Latest guidance on deferred imprisonment sentence in Vietnam

Latest guidance on deferred imprisonment sentence in Vietnam  (Image from the internet)

On June 10, 2024, the Council of Judges of the Supreme People's Court issued Resolution 03/2024/NQ-HDTP providing guidance on the application of regulations in the Criminal Code 2015 concerning statute of limitations for enforcement of judgments, exemption from serving sentences, reduction of declared penalties, reduction of serving time under special circumstances, deferred imprisonment sentence, and suspended imprisonment sentence.

Latest guidance on deferred imprisonment sentence in Vietnam

According to Article 7 of Resolution 03/2024/NQ-HDTP, the guidance for Article 67 of the Criminal Code 2015 regarding deferred imprisonment sentence is as follows:

(1) A person sentenced to prison may be given a suspension of serving the sentence when the following conditions are met:

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

In cases where the person sentenced to prison is a pregnant woman, regardless of whether she intentionally gets pregnant and gives birth continuously to evade the duty of serving the prison sentence or not, or a woman raising a child under 36 months old, regardless of whether it is a biological or adopted child, may be given a suspension of serving the prison sentence until the child is 36 months old.

- Has a clear place of residence.

A clear place of residence is a temporary or permanent residence with a specifically identified address according to the provisions of the Law on Residence 2020 where the person sentenced to prison resides and lives regularly;

- After being sentenced to prison, does not commit any serious violations of the law, and there is no evidence to suggest they might flee.

In addition, the Court may grant a Deferred imprisonment sentence to individuals under any of the cases stipulated in Clause 1, Article 67 of the Criminal Code 2015 but do not meet one of the conditions guided under points b and c, Clause 1, Article 7 of Resolution 03/2024/NQ-HDTP due to special circumstances, which must be considered carefully.

Example: Nguyen Thi B, sentenced to 4 years in prison for the crime of intentional injury, has an unclear place of residence, and is raising a 12-month-old child who has a serious illness requiring hospital treatment with no one else to care for the child, may be considered for a suspension of serving the prison sentence by the Court.

(2) The duration for the Deferred imprisonment sentence is determined as follows:

- The duration for the Deferred imprisonment sentence in the cases stipulated under point a, Clause 1, Article 67 of the Criminal Code 2015 is calculated from the date the Court issues the decision until the person's health recovers;

- The duration for the Deferred imprisonment sentence in the cases stipulated under 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 suspension period determined by the Court.

(3) Handling some cases after being granted a Deferred imprisonment sentence:

- During the suspension period, if the person granted the suspension becomes pregnant or continues to raise a child under 36 months old, the Court may decide to extend the suspension until the youngest child reaches 36 months old;

- Persons granted a suspension under point c or point d, Clause 1, Article 67 of the Criminal Code 2015 may be granted one or multiple suspensions, but the total maximum suspension time is up to 1 year.

More details can be found in Resolution 03/2024/NQ-HDTP, effective from July 15, 2024.

Nguyen Ngoc Que Anh

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