Regulations on conditions for and levels of shortening probation period of suspended sentences in Vietnam

Regulations on conditions for and levels of shortening probation period of suspended sentences in Vietnam (Internet image)

Regarding this issue, LawNet would like to answer as follows:

1. What is a suspended sentence?

According to Article 1 of Resolution 02/2018/NQ-HDTP, the suspended sentence is a measure of exemption from the execution of a conditional prison sentence, applied by the Court to offenders who are sentenced to imprisonment for not more than 3 years based on the identity of the offender and the extenuating circumstances, it is deemed that it is not necessary to force them to serve the imprisonment penalty.

2. Regulations on conditions and shortening of probation period of suspended sentences in Vietnam

Regulations on conditions and levels to shorten the probation period of suspended sentences according to Article 8 of Resolution 02/2018/NQ-HDTP are as follows:

A person entitled to a suspended sentence may be granted a decision to shorten the probation period by the district-level People's Court or regional military court when fully meeting the following conditions:

+ Having served half of the probation period of the suspended sentence;

+ There have been many advances shown by the fact that during the probation period, the suspended sentence has strictly complied with the law and the obligations under the Criminal Judgment Execution Law; actively studying, working, correcting mistakes or making achievements in production labor, protecting national security, and being commended and rewarded by competent state agencies.

+ Request in writing to shorten the probation period by the People's Committee of the commune, agency, or organization assigned to supervise and educate the suspended sentence.

- A person serving a suspended sentence may shorten the probation period only once a year, from 01 month to 01 year. A person serving a suspended sentence may be able to shorten the probation period many times, but must ensure that the actual serving of the probation period is three-quarters of the probation period declared by the court.

- In case a person entitled to a suspended sentence has been made by a competent authority to request a shortening of the probation period, but the court does not accept it, if the next time they meet all conditions, the People's Committee of commune, agency or organization assigned to supervise and educate the person serving suspended sentence shall continue to propose shortening the probation period for them.

- In case the person entitled to a suspended sentence makes merit or suffers from a fatal disease and fully meets the conditions guided in Clause 1, Article 8 of Resolution 02/2018/NQ-HDTP, the court may decide to shorten the remaining probation period.

Merit is a case in which a person serving a suspended sentence takes actions to help a competent state agency detect, arrest, and investigate a crime; to save others in a dangerous situation; or to save property valued at over VND 50 million of the State, collectives, or citizens in natural disasters, fires, epidemics, or accidents;

Having an initiative certified by a competent state agency or having excellent achievements in labor, study, combat, or work, commended and certified by a competent state agency.

Suffering from a fatal disease is a case where a provincial-level hospital or military hospital of a military zone or higher concludes that the person serving a suspended sentence is suffering from a life-threatening illness that is difficult to treat, such as:

End stage cancer, cirrhosis, ascites, drug-resistant grade 4 tuberculosis, polio, grade 3 heart failure, grade 4 kidney failure, or higher; HIV AIDS has opportunistic infections that are unable to take care of themselves and are at high risk of death.

3. Cases ineligible for suspended sentence in Vietnam

Cases ineligible for suspended sentence in Vietnam under Article 3 of Resolution 02/2018/NQ-HDTP (amended in Resolution 01/2022/NQ-HDTP) are as follows:

- The offender is a mastermind, leader, commander, stubbornly opposed, a thug, uses cunning tricks, has a professional nature,
abusing positions and powers for personal gain, intentionally causing particularly serious consequences.

- The person committing the crime has fled and has been wanted or requested by the procedure-conducting agencies, unless he has surrendered before a decision to bring the case to trial is issued.

- The person serving a suspended sentence commits a new crime during the probation period; the person serving a suspended sentence is tried for another crime committed before receiving the suspended sentence.

- Offenders are tried at the same time for many crimes, except for one of the following cases:

+ The offender is a person under 18 years of age;

+ The offender is tried and convicted for two crimes, both of which are less serious crimes, or the offender is an aide in the case of an accomplice with an insignificant role.

- The offender commits the crime twice or more, except for one of the following cases:

+ The offender is a person under 18 years of age;

+ The offenses are all less serious crimes;

+ In times of committing a crime, the offender is a helper in the case of accomplices with an insignificant role;

+ Crimes committed by the offender.

- Offenders fall into cases of recidivism or dangerous recidivism.

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