Vietnamese criminal sentence execution law: historical development and directions for improvement to meet the requirements of judicial reform in the new era

This article provides an overview of the development of Vietnamese criminal sentence execution law during the period 1945-2025, from isolated decrees to the 2019 Law on Criminal Judgment Execution and Law No. 127/2025/QH15 (effective from 1 July 2026). The 2025 Law introduces numerous progressive provisions: supplementation of penalties applicable to commercial legal entities; authorization of online visits and communication through image and audio means; regulation of the collection of biometric data; formal recognition of labour regimes outside correctional facilities; supplementation of inmates’ rights to donate tissues and body parts; improvement of policies applicable to pregnant female inmates and female inmates raising young children; and expansion of measures ensuring community reintegration. On the basis of analysing the remaining shortcomings, the article proposes several directions for further improvement, including reform of the prison system, consideration of the application of electronic monitoring, acceleration of digital transformation, and deployment of artificial intelligence in criminal sentence execution activities.