'Low-quality laws are fertile ground for corruption'

According to Dr. Nguyen Sy Dung, low-quality laws will make life extremely miserable, and at the same time it is fertile ground for corruption.

In his inaugural speech before the National Assembly, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc mentioned the issue of the rule of law many times. By quoting King Le Thanh Tong - who laid the foundation for the formation of the legal system in our country with the saying: "Law is the common rule of the State, you and I must obey it" and quoting the words of leader Nguyen Ai Quoc written in 1919: "Seven requests for the Constitution to be promulgated/Hundred articles must have the spirit of the rule of law", the Prime Minister affirmed and committed: "This principle is still the right message for us today. The Government manages society by law and at the same time the Government must strictly comply with the law. We must promote the spirit of the rule of law, strengthen discipline and order;... When there are violations, regardless of the level, responsibility must be clarified and strict punishment must be imposed".

Also in his inaugural speech, the head of the judiciary, Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court Nguyen Hoa Binh promised to work with the leadership of the Supreme People's Court to build a clean and honest industry, with a team of judges who are good at their profession, well-versed in the law, impartial and courageous to make decisions that respect the law, are strict and fair.

The slogan “Live and work according to the Constitution and the law” is very familiar to the people. However, what conditions do we need so that the spirit of the rule of law is not just a slogan? VOV reporter interviewed Dr. Nguyen Si Dung, former Deputy Head of the National Assembly Office, about this issue.

Dr. Nguyen Sy Dung (photo on the far right) in VOV's studio

PV:According to you, how should the "rule of law" be understood?

Dr. Nguyen Sy Dung:Rule of law means that nothing can touch the law, people must obey the law, officials and the state must obey the law and no one can stand above the law.

PV:There is an opinion that the rule of law means that everyone in society must obey the law, and that using the law is the top criterion to solve problems in society as well as in daily life. In your opinion, is this opinion correct in both theory and practice?

Dr. Nguyen Sy Dung:I think our people understand it quite correctly. The first thing everyone understands is to obey the law, and to understand more deeply, not only the people but also the State and officials must obey the law. Emphasizing that is very important because in fact the people have no power, while officials have great power, so the people emphasize that officials must also obey the law, which is more important and more difficult to impose.

What excites me most is the opinion that the law must be good, the word used here is perfect. The law that requires people to obey must be close to justice. But the law that gives one person rights over another that others do not have, creating injustice, then in the long run, that law will be difficult for people to obey, because it does not guarantee justice.

Regarding the function of law, let me add that we often say that law is to regulate behavior and ensure order, which is very true. But the most important function of law in a civilized society of a state governed by law is that law is the norms that ensure coexistence in harmony and prosperity. That is, social classes can exist together within the prescribed framework in a harmonious way, without conflict, creating conditions for development, that is the most important function of law.

Legislative activity where we just sit and think of endless laws like that is subjective. If we aim at life's problems to handle, find norms to regulate behavior, that is a practical way of making laws and it will not "give birth" to an endless forest of laws that people will never know when they will be able to comply with.

PV:From the cases where people handle things themselves, without the need for law, is it because the legal system is having problems, sir?

Dr. Nguyen Sy Dung:There are a number of problems that can be caused by the failure to ensure justice. The second is the ability to enforce compliance with the law. People see that if they do not report to the government once, twice, and even a third time, the people will step in to enforce order there. That is an abuse of power and also shows the ineffectiveness of the government in enforcing compliance, so the people have to step in.

The third reason is that people's sense of respect for the law is problematic. People's self-judgment violates the most basic principles of the law: only those who have the power can do what they want, and those who do not have the power can do whatever they want, which is chaos. If people do so, they will face a situation of no order and no law.

The main problem is to deal with all three causes: first, the legal system must ensure justice; second, the government's ability to impose must be effective; third, people's awareness of law compliance and understanding of the law must be improved.

PV: The Constitution affirms: everyone is equal before the law. However, a series of recent incidents such as the failure to prosecute Vinaconex leaders causing losses of more than 13,400 billion VND, the case of two juvenile defendants who just because they were hungry, snatched a loaf of bread worth 45,000 VND and were sentenced to prison, and a number of cases with signs of wrongful convictions... show that the rule of law is respected, but it is not so because it depends too much on the will of those who enforce and apply the law. From these incidents, it is difficult for people to believe that everyone is equal before the law. What is your comment?

Dr. Nguyen Sy Dung:If the law is applied differently like that, it is difficult for people to believe. For example, if a crime has been committed and you are exempted from prosecution, then it is clear that you are applying the law in an unacceptable way. If a crime has been committed, criminal responsibility must be applied. For two boys to rob a loaf of bread worth 45,000 VND while you committed a criminal offense causing damage of tens of billions of VND but were exempted, it is completely unacceptable, not equal before the law.

Another problem here is that sentencing those two boys to prison does not achieve justice in that a heavy sentence for such a crime is incompatible, not in accordance with reason, not in accordance with conscience.

I once read in the newspaper that a foreign judge declared that stealing bread because of hunger is not a crime. Obviously it can constitute a crime, but the way that judge said it might be closer to justice.

We apply the law but do not think about justice, how can people support it?

The failure to prosecute Vinaconex leaders violates legal principles because first-time offenders or good relatives are only mitigating factors, not factors to exempt them from criminal prosecution.

It is clear that when the law is distorted, it is difficult for people to have faith in the legal system. If the law is treated like this, it is clear that social discontent will be very great. If the law is to be respected and appreciated, it must be applied fairly.

PV:We have a law day, we also have a massive legal system, but the rule of law still seems to be a slogan. In your opinion, how can the rule of law truly become an inner belief, a culture, a habit of behavior in the daily life of all Vietnamese people?

Dr. Nguyen Sy Dung:First, law-making activities must strive to make law the embodiment of justice. Whatever the law stipulates, it must achieve humanity, ensure justice, and ensure harmony between people in the regulated society. It is not good to have many laws because low-quality laws will make life extremely miserable, and at the same time, it is also fertile ground for corruption.

Second, the imposition of compliance with the law ensures that the law is understood. Third, the law must be imposed fairly. Fourth, it is necessary to educate people about the law so that they understand that they must comply with the law first and foremost for themselves, for order, and for the good of society.

According to VOV