Is the victim's request for a reduced sentence for the defendant considered a mitigating circumstance?
When deciding on the penalty, can the Court consider the circumstance that the victim or the victim's legal representative requests a reduction in the sentence for the defendant in cases where only harm to the victim's health, property damage or personal circumstances of the defendant are considered as mitigating circumstances for criminal responsibility? The issue of concern of Mr. Le Khanh Hoang (Thien Nhan commune, Nghe An).
Reply:According to the provisions of Clause 2, Article 51 of the 2015 Penal Code:
When deciding on a sentence, the Court may consider surrender or other circumstances as mitigating circumstances, but must clearly state the reasons for mitigating in the judgment.
In fact, during the trial, the Court may determine other circumstances as mitigating circumstances of criminal liability according to the above provisions, for example the following circumstances:
- The defendant's wife, husband, father, mother, child, brother, sister or sibling is a person who has contributed to the country or has outstanding achievements and has been awarded one of the following honorary titles by the State: Hero of Labor, Hero of the Armed Forces, Heroic Vietnamese Mother, People's Artist, Meritorious Artist, People's Teacher, Meritorious Teacher, People's Physician, Meritorious Physician or other noble titles as prescribed by the State:
- The defendant has a brother or sister who is a martyr;
- The defendant is disabled due to an accident at work or at work, with a disability rate of 31% or more;
- The victim is also at fault;
- Damage caused by third party fault;
- The defendant's family repairs and compensates for damages on behalf of the defendant;
- The victim or the victim's legal representative requests a reduction in the sentence for the defendant in cases where the defendant only causes harm to the victim's health or property damage;
- Committing a crime in case of serving urgent work requirements such as storm and flood prevention, emergency.
In addition, when the Court tries a case, depending on the specific case and circumstances of the offender, it may also consider other circumstances as mitigating circumstances, but these must be clearly stated in the judgment.
Note: The above advice is for reference only. Depending on the time and the subject, the above advice may no longer be suitable due to changes in legal policies.
