1. What does it mean to commit a crime due to particularly difficult circumstances not self-inflicted?
According to the guidelines in Clause 7, Article 2 of Resolution 04/2025/NQ-HĐTP, committing a crime due to particularly difficult circumstances not self-inflicted means that the crime must be committed due to particularly difficult circumstances, and these particularly difficult circumstances were not caused by the offender themselves. They may be caused by others or other objective reasons (such as natural disasters, enemy actions, fires, accidents, serious illness, force majeure events leading to a dead end or no significant assets remaining, etc.). This circumstance is only applied when both conditions are met: “the crime must be committed due to particularly difficult circumstances” and “the particularly difficult circumstances were not caused by the offender themselves”.
When applying this mitigating circumstance, the extent of the reduction in criminal liability must also be based on the degree, the difficult circumstances, and the offender’s ability to overcome them.
Example: Nguyen Van A’s family is a poor household; his wife is paralyzed from the waist down, and he has no stable income. Because their young child had a life-threatening accident and needed emergency care and treatment, but the family had no money and could not borrow from anyone, A stole a motorcycle, sold it for 20,000,000 VND, and used that money to pay for his child’s medical treatment. In this case, Nguyen Van A is subject to the mitigating circumstance of criminal liability stipulated in point g, Clause 1, Article 51 of the Criminal Code.
2. Is committing a crime under mental provocation due to the victim’s unlawful conduct 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 Points a, b, Clause 6, Article 1 of the Law amending the Criminal Code 2017) as follows:
– The offender has prevented or reduced the harm caused by the crime;
– The offender voluntarily remedied, compensated for damages, or overcome the consequences;
– Committing a crime in excess of the limits of legitimate self-defense;
– Committing a crime in excess of the requirements of an urgent situation;
– Committing a crime by exceeding the necessary level when apprehending an offender;
– Committing a crime under mental provocation due to the victim’s unlawful conduct;
– Committing a crime due to particularly difficult circumstances not self-inflicted;
– Committing a crime but not yet causing damage or causing 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 circumstances where cognitive ability is limited not due to 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 person with severe or especially severe disabilities;
– The offender is a person with an illness that limits their cognitive ability or ability to control their behavior;
– The offender confessed;
– The offender made a frank declaration and showed remorse;
– The offender actively cooperated with the competent authorities in detecting crimes or in the process of resolving 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 with meritorious services to the revolution or is the father, mother, spouse, child of a martyr.
Thus, committing a crime under mental provocation due to the victim’s unlawful conduct 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 Criminal Code, considering the nature and degree of social danger of the criminal act, the offender’s personal background, mitigating circumstances, and aggravating circumstances for criminal liability.
– The Court may decide on a penalty below the minimum level of the applicable penalty framework but 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 a co-offender shall only be applied to that person.
– Mitigating circumstances that have been stipulated in this Code as elements for defining a crime or a penalty framework shall not be considered mitigating circumstances when deciding on a penalty.
– When imposing a prison sentence not exceeding 03 years, based on the offender’s personal background and mitigating circumstances, if it is deemed unnecessary to enforce the prison sentence, the Court shall grant a suspended sentence and set a probation period from 01 year to 05 years, and the offender must fulfill their obligations during the probation period as stipulated by the Law on Execution of Criminal Judgments.
