Scientific conference "Evidence and Proof in Criminal Case Resolution."

On November 8, 2023, in Room A.1002, the Criminal Law Department of the Ho Chi Minh City University of Law, organized a university-level scientific conference titled "Evidence and Proof in Criminal Case Resolution."

After more than 5 years of implementation, the provisions on evidence and proof in the 2015 Criminal Procedure Code have demonstrated certain values and contributed to the success in the practical resolution of criminal cases. However, the provisions on evidence and proof have also gradually revealed limitations in the application process. Based on this, the conference was organized to create a forum for exchanging ideas and discussing issues related to evidence and proof in criminal proceedings, thereby proposing suitable recommendations to improve the regulations of Vietnamese law.

 

The Faculty of Criminal Law, Ho Chi Minh City University of Law, is organizing a university-level scientific conference on "Evidence and Proof in Solving Criminal Cases."

The conference received the direct and online participation of a large number of delegates, including experts in the field of criminal law, practitioners such as judges, prosecutors, lawyers, as well as many academics and researchers in legal training institutions, as well as students and learners of the university.

Delegates attending the conference.

The conference saw the participation of representatives from the Ho Chi Minh City University of Law, including Dr. Le Truong Son - the university's President, Associate Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Phuong Hoa - Head of the Criminal Law Department, Associate Prof. Dr. Le Huynh Tan Duy - Deputy Head of the Criminal Law Department, and Dr. Pham Thai - Deputy Head of the Criminal Law Department.

From educational institutions, there were also attendees such as Associate Prof. Dr. Tran Van Do - Former Vice Chief Judge of the Supreme People's Court, Associate Prof. Dr. Nguyen Duc Hanh - Editor-in-Chief of the Supreme People's Procuracy Magazine, Associate Prof. Dr. Tran Ngoc Duc - Head of the Law Faculty at the People's Police University, Master Vo Van Tai - Deputy Head of the Criminal Procedure Department at the Training Center for Prosecutors in Ho Chi Minh City, and Dr. Le Ngoc Quan - Deputy Head of the Law Department at the People's Police College.

Representatives from judicial authorities included Dr. Quang Duc Tuyen - Former Vice Chief Judge of the High People's Court in Ho Chi Minh City, Master Cao Van Tam - Judge of the High People's Court in Ho Chi Minh City, Dr. Phung Van Hai - Vice Chief Judge of the People's Court of Ho Chi Minh City, Master La Hong - Former Chief Judge of the People's Court of An Giang Province, Mr. Vu Phi Long - Former Deputy Chief Judge of the Criminal Court of Ho Chi Minh City, Ms. Pham Thi Thanh Giang - Chief Judge of the Criminal Court of Tay Ninh Province, Dr. Nguyen Dinh Trung - Director of the High People's Procuracy in Ho Chi Minh City, Master Nguyen Minh Tuan - Director of the Provincial People's Procuracy of Bac Lieu Province, Master Nguyen Cao Cuong - Deputy Director of the Provincial People's Procuracy of Binh Thuan Province, and representatives from prosecutorial authorities at district, provincial, and municipal levels.

Representatives from the legal profession included Master Lawyer Nguyen Tam Hoang - Deputy Head of the Provincial Bar Association of Phu Yen Province, Dr. Lawyer Nguyen Thanh Long - from the Long Cuong Law Firm, and Master Lawyer Nguyen Thanh Cong - Managing Director of Dong Phuong Law Company.

In his opening speech, Dr. Le Truong Son - President of the Ho Chi Minh City University of Law, emphasized that the 2015 Code of Criminal Procedure is an important component of Vietnam's criminal justice legal framework. The provisions regarding evidence contribute to ensuring objectivity, accuracy, and the prevention of criminals escaping justice during the stages of investigation, prosecution, and trial. However, through practical implementation, these provisions have revealed various limitations and inconsistencies, leading to an urgent need for reform and improvement of both the criminal procedure law in general and the evidence provisions in particular. The university's leadership hopes that the conference will provide an opportunity for experts to share, exchange, and absorb knowledge, thereby proposing solutions to improve the criminal procedure law.

Dr. Le Truong Son, the President of the University, delivered the opening speech at the conference.

The conference was divided into 2 sessions with 6 in-depth presentations on issues related to evidence and proof in the resolution of criminal cases. Additionally, lively discussions were held after each session to clarify theoretical, practical, and research-related issues applicable in case studies and resolution.

The first session on "Evidence in the Resolution of Criminal Cases" was chaired by Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thi Phuong Hoa - Head of the Criminal Law Department of the University; Associate Professor Dr. Tran Van Do - Former Deputy Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court; Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Duc Hanh - Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Prosecution.

The chairpersons of the first session "Evidence in Solving Criminal Cases" (from left to right): Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Duc Hanh - Editor-in-Chief of the Prosecutor Magazine; Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thi Phuong Hoa - Head of the Faculty of Criminal Law, Ho Chi Minh City University of Law; Associate Professor Dr. Tran Van Do - Former Vice President of the Supreme People's Court.

In the first presentation titled "Identifying the Development Trends of Vietnamese Law on Evidence in Criminal Proceedings," delivered by Associate Professor Dr. Le Huynh Tan Duy - Deputy Head of the Criminal Law Department of the University, general theoretical issues and development trends from the perspective of legislative technique, as well as specific trends in evidence regulations, were presented and analyzed in detail.

Associate Professor Dr. Le Huynh Tan Duy presented a paper titled "Identifying the Development Trends of Vietnamese Law on Evidence and Proof in Criminal Proceedings."


Following that, Dr. Luong Thi My Quynh - Lecturer at the Criminal Law Department of the University, presented the paper "Trends in the Exclusionary Rule in Criminal Proceedings Worldwide and Implications for Vietnam." According to the author, regulations on evidence exclusion or the admissibility of illegally obtained evidence pose many challenges to trial proceedings in Vietnam. Based on this, the author referenced European and American laws on theories and principles of evidence exclusion, such as the "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree" doctrine,...

The paper titled "Trends in the Principle of Excluding Evidence in Criminal Proceedings Worldwide and Suggestions for Vietnam" was presented by Dr. Luong Thi My Quynh, Lecturer at the Faculty of Criminal Law of the University.


The third presentation on the topic "Evidence Collection by the Court according to the provisions of the 2015 Criminal Procedure Code" by the team of Dr. Vo Thi Kim Oanh and Mr. Dinh Van Doan - Lecturers at the Criminal Law Department of the University identified shortcomings in the legal regulations regarding the evidence collection process by the Court, such as the scope of evidence collection activities not being appropriate for the Court's function as well as the basic principles of the 2015 Criminal Procedure Code.

The paper titled "Collecting Evidence by the Court According to the 2015 Criminal Procedure Code" was presented by Master Dinh Van Doan, Lecturer at the Faculty of Criminal Law of the University

The second session on "Evidence in Criminal Case Resolution" was chaired by co-moderators: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Le Huynh Tan Duy - Vice Dean of the Criminal Law Department of the University; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Ngoc Duc - Dean of the Law Faculty of the People's Police University; and Mr. Phung Van Hai - Vice Chief Judge of the People's Court of Ho Chi Minh City.

The second session on "Proof in Solving Criminal Cases" was chaired by the co-chairs (from left to right): Dr. Phung Van Hai - Vice President of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Court; Associate Professor Dr. Le Huynh Tan Duy - Vice Dean of the Faculty of Criminal Law at the University; Associate Professor Dr. Tran Ngoc Duc - Head of the Faculty of Law at the People's Police Academy

In the fourth presentation on "Using Electronic Evidence for Criminal Proceedings in Vietnam" delivered by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Duc Hanh - Editor-in-Chief of the Prosecution Journal, the author mentioned that electronic evidence in various forms is increasingly being used to prove crimes in criminal proceedings. Therefore, the law needs to have a unified understanding of this issue and establish a system of regulations and measures to effectively apply electronic evidence.

The paper titled "Using Electronic Evidence to Prove in Criminal Proceedings in Vietnam" was presented by Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Duc Hanh, Editor-in-Chief of the Prosecutor Magazine

In the fifth presentation by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Phuong Hoa - Head of the Criminal Law Department at the university, titled "Discussion on Cryptocurrency and the Burden of Proof in Criminal Case Resolution," the author analyzed the judgment of the People's Court of Ho Chi Minh City in the first-instance criminal judgment on May 16, 2023, regarding the crime of robbery, in which the subject involved had cryptocurrency Bitcoin. According to the author, some advantages of cryptocurrency are also challenges in dealing with related illegal activities. Referring to the regulations of the European Union on the cryptocurrency market, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Phuong Hoa made appropriate recommendations to facilitate the pursuit of criminal liability for related criminal acts.

Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thi Phuong Hoa, Head of the Faculty of Criminal Law, presented a paper titled "On Cryptocurrencies and the Issues of Proof in Solving Criminal Cases."

In the final presentation of the conference, titled "Some Issues Regarding Evidence in Crimes Infringing upon Human Life, Health, Dignity, and Honor," presented by Dr. Nguyen Thi Anh Hong - Head of the Criminal Law Department at the university, the author highlighted the characteristics of evidence in crimes related to the aforementioned categories and the difficulties in proving procedures such as identifying the occurrence of the crime, the perpetrator, psychological attitudes, etc. Based on these points, the author proposed solutions to improve the legal framework.

The paper titled "Some Issues Regarding Proof in Cases of Crimes Violating the Life, Health, Human Dignity, and Honor of Individuals" was presented by Dr. Nguyen Thi Anh Hong, Head of the Criminal Law Department at the University

Dr. Trinh Duy Thuyen, Lecturer at the Faculty of Law, Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry, raised a question about the legality of evidence, the procedures for collecting evidence by the defense, and the standard of proof

Mr. Vu Phi Long, former Vice President of the Criminal Court of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Court, shared insights on the shortcomings and limitations based on his practical experience in adjudication

Master Vu Xuan Nhue, Head of the Appellate Trial Division at the Ho Chi Minh City People's Procuracy, shared his practical experience in adjudication

MA, Lawyer Nguyen Thanh Cong, Executive Director of Dong Phuong Law Firm, presented his viewpoint on the act of proving from the perspective of the defense lawyer.

Closing the conference, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thi Phuong Hoa - Head of the Criminal Law Department of the University of Law emphasized that the contributions made during the seminar have delved deeper into theoretical and practical issues regarding evidence and proof in criminal case resolution. She stated that the information and exchanges at the conference serve as a foundation for experts to further propose and refine legal frameworks, considering their practical application to enhance the effectiveness of legal enforcement in criminal proceedings.

Content: Thuy Van, Huyen Dieu
Images: Khanh Linh, Mai Huong
Ulaw Media Team