The death penalty is a punishment that deprives a person of their life when that person has been convicted – by a legally established court as regulated by a legal system – of having committed a serious crime. International human rights law allows for the death penalty when applied for the most serious crimes, which experts define as crimes of extreme gravity, involving intentional killing. Consequently, the death penalty should not be used as a punishment for crimes not resulting directly and intentionally in death, such as attempted murder, corruption and other economic and political crimes, armed robbery, piracy, abduction, drug and sexual offences. 

This EU JULE Policy Brief No.9 will summarize the main information on the 2nd Optional Protocol to the ICCPR on the Abolition of the Death Penalty in Viet Nam and give recommendations.