Under the current Criminal Code, 25 crimes are specified for which individuals preparing to commit an offense bear criminal liability. These primarily involve offenses against national security, certain violent crimes against life and property, and terrorism-related offenses.

However, the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) assesses that many types of crimes, even in their preparatory stages involving the acquisition of tools, means, or the creation of conditions for the act, already pose a significant danger to society.

Without a mechanism to intervene at this early stage, opportunities for early crime prevention are missed. Therefore, expanding the scope of crimes subject to liability for preparatory acts is considered necessary.

Hanoi People's Court during a trial. Ngoc Thanh

While a specific list of additional offenses subject to preparatory criminal acts has not yet been publicly disclosed, the MPS proposes focusing on crimes that pose a high danger to society, preparatory acts of an organized nature, or offenses that, if not prevented promptly, would immediately lead to serious, very serious, or especially serious consequences.

The drafting agency affirmed that this expansion will proceed cautiously and selectively, avoiding widespread implementation to prevent over-criminalization.

Article 14 of the Criminal Code defines "preparation for a crime" as: "seeking, preparing tools, means or creating other conditions to commit a crime or establishing, participating in a criminal group", with certain exceptions.

Office of the President: caution needed to avoid wrongful convictions

During the policy development process, this proposal garnered significant feedback. The Office of the President emphasized that preparatory acts represent a very early stage of state intervention into citizens' freedoms. Therefore, it should only apply to especially serious crimes with a high risk of major consequences to avoid the risk of wrongful convictions.

The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) expressed concern about the criminalization of intentions or preparatory transactions within business activities. VCCI recommended not extending this to crimes infringing upon economic management order at the preparatory stage, in order to ensure a healthy investment environment.

Responding to these comments, the Ministry of Public Security, as the lead drafting agency, clarified the direction for refining the regulation. The expansion will focus solely on preparatory acts that meet three criteria: posing a high danger to society; having an organized nature; and having the immediate potential to lead to serious, very serious, or especially serious consequences if not detected and prevented early.

The specific list of additional offenses will be detailed in the draft law submitted to the National Assembly, once these major policy orientations are approved.

The draft law is expected to be submitted to the National Assembly for comments at the 3rd Session of the 16th National Assembly and approved at the 4th Session of the 16th National Assembly.

>>List of 25 crimes for which preparatory acts lead to criminal liability

In the most recent revision, in April 2025, the Ministry of Public Security also proposed this content, but it was not approved. At that time, 27 offenses were proposed for prosecution at the preparatory stage, including crimes related to rape, human trafficking, property robbery, and the production or trade of fake food, foodstuffs, and medicines. >>See full list

Hai Thu