Vietnamese lawmakers on Friday passed an amended Penal Code which removes death penalty for seven crimes including robbery, production and trade of adulterated food and drug possession.
At the 10th session of the 13th National Assembly (NA) in capital Hanoi, the lawmakers approved the revision, which takes effect from July 1, 2016. It stipulates that death penalty will be eliminated for seven crimes -- robbery, production and trade of fake food, drug possession, drug appropriation, destruction of projects of national security importance, opposing order, and surrendering to the enemy, Xinhua news agency reported.
According to the revised Penal Code, death penalty will be replaced by life imprisonment for those who are charged with corruption but proactively pay back three-quarters of the corrupted assets.
Death penalty is also not imposed on offenders below 18 years of age, pregnant women and women who are nursing children under 36 months or those who are more than 75 years old when they commit a crime or are put on trial.
During the 10th session of the 13th NA, lawmakers adopted 16 laws and 15 resolutions, including Civil Code (amended), Criminal Code (amended), Law on Referendum and Law on Maritime (amended).
Chairman of Vietnam's NA Nguyen Sinh Hung told the closing ceremony that the approved laws and resolutions will contribute to perfecting the country's legal system, protecting human rights and responsibilities as well as the socialist-oriented market economy.
During the session, legislators also fixed the date for election of the NA deputies and people's councils at all levels for the 2016-2021 tenure.