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The death sentence is the highest sentence frame in the criminal justice system, directly related to human life and right to life, which is protected by the Constitution and the law. Therefore, the death sentence needs to be considered and considered carefully. Please read with LS Law Firm to learn about the procedure for reviewing the death sentence before execution in the article below.

The concept of death sentence

The death sentence is no longer a strange criminal punishment. The history of criminal law development in the world shows that the death sentence is one of the earliest punishments. This punishment appears in almost every country, from ancient cultures to the present. In today's Vietnamese legal system, the death sentence is specified in Clause 1, Article 40 of the 2015 Penal Code as follows:

“Death sentence is a special sentence imposed upon people committing extremely serious crimes that infringe national security, human life, drug-related crimes, corruption-related crimes and some other extremely serious crimes defined by this document.”

Thus, the death sentence is the most severe form of punishment in the penal system, it is not intended to rehabilitate and educate convicts, but to prevent crime thoroughly.

Procedures for reviewing a death sentence before execution

The executed death sentence will not be able to correct the mistake. Therefore, the procedure for reviewing a death sentence before execution should be carried out carefully. This procedure is recorded in Article 367 of the Criminal Procedure Code 2015 with 02 methods:

Appeal against the death sentence

• After the death sentence takes legal effect:

+ The case file must be immediately sent to the Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court;

+ The judgment must be sent immediately to the Chief Procurator of the Supreme People's Procuracy.

• After reviewing the case files to decide to protest or decide not to protest against cassation or reopening:

+ The Supreme People's Court must transfer the case file to the Supreme People's Procuracy;

+ The Supreme People's Procuracy must return the case file to the Supreme People's Court within 01 month from the date of receipt of the case file.

• Within 02 months from the date of receipt of the case file, the Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court and the Chief Procurator of the Supreme People's Procuracy must decide to protest or decide not to protest according to cassation or retrial judge.

The regulation of such a time limit aims to enhance the responsibility of those who have the authority to protest, so that death sentences that are not protested according to cassation and reopening procedures can be carried out soon, and at the same time ensure that guarantee the right to life of those sentenced to death.

Submit an application for amnesty to the President

Within 07 days from the date the judgment takes legal effect, the convict may submit an application for amnesty to the President. This authority of the State President demonstrates the humanity of the State towards those who commit particularly serious crimes, opens an additional door to help criminals sentenced to death have the opportunity to be rehabilitated and educated to become people useful for society.

Execution of the death sentence

The death sentence will be executed in the following cases:

• The Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court and the Chief Procurator of the Supreme People's Procuracy do not protest according to cassation or reopening procedures and the convicts have not applied for pardon to the President.
• If the death sentence is protested against according to cassation or reopening procedures but the cassation panel or reopening panel of the Supreme People's Court decides not to accept the protest and uphold the death sentence, The Supreme People's Court must immediately notify the convicts so that they can apply for a commutation of the death penalty;
• In case the convict has applied for a commutation of the death penalty but the request for pardon is rejected by the President, the death sentence will be executed afterwards.

If the convict falls into one of the following circumstances, such as a pregnant woman or a woman nursing a child under 36 months of age; people aged full 75 years or older; a person sentenced to death for embezzlement of property, the crime of accepting bribes that, after being convicted, actively surrendered at least three-quarters of the embezzled property, accepted bribes and actively cooperated with authorities If the Chief Justice of the Court that has conducted the first-instance trial fails to issue a decision to execute the death sentence and report it to the Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court for consideration. convert the death penalty to life imprisonment for convicts.

Currently, the execution of the death sentence has used scientific methods to help offenders have a gentler death. Vietnam has also been and continues to institutionalize the policy of limiting the application of the death penalty, creating conditions for offenders to have the opportunity to correct their mistakes. With the general trend of a civilized and progressive society, countries around the world are gradually moving towards removing the death penalty from the criminal law. However, in order to achieve this, Vietnam at the present time needs to have research and consideration at the macro level and must be suitable to actual social conditions.

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Above are the basic contents of procedures for consideration of category judgements before implementation based on legal regulatio ns at the time of writing this article. If you need advice on the above issue or are interested in other legal services, please contact LS Law Firm immediately via Email: lslawfirm2014@gmail.com for timely support.

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