Vietnam
2026
- GOVERNMENT
- communist state
- CONSTITUTION
- April 15, 1992
- LEGAL SYSTEM
- based on communist theory and the French system
- LEGISLATIVE SYSTEM
- unicameral, National Assembly (Quoc-Hoi)
- JUDICIAL SYSTEM
- People's Supreme Court, head elected for five years by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the President
RELIGIONS
9.3% Buddhists, 6.7% Catholics, other minorities, 80% none
From the country
DECEMBER 27, 2023VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: PRESIDENT REDUCES DEATH SENTENCE TO LIFE FOR 18 PRISONERS
President Vo Van Thuong signed a decision on December 27, 2023 to reduce death penalties to life imprisonment for 18 prisoners who filed petitions for commuted sentences.
NOVEMBER 13, 2023VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: 18 SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING, INCLUDING FORMER KOREAN POLICEMAN
A former South Korean police officer and 17 other people in Ho Chi Minh City were sentenced to death on November 11, 2023 for trafficking over 216 kg of drugs.
OCTOBER 2, 2023VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: 4 GET DEATH IN HCMC FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
Four people were sentenced to death in HCMC on September 28, 2023 for transporting 12 kg of drugs from Cambodia to Vietnam for sale.
SEPTEMBER 25, 2023VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: MAN EXECUTED DESPITE DIPLOMATIC PLEAS FOR MERCY
Death row prisoner Le Van Manh was executed on the morning of September 22, 2023, lawyer Le Van Luan posted on Facebook, in a case with evidence which lawyers said was not clear enough to convict.
AUGUST 30, 2023VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: PRESIDENT REDUCES DEATH PENALTIES TO LIFE SENTENCES FOR 11 PRISONERS
President Vo Van Thuong on August 30, 2023 decided to reduce death penalties to life sentences for 11 prisoners.
- JUNE 25, 2023VietnamDEATH PENALTY
VIETNAM: THREE TAIWANESE SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
Three Taiwanese were sentenced to death in Ho Chi Minh City on June 22, 2023 for trafficking some 480 kg of drugs.
JUNE 12, 2023VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: 10 SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
The People's Court of the northwestern province of Son La handed out 10 death penalties and one life sentence to members of a drug trafficking ring during trials from June 1-5.
JUNE 6, 2023VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: TWO AUSTRALIANS FACING DEATH PENALTY GRANTED CLEMENCY
Two Australians sentenced to death in Vietnam have been granted clemency after Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese paid an official visit to the Southeast Asian country.
MAY 23, 2023VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: KOREAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDERING COMPATRIOT AND CUTTING UP BODY
HCMC People's Court sentenced a South Korean businessman to death on May 19, 2023 for murdering a countryman over an unpaid debt before cutting his body into pieces.
- DECEMBER 27, 2022VietnamDEATH PENALTY
VIETNAM: HANOI WOMAN GETS DEATH SENTENCE FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
The People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City has sentenced a woman from Hanoi to death for trafficking 9.9 kilograms of heroin.
- DECEMBER 7, 2022VietnamDEATH PENALTY
VIETNAM: 3 MEN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR TRANSPORTING 3KG OF METH
A court in the central Quang Tri Province sentenced three men to death on 29 November 2022 for sending three kilograms of methamphetamine through an express delivery company.
NOVEMBER 28, 2022VietnamDEATH PENALTYVIETNAM: HCMC WOMAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR DEADLY ABUSE OF 8-YEAR-OLD GIRL
A woman who had beaten her fiancé's daughter to death in HCMC last year was sentenced to death on 25 November 2022, while the father received eight years in prison.