In what cases shall community sentence be applied in Vietnam?

In what cases shall community sentence be applied in Vietnam? (Source: Internet)

1. What is community sentence?

According to Point c, Clause 1, Article 32 of Vietnam's Criminal Code 2015, Community sentence is prescribed as the main punishment for offenders.

2. Regulations on the application of community sentence in Vietnam.

- In the case of community sentence:

6-month to 3-year community sentence shall be imposed upon people who commit less serious crimes or serious crimes defined by this Law and have stable jobs or fixed residences and do not have to be isolated from society.

If the convict has been kept in temporary detention, the duration of temporary detention shall be deducted from the duration of community sentence: 01 day of temporary detention equals (=) 03 days of community sentence.

- The person sentenced to community sentence shall be supervised and educated by the organization or agency for which he/she works or the People’s Committee of the commune where he/she resides.

The family of the convict has the responsibility to cooperate with such agency or organization or the People’s Committee of the commune in supervising and educating him/her.

- Obligations of convicts:

+ While serving the sentence, the convict must fulfill certain duties according to regulations on community sentence and part of his income (5% - 20%) shall be extracted to pay to state budget on a monthly basis.

In special cases, the court might not require income deduction and specify the reason in the judgment.

+ The income of a sentenced person who is doing his/her military service shall not be deducted.

- If the person sentenced to community sentence is unemployed or loses his/her job while serving the sentence, he/she must do works serving the community during the period of community sentence.

The duration of community serving must not exceeds 04 hours per day and 05 days per week.

This measure must not be applied to pregnant women, women raising children under 06 months of age, old and weak people, people having fatal diseases, people having severe disabilities or extremely severe disabilities.

People sentenced to community sentence must fulfill the duties specified in the Law on Criminal Judgment Execution 2019.

(According to Article 36 of the Crimial Code 2015)

Thus, in the case of less serious crimes, serious crimes, and having a stable workplace or a clear place of residence, if it is deemed unnecessary to isolate the offender from society, community sentence from 6 months to 3 years shall be applied in Vietnam.

Quoc Dat

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