DISORDERLY CONDUCT: ELEMENTS AND LEGAL LIABILITIES

Recently, there has been a succession of disorderly conduct cases across the country that have garnered profound public interest. This practical situation demonstrates a current upward trend in offenses disrupting public order. Therefore, what are the statutory provisions regarding disorderly conduct? What constitute its legal elements and the applicable penalties?

What is disorderly conduct?

The act of disorderly conduct is considered a violation of the rules of conduct established for every citizen in public places, infringing upon the stability of common life in society. In other words, this is an illegal act that adversely affects security, order, and social safety, and may even cause damage to the interests of the State, infringing upon the rights and interests of organizations and individuals.

Currently, there is no official definition of disorderly conduct, but according to current legal regulations, the manifestations of disorderly conduct can be generalized to include: Using force, threatening to use force, or engaging in acts that endanger others such as fighting, brawling, or causing injury to others; Intimidating or threatening to use force to coerce or extort property from others; Using dangerous weapons such as knives, swords, guns, etc., to threaten or attack others; Making noise, causing a disturbance, or disrupting public order such as: shouting, overly aggressive cheering, using high-capacity loudspeakers to cause noise; Gathering in large crowds causing public disorder... The act of disorderly conduct can cause consequences such as: loss of security, order, and social safety; causing property damage to the State and individuals; infringing upon the lawful rights and interests of organizations and individuals; and causing public outrage.

Legal regulations on disorderly conduct

The crime of disorderly conduct is stipulated in Article 318 of the current Penal Code as follows:

“Article 318. Crime of disorderly conduct

Any person who disrupts public order, adversely affecting security, order, and social safety, or who has been administratively sanctioned for this act or has been convicted of this crime and has not yet had their criminal record expunged but commits the violation again, shall be liable to a fine of between VND 5,000,000 and 50,000,000, non-custodial reform for up to 02 years, or imprisonment of between 03 months and 02 years.

Committing the crime under any of the following circumstances shall carry a penalty of 02 to 07 years' imprisonment:

a) Committed in an organized manner;

b) Using weapons, dangerous implements, or committing acts of vandalism;

c) Causing serious traffic obstruction or stagnation of public activities;

d) Inciting others to cause disorder;

dd) Assaulting persons intervening to protect public order;

e) Dangerous recidivism.”

Based on the provisions of the Penal Code, and to understand more clearly, the legal elements of the crime of disorderly conduct can be considered. Specifically:

The subject of the crime of disorderly conduct is not a special subject; any person who commits an act of disorderly conduct, is of age to bear responsibility, and has penal liability capacity can be the subject of this crime. This type of crime is not a very serious crime or an especially serious crime; therefore, based on the provisions of Article 12 of the Penal Code, a person from 16 years of age or older is the subject of this crime.

The object of the crime of disorderly conduct is the infringement upon social security and order, and the stable life of the community. In addition, this type of crime also infringes upon the activities of traveling, working, entertaining, and safety principles in public places where many people pass by, while simultaneously infringing upon the health and property of surrounding people, or affecting the implementation of the guidelines and policies of the Party and the State in the process of stabilizing people's lives.

The subject committing the violation has full behavioral capacity, clearly knows that their behavior will affect social security and order, and the stable, healthy lifestyle of society, but still carries it out with direct intent.

The offender commits disruptive acts through various methods such as: using weapons, dangerous implements, or committing acts of vandalism; causing serious traffic obstruction or stagnation of public activities; assaulting persons intervening to protect public order; destroying structures in public places. This behavior leads to consequences of material and non-material damage that are determined to be serious for society.

Legal Liability for Disorderly Conduct

Looking at the provisions in Article 318 of the Penal Code, a person who commits an act of disorderly conduct may face the following sanctions:

However, if the act of disorderly conduct has not yet caused serious consequences, the person committing the act shall only be held criminally liable if that person has been administratively sanctioned for this act or has been convicted of this crime, has not yet had their criminal record expunged, but commits the violation again. At the same time, when identifying an act of disrupting order, it is necessary to distinguish it from an act that, although disrupting public order, has constituted another crime; in such cases, the person committing the disruptive act will only be

held criminally liable for the corresponding crime they have committed, and will not be held criminally liable for the crime of disorderly conduct.

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