Vietnam considers scrapping death penalty for 8 crimes, including corruption, bribery

At a session of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Tuesday, Deputy Minister Hung presented the central government's explanations and revisions to the draft law amending the Penal Code.

He said the proposal to remove capital punishment for eight offenses aligns with the Vietnamese Party's policy of gradually narrowing the scope of the death penalty.

Over the past decades, the Southeast Asian country has reduced the number of capital offenses from 44 in the 1985 Penal Code to 18 by the 2015 revision.

The eight offenses proposed for the removal of capital punishment were selected based on the severity of the crimes, the harm caused, and the ability to recover damages.

These eight crimes include activities aimed at overthrowing the government; sabotaging national infrastructure; production or trade of counterfeit medicines; illegal transportation of narcotics; undermining peace or initiating aggressive war; espionage; corruption; and bribery.

Some crimes, like the production and sale of counterfeit medicines, carry the death penalty in law but have not been applied in practice for years.

The deputy minister also pointed to global trends, saying that only around 50 of the 193 United Nations member states retain the death penalty in law.

Removing it from more crimes would bring Vietnam’s laws closer to international standards and support the country’s expanding global partnerships.

“The move also demonstrates the responsibility and capacity of Vietnam’s judicial and law enforcement institutions in a modern context,” Hung said, noting that Vietnam now uses lethal injection as a more humane execution method.

A particularly sensitive proposal is to abolish the death penalty for corruption-related crimes such as embezzlement and bribery.

To prevent leniency, the draft law sets strict conditions for reducing life sentences in such cases.

Offenders would only be eligible for sentence reductions if they return at least 75 percent of stolen assets and actively cooperate with authorities during the investigation and trial.

Hung emphasized that the change would still ensure strong deterrence against serious crimes, while aligning with Vietnam’s broader legal reform objectives and commitments under international treaties.

Hoang Thanh Tung, chairman of the National Assembly’s Committee on Legal Affairs, endorsed the central government’s plan to remove the provision of non-reducible life sentences, citing the need for further study and careful evaluation.

Nguyen Khac Dinh, vice-chairman of the National Assembly, concluded the Tuesday session by praising the central government’s efforts and the Legal Affairs Committee’s collaboration.

The revised draft law is expected to be submitted for a final vote later in the ongoing ninth session of the National Assembly.