Criminal Code 2015 officially came into effect on January 01, 2018, with many new regulations relating to the criminal responsibility of persons under 16 years of age.
Article table of contents
Compared to the Criminal Code 1999, the Criminal Code 2015 provides more detailed regulations on the scope of criminal responsibility for individuals aged 14 to under 16 years old.
To be specific, Clause 2 Article 12 of the Criminal Code 1999 stipulates: "Individuals from 14 years old but under 16 years old are only held criminally responsible for very serious crimes committed intentionally or especially serious crimes."
This provision does not specify particular offenses, which means the scope of criminal responsibility for offenders in this age group is very broad and often contrary to the educational purpose for juveniles in this age group.
However, Clause 3 Article 1 of the Law amending the Criminal Code 2017 has limited the scope of responsibility for juveniles aged 14 to under 16 by listing specific offenses. Offenders in this age group are held accountable for the following very serious and especially serious offenses:
- Offenses against health and life: Murder (Article 213); Intentional infliction of bodily harm or damage to the health of others (Article 134); Rape (Article 141); Rape of a person under 16 years old (Article 142); Sexual coercion (Article 143); Sexual coercion of someone aged from 13 to under 16 years old (Article 144); Human trafficking (Article 150); Human trafficking of a person under 16 years old (Article 151).- Offenses against property rights: Robbery (Article 168); Kidnapping for ransom (Article 169); Extortion (Article 170); Snatching (Article 171); Theft (Article 173); Destruction or intentional damage to property (Article 178).- Drug-related offenses: Illicit production of narcotic substances (Article 248); Illegal possession of narcotic substances (Article 249); Illegal transportation of narcotic substances (Article 250); Illegal trading of narcotic substances (Article 251); Appropriation of narcotic substances (Article 152).- Offenses against public safety and public order: Organizing illegal racing (Article 265); Illegal racing (Article 266); Terrorism (Article 299); Destruction of important works, facilities, or means of national defense (Article 303); Manufacturing, storing, transporting, using, trafficking, or appropriating military weapons or military equipment (Article 304).- Offenses in the field of information technology and telecommunications networks: Spreading harmful software programs that disrupt network operations (Article 286); Obstructing or causing disruption to network operations (Article 287); Unauthorized access to computer networks, telecommunications networks, or electronic devices of others (Article 289); Using computer networks, telecommunications networks, electronic devices to commit acts of appropriation (Article 290).
Thus, individuals under 16 years old are still held criminally responsible if they commit any of the 28 offenses listed above.
- Doan Trinh -
