Principles of criminal handling of people under 18 years old
(Baonghean.vn) - Ms. Nguyen Thi Lien in Nghia Dan district asked, recently I see that crime is getting younger and younger, many criminals are minors. So how will criminals under 18 years old be handled?
Reply:
Persons aged 16 years and over shall bear criminal responsibility for all crimes, except for crimes otherwise provided for in the Penal Code. Persons aged 14 years and under 16 years shall bear criminal responsibility for very serious crimes and especially serious crimes specified in one of the articles of the Penal Code.
The principles for handling crimes committed by people under 18 years of age are stipulated in Article 91 of the 2015 Penal Code, amended and supplemented in 2017, as follows:
1. The handling of criminals under 18 years of age must ensure the best interests of the under 18 years of age and is mainly aimed at educating and helping them correct their mistakes, develop healthily, and become useful citizens to society.
The handling of criminals under 18 years of age must be based on their age, their ability to perceive the dangerous nature of their criminal acts to society, and the causes and conditions that led to the crime.
2. A person under 18 years of age who commits a crime in one of the following cases and has many mitigating circumstances, voluntarily remedies most of the consequences, if not in the case prescribed in Article 29 of the 2015 Penal Code (amended in 2017), may be exempted from criminal liability and one of the measures prescribed in Section 2, Chapter XII of the 2015 Penal Code (amended in 2017) may be applied:
+ Persons from 16 to under 18 years old who commit less serious crimes or serious crimes, except for crimes specified in Articles 134, 141, 171, 248, 249, 250, 251 and 252 of the Penal Code 2015 (amended 2017);
+ Persons from 14 to under 16 years old who commit very serious crimes as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 12 of the 2015 Penal Code (amended 2017), except for crimes prescribed in Articles 123, 134, 141, 142, 144, 150, 151, 168, 171, 248, 249, 250, 251 and 252 of the 2015 Penal Code (amended 2017);
+ People under 18 years old are accomplices with an insignificant role in the case.
3. Criminal prosecution of persons under 18 years of age who commit crimes shall only be conducted in necessary cases and must be based on their personal characteristics, the social danger of the crime and the requirements of crime prevention.
4. When adjudicating, the Court shall only apply punishment to a person under 18 years of age who commits a crime if it considers that exemption from criminal liability and application of one of the measures prescribed in Section 2 or application of educational measures at a reformatory school prescribed in Section 3, Chapter XII, Penal Code 2015 (amended 2017) do not ensure educational and preventive effectiveness.
5. No life imprisonment or death penalty shall be imposed on persons under 18 years of age who commit crimes.
6. The Court shall only apply a fixed-term prison sentence to a person under 18 years of age who commits a crime when it considers that other penalties and educational measures do not have a deterrent or preventive effect.
When imposing a term of imprisonment, the Court shall give a person under 18 years of age who commits a crime a lighter sentence than the sentence applied to a person 18 years of age or older who commits the corresponding crime and for the shortest appropriate term.
No additional penalties shall be applied to persons under 18 years of age who commit crimes.
7. Sentences passed against persons under 16 years of age who commit crimes shall not be taken into account in determining recidivism or dangerous recidivism.
