Members of the National Assembly Standing Committee (NASC) discussed the draft Law on Administrative Procedures on May 10, focusing on the expansion of courts’ jurisdiction over administrative cases, creation of favorable conditions for citizens to institute administrative lawsuits and assurance of equality between citizens and administrative agencies before court.
The draft law, which has 163 articles arranged in 13 chapters, provides for basic principles on administrative procedures; order and procedures for initiating and proceeding administrative lawsuits; enforcement of administrative judgments; tasks, powers and responsibilities of procedure-conducting agencies and persons; and rights and obligations of persons carrying out administrative procedures.
According to the draft law, courts would be authorized to rule on administrative cases in all fields except defense, security, government-regulated diplomatic and domestic affairs of state organizations.
National Assembly Vice Chairman Nguyen Duc Kien voiced his support for the draft law’s provisions giving the courts authorization to rule in certain administrative areas. “This is appropriate because it would help reduce the work courts need to do which would allow them to concentrate on the areas they were authorized to consider and improve quality,” he said, adding that it would go in line with the demands stemming from the process of administrative reform and international economic integration.
However, some legislators proposed the drafting committee to further clarify the administrative acts of state organizations that would not fall within the jurisdiction of the courts, saying that the classification would help avoid disagreements and confusion in enforcing the law.
Under the draft law, citizens who wish to appeal against decisions in highly specialized areas such as tax and intellectual property must carry out procedures for lodging complaints under the Law on Administrative Procedures and then may initiate administrative lawsuits at courts if disagreeing with the settlement of complaints by administrative agencies. For other domains, citizens may immediately bring the cases to administrative courts.
As proposed by NASC members, the draft Law should specify that if concerned agencies still fail to settle complaints within 30 days after the deadline for settlements of complaints prescribed in Article 43 of the Law on Complaints and Denunciations or if complainants disagree with the complaint settlement decisions, they may initiate an administrative lawsuit.-