Vietnam passes law to abolish death penalty for embezzlement, bribery

Specifically, 429 out of 439 deputies present at the National Assembly sitting voted in favor.

Accordingly, life sentences shall replace capital punishment.

The eight offenses include the crime aimed at overthrowing the people’s government, the crime of sabotaging state infrastructure and technical facilities, the crime of producing and trading counterfeit medicines for treatment and prevention, the crime of destroying peace and causing aggressive war, the crime of espionage, narcotics transportation, embezzlement, and bribe taking.

Besides, the amended law introduces new conditions for inmates convicted of embezzlement and accepting bribes to qualify for sentence reduction.

These individuals will only be eligible for commutation of their life sentences if they voluntarily return at least 75 percent of the illicit assets and demonstrate significant cooperation with law enforcement or make substantial contributions to crime prevention.

Under the new law, effective from July 1, those sentenced to death for the eight specified crimes but not yet executed will have their sentences automatically commuted to life imprisonment.

The Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court will decide on converting the death sentence to life imprisonment.

Ending the death penalty for these criminal offenses marked a significant milestone in Vietnam’s ongoing judicial reform.

Minister of Justice Nguyen Hai Ninh had previously explained that the government’s proposal aligned with the Party's directive to gradually narrow the scope of capital punishment.

Vietnam has steadily reduced the number of capital crimes over the decades.

Under the 1985 Penal Code, 44 offenses carried the death penalty, while this number dropped to 29 when the 1999 Penal Code took effect.

The amended 2009 Penal Code featured the death penalty for 22 crimes, and under the 2015 Penal Code, just 18 offenses carried the death penalty.

The latest reform continued this downward trend.

The decision was based on detailed assessments of each offense’s severity, the degree of harm caused, and the feasibility of remedying the consequences, according to the minister.

The reform aligns Vietnam more closely with global legal standards and its international commitments.

Of the 193 United Nations members, only 50 still retain the death penalty in law.

Vietnam is a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which stipulates that countries retaining the death penalty should apply it only to the most serious crimes.

Narrowing the scope of capital punishment enhances Vietnam’s credibility on the international stage and supports the country's broader goals of expanding global cooperation and legal harmonization.