Conditions for deferred imprisonment sentence from July 15, 2024

Conditions for deferred imprisonment sentence from July 15, 2024 (Image from the Internet)

On June 10, 2024, the Judicial Council of the Supreme People's Court issued Resolution 03/2024/NQ-HDTP guiding the application of certain provisions of the Criminal Code 2015 regarding the statute of limitations for execution of sentences, exemption from serving sentences, reduction of the declared penalty, reduction of the time of serving the penalty in special cases, deferred imprisonment sentence, and suspension of the execution of a prison sentence.

Conditions for deferred imprisonment sentence in Vietnam from July 15, 2024

Article 7 of Resolution 03/2024/NQ-HDTP stipulates the deferred imprisonment sentence as regulated in Article 67 of the Criminal Code 2015 as follows:

Inmates may be granted a postponement of their prison sentence if they meet the following conditions:

- Belong to one of the cases stipulated in Clause 1, Article 67 of the Criminal Code 2015.

In the case where the inmate is a pregnant woman, regardless of whether she deliberately gets pregnant or continually gives birth to avoid serving the prison sentence, or a woman who is raising a child under 36 months of age, regardless of whether the child is biological or adopted, she may be granted a postponement of the prison sentence until the child reaches 36 months of age.

- Have a clear place of residence.

A clear place of residence is a temporary or permanent residence that has a specifically determined address according to the provisions of the Law on Residence where the sentenced person resides and lives regularly;

- After being sentenced, they do not commit any serious legal violations, and there is no basis to believe they will abscond.

***The court may also grant a postponement of the prison sentence to inmates who fall into one of the cases stipulated in Clause 1, Article 67 ***Criminal Code 2015 but do not meet one of the conditions guided in points b and c, Clause 1, Article 7 Resolution 03/2024/NQ-HDTP with consideration to special circumstances, provided careful and thorough examination.

For example: Nguyen Thi B was sentenced to 4 years in prison for the crime of intentional injury, does not have a clear place of residence, is raising a 12-month-old child who suffers from a serious illness needing hospital treatment without anyone to care for, the Court may consider postponing Nguyen Thi B's prison sentence.

The duration for postponement of the execution of prison sentences is determined as follows:

- The duration for postponement of prison sentences in cases regulated in point a, Clause 1, Article 67 of the Criminal Code 2015 is calculated from the date the court issues the decision until the inmate's health is restored;

- The duration for postponement of prison sentences in cases regulated in points b, c, and d, Clause 1, Article 67 of the Criminal Code 2015 is calculated from the date the court issues the decision until the end of the postponement period decided by the court.

Handling certain cases after the postponement of prison sentences:

- During the postponement period, if the inmate becomes pregnant or continues to raise a child under 36 months of age, the court may decide to extend the postponement until the youngest child reaches 36 months of age;

- An inmate granted postponement according to points c or d, Clause 1, Article 67 of the Criminal Code 2015 may be granted one or multiple extensions, with the total postponement period not exceeding 1 year.

For more details, refer to Resolution 03/2024/NQ-HDTP which was passed by the Judicial Council of the Supreme People's Court on April 24, 2024, and is effective in Vietnam from July 15, 2024.

To Quoc Trinh

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