Hanoi, July 17 -- Accordingly, death penalty should only be retained for four serious crimes, including Treason (Article 108); Murder (Article 123); Illegal production of narcotic substances (Article 248); and Terrorism (Article 299).

Death penalty should be abolished for six other offences: Rioting (Article 112); Rape of a person under the age of 16 (Article 142); Illegal trading of narcotic substances (Article 251); Crimes against humanity (Article 422); War crimes (Article 423); and Terrorism aimed at opposing the people's administration (Article 113).

To ensure the practical implementation of this humanitarian policy, the new bill also introduces a provision allowing a death sentence to be commuted to life imprisonment if it has not...