TREATY BETWEENJAPAN AND THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM
ON THE TRANSFER OF SENTENCED PERSONSTREATY BETWEENJAPAN AND THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM
ON THE TRANSFER OF SENTENCED PERSONSJapan and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam(hereinafter referred to as “the Parties”);
Desiring to further promote international co-operationin the field of enforcement of sentences;
Considering that such co-operation should further theends of justice and the social rehabilitation of sentencedpersons;Considering that these objectives require that persons
who are deprived of their liberty outside their own country
as a result of their commission of a criminal offence
should be given the opportunity to serve their sentences
within their own society; andConsidering that this aim can best be achieved byhaving them transferred to their own country;
Have agreed as follows:
Article 1
Definitions
For the purposes of this Treaty:(a)“sentence” means any punishment involving
deprivation of liberty ordered by a court for alimited or unlimited period of time on account ofa criminal offence;(b)“sentenced person” means a person on whom thesentence has been imposed in the territory ofeither Party and who is serving that sentence inthe territory of that Party or the other Party;(c)“judgment” means a decision or order of a court
imposing a sentence;(d)“transferring Party” means the Party from which
the sentenced person may be, or has been,transferred; and(e)“receiving Party” means the Party to which thesentenced person may be, or has been, transferredin order to serve his or her sentence.

－1－Article 2General principles
1.
Each Party undertakes to afford the other Party thewidest measure of co-operation in respect of the transferof sentenced persons in accordance with the provisions of
this Treaty.
2.
A sentenced person may be transferred from theterritory of the transferring Party to the territory of thereceiving Party, in accordance with the provisions of thisTreaty, in order to serve the sentence imposed on him or
her. To that end, the sentenced person may express his or
her interest to the transferring Party or to the receiving
Party in being transferred under this Treaty.
3.
Transfer may be requested by either the transferring
Party or the receiving Party.
Article 3
Conditions for transfer
1.
A sentenced person may be transferred under thisTreaty only on the following conditions:(a)where Japan is the receiving Party, the sentenced
person is a Japanese national or any other person
who falls within the scope of the Act on theTransnational Transfer of Sentenced Persons (LawNo. 66 of 2002) of Japan;
where the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam is thereceiving Party, the sentenced person is aVietnamese national;(b)

if the judgment is final;(c)if, at the time of receipt of the request fortransfer, the sentenced person still has at least
one year of the sentence to serve or if thesentence is indeterminate;(d)

if the transfer is consented to by the sentenced
person;(e)

if the acts or omissions on account of which thesentence has been imposed constitute a criminal
offence according to the law of the receiving
Party or would constitute a criminal offence if
committed on its territory; and(f)if the transferring Party and the receiving Party
agree to the transfer.

－2－2.
The Parties may agree to a transfer even if the timeof the sentence to be served by the sentenced person isless than that specified in sub-paragraph (c), paragraph 1of this Article.
Article 4Central authorities
1.
Each Party shall designate a central authority for thepurpose of facilitating communications between the Parties
under Articles 5, 6 and 13:(a)for Japan, the central authority shall be theMinistry of Foreign Affairs; and(b)for the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, thecentral authority shall be the Ministry of Public
Security.

2.
Communications between the Parties under the said
Articles shall be made through the central authorities.
Notwithstanding the above, the Ministry of Justice of Japanand the Ministry of Public Security of the Socialist
Republic of Viet Nam may communicate with each otherdirectly in case of emergency or other extraordinary
circumstances in accordance with the laws and regulationsof the respective countries.
Article 5
Requests and replies
1.
Requests for transfer and replies shall be made inwriting.
2.
The requested Party shall promptly inform therequesting Party of its decision on whether or not to agree
to the requested transfer.
Article 6
Procedure for transfer
1.
Any sentenced person to whom this Treaty may apply
shall be informed by the transferring Party of thesubstance of this Treaty.
2.
If the sentenced person has expressed an interest to
the transferring Party in being transferred under thisTreaty, the transferring Party shall so inform thereceiving Party in writing promptly after the judgment
becomes final.

－3－

3.

The information shall include:(a)the full name, nationality, photograph and dateand place of birth of the sentenced person;(b)

his or her address, if any, in the receivingParty;(c)a statement of the facts upon which the sentence
was based; and(d)the nature, duration and dates of commencement
and termination of the sentence.

4.
If the sentenced person has expressed his or herinterest to the receiving Party, the transferring Party
shall, upon request, communicate in writing to thereceiving Party the information referred to in paragraph 3of this Article.
5.
The receiving Party, if requested by the transferring
Party, shall furnish it with the following documents orstatements unless the receiving Party has already indicatedthat it will not agree to the transfer:(a)a document or statement indicating that thesentenced person is a national of the receiving
Party, or, where Japan is the receiving Party,
any other person as provided for in sub-paragraph(a), paragraph 1 of Article 3;(b)a copy of the relevant law of the receiving Party
which provides that the acts or omissions on
account of which the sentence has been imposed in
the transferring Party constitute a criminal
offence according to the law of the receiving
Party, or would constitute a criminal offence if
committed on its territory; and(c)a statement describing how the sentence would beenforced by the receiving Party.

6.
If a transfer is requested, the transferring Party
shall provide the following documents or statements to thereceiving Party, unless either Party has already indicatedthat it will not agree to the transfer:(a)a copy of the judgment and the law on which it isbased;

－4－

(b)

a statement indicating how much of the sentence
has already been served, including information on
any remission and any other factor relevant to
the enforcement of the sentence;(c)a statement containing the consent to thetransfer as referred to in sub-paragraph (d),paragraph 1 of Article 3; and(d)any medical or social reports or behaviour reportin prison on the sentenced person, information
about his or her treatment in the transferring
Party, and any recommendation for his or her
further treatment in the receiving Party.

7.
Either Party may ask to be provided with any of thedocuments or statements referred to in paragraph 5 or 6 ofthis Article before making a request for transfer or taking
a decision on whether or not to agree to the transfer.
8.
The sentenced person shall be informed, in writing, of
any action taken by the transferring Party or by thereceiving Party under paragraphs 2 and 4 of this Article,
as well as of any decision taken by either Party on arequest for his or her transfer.
Article 7
Consent and its verification
1.
The transferring Party shall ensure that the sentenced
person who gives consent to the transfer in accordance with
sub-paragraph (d), paragraph 1 of Article 3 does sovoluntarily and with full knowledge of the legal
consequences thereof. The procedure for giving suchconsent shall be governed by the law of the transferring
Party.
2.
The transferring Party shall afford an opportunity tothe receiving Party to verify through a consul or otherofficial designated by the receiving Party, that theconsent is given in accordance with the conditions set out
in paragraph 1 of this Article.
Article 8
Effect of transfer for transferring Party
1.
The taking into charge of the sentenced person by theauthorities of the receiving Party shall have the effect ofsuspending the enforcement of the sentence in thetransferring Party.

－5－

2.
The transferring Party may no longer enforce thesentence if the receiving Party considers enforcement ofthe sentence to have been completed.
Article 9Continued enforcement of sentence1.
The receiving Party shall continue the enforcement of
the sentence by taking necessary measures in accordancewith its laws and regulations.
2.
The continued enforcement of the sentence after thetransfer shall be governed by the laws and regulations of
the receiving Party, including those governing conditions
for service of imprisonment or other form of deprivation ofliberty and those providing for the reduction of the termof imprisonment or other form of deprivation of liberty byparole or otherwise.
3.
The receiving Party shall be bound by the legal natureand duration of the sentence as determined by thetransferring Party.
4.
If, however, this sentence is by its nature orduration incompatible with the law of the receiving Party,
or its law so requires, that Party may, by taking necessary
measures in accordance with its laws and regulations, adapt
the sanction imposed in the transferring Party to asanction prescribed by its own law for a similar offence.
As to its nature and duration, the adapted sanction shall,
as far as possible, correspond with the sanction imposed inthe transferring Party. It shall not be severer than that
imposed in the transferring Party, in terms of nature andduration.
Article 10
Pardon, amnesty, commutation
Each Party may grant pardon, amnesty or commutation of
the sentence in accordance with its Constitution, laws andregulations.
Article 11
Review of judgment
The transferring Party alone shall have the right todecide on any application for review of the judgment.

－6－

Article 12
Termination of enforcement of sentence
The receiving Party shall terminate enforcement of thesentence as soon as it is informed by the transferring
Party of any decision or measure as a result of which thesentence ceases to be enforceable.
Article 13
Information on enforcement of sentence
The receiving Party shall provide information to thetransferring Party concerning the enforcement of thesentence:(a)when it considers enforcement of the sentence tohave been completed;(b)

if the sentenced person has escaped from custodyor died before enforcement of the sentence hasbeen completed; or(c)if the transferring Party requests a special
report.
Article 14
Language and costs

1.
Requests for the transfer and replies, andinformation, documents and statements provided under thisTreaty shall be furnished in the language of the Party towhich they are addressed or in English.
2.
Any costs incurred in the application of this Treaty
shall be borne by the receiving Party, except costs
incurred exclusively in the territory of the transferring
Party.
Article 15Consultations
The Parties shall consult, at the request of either
Party, concerning the interpretation and the application ofthis Treaty.
Article 16Headings
The headings of the Articles of this Treaty areinserted for convenience of reference only and shall notaffect the interpretation of this Treaty.

－7－Article 17
Entry into force and termination
1.
This Treaty shall enter into force on the thirtieth
day after the date on which the Parties exchange diplomatic
notes informing each other that their respective internal
procedures necessary to give effect to this Treaty havebeen completed.
2.
This Treaty shall be applicable to the enforcement ofsentences imposed either before or after its entry intoforce.
3.
Either Party may terminate this Treaty at any time bynotice in writing to the other Party through the diplomaticchannel. Termination shall take effect on the one hundredand eightieth day after the date on which the notice isgiven.
4.
This Treaty shall continue to apply to the enforcementof sentences of sentenced persons who have been transferredin conformity with the provisions of this Treaty prior to
the date of termination.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned, being dulyauthorised, have signed this Treaty.
Done at Tokyo, in duplicate, in the Japanese,
Vietnamese and English languages, all texts being equallyauthentic, this first day of July, 2019. In case of any
divergence of interpretation, the English text shallprevail.

FOR JAPAN:

FOR THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC
OF VIET NAM:
Lê Quý Vương阿部俊子－8－