The Measure of Sending Juvenile Drug Addicts to Compulsory Rehabilitation Centers in Vietnamese Law

In accordance with the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (the Beijing Rules, 1985): "The placement of a juvenile in an institution shall always be a disposition of last resort and for the minimum necessary period". However, like many other countries of Southeast Asia, Vietnam maintains punishment in the form of imprisonment for minor offenders. Imprisonment of minors is currently playing an important role in the prevention of crime in Vietnam. Apart from imprisonment, the Vietnamese laws stipulate placement of minor drug addicts in rehabilitation centers for forced rehabilitation. This measure is applied to minor drug addicts not wishing to be treated for drug addiction to isolate them from the society for a period of 6 to 12 months. This article reviews the Vietnamese laws with regards to forced placement of minor drug addicts in rehabilitation centers, which serves as the measure of isolation of minor drug addicts from the society but does not require judicial proceedings.