Vietnam: What is a community sentence? What is the difference between a community sentence and a suspended sentence?
What is a community sentence in Vietnam?
Pursuant to Article 32 of the Criminal Code 2022, community sentence is one of the primary sentences.
In particular, a community sentence is a punishment that does not force the convict to be isolated from society, but is assigned to state agencies and social organizations for supervision and education in order to promote the role of the community to participate in the re-education and education of offenders.
Vietnam: What is a community sentence? What is the difference between a community sentence and a suspended sentence? (Image from the internet)
What is the process of applying a community sentence in Vietnam?
Pursuant to Article 36 of the 2015 Penal Code stipulates the application of community sentence as follows:
"Article 36. Community sentence
1. 6-month to 3-year community sentence shall be imposed upon people who commit less serious crimes or serious crimes defined by this Law and have stable jobs or fixed residences and do not have to be isolated from society.
If the convict has been kept in temporary detention, the duration of temporary detention shall be deducted from the duration of community sentence: 01 day of temporary detention equals (=) 03 days of community sentence.
2. The person sentenced to community sentence shall be supervised and educated by the organization or agency for which he/she works or the People’s Committee of the commune where he/she resides. The family of the convict has the responsibility to cooperate with such agency or organization or the People’s Committee of the commune in supervising and educating him/her.
3. While serving the sentence, the convict must fulfill certain duties according to regulations on community sentence and part of his income (5% - 20%) shall be extracted to pay to state budget on a monthly basis. In special cases, the court might not require income deduction and specify the reason in the judgment.
The income of a sentenced person who is doing his/her military service shall not be deducted.
4. If the person sentenced to community sentence is unemployed or loses his/her job while serving the sentence, he/she must do works serving the community during the period of community sentence.
The duration of community serving must not exceeds 04 hours per day and 05 days per week.
This measure must not be applied to pregnant women, women raising children under 06 months of age, old and weak people, people having fatal diseases, people having severe disabilities or extremely severe disabilities.
People sentenced to community sentence must fulfill the duties specified in the Law on enforcement of criminal judgments."
What is the difference between a community sentence and a suspended sentence?
Criteria | Suspended sentence | Community sentence |
Definition | A suspended sentence is a measure of exemption from serving a conditional prison sentence, applied by the Court to offenders sentenced to imprisonment for not more than 3 years, based on the offender's identity and mitigating circumstances in case there's no need to force them to serve a prison sentence | A primary sentence. Community sentences aim to create conditions for those subject to work, study in the community, and demonstrate their repentance in a normal social environment. |
Conditions of application | - He/she is sentenced to imprisonment not more than 3 years - He/she has a good personal background – He/she has no circumstance aggravating his/her penal liability specified in Clause 1, Article 51 of the Penal Code and has two or more circumstances extenuating his/her penal liability, including at least one extenuating circumstance specified in Clause 1, Article 52 of the Penal Code. If he/she has one aggravating circumstance, he/she must have three or more extenuating circumstances, including at least two ones specified in Clause 1, Article 51 of the Penal Code - He/she has a place of residence with a specific and clear address - He/she can reform himself/herself and his/her exemption from execution of the imprisonment penalty will not adversely affect the prevention and combat of crimes, especially corruption | 6-month to 3-year community sentence shall be imposed upon people who commit less serious crimes or serious crimes defined by this Law and have stable jobs or fixed residences and do not have to be isolated from society |
Cases not applicable | - Offenders are the masterminds, leaders, commanders, stubbornly opposers, thugs, use cunning tricks, are professional, take advantage of positions and powers for personal gain, intentionally cause special serious consequences. – Offenders who committed the crime fled and were wanted by the proceedings-conducting agency. – Offenders serving a suspended sentence commits a new crime during the probationary period; the person serving a suspended sentence is tried for another crime committed before receiving the suspended sentence – Offenders are tried at the same time for many crimes, except where the offender is under 18 years old - Offender is a person who commits the crime more than once, unless the offender is a person under 18 years of age - Offenders in cases of recidivism or dangerous recidivism | No specified |
Additional Penalties | The court may decide to apply an additional penalty to the person entitled to a suspended sentence if it is provided in the applicable law, such as: a ban from holding certain posts, from practicing a profession or from doing a certain job; Prohibition of residence; Probation; Deprivation of certain citizenship rights; Confiscation of property; Fine, when not applicable is the primary penalty; Expulsion, when not applicable is the primary penalty. | Fully comply with additional penalties and compensation obligations (if any). |
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