On the afternoon of June 13, the People's Public Security Communications Department (X04, Ministry of Public Security) held a seminar to disseminate draft laws drafted by the Ministry of Public Security to the 15th National Assembly, 9th session.
At the seminar, answering questions from the press about whether the proposal to abolish the death penalty for 8/18 current crimes is in the long-term roadmap towards abolishing the death penalty, Colonel Nguyen Van Thinh - Head of the Criminal Law and Judicial Reform Department, Department of Legal Affairs and Judicial Administrative Reform (Ministry of Public Security) said that this amendment, the Government proposed to abolish the death penalty for 8/18 crimes currently in the 2015 Penal Code.
According to Colonel Thinh, this is to institutionalize the Party's consistent viewpoints and policies on humanity and move towards narrowing the scope of the application of the death penalty, on the basis of inheriting the spirit of previous amendments.
According to Colonel Nguyen Van Thinh, if the proposal is approved by the National Assembly, the number of crimes with the highest penalty of the death penalty will be reduced from 18 to 10.
This process shows a progressive legislative trend, when from 1985 to present, Vietnam has continuously reduced the number of crimes with death sentences: In 1985, there were 44 crimes, down to 29 in 1999, down to 29 in 2009, down to 22 and down to 18 in 2015.
"In the next amendments, depending on practical conditions, we will continue to study and consider moving towards abolishing the death penalty for the remaining crimes, when the situation allows" - Colonel Nguyen Van Thinh said.
Speaking further about this content, Mr. Nguyen Cong Long - full-time member of the National Assembly's Committee on Law and Justice - emphasized that the gradual dropping of the death penalty received many mixed opinions from delegates and voters, because this is the most severe punishment in the legal system.
However, according to Mr. Long, it is necessary to clearly recognize that the Penal Code not only has the function of punishment but also is a tool to express criminal policies, playing an important role in preventing and deterring crimes. The gradual narrowing of the death sentence is a step towards philosophy, from "penalty after crime" to "early and remote prevention".
Mr. Long emphasized: "Snhrowing the death penalty does not mean that the law becomes weak. It is important to synchronously complete other legal tools, especially enhancing the ability to prevent and suppress crimes early".
According to Mr. Long, for all types of violent crimes, it is necessary to fully equip law enforcement forces, ensuring the ability to prevent and suppress effectively from the beginning. For non-violent crimes such as the production and trading of counterfeit goods, counterfeit drugs, and food safety violations, it is necessary to improve state management capacity, and cannot only rely on criminal proceedings when crimes have occurred.
