1. What does it mean to commit a crime but cause no damage or minor damage?
According to the guidance in Clause 8, Article 2 of Resolution 04/2025/NQ-HĐTP, committing a crime but causing no damage or minor damage falls into one of the following cases:
– Committing a crime but causing no damage is a case where the crime has been committed but no damage (material or non-material) actually occurred. When considering this mitigating circumstance for criminal liability, it should be distinguished from the case of an uncompleted crime as stipulated in Article 15 of the Penal Code.
Example: Nguyen Van A broke into someone’s house to steal a motorbike worth 20,000,000 VND. A had taken the motorbike out of the gate when the homeowner discovered it, shouted, and neighbors intervened, apprehended A along with the motorbike. In this case, Nguyen Van A is subject to the mitigating circumstance for criminal liability stipulated in Point h, Clause 1, Article 51 of the Penal Code.
Example: Nguyen Van A broke into someone’s house to steal a motorbike worth 20,000,000 VND but was caught by the homeowner while trying to open the lock. In this case, Nguyen Van A committed property theft in the form of an uncompleted crime and is not subject to the mitigating circumstance for criminal liability stipulated in Point h, Clause 1, Article 51 of the Penal Code.
– Committing a crime but causing minor damage is a case where the crime has been committed and damage has occurred (actual damage has occurred) but the damage is not significant compared to the normal level for that crime. The determination of whether the damage is significant or not must be based on the value of the damage (material damage) and the impact of the damage on the owner and society (non-material damage). For material damage, it is based on the monetary value, compared with the monetary quantification stipulated in the corresponding criminal offenses that the crime infringes upon. For non-material damage, the degree of impact of the crime on the victim’s psychology, spirit, reputation, honor, health, and the degree of impact on public opinion, social life, and the community are assessed for determination.
2. Is committing a crime but causing no damage or minor damage a mitigating circumstance for criminal liability?
The mitigating circumstances for criminal liability are stipulated in Article 51 of the Criminal Code of Vietnam 2015 (amended by Point a, Point b, Clause 6, Article 1 of the 2017 Law amending the Crime Code) as follows:
– The offender has prevented or reduced the harm of the crime;
– The offender has voluntarily repaired, compensated for damage, or remedied the consequences;
– Committing a crime in excess of the limits of legitimate self-defense;
– Committing a crime in excess of the requirements of an emergency;
– Committing a crime in excess of the necessary level when apprehending an offender;
– Committing a crime due to mental provocation caused by the victim’s unlawful act;
– Committing a crime due to extremely difficult circumstances not caused by oneself;
– Committing a crime but causing no damage or minor damage;
– Committing a crime for the first time and being a minor offense;
– Committing a crime due to being threatened or coerced by another person;
– Committing a crime in a state of limited cognitive ability not caused by one’s own fault;
– Committing a crime due to backwardness;
– The offender is a pregnant woman;
– The offender is 70 years old or older;
– The offender is a severely disabled person or a person with exceptionally severe disabilities;
– The offender is a person with a disease that limits their cognitive ability or their ability to control their behavior;
– The offender has confessed;
– The offender has honestly declared and shown repentance;
– The offender has actively cooperated with the responsible agency in detecting the crime or during the resolution of the case;
– The offender has performed meritorious services to atone for their crime;
– The offender is a person with outstanding achievements in production, combat, study, or work;
– The offender is a person who has rendered meritorious services to the revolution or is the father, mother, spouse, or child of a martyr.
Thus, committing a crime but causing no damage or minor damage is considered a mitigating circumstance for criminal liability.
3. Some notes when applying mitigating circumstances for criminal liability
– When deciding on a penalty, the Court shall base its decision on the provisions of the Penal Code, consider the nature and degree of social danger of the criminal act, the personal background of the offender, and the mitigating and aggravating circumstances of criminal liability.
– The Court may decide on a penalty below the minimum level of the applicable penalty framework but still within the immediately lighter penalty framework of the article when the offender has at least two mitigating circumstances specified in Clause 1, Article 51 of the Criminal Code of Vietnam 2015.
– Mitigating circumstances belonging to an accomplice shall only apply to that person.
– Mitigating circumstances already stipulated by this Code as elements for defining a crime or its framework shall not be considered mitigating circumstances when deciding on a penalty.
– When imposing a prison sentence of not more than 03 years, based on the personal background of the offender and the mitigating circumstances, if it is deemed unnecessary to enforce the prison sentence, the Court shall grant a suspended sentence and set a probation period of 01 year to 05 years, and require the offender to fulfill obligations during the probation period according to the provisions of the Law on Execution of Criminal Judgments.
