9th Session of the Central Steering Committee for Judicial Reform

On the morning of January 24th, in Hanoi, the Central Steering Committee for Judicial Reform held its 9th meeting to discuss the draft report on judicial reform in 2012 and the key tasks for judicial reform in 2013. President Truong Tan Sang, Head of the Steering Committee for Judicial Reform, chaired the meeting.

9th Session - Central Steering Committee for Judicial Reform. (Photo: TH).

Contributing their opinions to the Draft Report on Judicial Reform in 2012, the majority of the Steering Committee members agreed that: In 2012, the tasks of judicial reform were directed and implemented with a focus, yielding concrete results in the following areas: Developing and perfecting policies and laws; developing and perfecting the functions, tasks, authority, and organizational structure of judicial and auxiliary judicial agencies; building a team of judicial and auxiliary judicial officials; international cooperation; ensuring the material infrastructure for judicial activities; the oversight activities of elected bodies over judicial work; and ensuring the leadership and innovation of leadership and direction methods of Party committees and organizations at all levels.

The Central Steering Committee for Judicial Reform has accomplished many important tasks, researched and clarified issues where there were differing opinions, and reported to the Politburo for consideration and conclusion on projects that are key tasks of the judicial reform strategy.

However, the development and improvement of policies and laws on justice are still slow; the equipment, facilities, and working conditions of judicial agencies have not been supplemented or strengthened in a timely manner, failing to meet the requirements of combating crime and preventing and controlling crime. Coordination in drafting ordinances among judicial agencies at the central level has not received adequate attention. There has been no progress in reforming the content and methods of training and improving the skills and capabilities of judicial officers; the recruitment of personnel by judicial agencies still faces many difficulties and obstacles that have not been overcome; the professional and technical qualifications of a portion of judicial officers do not meet the requirements of crime prevention and control. The restructuring of the Steering Committee to suit the changing personnel situation in some areas has not been timely...

Based on the results of 2012, the members of the Steering Committee basically agreed on the key tasks for judicial reform in 2013: Continuing to build and perfect policies and laws to institutionalize the guidelines and directions on judicial reform; developing detailed projects on reforming the organization and operation of judicial agencies; consolidating the organization and operation of judicial support agencies and other agencies assigned to perform judicial tasks; strengthening measures to improve the quality and effectiveness of litigation activities, limiting wrongful convictions, miscarriages of justice, and the failure to prosecute criminals and offenders; resolving definitively pressing, protracted cases and cases that have exceeded the statutory time limit; actively combating and preventing corruption in judicial activities; At the same time, we will continue to innovate the content and methods of training and developing judicial officials to improve their professional skills, political acumen, and professional ethics, especially those holding judicial positions; and continue to lead and direct the consolidation and expansion of international cooperation in the field of justice.

President Truong Tan Sang delivered a directive speech at the meeting.
(Photo: TH)

Concluding the meeting, President Truong Tan Sang affirmed that the judicial reform work in 2012 had seen many positive changes thanks to the attention and leadership of Party committees and organizations at all levels within judicial agencies and localities. Accordingly, several important projects were considered; the judicial sector made significant contributions to the amendment of the 1992 Constitution. Several laws related to judicial reform were also given importance; the authority of functional agencies within the judicial sector was perfected; attention was paid to building a team of judicial officials and developing infrastructure; and international cooperation was strengthened...

However, according to the President, there are still limitations and weaknesses that need to be overcome in the coming time, such as: The implementation of laws in general, including judicial reform in some areas, has not yet been fully put into practice. Some policies and orientations on judicial reform mentioned in Resolution 49-NQ/TW of the Politburo on the Strategy for Judicial Reform until 2020 have not been institutionalized in a timely manner; some specialized projects are of limited quality, do not meet requirements, and have to be revised and supplemented many times...

Reviewing the activities of the Steering Committee for Judicial Reform in 2012, President Truong Tan Sang stated that, in general, the Steering Committee had made many efforts to closely follow the program set out at the beginning of the year, yielding certain results. Based on this, it helped the Politburo conclude on several issues regarding the pilot program for bailiffs, the training of judicial personnel, etc. However, due to the fact that the members of the Steering Committee had to perform additional duties, their activities were not as regular; some topics in the Project were slow to be implemented.

Regarding the tasks of judicial reform in 2013, President Truong Tan Sang suggested that the government should continue to participate in the drafting of amendments and additions to the 1992 Constitution, focusing on contents related to judicial reform; conduct a preliminary review of Resolution 49-NQ/TW of the Politburo; improve the quality of specialized topics; and organize working groups to inspect, survey, and assess the implementation of judicial reform tasks in various sectors and localities.../.

It is expected that in 2013, the Central Steering Committee for Judicial Reform will hold five sessions to discuss projects related to the operation, organization, infrastructure, and personnel of the People's Courts and People's Procuracies; the establishment of four levels of People's Courts and People's Procuracies and specialized courts within the People's Court system; the reorganization of the investigative agency system towards streamlining; the development of the legal profession; the unification of enforcement management; and the fight against corruption in judicial activities; as well as a summary of the work in 2013, key tasks, and the Steering Committee's work program for 2014.

According to (CPV) – LT