RIGHT OF APPELLATE COURTS TO ALTER THE FIRST-INSTANCE COURT’S JUDGMENTS IN CRIMINAL PROCEDURE OF VIETNAM

Abstract

The criminal procedure law of Vietnam in regard to the right of appellate courts to alter the first-instance court’s judgments has been gradually improved through the three times of codification. Some provisions of the 2015 Criminal Procedure Code on the right of appeal courts to alter the first-instance court’s judgments, however, remain unclear and irrelevant to the appellate features and the procedural principles. The paper analyses the provisions of the 2015 Criminal Procedure Code on the grounds, cases and conditions for altering the first-instance court’s judgments by appellate courts which are related with some typical cases in practice and offers some proposals for law improvement in this regard.