National Assembly delegates of Nghe An province participated in the discussion of the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations.

Continuing the program of the 10th session of the 14th National Assembly, on the morning of October 22, under the direction of Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Uong Chu Luu, the National Assembly discussed online the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations.

At Nghe An bridge, Deputy Heads of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation: Nguyen Thanh Hien; Tran Van Mao co-chaired. Photo: Thanh Le

Still overlapping and entangled

At the meeting, Member of the National Assembly Standing Committee, Chairman of the National Assembly's Law Committee Hoang Thanh Tung presented a Report on explanation, acceptance and revision of the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations.

During the discussion session, the majority of National Assembly deputies agreed with many contents of the revised draft law.

However, delegates still have many concerns that there are many difficulties and problems in the implementation of the 2012 Law on Handling of Administrative Violations that have not been included in the draft law for this amendment.

Participating in the discussion of the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations, delegate Hoang Thi Thu Trang (Nghe An Delegation) reflected on the current situation of inconsistent regulations between the Laws on handling administrative violations.

According to delegate Trang, in Article 163 of the 2008 Law on Civil Judgment Enforcement, Clause 49, Article 1 of the 2014 Law on Civil Judgment Enforcement (amended) stipulates that persons with the authority to handle administrative violations in the field of civil judgment enforcement include bailiffs, heads of the asset management and liquidation teams of cases, bankruptcy, heads of district judgment enforcement agencies, provincial and military zone civil judgment enforcement agencies.

Meanwhile, Article 49 of the Law on Administrative Judgment Enforcement stipulates: In addition to the above positions, there is also the Director General, the General Department of Civil Judgment Enforcement under the Ministry of Justice. Thus, there is an overlap between the Law on Civil Judgment Enforcement and the Law on Administrative Judgment Enforcement in the field of civil judgment enforcement. "It is proposed to consider the unified regulation on whether the Director General of the Department of Civil Judgment Enforcement has the authority to sanction administrative violations" - delegate Trang expressed her opinion.

Delegate Hoang Thi Thu Trang speaks at the meeting. Photo: Thanh Le

Delegate Hoang Thi Thu Trang stated: Regarding fines imposed by enforcement officers and district-level heads of enforcement agencies. Article 49 of the Law on Administrative Violations stipulates: Enforcement officers are allowed to impose fines of up to 500,000 VND, district-level heads are allowed to impose fines of up to 2.5 million VND.

In practice, this regulation has difficulties and obstacles such as: the number of civil enforcement agencies at all levels accepting cases is increasing. According to the Law on Administrative Procedure and the Law on Civil Judgment Enforcement, the authority of the District Court is increased, which leads to a large number of civil enforcement agencies performing tasks; the majority of people who have to execute civil judgments resist and procrastinate, so the number of people who have to handle administrative violations is increasing.

“By limiting the fine level for enforcement officers, the Head of the district enforcement agency is forced to transfer the handling of administrative violations to the provincial level, making the already complicated enforcement process even more complicated.

On the other hand, in relation to the responsibilities and powers of enforcement officers, heads of district-level administrative enforcement agencies, and administrative enforcement organizations, the monetary restriction as stipulated in the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations is disproportionate and inappropriate. Therefore, it is recommended that the National Assembly consider raising the fines for enforcement officers and heads of district-level administrative enforcement agencies, creating favorable conditions for the organization of administrative enforcement at higher levels" - Delegate Trang raised the issue.

Unification of provisions between Laws

Delegate Hoang Thi Thu Trang cited: At point b, clause 1, Article 28, Article 30 of the Law on Administrative Violations stipulates: Individuals and organizations must dismantle works, destroy works built without permission or built without a permit, if they do not voluntarily do so, they will be forced to do so.

Delegate Nguyen Huu Cau debated at the discussion session, expressing disagreement with the addition of the measure "stopping the provision of electricity and water services at the location of the violation for individuals and organizations producing, trading, and providing services that violate the law". Photo: Thanh Le

However, according to Article 118 of the Construction Law, construction works that are not in accordance with planning, do not have a license, or are built in violation of the license must be demolished.

Thus, for construction works without a license or construction not in accordance with the license, the Law on Administrative Violations and the Law on Construction have different provisions for handling: One is "dismantling", the other is "demolition".

Although the words “dismantle” and “destroy” are different, the consequences of these two actions are different, and the level of damage to the structure is not the same. “Dismantle” means to remove and take out one by one, each part.

Demolition means to destroy, to make it unusable. The difference is an excuse for public authorities to abuse their power or an excuse for organizations and individuals to file lawsuits, complaints, and to procrastinate and shirk their responsibilities.

“To ensure the legitimate rights and interests of organizations and individuals, avoid abuse of power by public authorities and at the same time ensure the legal corridor, ensure the strictness of the law for public authorities to perform their duties, ensure consistency between the Construction Law and the Law on Administrative Procedures and to be consistent with reality, the National Assembly is requested to consider and regulate this content” - delegate Hoang Thi Thu Trang suggested.

In the afternoon, Member of the National Assembly Standing Committee, Chairman of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs Committee Nguyen Van Giau presented a report explaining, accepting and revising the draft Law on International Agreements. Delegates discussed online a number of contents with different opinions in the draft Law on International Agreements.

Scene at Nghe An bridge. Photo: Thanh Le

The Draft Law amends and supplements the contents of 52/142 articles, technically amends 12/142 articles, adds 02 new articles, and abolishes the contents related to 05 articles of the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations. The Draft Law consists of 04 articles regulating the amendment and supplementation of a number of articles of the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations; the addition, replacement, and deletion of a number of words and phrases in a number of articles, clauses, and points of the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations; the abolition of a number of articles and clauses of the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations, and regulations on its effective date.