On 20 April 2016, the Ministry of Justice held a meeting to study, thoroughly grasp and disseminate the Penal Code (amended) and Resolution No. 109/2015/QH13 of the National Assembly on implementation of the Penal Code to servants, officials and public employees of the Ministry.
On 27 November 2015 - the last day of the tenth session of the 13th National Assembly (NA), the NA approved the Penal Code (amended) with 84.01% of the vote, which scraps death penalty for seven crimes. The Code will come into force as from 1 July 2016. The Penal Code (amended), including 26 chapters and 426 articles, aims to protect national sovereignty and security, socialism, human right, citizens’ right, the right to equality among ethnic minority groups, interests of the State and organizations and legal order.
Speaking at the meeting, Director of Department of Legal Dissemination and Education Do Xuan Lan affirmed that deep understanding the content and spirit of the Penal Code not only helps every citizens to raise their awareness of the law, and voluntarily obey with the law, but also assists them to actively participate in the fight against crime. As for officials of the Ministry of Justice, the good understanding of the Penal Code is a significant key to actively apply provisions of the Code to their daily tasks falling within the state management fields of attached units, in particular and of the Ministry and Justice sector, in general. This also contributes to the dissemination of the provisions of the Code to the entire people, bring the Penal Code into reality.
In this sense, speakers focused on the significant new provisions of the Penal Code. Accordingly, new contents such as the criminal liability of legal entities and the scope of legal entities’ criminal liability make up the amended code. The new Criminal Code abolishes death penalty for seven crimes including plundering property, destroying important national security works and/or facilities; disobeying orders in the military; surrendering to the enemy, which is applicable in the army; undermining peace, provoking aggressive wars; crimes against mankind; and war crimes. What is more, Article 220 of the new law stipulates crimes on infringement of State regulations on public capital management and spending leading to serious consequences. Accordingly, violators who cause damage from VND 100 million to under VND 300 million or less than VND 100 million and relapse into crime will be given a three-year suspended sentence as maximum or put in prison from one to five years. Those who cause damage from VND 300 million to less than VND 1 billion will be sentenced from three to 12 years.
The newly-adopted Penal Code also stipulates that death penalty will not be executed for the convicted involved in the following cases: pregnant women; females having children under the age of 36 months; over 75-year-old people; persons who were sentenced to death for embezzlement of assets or taking bribes but actively handed over at least three fourth of the embezzled asset. In those cases, the punishment will become life sentence.
Within the framework of the meeting, the speaker from Department of Criminal and Administrative Law also introduced the main content of the Resolution No. 109/2015/QH13 of the National Assembly on implementation of the Penal Code, especially criminal liability of juvenile offenders./.