On the afternoon of June 10, the National Assembly Standing Committee gave its opinion on the reception, explanation, and revision of the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Penal Code (amended).
Deputy Minister of Public Security Le Quoc Hung said that in this amendment, the Government proposed to remove 8 crimes with the death penalty based on careful research and assessment of the issues.
These crimes include: embezzlement of property; bribery; illegal transportation of drugs; activities aimed at overthrowing people's governments; Espiecing; destroying Vietnam's technical and material facilities; manufacturing and trading counterfeit goods as medicine and disease prevention drugs; sabotage of peace, causing war of aggression.
In which, based on the nature and severity of the crime; the importance of the protected subject; the ability to overcome the consequences caused by the crime.
Based on the results of the summary of the implementation of the Penal Code, many crimes have regulations on the death penalty but have not been applied in practice in recent times.
Referring to international experience, the trend of reducing the death penalty in legal regulations as well as in practice in the world is popular. Of the 193 United Nations member states, only more than 50 have passed the death penalty.
Another basis is to serve our country's international cooperation activities, especially in the current context, when Vietnam is expanding international cooperation extensively in all areas of social life.
Building a legal system similar to most countries in the world will contribute significantly to promoting increasingly strong and mutually trusting cooperative relations.
The Deputy Minister of Public Security also stated that the form of capital punishment applied by humanity as well as in our country is becoming more and more humane.
From forms of revenge, expressing anger at criminals such as slashing, throwing into oil barges, throwing into tiger cages, four-horse bridges... to now, mainly countries have not applied these forms of death. Our country has applied the most humane form of death, which is injecting poison.
From the above issues, the Government finds that abolishing the death penalty for 8 crimes as in the draft law submitted to the 15th National Assembly at the 9th Session is appropriate in the current conditions of our country.
This is partly to meet the requirements of fighting against crime, while also meeting the process of continuing to reduce the death penalty, as well as the requirements of cooperation and expanding international relations to develop the country.
As for the crimes of embezzlement and bribery, after the death penalty is abolished, to ensure the recovery of assets obtained from the crime, and at the same time encourage criminals to actively declare during the process of handling the case.
The draft law has amended and supplemented the regulation that people sentenced to life in prison for embezzlement of property and bribery can only have their prison term reduced if they have proactively returned at least 3/4 of their embezzlement and bribery assets and have actively cooperated with competent authorities in detecting, investigating, handling crimes or making major contributions during the investigation, prosecution and trial period.
