Society must pay the price if it narrows the scope of criminal responsibility of minors.

(Baonghean.vn) - Continuing the working program at the 2nd session of the 14th National Assembly, on October 26, the National Assembly worked in the hall, discussing the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Penal Code.

Overview of the working session on October 26 of the 14th National Assembly.

The majority of National Assembly deputies of Nghe An province basically agreed to amend and promulgate the Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Penal Code. Given the importance of the Code which has a profound impact on social life, many deputies said that the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Penal Code should not be passed immediately at this 2nd Session.

Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Nghe An Nguyen Dac Vinh on the sidelines of the 2nd session of the 14th National Assembly. Photo: Tuan Anh.

Through discussion, the draft Law still has many contents related to detailed quantification in specialized fields that have not been agreed upon among relevant ministries and branches, such as: how to calculate the rate of bodily injury, the rate of discharge into the environment, the environmental pollution index; list of prohibited goods; quantity and types of military weapons; whether or not to appraise the content of narcotics... These are major issues related to specialized state management, requiring a unified viewpoint and requiring careful research, consultation with experts in both theory and practice to have a feasible amendment plan...

Sharing the same view, delegate Tran Van Mao also said: This is one of the very important laws of the Vietnamese legal system. If it is not done carefully, correctly and appropriately, it will greatly affect dozens of other laws. Therefore, the amendment of the law must be done carefully to avoid the situation where after the amendment and supplement, there are still errors, inadequacies and inapplicability in practice.

National Assembly Delegate Nguyen Huu Cau answered questions on the sidelines of the 2nd session of the 14th National Assembly.

Regarding Clause 2, Article 12 of the 2015 Penal Code regulating the responsibility of persons aged 14 to under 18, delegate Nguyen Huu Cau said that it is not suitable for practice.

Delegate Nguyen Huu Cau analyzed: If we use the international convention as a reason to limit and decriminalize criminal behavior of this age group, it is unreasonable. Crime is very complicated today, and minors are very reckless and reckless, especially in relation to drugs, murder, and robbery. The nature of crime increases while the scope of criminal responsibility of this age group is narrowed, then society will certainly have to pay the price... Taking care of and protecting minors is the responsibility of the whole society, but if they violate, we must educate them to prevent it, and not wait until the consequences are caused before punishing them. We can educate them and give them lighter sentences, but we cannot acquit them.

“If opposition political organizations appear, using minors to participate in the organization, causing fights... then thinking back, society will have already suffered the consequences... Clause 2, Article 12 of the 1999 Penal Code should be kept intact” - Delegate Nguyen Huu Cau suggested.

Clause 2, Clause 3, Article 14 (preparation to commit a crime) narrows the scope to only 21 crimes that must be held criminally responsible at the stage of preparing to commit a crime, while the provisions of the 1999 Penal Code stipulate that anyone who prepares to commit a very serious or especially serious crime of any kind must be held criminally responsible. Regarding this point, delegate Nguyen Huu Cau said that such a provision is not consistent with the Party and State's guiding viewpoint on crime prevention. He said: "A wise lawmaker must prevent and prevent crime - how not to punish them".

Diep Anh - Tuan Anh