Criminal
2015 Penal Code retaining capital punishment for treason, murder and drug trafficking
The Penal Code 2015 reduced the number of capital offences to eighteen but retains death for murder, large-scale drug trafficking, treason and terrorism. Corporate criminal liability was introduced for the first time.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — District and provincial People's Courts try criminal cases; the Supreme People's Procuracy prosecutes and also supervises legality of proceedings.
Governing law
- Penal Code No. 100/2015/QH13amended 2017
- Criminal Procedure Code No. 101/2015/QH13
- Law on Custody and Temporary Detention2015
In practice
The 2015 Code exempted persons under 18, women who are pregnant or raising a child under 36 months, and people over 75 from execution, and allows commutation where a person sentenced for embezzlement or bribery returns at least three quarters of the proceeds. National security offences in Articles 109, 117 and 331, covering activities against the state, propaganda and abusing democratic freedoms, are broadly drafted and used against journalists and activists. Detention before trial can be extended repeatedly for serious offences. The right to counsel attaches from detention, and the Code formally recognises the presumption of innocence and a right to silence, though access in national security cases is often delayed.