Granting suspended sentences to offenders demonstrates the humanitarian nature of Vietnamese law, enabling them to work and reform themselves, and become contributing members of society without needing to be isolated from the community. However, currently, there is still limited public understanding about suspended sentences. Many people confuse a suspended sentence with other criminal penalties and are unclear about the conditions for eligibility and ineligibility for suspended sentences.
Article table of contents
Vietnam: What is the suspended sentence? (Illustrative Image)
1. Distinguishing "suspended sentence" and "community sentence" in Vietnam
According to Article 1 of Resolution 02/2018/NQ-HDTP, a suspended sentence is a conditional exemption from serving imprisonment, applied by the Court to an offender sentenced to imprisonment not exceeding 03 years, based on the offender's background and mitigating circumstances, where it is deemed unnecessary to enforce imprisonment.
Meanwhile, Article 36 of the Criminal Code 2015, a 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.
Both suspended and community sentences share the form where the convicted person remains free under the supervision, management, and education of the local residence and headquarters of authorities. These two criminal penalties have many similarities, such as neither form isolates the convicted person from society. However, there are distinct differences between these two penalties:
- A suspended sentence is a conditional exemption from serving imprisonment. The offender must meet the conditions specified in Article 2 of Resolution 02/2018/NQ-HDTP to be eligible for a suspended sentence. Essentially, the offender is sentenced to imprisonment but is exempted from serving the sentence upon meeting legal conditions. Along with the suspended sentence, the Court sets a probation period for the convicted person, which is twice the length of the imposed prison sentence, but not less than 01 year and not more than 05 years. Current law does not mandate the convicted person to perform community service or deduct a portion of their income alongside the suspended sentence.
- A community sentence is one of the penalties under Vietnamese criminal law. This penalty is applied for a period from 06 months to 03 years to offenders of minor to serious crimes who have stable employment or clear residence if isolation from society is deemed unnecessary. Offenders must fulfill certain obligations under the regulations on community sentences and have 5% to 20% of their income deducted for the state. If the person subjected to community sentence is unemployed during the penalty, they must perform certain community service tasks.
2. Conditions for imposing suspended sentences to convicted persons
Under Article 2 of Resolution 02/2018/NQ-HDTP, persons sentenced to imprisonment may be considered for a suspended sentence if they meet the following conditions:
- Be sentenced to imprisonment not exceeding 03 years.
- Have good character.
- Have at least 02 mitigating circumstances, including at least 01 mitigating circumstance stipulated in Clause 1, Article 51 of the Criminal Code without aggravating circumstances stipulated in Clause 1, Article 52 of the Criminal Code.
- Have clear residence or stable employment for competent agencies and organizations to supervise and educate.
- It is deemed unnecessary to enforce imprisonment if the offender is capable of self-rehabilitation and granting a suspended sentence doesn't pose a danger to society and adversely affect societal security, order, or safety.
3. Cases ineligible for suspended sentences in Vietnam
The cases ineligible for suspended sentences in Vietnam are specified in Article 3 of Resolution 02/2018/NQ-HDTP. Persons in the following cases are not eligible for a suspended sentence even if they meet the conditions specified in Article 2 of this Resolution:
- The offender is a mastermind, leader, commander, persistent objector, or hooligan, who uses cunning tricks, acts professionally, exploits their position for profit, or intentionally causes particularly serious consequences.
- The person commits the offense and absconds, with law enforcement agencies issuing a search warrant.
- The person on a suspended sentence commits a new crime during the probation period or is judged for another crime committed before being granted a suspended sentence.
- The person is tried for multiple offenses in one trial, except for offenders under 18 years old.
- The offender has committed multiple offenses, except for those under 18 years old.
- The offender is subject to recidivism or has a history of serious recidivism.
Duc Thao
