Pham Diem
The State and Law Research Institute
The Vietnamese people's staunch struggle culminating in the Dien Bien Phu historic victory compelled the French colonialists to sign the Geneva Agreement, having recognized Vietnam's national independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. Under that agreement, northern Vietnam (from the 17th parallel northward) was completely liberated and governed by the Democratic Republic of Vietnam Government while southern Vietnam was temporarily managed by the French forces pending a general election expected to be held two years later to reunify the country. Yet, the American imperialists got into southern Vietnam, ousting the French and setting up there a lackey regime so as to perpetuate the division of Vietnam and turn southern Vietnam into a new-type military base to attack northern Vietnam.
The revolution in each zone had its own strategic tasks which were suitable to the conditions of each zone but closely interrelated. The socialist revolution in the North aimed not only at building an abundant and happy life for northern people but also at liberating the South. Meanwhile the people's national democratic revolution in the South had the dual tasks of liberating the South and defending the North. The common objective of the entire people of Vietnam then was to complete the people's national democratic revolution and achieve the national reunification.
The above circumstance, strategic tasks and their inter-relationship directly affected the structural and operational process of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam State which had to organize the construction and defense of the North on the one hand and render material and human support for the South in the struggle against the US imperialists. The first and foremost task of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam State was to organize the resistance war against the US imperialists for national salvation.
I.- The operation of the State
After the signing of the Geneva Agreement, the Vietnamese State in northern Vietnam had the immediate task of taking over the liberated zone which embraced vast, populated and natural resource-rich areas including many important political, economic and cultural centers particularly Hanoi. To fulfill such task, the revolutionary administration had to maintain the social law and order, ensure the normal life for the people in the newly liberated regions and foil treacherous schemes of the adversary who left no stone unturned to undermine the ceasefire and troop movement and grouping, destroy public facilities, cause confusion among the population... with an attempt to make the young revolutionary administration unable to manage the liberated region.
Yet, the revolutionary administration prepared personnel and essential commodities for the takeover. The Democratic Republic of Vietnam promulgated in time new policies that won the people's hearts. Within less than a month (from late July to early August 1954) it took over the vast rural region and on October 10, 1954, Hanoi was completely liberated with the return of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam Government headed by President Ho Chi Minh to the capital city after 9 years' hard struggle.
Moreover, the revolutionary administration had to organize the struggle against the enemy's enticement and coercion of people, including armymen and officials of the old regime and Catholic adherents, to migrate to the South. By October 1954, the adversary had launched 436 roundups, having coerced hundreds of people to leave the North for the South. The Americans had lavished 40 million USD and mobilized 41 ships for this purpose. In face of the situation, the revolutionary administration set up anti-coercive migration steering committees, promptly issued new and specific policies toward religion, officials of the old regime, intellectuals, industrialists and traders... Thanks to its timely and resolute measures, the revolutionary administration foiled the enemy's ploy to lure three million northerners to the South.
Another task of no less importance of the State then was to struggle for the strict observance of the Geneva Agreement by the adversary, then proceed to the national reunification as stipulated therein. The Democratic Republic of Vietnam Government many times sent notes to the puppet administration in Saigon and to the co-chairmen of the Geneva Conference, exposing the adversary's scheme to undermine the Agreement and demanding that they honor the democratic freedoms in southern Vietnam and proceed with the consultation for a general election to reunify the country. Widespread political struggle movement was launched among the population throughout the country, having involved millions of people in meetings, demonstrations to demand the US imperialists and their stooges strictly observe the Geneva Agreement.
A specialized committee for national reunification was set up to assist the Government in studying the situation and working out policies to mobilize people for such struggle. The then National Assembly of Vietnam passed a resolution on December 31, 1959, prolonging the National Assembly term of southern deputies.
After the restoration of peace in northern Vietnam, the Government continued to complete the land reform which had begun when the anti-French war of resistance neared its end. The feudal landlord class was completely done away with and the peasantry was completely liberated. Some 810,000 hectares of land were distributed to more than two million peasant households.
Coupled with the land reform, the economic restoration was stepped up. The Government supplied peasants with 540 tones of rice seed and 50,000 draught buffaloes and cows. The State Bank provided loans to peasants for the purchase of cattle and farm instruments. People were mobilized for the reclamation of virgin and waste land, the repair of irrigation works. As a result, agricultural production was strongly boosted, having basically abolished the chronic hunger in northern Vietnam which the French had thought was unavoidable. Besides old factories which were restored, expanded or upgraded, 18 new industrial establishments were built. By the end of 1957, the economic restoration in northern Vietnam was crowned with success, with the total industrial and agricultural output being almost equivalent to that of 1939, the record year of the French rule, the food output having achieved four million tones, much higher than that in the pre-war time, new educational system and healthcare network being built, the people's life having been improved.
Then, various long-term plans for socio-economic development were carried out by the Government, having yielded good results. By early 1965 in northern Vietnam, the industrial output value had risen by 3.6% over 1939; 1,045 industrial factories had been built, meeting 90% of the demand for consumer goods; the per-capita income had annually increased by 3.4% on average while the peasants' earnings had increased by 24%. During the French time, over 95% of the population were illiterate, but by 1965 almost all people in the North had been able to read and write.
In 1960, the second National Assembly was elected; and in 1964 the third National Assembly was elected, which later decided the establishment of 12 more managerial bodies under the Government Council. And for the first time, the Government Council promulgated different decrees on the organizations, tasks and powers of various ministries and other agencies attached to the Government Council.
In 1965, the US imperialists on the one hand waged a "local war" in the South and on the other hand stepped up their air war of destruction against the North, escalating their aggressive war throughout the country in an attempt to obstruct the construction in the North and stop the North Vietnam people's support for the national liberation struggle in the South. Having faced such situation, the Government changed the State structure and the way of economic construction while intensifying the material and human support for the revolution in the South and defeating the US war of destruction in the North, then proceed to the complete liberation of the South and the national reunification.
In face of such situation, in 1968 the National Assembly decided to prolong the 3rd National Assembly's tenure and assigned its Standing Committee to organize the election of the 4th National Assembly when the situation permitted. And from April 1971 on, the National Assembly elections were held as schedule. Yet, the elections of local administration of various levels during the war of destruction in the North were still organized regularly as prescribed. On April 25, 1965, President Ho Chi Minh signed the decree on war-time military service and by the end of 1966, the strength of the regular army had risen by 3 times over the pre-1965 period, and that of the air defense force, including air force, by 5 times. It can be said that the general mobilization of material and human resources by the Democratic Republic of Vietnam during the anti-US war of resistance was the biggest mobilization in the nation's history of struggling against foreign invasion.
II.- The organization of the State apparatus
Under the 1959 Constitution, the State of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was a people's democratic republic. Article 4 of the said Constitution clearly stated: "All powers of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam belong to the people. The people shall exercise their power through the National Assembly and the People's Council of all levels, which are elected by the people and take responsibility before the people."
1.- The National Assembly:
The National Assembly was the supreme organ of State power and the only body vested with the legislative powers. Its term of office was four years.
The National Assembly had the following obligations and powers:
- To make and amend the Constitution and laws and to supervise the enforcement of the Constitution.
- To elect the President and Vice-President(s) of the State, the President of the Supreme People's Court and the chairman of the Supreme People's Procuracy. At the proposal of the State President, the National Assembly decided the appointment of the Primer Minister; at the proposal of the Prime Minister, it decided the appointment of members of the Government Council. The National Assembly had the power to remove from office the President and Vice-President(s) of the State, the Prime Minister and other members of the Government Council, the President of the Supreme People's Court and the Chairman of the Supreme People's Procuracy.
- To decide the State economic plans; approve the State budget estimates and final settlement; set taxes of different kinds.
- To approve the establishment or dissolution of ministries, ministerial-level agencies; to approve the delineation of the boundaries of provinces, autonomous regions and cities directly under the central government.
- To decide the amnesty and decide issues of war and peace.
2.- The State President
The State President represented the Democratic Republic of Vietnam internally and externally. The State President was elected by the National Assembly. All citizens of 35 years or more of age were entitled to stand for the Presidency. His/her term of office corresponded to the term of National Assembly.
The State President had the following powers:
- On the basis of the resolutions of the National Assembly or its Standing Committee, the State President promulgated laws, ordinances, ratified treaties signed with other country(ies); he/she had the power to proclaim amnesties as well as the conferment of orders and State honors, to proclaim the state of war; to order a general or partial mobilization; to order the state of emergency; to appoint and dismiss high-ranking State officials.
- To have the overall command of the armed forces and hold the office of Chairman of the National Defense and Security conference.
3.- The Government Council
The Government Council was the highest executive body of the State power and also the highest body of State administration. It took responsibility before and reported its activities to the National Assembly or the National Assembly Standing Committee if the National Assembly did not meet.
The Prime Minister chaired the Government Council's meetings and ran the activities of the Government Council. The ministers ran the work of their respective ministries under the uniform leadership of the Government Council.
4.- The People's Councils and the local Administrative Committees
The administrative units of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam were determined as follows:
The country was divided into provinces, autonomous regions and cities directly under the central government.
A province was divided into districts, towns and the provincial capital.
A district was divided into communes and townships.
Set up in all the above-mentioned administrative units were the People's Council and the Administrative Committees. The People's Council was the local organ of State power, elected by the local people and responsible before the local population. The Administrative Committee was the executive body of the People's Council of the same level and was the local organ of the State administration. It was elected by the People's Council of the same level and composed of the chairman, one or more vice-chairmen, a secretary and other members.
5.- The People's Court and People's Procuracy
- The People's Court:
The judicial system included: The Supreme People's Court, local people's courts, courts marital and special courts set up under decisions of the National Assembly to try special cases.
The people's courts were responsible and reported its activities to the State power organs of the same level, which elected judges.
- The People's Procuracy:
The people's procuracy system included the Supreme People's Procuracy, the local people's procuracies, and the military procuracy.
The Supreme People's Procuracy supervised the observance of laws by agencies under the Government Council, the local State bodies, the State employees and citizens. The local people's procuracies and the military procuracy were entitled to inspect the violations of laws. People's procuracies had the right to initiate prosecution. The Supreme People's Procuracy was responsible and reported its activities to the National Assembly and the National Assembly Standing Committee, while the people's procuracies of other levels submitted to the people's procuracy of higher level and the uniform leadership of the Supreme People's Procuracy.
In short, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam State during the years of anti-US war of resistance for national salvation was characterized by the following:
1.- Under the conditions of the fierce war years, the State had dual tasks of organizing the economic construction and development in the North and organizing the resistance war with the struggle against foreign invasion as its first and foremost task.
2.- The State not only was a political power institution but also clearly demonstrated the national unity. For instance, among 362 deputies to the 2nd National Assembly, 56 were people of ethnic minorities, 49 were female, 46 were peasants, 20 were armymen, 65 were intellectuals, 2 were national bourgeois, 3 were Catholic priests and 2 were Buddhist reverend.
Similarly, the National Assembly of the 3rd, 4th or 5th legislature, was composed of people from all walks of life.
3.- In order to suit the war time and to fully and promptly mobilize the human and material resources to the utmost for the resistance war, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam State was structured and operated under a highly centralized and subsidy mechanism. And it effectively and fruitfully managed all aspects of the social life, thus recording great achievements.-