The right not to be tortured in Vietnamese law

• Main Author: Pham, Thanh Son
• Other Authors: Asian Constitutional Law Recent Development and trends : 6th and 7th December 2019, Hà Nội, Việt Nam. Vol. 2
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Language: English
• Published: Đại học Quốc gia Hà Nội 2020
• Subjects: The Constitution of Socialist Republic of Vietnam; human rights; Convention against torture; torture; Hiến pháp nước Cộng hòa Xã hội Chủ nghĩa Việt Nam; Quyền con người; Công ước chống tra tấn và trừng phạt; Tra tấn; Luật nhân quyền; Pháp luật Việt Nam
• Online Access: http://repository.vnu.edu.vn/handle/VNU_123/94810
• Institution: Vietnam National University, Hanoi

The article outlines the basic provisions of Vietnamese law on torture prevention. On that basis, the author analyzes and assesses the compatibility between Vietnamese law and international law and proposes perspectives and solutions to complete the current legal framework of Vietnam on this issue. According to the author, although the issue of torture prevention has long been noticed and is currently prescribed in many Vietnamese legal documents, including: Constitution, Criminal Code, Ministry Criminal Procedure Code. In particular, on November 28, 2014, the National Assembly of Socialist Republic of Vietnam approved the Convention against torture. Participation in the Convention against torture is a specific step in the active process of international integration of Vietnam, affirming that Vietnam is an active and responsible member of the international community, improving significantly Vietnam’s international reputation in the field of human rights, and creating new incentives and bases to promote torture prevention in Vietnam today. However, the legal framework on this issue in Vietnam still demonstrates some gaps, the most notable of which is the absence of the definition and crime of torture. Therefore, the completion of relevant legal documents on torture prevention in compliance with the provisions of the Convention against torture, as well as the provisions of Articles 7 and 10 of the International Convention on Civil and political rights in 1966 is essential. Analysis of this content will help to answer two questions: (i) What are the basic provisions of Vietnamese law on torture prevention? and (ii) What requirements are needed to improve the law on torture prevention in Vietnam at present?