Pham Diem
State and Law Research Institute
In face of the critical socio-economic crisis during the late ’70s and early ’80s of the last century, Vietnam has, since 1986, conducted a comprehensive renewal, closely combining the economic renewal with the political renewal, taking the economic renewal as focus while step by step renewing the political system. In the cause of renewal of the State apparatus, the renewal of the National Assembly — the supreme State power body — has been considered a central issue.
1. The National Assembly renewal in the 1992 Constitution
After the first years of the “doi moi” period, the policy and guidelines on national renewal have gradually taken shape. On that basis, in 1992, the Vietnamese National Assembly adopted a new Constitution, which was amended and supplemented in 2002. It can be said that the 1992 Constitution is the Constitution of the period of national renewal.
In the 1992 Constitution, the National Assembly has seen a substantial renewal in its role, functions and organization.
In addition to the National Assembly’s nature and basic functions confirmed in the previous Constitutions of 1946, 1959 and 1980 such as the nature of being the people’s supreme representative, the nature of being the supreme State power and the sole constitutional and legislative body, the 1992 Constitution added its functions of deciding on the important affairs of the country and exercising the supreme right to supervision. Under the new Constitution, the State Council prescribed in the 1980 Constitutions has no longer existed while the National Assembly Standing Committee, which was set up under the 1946 and 1959 Constitutions, has been restored, with the provisions on its nature, tasks and functions being added with a new regulation that the National Assembly Standing Committee members must not be concurrently the Government members (Article 90 of the 1992 Constitution). This new provision is of important significance in determining clearly the decentralization among the legislative power, the executive power and the judiciary power in Vietnam’s unified state power structure, thus creating the possibility of preventing the state of “being footballers while acting as referees at the same time” in such a unified sans-counterpoise State power structure in Vietnam.
Under the 1992 Constitution, the National Assembly chairmanship and vice-chairmanship have been maintained, but their positions and roles have greatly changed as compared to those mentioned in the 1980 Constitution. According to Article 92 of the 1992 Constitution, “the chairman of the National Assembly shall preside over its sessions, authenticate through his/her signature laws and resolutions of the National Assembly, lead the activities of the National Assembly Standing Committee, organize the realization of the external relations of the National Assembly, maintain relationship with the National Assembly deputies. The vice-chairmen of the National Assembly shall assist the chairman in performing the tasks as assigned by the chairman.”
So, the chairmanship of the National Assembly under the 1992 Constitution has borne the nature of authority but not merely the nature of administration and coordination as prescribed in the 1980 Constitution. Unlike the 1959 Constitution which prescribed the National Assembly chairman merely as the chairman of the National Assembly and the 1980 Constitution which prescribed the National Assembly chairman merely as the head of the National Assembly, the 1992 Constitution has stipulated that the National Assembly chairman occupies the position of the head of the National Assembly and also the chairman of the National Assembly Standing Committee.
Also unlike the 1980 Constitution, the 1992 Constitution has not stipulated the setting up of the Defense Council but has only stated that “the National Assembly shall elect the Nationality Council which is composed of the chairman, vice-chairmen and its members” (Article 94).
Similarly, the National Assembly’s Committees have, under the 1992 Constitution, no longer been seen as the permanent bodies of the National Assembly as mentioned in the 1980 Constitution. What is new in the organization and operation of these Committees is that each of them shall have a number of members working on a full-time basis (Article 95), thus aiming to gradually professionalize the activities of National Assembly deputies.
So, in the spirit and letters of the 1992 Constitution, the guiding principle for renewal of Vietnam’s National Assembly is to enhance its role, position and power with a view to abolishing the formality in its activities, raising its real power and effect as well as the efficiency of its activities in Vietnam’s political life.
2. The National Assembly’s activities in the early years of “doi moi”
Since the country embarked on the path of national renewal, the National Assembly has gone through the following legislatures:
- The VIIIth Legislature (1987-1992), which, with its 11 sessions, was the first National Assembly of the “doi moi” period with the adoption of the 1992 Constitution - the Constitution of the “doi moi” period.
- The IXth Legislature (1992-1997), which, with its 11 sessions, was the first to have been organized and operating under the new Constitution of 1992.
- The Xth Legislature (1997-2002), which, through its 10 sessions, operated in a special historical period, the period of transition between the two centuries and the period ushering in the accelerated national industrialization and modernization.
- The XIth Legislature, the newly elected National Assembly which has just started its five-year tenure with the on-going second session.
As compared with the previous legislatures, these National Assembly Legislatures have comprised deputies with younger average age and higher educational level and more deputies being women, ethnic minority people and non-Party members. The percentage of National Assembly deputies with university or post-graduate degree has constantly risen from 11.11% for the VIIIth Legislature to 56.2% for the IXth Legislature, 91.33% for the Xth Legislature. Particularly, the percentage of full-time deputies has also increased from only 1% in the VIIIth Legislature, to 5.31% in the IXth Legislature, 10% in the Xth Legislature and 20% in the incumbent Legislature.
Over the past 10 years of “doi moi”, the National Assembly’s legislative and supervisory activities have been basically enhanced both quantitatively and qualitatively.
Legislatively, the National Assembly of the “doi moi” period has directly decided on the legislative programs and plans, which used to be worked on by its standing body. The bill drafting has been further improved with better and better coordination among the agencies assuming the prime responsibility for the drafting (often the ministries), the National Assembly’s Committees, the Government’s Office and the Ministry of Justice. Many bills were put up for discussions at various seminars, thus raising their quality with more theoretical and practical grounds. The appraisal of bills by the Law Committee of the National Assembly has been conducted right at the time of drafting. The weighing of pros and cons of divergent opinions in the process of bill drafting and the lively deliberations at National Assembly sessions have made the legislative activities more diversified and meaningful.
As a result, the National Assembly legislatures in the “doi moi” period have passed a colossal quantity of laws and codes besides the 1992 Constitution. Within only 12 years (from 1987 to 1998), the National Assembly and its Standing Committee adopted 81 laws and codes and 80 ordinances as against only 33 laws and codes and 48 ordinances throughout 41 years before “doi moi” from 1945 to 1986, thus representing two-thirds of the total of 124 laws and codes and 128 ordinances passed within 53 years since the birth of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945.
Qualitatively, the National Assembly’s legislative work has been bettered with more laws and codes but less ordinances, with more substantive and procedural legal documents (such as the Criminal Procedures Code, the Law on Complaints and Denunciations,…), with better combination between the national elements and the international elements in the contents of regulation by law (as clearly seen in the Penal Code, the Civil Code, the Criminal Procedures Code,...).
Supervision constitutes a basic function of Vietnam’s National Assembly, which has seen important steps of development during its recent tenures. In the IXth National Assembly’s five-year term alone, it heard and discussed 76 reports of the Government, the State President, the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuracy, as part of its supervisory activities. It also conducted 200 supervisory tours of various localities. Before and after the National Assembly’s sessions, deputies meet with their voters in localities to gather their opinions on important national affairs, State policies as well as their proposals and aspirations for sum-ups to be presented before the National Assembly sessions, or to brief them on results of the National Assembly’s meetings.
Particularly, prominent in the National Assembly’s supervisory activities has been the questioning of cabinet members by National Assembly deputies, a thing rarely seen in the past at National Assembly meetings. Discussions and debates by deputies at National Assembly sessions on important national affairs have been diversified and lively and the votes thereon have been made public.
All these new things have initially created a new vitality in activities of the National Assembly, thus attracting the people’s interest therein and making the National Assembly a true supreme representative body of the people and the supreme State power body.-