The People's Procuracy Bill has concretized the 2013 Constitution.

Continuing the agenda of the 7th Session of the 13th National Assembly, on the afternoon of May 22nd, National Assembly deputies worked in groups to discuss the draft Law on the Organization of the People's Procuracy (amended) and the Law on the Organization of the People's Courts (amended).

National Assembly representative Do Van Duong from Ho Chi Minh City speaks at the group meeting. Photo: VNA

Through discussions, many opinions assessed that the two draft laws contain many new provisions, have initially concretized the provisions of the 2013 Constitution, and reflect some of the Party's judicial reform orientations related to the organization and operation of the People's Courts and the People's Procuracies.

During discussions on the Law on the Organization of the People's Procuracy (amended), many opinions agreed on the necessity of amending the current Law, stemming from the fact that the 2013 Constitution contains new and important provisions regarding the institution of the People's Procuracy; the draft Law needs to stipulate and clarify new and progressive principles of judicial proceedings directly related to the activities of the People's Procuracy.

Opinions suggest that amending the Law on the Organization of the People's Procuracy, in response to judicial reform requirements, aims to create a legal basis for comprehensive innovation in the organizational system, functions, tasks, operating principles, standardization of judicial positions, and ensuring the leadership of the Party...

Representative Dinh Xuan Thao (Hanoi) basically agreed with the scope of the draft Law, which is to fundamentally and comprehensively amend the judicial reform policy as stated in the Party's resolutions and documents on judicial reform, especially Resolution No. 49 of the Politburo on "Judicial Reform Strategy until 2020" and to concretize the provisions of the 2013 Constitution.

Agreeing with this viewpoint, delegate Nguyen Dinh Quyen (Hanoi) further emphasized that the amendment aims to ensure the independence and adherence to the law of competent authorities in judicial activities.

This content is reflected in aspects such as models, organizational structures, staff, civil servants, judicial positions, and working relationships between the institutions of the procuracy, courts, and investigative agencies.

Some opinions agree with the draft Law on the necessity of clearly defining the content and scope of the functions of exercising the power of prosecution and supervising judicial activities; on the tasks, authority, and rights of the People's Procuracy to request, recommend, and appeal in performing its functions and duties (Articles 2, 3, 4, and 5); and the responsibility of the Investigation Agency, the Court, and the Enforcement Agency to coordinate with the activities of the People's Procuracy.

This regulation provides a legal basis for specifying the duties and powers of the procuracy in procedural laws. Many opinions also generally agree with the draft Law on the organization of four levels of people's procuracies in accordance with the requirements of judicial reform (including the Supreme People's Procuracy, the High People's Procuracy, the Provincial People's Procuracy, and the District/Regional People's Procuracy); the organizational structure, duties, and powers of each level of the people's procuracy and the military procuracy.

Representative Dinh Xuan Thao agreed with the regulation that the Supreme People's Procuracy should continue to maintain the current multi-component selection council mechanism for Supreme People's Procuracy prosecutors.

The delegates analyzed this regulation to comprehensively assess moral character and professional reputation without the need for competitive examinations, because the prosecutors of the Supreme People's Procuracy are leading officials who have already passed examinations and undergone training through various prosecutor ranks.

For other categories of prosecutors, it is necessary to combine the selection process with a selection committee and an examination to assess responsibility and moral character, while selecting prosecutors with the necessary qualifications and abilities, in line with current civil servant recruitment trends and judicial reform orientations; at the same time ensuring prudence, objectivity, fairness, and oversight by relevant agencies and organizations regarding personnel work within the Procuracy sector.

During discussions on the Law on the Organization of People's Courts (amended), many opinions supported the guiding principles for drafting the Law. Opinions suggested that the amendments must fully institutionalize the Party's policies on judicial reform, concretize the provisions of the 2013 Constitution stipulating that "People's Courts are the judicial organs of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, exercising judicial power," clarify the system, structure, and organization of the People's Courts and the organizational structure within each People's Court, as well as the organizational management mechanism of the People's Courts to ensure the independence of judicial activities and meet the requirements of judicial reform.

Some opinions support the establishment of regional first-instance people's courts as in Option 1 (Article 32) of the draft Law, contributing to overcoming the limitations and shortcomings of the current organization of district-level people's courts, strengthening the independence of regional first-instance people's courts in adjudication, focusing investment on infrastructure and staff, avoiding scattered, average, and wasteful spending...

Some opinions support the regulation that the titles of judges will be divided into four categories: Supreme Court Judges, Senior Judges, Intermediate Judges, and Junior Judges.

This regulation is consistent with current laws on civil servants and civil service ranks. At the same time, it ensures a clear differentiation of the judicial staff in terms of standards, moral character, professional qualifications, professional competence, and work experience.

The higher the rank of a judge, the higher the standards must be; this is consistent with the selection mechanism for initial appointment or promotion of judges and the four-level organization of the People's Courts.

According to Vietnam+