May 23, 2023
HA NỘI — The 15th National Assembly (NA) opened its fifth plenary session in Hà Nội on Monday morning.
During this session, the National Assembly will review and approve a total of eight laws and three draft resolutions. The eight laws are: the amended Law on Protection of Consumer Rights, the amended Law on Bidding, the amended Law on Price, the amended Law on Electronic Transactions, the amended Law on Cooperatives, the Law on Civil Defence, the Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on People’s Public Security Forces, the Law on Exit and Entry of Vietnamese Citizens, and the Law on amendments to a number of articles of the Law on Foreigners’ Entry into, Exit from, Transit through, and Residence in Việt Nam.
Also during this session, the National Assembly will provide opinions on nine law projects, which are: the amended Law on Land, the amended Law on Real Estate Business, the amended Law on Housing, the amended Law on Water Resources, the amended Law on Telecommunications, the Law on Management and Protection of National Defence Works and Military Zones, the amended Law on Citizen Identification, the amended Law on Credit Institutions, and the Law on Forces Participating in the Protection of Security and Order at Grassroots Levels.
Additionally, the National Assembly will address various important matters, including socio-economic issues, State budget, and supervision.
Specifically, the following topics will be discussed: reports on the additional assessment of the implementation results of the socio-economic development plan and the State budget in 2022; reports on the implementation of the socio-economic development plan and the State budget in the first months of 2023; approval of the final settlement of the State budget for the year 2021; and review of the report on thrift practice and anti-waste measures in 2022.
The National Assembly will also listen to the Central Committee of the Việt Nam Fatherland Front’s report, which will include the synthesis of opinions and recommendations from voters and the general public for the fifth Session of the 15th National Assembly.
Additionally, the National Assembly will consider the report on the monitoring results of the resolution of voters’ petitions addressed during the fourth session of the 15th National Assembly.
The session will also involve discussions on personnel matters and the consideration and resolution of other significant issues.
NA Chairman Vương Đình Huệ delivers the opening remarks for the fifth plenary session of the 15th tenure NA that opened in Hà Nội on Monday. — VNA/VNS Photo
Addressing the opening ceremony, NA Chairman Vương Đình Huệ emphasised that the law projects and draft resolutions submitted to the NA for approval underwent close supervision and guidance from the NA Standing Committee. In particular, during the fourth session, the NA Standing Committee directed the responsible agencies to work closely with the submitting agencies to thoroughly analyse and incorporate the opinions of NA deputies from the fourth session and the third Full-time National Assembly Deputies Conference (April 2023).
Various activities such as conferences, seminars, and consultations with experts were organised to ensure maximum absorption of these opinions. The draft laws that have been completed and submitted to the NA for consideration and approval have achieved a high level of consensus between the NA Standing Committee and the Government.
Of significant importance is the Land Law (amended) project, which is a crucial and intricate law with a fundamental role in the land legal system. It has far-reaching implications for the implementation of policies and regulations in various other laws, affecting all aspects of socio-economic life, organisations, and individuals. The project has been thoroughly reviewed and completed based on the opinions of NA deputies from the fourth session, as well as more than 12 million comments received from the general public.
Through diverse channels, active participation and opinions have contributed to addressing multiple aspects of the draft Law, with particular focus on four crucial issues: compensation, support, and resettlement; land allocation, land lease, and change of land use purpose; land finance and land price; and planning and land use plans.
The NA Chairman highlighted that the gathering of public opinions has truly become an extensive political activity, empowering the people and contributing to a significant improvement in the quality of the legislative process. The NA expresses gratitude to the people for their interest, enthusiastic opinions, wisdom, and responsibility shown towards the Land Law (amended) project and the overall development and finalisation of the law.
Recognising that there are up to 20 projects and drafts to be reviewed, commented on and approved at this meeting, many of which are complex and have a wide-ranging impact directly affecting the rights, obligations and interests of the majority of people and businesses, the Chairman suggested that NA deputies dedicate sufficient time to study and engage in thorough discussions.
They should evaluate the consistency and appropriateness of projects and drafts with the Constitution and the Party’s guidelines and policies, and carefully consider the rationale, feasibility and impact of proposed new policies. Furthermore, they should place special emphasis on ensuring transparency, openness, and eliminating potential loopholes for corruption, group interests and local interests, he said.
Attention should also be given to maintaining stability and consistency within the regulations of each project and draft, as well as achieving coherence and synchrony within the legal system, thereby contributing to the improvement of the institutional framework, fostering innovation and creativity, and facilitating sustainable development.
Based on reports from the Government and inspection reports from NA agencies on the country’s socio-economic situation, Huệ recommended that NA deputies focus on conducting specific, objective, realistic, and comprehensive assessments of the achieved results, limitations and difficulties. Special attention should be given to the implementation of socio-economic targets and the completion of the annual growth target.
Other areas requiring analysis include the disbursement of public investment capital, risks in financial and currency markets, as well as cultural, labour, and social security issues. It is important to identify and clarify responsibilities, both objective and subjective, in terms of organisation and implementation.
Regarding the approval of the State budget finalisation for 2021, it is important to fully comprehend the requirements for reforming the process of deciding on the state budget to ensure its substance. In addition, close monitoring of budget implementation is necessary. Therefore, it is suggested that NA representatives engage in thorough discussions and careful evaluations of the state budget estimates, implementation and finalisation.
A clear analysis of the causes of inadequacies and limitations, particularly those persisting over the years without remedy, should be conducted, Huệ said. Some of these issues include significant discrepancies between revenue estimates and actual revenue, delayed allocation and delivery of estimates, extensive budget transfers, numerous errors in budget management and utilisation, and a lack of strict implementation of conclusions and recommendations from State Audit agencies, inspectors and other relevant bodies. — VNS