Indo-Vietnam pact on transfer of convicted prisoners gets enforced

An Indo-Vietnam pact for transfer of each other's sentenced prisoners to serve their remaining terms in their own countries has come into effect with its ratification by the two nations.

In a gazette notification, the Ministry of Home Affairs said the treaty between India and Vietnam on mutual transfer of sentenced prisoners has come into effect following its confirmation by the Southeast Asian nation.

The pact would grant the citizens of the countries, convicted and sentenced in the other country, an opportunity to serve their remaining terms in their own countries and facilitate their social rehabilitation in their own societies, the notification said.

Detailing various conditions of the pact for transfer of a sentenced person from one country to another, the notification said the person has to be a national of the receiving state and must not have been sentenced to death.

Among other conditions, the imprisoned person must be undergoing the term after the final judgement on his case in the transferring state and must not be facing any other criminal proceeding, requiring his continued presence in the host state.

Additionally, for a prisoner to be transferred from one country to another, he must not have been convicted for an offence under a military law, the notification said.

For his transfer from the host country to his own, a prisoner or somebody else, legally entitled to act on his behalf, may request the government of either of the two contracting states through a formal application made in prescribed manner.

The agreement on transfer of the sentenced persons was signed by India and Vietnam on November 1, 2013 and was ratified by India on January 1, 2014. Vietnam, however, ratified it only on March 10, 2017.

The gazette notification was issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs last week.

India has entered into prisoner transfer treaties with many nations that allow a person convicted of a crime to be transferred to his or her home country to serve the remaining term.

The Repatriation of Prisoners Act 2003 was enacted by the government to provide for transfer of foreigners imprisoned in Indian jails or vice versa to their native countries to serve their remaining terms nearer home and families and facilitate their social rehabilitation.