Standard regulations are needed to calculate compensation for wrongful convictions.

The draft law amending the Law on State Liability for Compensation needs to include standard regulations for state agencies to use as a basis for calculating compensation levels.

Following recent wrongful conviction cases that have shaken the nation, such as the cases of Nguyen Thanh Chan in Bac Giang, Huynh Van Nen in Binh Thuan, Luong Ngoc Phi in Thai Binh, and Tran Van Them in Bac Ninh, amending the Law on State Liability for Compensation has become even more urgent due to numerous inadequacies in the regulations for resolving wrongful conviction compensation. The government hopes that this revised draft law will address the obstacles in wrongful conviction compensation, ensuring the interests of the State as well as the legitimate rights and interests of individuals and organizations that have suffered losses.

Mr. Tong Anh Hao, Deputy Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court (Photo: quochoi.vn)

According to Mr. Tong Anh Hao, Deputy Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court, delays in resolving compensation claims for wrongful convictions are not due to procedural and legal obstacles in compensation, but rather to difficulties in identifying the agency responsible for compensation. According to a report by the Ministry of Justice, as of December 31, 2015, after six years of implementing the Law on State Liability for Compensation, the responsible agencies had received and resolved 258 compensation claims. Of these, over 200 cases had been resolved (nearly 80%), totaling over 111 billion VND. However, only 22 of these 200 cases have resulted in compensation claims totaling over 600 million VND out of the total 111 billion VND that the State is obligated to pay.

Citing the case of Mr. Phan Van La in Long An, Deputy Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court Tong Anh Hao stated: "Based on the practical experience of Mr. La's case in Long An, the compensation issue lies in determining which agency is responsible for compensation. Because the first-instance court ruled in 1991, and by the end of 1991, the appellate court overturned the verdict for reinvestigation and retrial. However, the investigating agency neglected this until 2012 when Mr. La requested compensation. Only then did the issue of determining which agency is responsible for compensation arise. According to current law, the agency that makes the final decision on wrongful conviction is responsible for compensation. But in practice, the delay in this case was due to the investigating agency's negligence."

Chairperson of the Judiciary Committee Le Thi Nga speaks at the session (Photo: quochoi.vn)

“We require those wrongfully convicted to prove their compensation. After spending so many years in prison, where would they get the documents for visits and other matters over those decades? We are being very rigid about this. Will the law be able to resolve these issues, or will they simply require them to provide documents, invoices, and receipts for all those years in prison? Where will they find the evidence to prove their innocence? I propose that this law address this reality.” One of the long-standing absurdities in the practice of compensating wrongfully convicted individuals is that the prosecuting authorities require those wrongfully convicted to prove their losses, demanding invoices and receipts… This creates difficulties for those wrongfully convicted and allows state agencies to evade and shift responsibility for compensation, prolonging the compensation process. Considering this requirement unreasonable, Ms. Le Thi Nga, Chairwoman of the National Assembly's Judicial Committee, suggested that the draft Law on State Compensation Liability (amended) should address this issue.

Minister of Justice Le Thanh Long presents the draft Law on State Liability for Compensation (Photo: Quochoi.vn)

Recently, the draft Law on State Liability for Compensation (amended) was submitted to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly for comments at its 3rd session. To address the shortcomings of the current law, the draft law has added provisions on determining damages, providing victims with a basis for determining the damages to be compensated and the amount of compensation to be claimed. At the same time, some provisions have been amended to reduce the number of agencies handling compensation; and to specifically define the agency responsible for causing the damage.

Minister of Justice Le Thanh Long stated that the drafting agency has included in the draft law a comprehensive list of all cases eligible for compensation. Regarding the method of calculating damages for compensation, the Minister said that material damages are easier to calculate, but for emotional damages, the Drafting Committee has tried to establish criteria to quantify the emotional damages in order to compensate those who have been wrongfully convicted.

“In Chapter 2, the drafting agency has listed all cases under current law, especially procedural law, including errors by the prosecuting agency, and administrative documents, including mistakes by administrative agencies, to cover all cases eligible for compensation. We have made every effort and conducted thorough reviews. The second point is that we have based our list of all compensable damages on current law,” Minister Le Thanh Long added.

With regulations that specify the content of compensation, the method of calculation, the determination of the extent of damage, and the identification of the agency responsible for compensation, the draft Law on State Liability for Compensation (amended) is expected to resolve the obstacles and delays in resolving wrongful conviction compensation cases in the past, ensuring the interests of the State as well as the legitimate rights and interests of individuals and organizations that have suffered damage.

According to VOV.VN