person to their headquarters, or from when the Investigation Agency issues a decision to detain the person who confessed or surrendered;- The time of temporary detention is deducted from the duration of temporary imprisonment. One day of detention is counted as one day of temporary imprisonment.

Extension of detention period:

- In necessary cases, the person who issued the detention decision can extend the detention, but not more than 03 days. In special cases, the person who issued the detention decision can extend the detention a second time but not more than 03 days.- All extensions of detention must be approved by the same level Procuracy or authorized Procuracy. Within 12 hours from receiving the extension request file, the Procuracy must make a decision to approve or not approve the extension.

Authorities authorized to issue detention decisions:

- Heads, Deputy Heads of investigation agencies at all levels;- Heads of independent units at the regiment level and equivalent, heads of border posts, Chief Border Guards at ports, Chiefs of provincial and city-level Border Guards under the central government, Heads of the Border Guard Intelligence Department, Heads of the Anti-Narcotics and Crime Department of the Border Guard, Heads of the Anti-Narcotic and Crime Special Task Force of the Border Guard; Commanders of the Coast Guard regions, Heads of the Professional and Legal Department of the Coast Guard, Heads of the Anti-Narcotics Special Task Force of the Coast Guard; Regional Fisheries Subdivision Chiefs;- Aircraft and ship commanders when the aircraft or ship has left the airport or port.

2. Temporary Imprisonment

Subjects:

(1) Defendants, accused persons of particularly serious crimes or very serious crimes;

(2) Defendants, accused persons of serious crimes or less serious crimes that the Criminal Code prescribes imprisonment for more than 02 years, when there are grounds to identify the person belonging to one of the following cases:

- Have been subjected to other preventive measures but violated them;- Have no clear place of residence or cannot determine the identity of the accused;- Flee and are arrested following a wanted decision or show signs of fleeing;- Continue to commit the crime or show signs of continuing to commit the crime;- Have acts of bribing, coercing, instigating others to make false statements, provide false documents; destroy, counterfeit evidence, documents, objects of the case, disperse assets related to the case; threaten, dominate, retaliate against witnesses, victims, crime informants, and their close relatives.

(3) Defendants, accused persons of less serious crimes that the Criminal Code prescribes imprisonment for up to 02 years if they continue to commit the crime or flee and are arrested following a wanted decision;

(4) For defendants, accused persons who are pregnant women or are raising children under 36 months of age, elderly, seriously ill people who have a clear place of residence and identity, temporary imprisonment is not applied but other preventive measures are applied, except for these cases:

- Flee and are arrested following a wanted decision;- Continue to commit the crime;- Have acts of bribing, coercing, instigating others to make false statements, provide false documents; destroy, counterfeit evidence, documents, objects of the case, disperse assets related to the case; threaten, dominate, retaliate against witnesses, victims, crime informants, or their close relatives;- Defendants, accused persons of crimes violating national security and there is sufficient basis to determine that not detaining them would cause harm to national security.

Duration of temporary imprisonment for investigation not exceeding:

- 02 months for less serious crimes;- 03 months for serious crimes;- 04 months for very serious crimes and particularly serious crimes.

Authorities authorized to issue temporary imprisonment decisions:

- Heads, Deputy Heads of investigation agencies at all levels. In this case, the detention order must be approved by the same level Procuracy before execution;- Heads, Deputy Heads of the People's Procuracy and Heads, Deputy Heads of the Military Procuracy at all levels;- Chief Judges, Deputy Chief Judges of the People's Courts and Chief Judges, Deputy Chief Judges of the Military Courts at all levels; The Trial Panel.

Extension of temporary imprisonment period:

- Less serious crimes: Extend once, not exceeding 01 month;- Serious crimes: Extend once, not exceeding 02 months;- Very serious crimes: Extend once, not exceeding 03 months;- Particularly serious crimes: Extend twice, each extension not exceeding 04 months.

No later than 10 days before the expiration of the temporary imprisonment period, the Investigation Agency must send a document requesting the Procuracy to extend the temporary imprisonment.

For details, see 2015 Criminal Procedure Code effective from January 1, 2018

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