What is an investigator? What are the powers and responsibilities of investigators?

Investigators play a vital role in the process of investigating and clarifying criminal cases. What is an investigator? What are the duties and powers of investigators? Let's find them out via the article below.

1. What is an investigator?

Investigator is a procedural position. Investigators specialize in performing criminal investigations under current law. Investigators may work for the People's Army, the Supreme People's Procuracy, or the investigation agency.

Pursuant to the provisions of the Law on Organization of Criminal Investigation Bodies 2015, investigators are persons appointed to perform the criminal investigation task.

Investigators are divided into the following grades:

• Primary investigators;
• Intermediate investigators;
• Senior investigators.

Currently, investigators are known by many different names such as Police Judicial Commissioner, Police Judicial Organization, or Military Police Commissioner.

Investigator is a procedural position

2. Criteria for appointment of investigators

Below are some criteria for appointment of investigators

General criteria

Being a Vietnamese citizen and loyal to the Fatherland and the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, possessing good ethical quality, being righteous and honest, having a firm political stance and spirit of resolutely defending the socialist legislation.

• Possessing a security university, police university, law bachelor or higher degree.
• Having worked in a law-related field in accordance with this Law.
• Having been professionally trained in investigation.
• Being physically fit for the performance of assigned tasks.

(Pursuant to Article 46 of the Law on Organization of Criminal Investigation Bodies 2015)

Criteria for appointment of primary investigators

A person who satisfies the criteria prescribed in Article 46 of this Law, is an active-service officer of the People’s Public Security or People’s Army or a people’s procuracy and fully meets the following conditions can be appointed as a primary investigator:

• Having worked in a law-related field for 4 years or more;
• Being capable of investigating cases involving less serious or serious crimes;
• Having passed recruitment examinations for the grade of primary investigators.

(Pursuant to Article 47 of the Law on Organization of Criminal Investigation Bodies 2015)

Criteria for appointment of intermediate investigators

A person who fully satisfies the following conditions can be appointed as an intermediate investigator:

• Having worked as a primary investigator for at least 5 years;
• Being capable of investigating cases involving very serious or particularly serious crimes;
• Being able to guide investigating activities of primary investigators;
• Having passed the examination for the grade of intermediate investigators.

To meet the personnel demand of investigating bodies, persons who fully meet the general criteria, Points b, c and d, Clause 1 of Article 48- the Law on Organization of Criminal Investigation Bodies 2015, and have worked in law-related fields for at least 9 years may be appointed as intermediate investigators.

(Pursuant to Article 48 of the Law on Organization of Criminal Investigation Bodies 2015)

Criteria for appointment of senior investigators

A person who fully satisfies the following criteria and the conditions can be appointed as a senior investigator:

• Having worked as an intermediate investigator for at least 5 years;
• Being capable of investigating cases involving very serious, particularly serious or complicated crimes;
• Being capable of studying, synthesizing and proposing measures to prevent and control crimes;
• Being able to guide investigating activities of primary investigators and intermediate investigators;
• Having passed the examination for the grade of senior investigators.

To meet the personnel demand of investigating bodies, persons who fully satisfy the general criteria, Points b, c, d and dd, Clause 1 of Article 49 of the Law on Organization of Criminal Investigation Bodies 2015, and have worked in law-related fields for at least 14 years may be appointed as senior investigators.

(Pursuant to Article 49 of the Law on Organization of Criminal Investigation Bodies 2015)

To become an investigator, you must meet the prescribed appointment criteria 

3. Responsibilities and powers of investigators

Tasks and powers of investigators

Pursuant to Article 53 - Law on Organization of Criminal Investigation Bodies 2015 and Article 37 - Penal Code 2015, specific regulations on the duties and powers of investigators are as follows:

Conduct examining and verifying activities and investigating activities under the jurisdiction of their investigating bodies as assigned by heads or deputy heads of their investigating bodies

Perform tasks and exercise powers in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Code when they are assigned to settle denunciations and reports on crimes, propose the institution of criminal cases and investigate criminal cases.

Specifically as follows:

Directly inspect, verify and document criminal information;

• Compiling files on criminal investigations. 
• Request or recommend the designation and replacement of defense counsels, interpreters and translators.
• Summon and interrogate suspects; convene denouncers, informants, persons denounced or facing position of charges, legal representatives of juridical persons to obtain their statements; take statements from persons held in emergency custody, arrested, temporarily detained; convoke witness testifiers, crime victims and plaintiffs for their statements;
• Make decisions on delivering by force persons held in emergency custody, arrested, temporarily detained, suspects; escorting by force witness testifiers, persons denounced or charged, crime victims; make decisions on transferring persons under 18 to entities responsible for supervision; decide changes of supervisors of perpetrators under 18;
• Enforce emergency custody orders, decisions or orders of arrest, temporary detainment or detention, search, seizure, withholding, distrainment of property, freezing of accounts, handling of evidences;
• Search crime scenes, unearth and dissect corpses, examine traces on bodies, confront persons involved, facilitate identifications, conduct experimental investigations;
• Perform other duties and authority of legal proceedings within the powers of investigation authorities as per assignments by the head according to this Law.

Responsibilities of investigators

Pursuant to Article 53 of the Law on Organization of Criminal Investigation Bodices 2015, investigators have the following responsibilities

• Apply measures prescribed by the Criminal Procedure Code and other relevant laws in order to investigate and find the truth of cases in an objective, comprehensive and adequate manner;
• Abide by law and submit to personal direction by heads or deputy heads of investigating bodies;
• Refuse conducting procedure or get changed in the cases prescribed by the Criminal Procedure Code;
• Abide by the regulations on things not to be done by cadres, civil servants or officers and soldiers of the people’s armed forces.

Investigators shall be held responsible before law and heads and deputy heads of their investigating bodies for their acts and decisions.

4. Things not to be done by investigators

Pursuant to Article 54 of the Law on Organization of Criminal Investigation Bodices 2015, things not to be done by investigators includes:

• Things prescribed by law not to be done by cadres, civil servants or officers and soldiers of the people’s armed forces.
• Provision of consultancy to arrestees, persons held in custody, the accused, defendants, involved parties or other procedure participants, thereby making the settlement of cases or matters unlawful.
• Interference in the settlement of cases or matters or abuse of their influence on persons in charge of settlement of cases or matters.
• Bringing case files or documents out of their offices not for the assigned tasks or without approval of competent persons.
• Reception of the accused, defendants, involved parties or other procedure participants involved in cases or matters under their settling jurisdiction outside prescribed places.

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