Will an Individual Who Committed the Crime of Underage Marriage Under the Provisions of the 1999 Criminal Code Continue to be Punished Under the Provisions of the 2015 Criminal Code?
Is the offender of child marriage according to the 1999 Criminal Code still subject to penalties under the 2015 Criminal Code?
Based on the provisions at Point d, Clause 2, Article 2 of Resolution 41/2017/QH14, guiding the application of the 2015 Criminal Code as follows:
Application of the 2015 Criminal Code
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2. From the date the Law No. 12/2017/QH14 amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Criminal Code No. 100/2015/QH13 (hereinafter referred to as Law No. 12/2017/QH14) is published, continue implementing the following regulations:
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d) Do not criminally handle persons performing acts which are considered crimes under the 1999 Criminal Code but are not considered crimes under the 2015 Criminal Code, including: child marriage; false economic management reporting; violating the protection of industrial property rights; unauthorized use of supplementary capital reserve funds of credit institutions; non-compliance with administrative decisions of competent state agencies on bringing to educational institutions, medical facilities, administrative supervision; acts under the 1999 Criminal Code (as guided for implementation in normative legal documents) are considered crimes but due to amendments, supplements, changes to the constituent elements of the crime, those acts no longer constitute a crime. If a case has been prosecuted, is being investigated, prosecuted, or tried, it must be suspended; if the convicted person is serving a sentence or is temporarily suspended from serving a sentence, they will be exempted from serving the remaining part of the sentence; if the convicted person has not yet started serving the sentence or the sentence is suspended, they will be exempted from serving the entire sentence;
Child marriage crime according to Article 148 of the 1999 Criminal Code is stipulated as follows:
Organizing child marriage, and child marriage
Anyone who commits one of the following acts, having been administratively sanctioned for the act, and then commits the offense, shall be subject to a warning, non-custodial reform for up to two years or a prison term of between three months and two years:
a) Organizing a marriage for persons who have not reached the marriageable age;
b) Deliberately maintaining an illegal marital relationship with a person who has not reached the marriageable age despite a court decision to terminate that relationship.
Thus, the child marriage crime stipulated in the 1999 Criminal Code is considered a crime, but the 2015 Criminal Code does not consider it a crime. Therefore, if a case has been prosecuted, is being investigated, prosecuted, or tried, it must be suspended; if the convicted person is serving a sentence or is temporarily suspended from serving a sentence, they will be exempted from serving the remaining part of the sentence; if the convicted person has not yet started serving the sentence or the sentence is suspended, they will be exempted from serving the entire sentence.
Is the offender of child marriage according to the 1999 Criminal Code still subject to penalties under the 2015 Criminal Code? (Image from the Internet)
Are commercial legal entities committing crimes before 2018 subject to penalties under the 2015 Criminal Code?
According to the provisions at Point h, Clause 1, Article 2 of Resolution 41/2017/QH14 regarding whether commercial legal entities committing crimes before 2018 are subject to penalties under the 2015 Criminal Code as follows:
Application of the 2015 Criminal Code
1. From January 01, 2018, the 2015 Criminal Code is applied as follows:
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h) The provisions on criminal liability of commercial legal entities in the 2015 Criminal Code do not apply to crimes committed by commercial legal entities before 00:00 January 01, 2018;
Thus, commercial legal entities committing crimes before 00:00 January 01, 2018, when being prosecuted for criminal liability, will not be subject to the 2015 Criminal Code but will apply the provisions of the 1999 Criminal Code.
Is it true that persons over 75 years old are not subject to the death penalty?
According to the provisions at Clause 2, Article 2 of Resolution 41/2017/QH14, this matter is acknowledged as follows:
Application of the 2015 Criminal Code
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2. From the date the Law No. 12/2017/QH14 amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Criminal Code No. 100/2015/QH13 (hereinafter referred to as Law No. 12/2017/QH14) is published, continue implementing the following regulations:
a) Do not apply the death penalty when prosecuting crimes which the 2015 Criminal Code has abolished the death penalty or for individuals aged 75 years or older at the time of committing the crime or at trial;
b) The death penalty already pronounced for persons specified at point a of this clause but not yet executed shall not be implemented, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court shall convert the death penalty into life imprisonment;
c) For individuals already sentenced to death but the sentence has not been executed and who meet the conditions specified at point c, clause 3, Article 40 of the 2015 Criminal Code, the Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court shall convert the death penalty into life imprisonment;
d) Do not criminally handle individuals performing acts which are considered crimes under the 1999 Criminal Code but are not considered crimes under the 2015 Criminal Code, including: child marriage; false economic management reporting; violating the protection of industrial property rights; unauthorized use of supplementary capital reserve funds of credit institutions; non-compliance with administrative decisions of competent state agencies on bringing to educational institutions, medical facilities, administrative supervision; acts under the 1999 Criminal Code (as guided for implementation in normative legal documents) are considered crimes but due to amendments, supplements, changes to the constituent elements of the crime, those acts no longer constitute a crime. If a case has been prosecuted, is being investigated, prosecuted, or tried, it must be suspended; if the convicted person is serving a sentence or is temporarily suspended from serving a sentence, they will be exempted from serving the remaining part of the sentence; if the convicted person has not yet started serving the sentence or the sentence is suspended, they will be exempted from serving the entire sentence;
Simultaneously, Official Dispatch 256/TANDTC-PC of 2017 guides the implementation as follows:
1. From July 3, 2017, when prosecuting at the first instance or appellate levels, continue implementing the non-application of the death penalty to individuals committing crimes which the 2015 Criminal Code No. 100/2015/QH13 amended and supplemented by Law No. 12/2017/QH14 (hereinafter referred to as the 2015 Criminal Code) has abolished the death penalty, or for individuals aged 75 or older at the time of committing the crime or at trial (regardless of whether the offense was committed before or after July 3, 2017).
In cases where the death penalty was pronounced before July 3, 2017, on the individuals specified at points a and c, clause 2, Article 2 of Resolution No. 41 and the verdict has come into effect, the Chief Justice of the court that tried the first instance must report immediately to the Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court so the Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court can issue a decision to convert the death penalty into life imprisonment for the convicted individuals.
Thus, the regulation indicates that individuals aged 75 or older committing offenses at the time before or after July 3, 2017, will have their death penalties converted to life imprisonment.
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