BASIS FOR SUSPENDED SENTENCE ACCORDING TO LEGAL PROVISIONS?

Table of contents

1. What is a Suspended sentence?

2. Basis for Suspended sentence according to legal provisions?

1. What is a Suspended sentence?

According to Clause 1, Article 65 of the 2015 Penal Code, amended and supplemented in 2017, stipulates:

“Article 65. Suspended

1. Where a person is sentenced to imprisonment of up to 03 years, in consideration of the offender’s records and mitigating factors, the Court might give suspended of 1 – 5 years and request the convict to fulfill certain obligations during this period in accordance with the Law on criminal sentence execution if imprisonment is deem unnecessary.”

According to Article 1 of Resolution No. 02/2018/NQ-HDTP dated May 15, 2018 of the Council of Judges of the Supreme People’s Court guiding the application of Article 65 of the Penal Code on suspended sentences: “Suspended sentences are measures to conditionally exempt from serving a prison sentence, applied by the Court to offenders sentenced to imprisonment for no more than 03 years, based on the offender’s personal background and mitigating circumstances, it is deemed unnecessary to force them to serve a prison sentence.”

2. What are the grounds for granting a Suspended sentence according to legal provisions?

According to Article 65 of the 2015 Penal Code, amended and supplemented in 2017, the Court shall decide whether or not to grant a suspended sentence to the defendant:

“Article 65. Suspended sentences

1. Where a person is sentenced to imprisonment of up to 03 years, in consideration of the offender’s records and mitigating factors, the Court might give probation of 1 – 5 years and request the convict to fulfill certain obligations during this period in accordance with the Law on criminal sentence execution if imprisonment is deem unnecessary.

2. During the probation period, the person put on probation shall be supervised and educated by the organization or agency for which he/she works or the local authority. The family of the convict has the responsibility to cooperate with such agency or organization or the local authority in supervising and educating him/her.

3. The court may impose additional sentences upon the person put on probation if provided for by the applied provision of law.

4. After the person put on probation has served half the duration of the probation and shows improvements, at the request of the supervising agency/organization, the Court shall consider reducing the probation period.

5. During the probation period, if the convict deliberately fails to fulfill his/her obligations twice or more as prescribed by the Law on criminal sentence execution, the Court might require him/her to serve the suspended imprisonment sentence. If the convict commits a new crime, the Court shall force him/her to serve a combined sentence of the suspended sentenced and the new sentence as prescribed in Article 56 hereof.”