Case Explained: Extradition law to bolster cross-border anti-crime cooperation – Legal Perspective

Vietnam is now a signatory to 23 multilateral treaties that contain extradition provisions. It also secured bilateral extradition agreements with Laos, China, Cambodia, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, India, Sri Lanka, France, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Portugal, Italy, Spain, Australia, Argentina, Cuba, the United Arab Emirates, Mozambique, Algeria and Morocco as of early 2026.

Vietnam’s Extradition Law, comprising four chapters and 45 articles, will take effect on July 1, 2026, following its passage by the National Assembly on November 26, 2025, aiming to facilitate the settlement of criminal cases involving fugitives abroad.

Before the new law takes effect, extradition requests to and from Vietnam have been handled under the 2007 Law on Mutual Legal Assistance, which became effective on July 1, 2008.

The new Extradition Law details principles, competent authorities, conditions, procedures and processes for extradition, along with the obligations of Vietnamese state agencies and its scope of application.

The Etradition Law applies the principle of reciprocity between Vietnam and its partners, and the authority to decide on the application of the reciprocity principle in extradition is transferred from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Ministry of Public Security.

The law also allows provisional detention in urgent cases before a formal extradition request is received, to prevent escape and ensure timely action.

Vietnam is now a signatory to 23 multilateral treaties that contain extradition provisions. On October 25, 2025, Minister of Public Security Luong Tam Quang signed the United Nations Convention on Countering the Use of Information and Communications Technologies for Criminal Purposes at its opening-for-signature ceremony in Hanoi. He also inked the ASEAN Treaty on Extradition at the 13th ASEAN Law Ministers’ Meeting in the Philippines on November 14, 2025.

Alongside multilateral treaties, Vietnam secured bilateral extradition agreements with Laos, China, Cambodia, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, India, Sri Lanka, France, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Portugal, Italy, Spain, Australia, Argentina, Cuba, the United Arab Emirates, Mozambique, Algeria and Morocco as of early 2026.

Furthermore, Vietnamese law permits extradition on a reciprocal basis with countries that lack formal extradition treaties.

The reciprocity principle could apply between Vietnam and Germany. As the two nations have not yet concluded an extradition treaty, collaboration on anti-crime and extradition relies on the 2006 Agreement on Cooperation in Combating Crime and other general legal frameworks, including discussions on a potential treaty for the extradition of convicted persons. VNA