Promoting the role of the people in preventing and fighting corruption

Overview of the meeting.

At the afternoon session, National Assembly deputies basically agreed with many contents of the draft Law on Anti-Corruption (amended) submitted at this session and the Judicial Committee's Verification Report; stating that the promulgation of the Law on Anti-Corruption (amended) is of great importance in creating legal tools and a foundation for law enforcement agencies and the entire population to effectively participate in preventing and combating corruption.

However, through discussion, many delegates commented that the current corruption situation in our country is still complicated; legal regulations still have many loopholes; the implementation of anti-corruption measures is not effective; and the detection and denunciation of corruption is still limited.

National Assembly Delegate Le Thanh Van from Ca Mau province said that recently, many corruption cases and acts have been exposed and handled largely thanks to the reflection and reports of the people and media and press organizations. Therefore, the delegate suggested that in the process of amending the Law on Anti-Corruption (amended), it is necessary to clearly affirm the role of citizens and the press in the fight against corruption in order to continue promoting the role of the people in the fight against corruption.

National Assembly delegates also pointed out that one of the reasons for the limited detection and denunciation of corruption is that the regulations on protecting citizens in denouncing corruption cases and acts are still general and not specific.

National Assembly Delegate Le Thanh Van - Ca Mau province speaks.

According to Article 5 of the draft law on citizens' rights and obligations in preventing and combating corruption, citizens have the right to report and denounce acts of corruption and are protected according to the provisions of law; and have the obligation to cooperate and assist competent agencies, organizations and individuals in preventing and combating corruption.

National Assembly delegate Nguyen Chi Tai from Thua Thien - Hue province said that reporting and reflecting on corruption cases and acts can in many cases affect the health and life of the person reporting and their relatives. Therefore, the draft Law needs to regulate this content more specifically, clearly stating which agency is responsible for protection and how to protect it.

National Assembly delegates at the meeting.

To contribute to improving the effectiveness of anti-corruption work in the coming time, National Assembly deputies believe that it is very necessary to regulate the public declaration of assets and income as in Article 41 of the draft Law. Accordingly, the declaration of assets and income of a person who is obliged to declare must be made public at the agency, organization or unit where that person regularly works. The declaration of assets and income of a person expected to be appointed to a leadership or management position at an agency, organization or unit must be made public at the meeting to vote on confidence when conducting the appointment process. The declaration of assets and income of a candidate for National Assembly deputies or People's Council deputies must be made public in accordance with the provisions of the law on elections. The declaration of assets and income of a person expected to be elected or approved by the National Assembly or People's Council must be made public to National Assembly deputies or People's Council deputies before the election or approval. The time and form of disclosure shall be implemented in accordance with the provisions of the National Assembly Standing Committee. The declaration of assets and income of the person expected to be elected to hold a leadership or management position at a state-owned enterprise shall be disclosed at the meeting to vote on confidence when making the appointment or at the meeting of the Board of Members when electing leadership or management positions.

National Assembly Delegate Ta Van Ha - Bac Lieu province spoke at the meeting.

Agreeing with this provision of the draft Law, National Assembly delegate Ta Van Ha - Bac Lieu province affirmed that the work of declaring income and assets in such a transparent manner for people to monitor and detect is reasonable and necessary.

Regarding the provisions on inspection and examination of the implementation of the law on anti-corruption for non-state enterprises stipulated in Articles 100 and 103, the delegates said that this issue needs to be considered very carefully to avoid the risk of abuse of power. The National Assembly delegates said that if competent agencies are assigned to inspect and examine the activities of the above-mentioned units, private enterprises and social organizations without an effective monitoring mechanism, the possibility of abuse of power by public authorities is entirely possible, causing the criminalization of economic relations and civil transactions, making it difficult for businesses to operate.

Concerned about this issue, National Assembly delegate Be Minh Duc from Cao Bang province also expressed his agreement with the viewpoint of narrowing the scope of anti-corruption inspections for the non-state sector, and at the same time requested the Drafting Committee to strictly regulate the basis, order and procedures for conducting inspections to avoid abuse, causing difficulties for the operations of organizations and enterprises.