Chapter III.  Infractions and offenders

Article 2. Basis of penal responsibilities

All individuals will assume penal responsibilities and will be liable to penalties only on the basis of voluntary or inadvertent acts deemed dangerous for society as defined in the Penal Law and only when a decision is brought by the court of justice.

Article 2. (New) Basis of Penal Responsibilities
An individual can only be charged with and punished for an offence based on intentional or negligent acts deemed dangerous for society as defined in the Penal Law or in other laws of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic that define criminal penalties, and [such individual can be punished] only when a decision is rendered by a court.

Article 15. Definition of offender

An offender is an individual guilty of an act or abstention deemed dangerous for society and comprising components of infractions mentioned by the Law.

Article 16. Participation to infraction

Participation to infraction consists of voluntary participation to an intentional infraction by two
or more persons.

Participants to infraction are the authors, implementing, inciting and assisting persons.

  1. The author is the one who has planned, organized or given instructions to commit the infraction;
  2. The perpetrator is the one who has directly committed the infraction;
  3. Inceptors are persons pushing others to commit infractions;
  4. Accomplices are persons who have given voluntary assistance in the infraction or prior agreement to hide the offender, instruments, and tools of infraction, to efface traces of infractions or to conceal proceeds from such infractions.

link to complete text of the Penal Law: Laos-Penal Law-2001-2005-eng

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