To distinguish between concealing a crime and misprision in Vietnam,

Hello, Lawnet, I would like to answer your questions as follows:

Concealing a crime and misprision are infringements on the judicial activities of a competent authority. Subjects who commit this act can be prosecuted for penal liability under the Criminal Code. However, there is still much confusion when distinguishing between concealing a crime and misprision. Below are some criteria to distinguish these two types of crimes:

1. What is concealment of crimes? What is misprision?

According to the provisions of the Criminal Code 2015, amended in 2017 of Vietnam:

Any person who, without prior promises and after knowing that a crime has been committed, harbors the criminal, conceals the traces or exhibits of the crime or commits other acts that obstruct the discovery, investigation and taking of actions against the criminal shall bear criminal responsibility for concealment of crimes

Any person who knows that a crime is being prepared, being carried out, or has been carried out but fails to report it shall bear criminal responsibility for misprision

2. Distinguishing between concealment of crimes and misprision

- Regarding the consciousness of the offender

The person who, without prior promises and after knowing that a crime has been committed.

The person who knows that a crime is being prepared, being carried out, or has been carried out but fails to report it

- Regarding the time when the crime was discovered

The person who conceals the crime discovers the crime after it has been committed.

A person who does not report a crime can detect an offense at any stage of another criminal act (was, is or will be committed).

- Regarding the form of act

Concealing a crime is an act of harboring the criminal, concealing the traces or exhibits of the crime or commiting other acts that obstruct the discovery, investigation and taking of actions against the criminal.

Misprision is the act of failing to report a crime to a competent authority.

- Regarding the penalty

According to Article 389 of the Criminal Code 2015, people hide crimes, people hide crimes: murder, destruction, intentionally damaging property, robbing property, kidnapping to appropriate property... shall face a penalty of up to 03 years' community sentence or 06 - 60 months' imprisonment

If the offence involves the offender's abuse of power or other acts of protecting the criminal, the offender shall face a penalty of 02 - 07 years' imprisonment.

For the crime of mispríion according to Article 390 of the Criminal Code, the offenders shall receive a warning, face a penalty of up to 03 years' community sentence or 06 - 36 months' imprisonment

However, the person who fails to report the crime but does try to stop the criminal or reduce the consequences of the crime might be exempt from criminal responsibility or punishment.

- Regarding the case of exemption from criminal liability

A person who conceals the crime shall not bear criminal responsibility if he/she is a grandparent, parent, child, niece/nephew, sibling, spouse of the offender, except for concealment of crimes against national security or other extremely serious crimes specified in Article of Criminal Code 2015

For the crime of misprision, the following people are not criminally responsible:

+ Grandfather, grandmother, father, mother, child, grandchild, sibling, spouse of the offender;

+ The defense counsels are not liable for criminal liability because the person they defend has performed or participated in the defense task.

Note: If the above two subjects conceal crimes of crimes infringing upon national security or other particularly serious crimes in Article 389 of the Criminal Code 2015, they will not be exempt from penal liability.

Persons who do not report, if they have acted to dissuade offenders or limit the harms of crimes, may be exempt from criminal liability.

Best regards!

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