This report aims to assess the possibility of Viet Nam ratifying the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) aiming at the abolition of the death penalty. It analyzes:

(a) the current international legal framework and the process of legal development to abolish the death penalty in selected countries;

(b) the compatibility between existing regulations on the death penalty in the Vietnamese legal system and the Second Optional Protocol of the ICCPR;

and (c) the assessment of feasibility for the abolition of the death penalty in Viet Nam.

The report is based on qualitative desk review and archival research, with an empirical element of in-depth semi-structured interviews conducted with 30 informants, comprising officials participating in the investigation, prosecution and adjudication of criminal cases, government officials, lawyers and academics currently working in the area of criminal law.

This study was conducted by independent consultants under the EU Justice and Legal Empowerment Programme in Viet Nam (EU JULE) in partnership with UNDP and the Ministry of Justice of Viet Nam.