>>Vietnam’s ancient laws and the crimes against human life
Pham Diem
State and Law Research Institute
In the ancient law of Vietnam, the crimes of intentionally inflicting injuries on other persons were branded as the crimes of beating other people. Those were acts of infringing upon other persons physically, which were prescribed largely in Chapter “Dau Tung” (Litigation) of Hong Duc Code of the 15th century and Chapter “Luat Hinh” (Penal Law) of Gia Long Code of the 19th century.
The feudal law-makers well knew with full consciousness how to clearly distinguish between acts of deliberately beating other persons and acts of unintentionally inflicting injuries on other persons; between acts of beating people with dangerous weapons and acts of beating other people only with bare hands; between acts of beating subordinates by their superiors and acts of beating their superiors by subordinates; as well as between seriousness of injuries, which all aimed to accurately determine offenses and corresponding penalties.
Moreover, the ancient law-makers also clearly prescribed the civil liability, namely the levels of compensation for the injuries.
1. The distinction between acts of deliberately beating other persons and acts of unintentionally inflicting injuries on other people:
In Hong Duc Code, Article 469 prescribed in general the crimes of deliberately beating other people: For joint conspiracy to injure other people, the person who deals more heavy blows would be the principal, the mastermind would be charged the same as the principal, and the accomplices would be penalized one grade lighter. In cases where the principal and the accomplices are hardly identified due to a free fight, the mastermind would be penalized most severely while others one grade lighter.
In addition, according to Article 470, those who abused their powers and influence, arresting and tying other persons, would be penalized like people who commit acts of beating other people; if they themselves arrested, tied and beat other persons they would be penalized two grades heavier than the penalty imposed on offenders who beat other people to injury. If they abuse their powers and influence and order other persons to beat people to injury, they would be charged with beating other people like the persons who directly beat people.
According to Article 470, two persons fight each other and both get injured, they would both be penalized depending on the seriousness of their injuries; and the one who acts later would enjoy two-grade commutation.
On the crime of inflicting injuries on other persons, Article 498 stipulated: Those who, while in frolics, cause injuries to other persons would be penalized two grades lighter than the penalty against the crime of beating other people to injury and have to pay a sum of 20 “quan tien” as compensation therefor; or if the two persons agree to take pointed objects while climbing up or swimming in deep water, and one caused injury to the other, the one-grade lighter penalty shall be meted out.
Article 498 prescribed in a more general manner: Those who commit unwanted mistakes and cause injuries to other people would be considered for commutation according to the status of the incidents. Particularly, in this Article, the law-makers explained rather clearly the unwanted mistakes which, according to them, were incidents occurring beyond human capacity to see with their bare eyes, to think of or to act promptly.
Meanwhile, Article 497 stipulated: Those who, while in a fight, mistakenly injure people standing nearby would be entitled to one-grade commutation; or mistakenly injure people of their party would enjoy two-grade commutation.
In Gia Long Code, Article 271 prescribed in one clause: If many people jointly beat another person, the mastermind, the person who act first and the person who beat most shall be charged with the same offense, while all others shall be penalized with one grade less severe; if it is unable to identify who beat first and who beat most, the mastermind shall be sentenced as the principal while other as accomplices; if two persons fight each other and both get injured, they shall both be penalized.
However, this Code did not contain any articles prescribing in general the acts of unintentionally causing injuries to other people.
2. The distinction between acts of beating other people with dangerous weapons and acts of beating other people with bare hands, and the classification of injuries
In Hong Duc Code, Article 465 prescribed in a general manner: Those who beat other people with their hands and legs shall be penalized with 60 canings, and with any object shall be penalized with 80 canings. On the seriousness of the injuries, Article 466 specified in great detail: Those who beat other persons, breaking their teeth, chipping their ears or noses, damaging one of their eyes, breaking their fingers or fracturing their bones, or those who injure other persons with flame or boiling water would all be subject to corvee labor. If the victims have two or more teeth or two or more fingers broken, the offenders shall be subject to hard labor; those who attack other people with swords or spears shall all be subject to exile even though the victims are not hit; if the victims were injured, with tendons cut, two eyes damaged, or miscarried, the culprits shall be exiled for a longer distance; if with hands and legs broken or both eyes damaged, the culprits shall be exiled for the longest distance, and later if the victims are cured and recovered before the trial, the offenders shall enjoy two-grade commutation. If the victims got ingrained defect or hit so badly that their tongues got broken or their reproductive organs damaged, the offenders shall be subject to hanging and pecuniary compensations for the injuries.
In Gia Long Code, Article 271 stipulated: Those who beat other persons with hands and feet without causing injuries shall be penalized with 20 whippings; with dangerous weapons shall be penalized with 30 whippings if no injury is caused, 40 whippings if light injuries are caused, 80 canings if causing bleeding from the victims’ noses and ears or internal damage; 100 canings if the victims get one tooth or one finger broken, one eyes damaged or bone fractured. Those who hurt other people with boiling water or flame shall be penalized also with 100 canings. The culprits shall be subject to corvee labor for one year and 60 canings if the victims have two or more teeth or two or more fingers broken; subject to corvee labor for two years and 80 canings if the victims have tendons cut, two eyes damaged, or miscarried; or subject to exile for 300 miles and 100 canings if the victims have their tongues cut or their reproductive organs damaged.
3. The distinction between positions of the victims or positions of the offenders
In Hong Duc Code, Article 472 clearly prescribed the offense of beating mandarins: Those who beat mandarins of third or higher rank shall be subject to two-grade morality demotion if the offenders are equal in rank with the mandarins; to three-grade demotion if the offenders are one rank inferior to the victims; or to corvee labor if the offenders are three or more ranks lower than the victims. If the offenders are not mandarins, they shall be subject to exile. If the victims get injured, the offenders shall be subject to a penalty one grade heavier and compensations for the injuries.
The penalties against acts of beating mandarins of fourth rank downward shall be determined depending on the offender’s positions or ranks in relation to the victims. If a mandarin of third or higher rank beats a mandarin of one or two ranks subordinate to him, he shall be demoted in morality for one grade; if the victim gets injured, he shall be penalized with one grade heavier and have to pay compensation for the injuries. If the offender is three titles higher than the victim, he shall only have to pay the compensation for the injury.
According to Article 474, those who beat members of the royal family shall be sentenced to morality degrading, corvee labor or beheading, depending on their relations to the king.
Meanwhile, Article 487 of the same Code stipulated that those who beat the king’s envoys, commoners beat local mandarins, or soldiers beat generals shall be subject to exile, if the victims are in the fifth or higher rank; in cases the victims get injured, the offenders shall be sentenced to hanging.
According to Article 495, any mandarins who were sent abroad for official missions on the king’s order fought each other, thus harming the national honor, would all be subject to deportation and hard labor.
Acts of beating masters by their servants were prescribed in detail in Article 486 as follows: Those servants who beat their masters shall be sentenced to exile, exile for a longer distance if their masters get injured, or to beheading if the victims die.
With a view to preserving the sentiment, durability and order of precedence in the family, the ancient law-makers attached great importance to prescribing acts of beating family members, particularly the superiors.
Article 478 of Hong Duc Code stated that siblings in the family fighting each other would all be penalized, depending on each specific case.
Meanwhile, according to Article 481, if wives beat their husbands, they shall be subject to exile or longer-distance exile if the husbands get injured. But the husbands shall be penalized with three grades lighter than the penalty imposed on acts of beating other people if the wives are injured, or shall be pleaded not guilty if the wives are left unhurt.
Gia Long Code also contains similar provisions. According to Article 274, those who beat royal family members shall be sentenced to corvee labor for one year and 60 canings, or corvee labor for two years and 80 canings if the victims are injured. If the victims are close relatives of the king, the offenders shall be exiled for 3,000 miles or subject to hanging if the victims are injured.
Article 275 stipulated crimes of beating the king’s envoys; Article 276, the crime of beating mandarins of higher ranks by their subordinates and Article 277 prescribed the crime of beating mandarins of lower ranks by their superiors.
With a view to preserving the tradition of respecting the teachers, the feudal law-makers prescribed in Article 280 of the Code: Any students who beat their teachers shall be penalized with two grades heavier than the penalty imposed on acts of beating other people.
Similarly, the crimes of beating their masters by servants were prescribed in Article 283; the crimes of beating one’s grandparents or parents in Article 288, under which the offenders shall be subject to beheading, the crimes of beating one’s husbands in Article 284 which stated: Those wives who beat their husbands shall be beaten with 100 sticks; penalized with three grades heavier if the husbands are injured; or subject to hanging if the husbands were beaten to infirmity. Meanwhile, the husbands shall be not guilty if their wives are not injured, or subject to a penalty two grade lighter than that imposed on act of beating other people.
Moreover, Gia Long Code also prescribed such offenses as fighting among people of the same family line (Article 285), beating the heads of lines of descent (Article 287); beating the wife and children of one’s ex-husband (Article 290).
4. On the levels of compensation for injuries
Apart from the penal liabilities, being subject to punitive measures, offenders had also to bear the civil liability, paying compensation for the injuries they had caused to their victims.
Under Hong Duc Code, the compensation had to cover pecuniary compensation for the injuries and the expenses for nurturing the injured persons.
Article 466 prescribed the levels of injury compensation, which depend on the seriousness of the injuries. For example, if a victim gets swollen parts on his/her body, the compensation level would be three “quan tien”; gets bleeding, the compensation level would be one “quan tien”; gets one tooth or one finger broken, 10 “quan tien”; get injured with swords or knives, 15 “quan tien”; gets miscarriage, 30 to 50 “quan tien”; has his/her tongue cut or reproductive organ damaged, 100 “quan tien”.
On the duration of nurturing the injured persons, Article 467 said: Those who beat other persons to injury must nurture the victims for 10 days if beating with their hands and legs; for 20 days if with dangerous weapons; or 80 days if with pointed weapons, flame or boiling water.
Meanwhile, Gia Long Code did not contain general provisions on pecuniary compensations for injuries, but only general provisions on the financial support for the injured victims. According to Article 272, those who beat other persons had to nurture the victims for 20 days if the latter got light injuries, for 30 days if they got serious injuries with pointed weapons, flame or boiling water, or 50 days if they got broken hands or legs or miscarriage.-