According to the ministry, narrowing the scope of capital punishment is intended to further implement the Communist Party of Vietnam's policy direction of reviewing and gradually reducing the application of the death penalty.

The ministry also said removing capital punishment for selected offenses would strengthen Vietnam's position in international cooperation on criminal justice, extradition and mutual legal assistance.

The proposal is also intended to align Vietnam's criminal legislation with the global trend toward restricting the use of the death penalty to only the most serious crimes, while complying with the requirements of the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Vietnam is a party. The covenant recommends that countries retaining capital punishment limit its application to the "most serious crimes."

Under the draft Criminal Code, the death penalty would be removed for six offenses:

Rioting (Article 112)

Rape of a person under the age of 16 (Article 142)

Illegal trafficking of narcotic drugs (Article 251)

Crimes against humanity (Article 422)

War crimes (Article 423)

The offense of terrorism aimed at opposing the people's administration (Article 113), which would be merged into the broader offense of terrorism (Article 299)

If approved, Vietnam's Criminal Code would retain the death penalty for only four offenses: Treason (Article 107); Murder (Article 123); Terrorism (Article 299); Illegal production of narcotic drugs (Article 248).

Earlier, the Politburo approved a proposal to review shortcomings in the Criminal Code, the Criminal Procedure Code and the Law on Enforcement of Criminal Judgments related to the application and enforcement of the death penalty. The review also examines measures to reduce the number of capital offenses and expand the conversion of death sentences into prison terms where appropriate.

Proposal removes one offense and restructures several others

The draft Criminal Code would abolish the offense of organizing child marriage (Article 183).

According to the Ministry of Public Security, many cases stem from limited legal awareness, longstanding customs and traditions, difficult socio-economic conditions, and insufficient understanding of the law among families and communities.

The ministry said administrative measures should be prioritized over criminal prosecution in such cases to avoid unnecessarily criminalizing family and community relationships rooted in outdated customs. It also noted that the current offense carries only fines or non-custodial reform for up to two years, without imprisonment.

The draft also proposes merging eight offenses into four broader categories:

Terrorism aimed at opposing the people's administration (Article 113) with terrorism (Article 299)

Smuggling (Article 188) with illegal transportation of goods or currency across the border (Article 189)

Intentional disclosure of military operational secrets (Article 404) with unlawful appropriation, trading or destruction of classified military documents (Article 405)

Negligent disclosure of military operational secrets (Article 406) with loss of classified military documents (Article 407)

The ministry said these consolidations would not substantially change criminal policy but would simplify the Criminal Code, reduce overlapping offenses and improve legal consistency.

The draft also separates the offense of producing, possessing, transporting and circulating counterfeit currency (Article 207) into two distinct offenses: Producing, trading or transporting counterfeit currency; Possessing or circulating counterfeit currency

The ministry said the separation would better distinguish the seriousness of different criminal conduct and clarify the role of each offender. The draft also introduces the offense of trading counterfeit currency to better reflect current criminal activity.

Fines proposed to double for many offenses

The Ministry of Public Security said current monetary penalties and financial thresholds used in defining criminal offenses no longer reflect today's economic conditions or price levels.

Vietnam's statutory base salary increased from VND 1.15 million (about US$45) between July 2013 and April 2016 to VND 2.53 million (US$99) from July 2026, more than doubling.

Official statistics also show that GDP per capita rose from VND 45.7 million (US$1,790) in 2015 to an estimated VND 125.5 million (US$4,920) in 2025. Preliminary results from the 2025 Household Living Standards Survey estimate average monthly per capita income at VND 5.9 million (US$231), up 9.3% from 2024.

Based on these changes, the draft Criminal Code proposes broadly doubling monetary penalties and financial thresholds across many criminal offenses.

Article 35 of the draft would raise the minimum criminal fine from VND 1 million (US$39) to VND 5 million (US$196). Courts would continue to determine fines based on the nature and seriousness of the offense, the offender's financial circumstances and price fluctuations.

The proposal also allows courts, in cases where the statutory fine is lower than the offender's illicit gains, to calculate the fine based on those unlawful proceeds. However, the fine could not exceed three times the amount of the illegal profit.

Tran Thuong