National Assembly deputy Trần Thị Thu Hằng in Đắk Nông Province gives her opinion at the National Assembly meeting on Wednesday. VNA/VNS Photo Doãn Tấn

HÀ NỘI — The National Assembly (NA) continued its agenda on Wednesday by discussing the draft Law on Juvenile Justice, with many deputies advocating for retaining the four types of penalties while carefully reviewing each provision to ensure a balance between deterrence, crime prevention and the promotion of humanity and rehabilitation for juvenile offenders.

Presenting the report on the draft law, Chairwoman of the NA’s Judicial Committee Lê Thị Nga stated that the revised draft now includes five sections, 11 chapters and 176 articles.

Regarding penalties for juvenile offenders, Article 111 specifies that minors can only face one of the following penalties for each offense: warning, fines, non-custodial reform or fixed-term imprisonment.

Many opinions supported the penalties proposed for juveniles, while some urged a thorough review of the provisions for the four penalty types to ensure that the treatment of juvenile offenders remains humane. The draft law retains three penalty types from the Penal Code, including warnings, fines and non-custodial reform, alongside imprisonment, to suit the severity and nature of the crimes committed.

Nga requested that the NA uphold the draft law’s four penalty types, while emphasising that the provisions of each should be scrutinised. 

Regarding combined penalties for multiple offenses, she noted that while some supported the current approach, others proposed maintaining existing laws to ensure deterrence. 

The review revealed that Article 103 of the Penal Code is inequitable and the revisions in Clauses 2 and 3 of Article 117 of the draft law address this imbalance.

However, regarding combined penalties, the draft proposes that minors aged 14 to 16 receive no more than 12 years of imprisonment, while those aged 16 to 18 receive no more than 18 years. This limit applies to all crimes, not just the five crimes listed in the draft. This revision balances the policies for handling juveniles committing multiple crimes and ensures that penalties are not harsher than those in the Penal Code, while correcting inequities.

During the discussion, NA deputies broadly agreed with the draft law’s provision that reeducation in juvenile reform schools is an alternative corrective measure. They emphasised that the law should clearly define the conditions for applying this measure.

Deputy Phạm Văn Hòa in Đồng Tháp Province affirmed that this reeducation measure aligns well with the country’s current needs, ensuring the best interests of juvenile offenders. 

Deputy Nguyễn Tạo in Lâm Đồng Province highlighted that the guiding principle of the law is to educate and help juvenile offenders correct their mistakes and become productive citizens.

However, he noted that Article 40 of the draft law does not yet address whether the juvenile offenders show remorse and voluntarily correct their mistakes. Applying corrective measures without ensuring these conditions may lead to further criminal behaviour, undermining the law’s goal of rehabilitating them into useful members of society. – VNS