The National Assembly discussed the draft Civil Procedure Code and the Capital Law.

On the morning of March 22, the 9th session of the 12th National Assembly worked at the Hall under the direction of Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Uong Chu Luu. Delegates listened to the Chairwoman of the National Assembly's Committee on Judicial Affairs Le Thi Thu Ba present the Report of the National Assembly Standing Committee (NASC) explaining, accepting, and revising the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Civil Procedure Code and discussed in the hall a number of contents with different opinions of this draft Law.

The majority of National Assembly deputies agreed with the draft that the Procuracy should participate in civil proceedings, however, the level of participation and the extent of participation are issues that need to be clarified. According to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, prosecutors participate in court sessions and meetings to resolve civil cases to perform the function and task of supervising compliance with the law in the trial activities of the Court, to ensure compliance with the law in resolving civil cases, to protect the rights and legitimate interests of citizens, and the interests of the State... However, due to the different nature of court sessions and meetings, it is impossible to stipulate the responsibility of prosecutors when participating at each stage equally. Therefore, the draft has been revised to both ensure conditions for the Procuracy to properly perform its functions and tasks in civil proceedings and to protect the legitimate rights and interests of the parties in accordance with each stage of the proceedings.

The Standing Committee of the National Assembly believes that the practice of implementing the Civil Procedure Code in recent times has shown that the provisions on the participation of the Procuracy in civil proceedings have revealed limitations and inadequacies, not creating conditions for the Procuracy to fully perform its functions and tasks. Meanwhile, people still face many difficulties in proving themselves to protect their legitimate rights and interests before the Court; the income of the majority of people is still low, they cannot invite lawyers to protect their rights. Therefore, it is necessary to stipulate that the Procuracy has the authority to participate in court sessions, meetings, and participate in all sessions or only participate when necessary, which will have to be based on the work requirements, practical conditions of the Procuracy sector and the nature and subjects of the civil case. Determining which cases are necessary is the responsibility of the Supreme People's Procuracy (VKSNDTC).

National Assembly deputies working in the hall. Photo: CPV

Delegates Vu Duy Hoa (Thanh Hoa), Nguyen Minh Thuyet (Lang Son), Ha Cong Long (Gia Lai) all agreed and said: Prosecutors participating in court sessions and meetings to resolve civil cases is to perform the function and task of supervising compliance with the law in the trial activities of the Court to ensure compliance with the law in resolving civil cases, contributing to ensuring the socialist legal system in civil proceedings, protecting the rights and legitimate interests of citizens, and the interests of the state...

Delegate Le Van Cuong (Thanh Hoa) proposed to maintain the regulations on the duties and powers of the Procuracy as stipulated in the current Civil Procedure Code. Delegate Le Van Cuong completely agreed with the opinion stated in the report. However, according to the delegate, there are some civil cases of poor quality, so people have many complaints to higher authorities, including the National Assembly. Therefore, we must do something to help people avoid being wrongly convicted, delegate Le Van Cuong emphasized.

Regarding the Court's authority over decisions of other agencies and organizations (Clause 7, Article 1, Draft Law supplementing Article 32a), some opinions proposed to stipulate that the Court has the authority to annul illegal decisions of agencies and organizations as stipulated in Article 12 of the Ordinance on Procedures for Settling Civil Cases in 1989. Chief Justice Truong Hoa Binh said that if there is no provision for the first-instance court to annul illegal decisions but recommends that the agency that issued the illegal decision annul it, it will be very difficult because whether or not to amend it is their right.

Delegate Tran The Vuong (Hai Duong) said: From the Ordinance on Procedures for Settlement of Civil Cases in 1989 to the promulgation of the Civil Procedure Code, there has been no case where the Court has the authority to annul an illegal decision of an agency or organization. Delegate Tran The Vuong said: With the organization of the Court being closely linked to the administrative agency, a Judge at the District Court cannot annul the decision of the District Chairman. Therefore, the delegate proposed not to include this provision in the draft Law.

Regarding the authority of the Procuracy to request the Court to collect documents and evidence (Clause 17, Article 1, Draft Law amending and supplementing Article 85, Civil Procedure Code), some opinions proposed to add a provision that the Procuracy has the right to request the Court to collect documents and evidence in Clause 17, Article 1 of the Draft Law. In addition, other opinions also proposed to stipulate a specific time limit for providing documents and evidence by individuals, agencies, and organizations to litigants, the Court, the Procuracy, etc.

Concluding the session, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Uong Chu Luu said: The addition of regulations on the participation of the Procuracy in civil proceedings stems from the principle that the Procuracy exercises the function of prosecution and supervision of judicial activities, and supervision of judicial activities is aimed at protecting the law, protecting the legal system, protecting the rights and interests of the State and the legitimate rights and interests of citizens. On the other hand, the number of lawyers has not met the needs of litigation work and many people do not have the financial means to invite lawyers to participate in protecting their legitimate rights and interests in court. Practice shows that the lack of the role of the Procuracy will not ensure the legitimate rights and interests of the parties; however, there needs to be a distinction in the level of participation at each stage of the proceedings.

It is expected that this draft Law will be considered and approved by the National Assembly on the afternoon of March 29.

This afternoon (March 22), delegates continued working in the Hall, listening to Chairman of the National Assembly's Law Committee Nguyen Van Thuan present the Report of the National Assembly Standing Committee explaining, accepting, and revising the draft Law on the Capital and discussing this draft Law.

Despite many comments from delegates in previous sessions, on the afternoon of March 22, the draft Law on the Capital City still received many concerns.

As a delegate from Hanoi, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Dao supports the promulgation of the law, but admits that this is the most difficult law among all the laws, and needs to be discussed more carefully to avoid concerns when passing it. Mr. Dao believes that it is necessary to consider whether the promulgation of this law will destroy the unity of the legal system.

Chairman of the Nationalities Council K'sor Phuoc said that the current Capital Law project touches on about 12 laws that have been issued, so he himself feels very confused. "I don't know how those laws are applied in the capital. Are they effective or do they need to be amended? I suggest that the drafting committee review them. If there are conflicts with the laws, they must consult with delegates. Don't turn the capital into an autonomous region," Mr. Phuoc emphasized.

Delegate Nguyen Minh Thuyet said that the wording and regulations in the draft are still very confusing. "Hanoi has many golden and diamond lands, but the planning of the capital is still very messy. I hope this law will propose a special mechanism for the security situation, but when reading the new law, I only see increased fines, although this is correct," said Mr. Thuyet.

According to this delegate, the household registration regulation cannot reduce population pressure because workers coming to Hanoi do not need a household registration. Expanding urban areas with adequate infrastructure is what needs to be done. "The descendants of scrap buyers may become scientists, artists... in the future, so we cannot ignore them. If the law is not done carefully and is not effective, it should not be implemented," delegate Thuyet emphasized in his second speech.

After stating a series of criteria in the Capital Law such as building a green, clean, civilized, clean, strong capital... delegate Tran Du Lich wondered: "Every urban area in our country needs these criteria, not just the capital? All regulations of a special urban area are included in the Capital Law, which is not good". Sharing the same opinion, delegate Nguyen Lan Dung was upset: "Every place in our country must be clean and strong, not just the capital".

Hoping that the National Assembly needs to consider so that the Capital Law is worthy of a country of 86 million people, delegate Ngo Quang Xuan suggested: "If the draft law is not complete, it should be studied and supplemented."

Similarly, delegate Vu Quang Hai acknowledged that this draft law still has many general and appeal-oriented provisions, not paying attention to suburban areas as well as the capital region such as Hung Yen, Bac Ninh... so if passed, it would be hasty and detrimental to the capital's people.

Meanwhile, Hanoi delegate Nguyen Hong Son said that it is necessary to soon promulgate the Capital Law to solve current pressing issues, and if during the implementation process, the law is found to be inappropriate, it can continue to be revised.

Acknowledging the enthusiastic and frank contributions of 18 delegates, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Uong Chu Luu said that from now until the end of the session, the drafting committee needs to study, absorb the contributions and report to the National Assembly for consideration and approval.

According to Communist Party of Vietnam - VnExpress