Ensuring the right of access to justice and the right to fair treatment of victims as individuals in the Vietnamese Criminal Procedure Code and lessons from the Russian Federation

Abstract

The right to access to justice and fair treatment are the fundamental rights mentioned in the Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power. In Vietnam, legislators have recognized and significantly expanded the rights of individual victims in the 2015 Criminal Procedure Code, amended and supplemented in 2021. However, the full recognition and guarantee of the implementation of the right to access to justice and fair treatment of individual victims in Vietnam’s criminal procedure law still has many limitations. By using the method of synthesis - analysis and comparison, the article analyzes and clarifies a number of theoretical issues on the right to access to justice and fair treatment of individual victims. In addition, from the legislative experience of the Russian Federation, the authors provide suggestions for improving the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code of Vietnam, aiming to harmonize of the rights and interests of the parties, including the victim, when participating in the process of resolving criminal cases.