Vietnam will remove the death penalty for eight offenses embezzling, espionage, and overthrowing the government among them according to the National Assembly of Vietnam, which convened on Wednesday. The changes to the Criminal Code, effective from July 1, will be one of the most significant changes to Vietnam’s criminal code in recent history.
The updated legislation, passed unanimously, comes at a time when Vietnam is under international scrutiny for its harsh penal system. The Vietnam News Agency reported that from next month, the death sentence will no longer apply to offences such as vandalising state property, manufacturing counterfeit medicine, endangering peace, inciting invasive wars, espionage, and drug possession (distinct from trafficking, which remains a capital crime).
Tycoon Truong My Lan to Be Spared
The upcoming legislation will notably rescue Truong My Lan, the chairwoman of Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group, which was convicted in 2023 in one of the largest financial scandals the country has experienced. She was found guilty of embezzling over 12 billion dollars from the now-defunct Saigon Commercial Bank.
Lan’s legal team has yet to comment on the amendment. However, lawyer Ngo Anh Tuan, speaking to Reuters though not involved in her case, confirmed that “according to the amendment of the Criminal Code, her sentence will automatically be reduced to life imprisonment.”
As per the revised law, any individual sentenced to death for the now-removed offences before July 1 and not yet executed will have their sentences commuted to life imprisonment.
Remaining Capital Crimes in Vietnam
Despite the changes, ten serious crimes will continue to carry the death penalty in Vietnam. These include: Murder, Treason, Terrorism, Sexual abuse of children & Drug trafficking
Vietnam still uses lethal injection exclusively as the sole method of execution as of 2011, when it eliminated the firing squad as a punishment. What the number of individuals on death row is we do not know, as the number is classified as a state secret.
Global Reaction and Legal Significance
Advocates and human rights defenders have been encouraged by Vietnam’s move to reduce the crimes punishable by death penalty, especially given the country’s staunch reluctance to adopt reform in relation to its criminal justice system. While the action is perceived to be a step in the right direction, there nevertheless remains concern regarding the policies’ lack of transparency, and the fact that death penalty will continue to apply to crimes such as trafficing in narcotic drugs.
Some observers noted that the amendment, while timely in the context of the Truong My Lan case, indicated a shift from punitive justice toward reformative justice in economic and non-violent crimes.
The reform is expected to impact dozens of families whose loved ones had been sentenced under the now-exempted crimes. Legal experts suggest the implementation process will begin in early July, and life terms will apply automatically unless individuals face other pending capital charges.
The amendment marks a rare move by Vietnam’s tightly controlled legal system, hinting at gradual legal modernisation. As international attention remains focused on high-profile financial crime cases like Lan’s, this decision may pave the way for further criminal code revisions in the coming years.
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