GROUP ASSIGNMENT THE FUNDAMENTALS OF LAWS TOPIC THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF VIETNAM

According to the 1992 Constitution, the President of the Republic, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, the Ethnic Council, the Committees of the NationalAssembly, the Govern

GROUPASSIGNMENT THE FUNDAMENTALS OF LAWS

TOPIC

THE NATIONALASSEMBLY

OF VIETNAM

Team 01 Class: FE63 - Financial Economics Lecturer: Tran Thi Hong Nhung

TABLE OF CONTENT

2 The function of deciding the important issues of the Nation 12

2 Council on ethnic minorities and committees of the National Assembly 17

3 Secretary general, office of the National Assembly 22

3.Convening National Assembly sessions 28

4.Person invited to National Assembly sessions; observers at National 29Assembly sessions

6.Responsibility for presiding over National Assembly meetings 30

Purpose

The purpose of this report is to analyse the position, function and organizational structure

of the National Assembly (Vietnam)

Background and context

Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, is a country in Southeast Asia Vietnam is a unitary Marxist-Leninist one-party socialist republic Under the constitution,the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) asserts their role in all branches of the country's politics and society The National Assembly is the highest representative body of the People and the highest state power body of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Headed by

a chairman, the National Assembly is superior to both the executive and judicial

branches; exercises the right to supreme supervision of all activities of the State

Scope of research

This report utilizes a sociological perspective to identify two issues of the National Assembly, make a comparison and recommendations to optimize the performance of the National Assembly - the highest state power body of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam

1 Origins

The precursor of the current National Assembly of Vietnam was the National

Representatives’ Congress (Đại hội đại biểu quốc dân), convened on August 16, 1945, in the northern province of Tuyên Quang This Congress supported Viet Minh’s nationwidegeneral uprising policy against Japanese and French forces in Vietnam It also appointed the National Liberation Committee (Uỷ ban dân tộc giải phóng) as a provisional

government

2 Term of the National Assembly

The term of the National Assembly is five years, counting from the opening date of the first session of the National Assembly of a term to the opening date of the first session ofthe National Assembly of the succeeding term

Sixty days before the expiration of the term of the National Assembly, a new NationalAssembly shall be elected

In special cases, the National Assembly shall decide to shorten or extend its term at the proposal of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, if at least two-thirds of thetotal number of National Assembly deputies vote for it The extension of a term of the National Assembly must not exceed twelve months, except in wartime

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3 Sessions of National Assembly

3.1 The First National Assembly (1946–1960)

After a series of events which was later called collectively the “August Revolution”, Viet Minh seized the power all over the country, and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (Việt Nam dân chủ cộng hoà) was declared by Hồ Chí Minh in Hanoi on September 2,

1945 On January 6, 1946, the first general election ever in Vietnam was held all over the country in which all people 18 years old or older were eligible to vote

The first session of the First National Assembly (Quốc hội khoá I) took place on March 2,

1946 with nearly 300 deputies in the Great Theatre of Hanoi Nguyễn Văn Tố was

appointed as the Chairman of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee The First National Assembly approved Hồ Chí Minh as the head of government and his cabinet, and the former Emperor Bảo Đại as “the Supreme Advisor” The second session, Bùi Bằng Đoàn was appointed to be the Chairman of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee Tôn Đức Thắng was Acting Chairman from 1948, and from 1955, when Đoàn died, he was Chairman of the Standing Committee.

The first and second Constitutions of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam were passed

by this National Assembly in 1946 and 1960, respectively The term of the First NationalAssembly was prolonged (14 years) due to the war situation in Vietnam, particularly the partition of Vietnam according to the Geneva Accords of 1954 From 1954 to 1976, the National Assembly’s activities were only effective in North Vietnam

3.2 The Two Vietnams

3.2.1 North Vietnam

The Second National Assembly (1960–1964): Due to the partition of Vietnam and the

declaration of the Republic of Vietnam in the South, a nationwide general election could not be organized The Second National Assembly was formed by 362 elected deputies of the North and 91 deputies of the South from the First National Assembly who continued their term Trường Chinh was appointed as the Chairman of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee and held this position until 1981

The Third National Assembly (1964–1971): The Third National Assembly consisted of

366 elected deputies from the North and 87 deputies continuing their term The Third National Assembly’s term was prolonged due to the war situation President Hồ Chí Minhdied during the Third National Assembly’s term, and was succeeded by Tôn Đức Thắng

The Fourth National Assembly (1971–1975): 420 deputies were elected for the Fourth

National Assembly During the fourth term, the U.S withdrew its troops from Vietnam inaccordance with the Paris Peace Accords 1973

The Fifth National Assembly (1975–1976): The Fifth National Assembly consisted of

424 elected deputies The fifth term was the shortest National Assembly’s term as it wasshortened to organize the nationwide general election after the reunification of Vietnam

3.2.2 South Vietnam

When the Republic of Vietnam existed, it had the National Assembly as its sole

legislature After the new constitution was passed in 1967, it had two parliamentary

chambers: the Senate (Thượng nghị viện) and the House of Representatives (Hạ viện), largely modeled after the United States Congress.

3.3 Since 1976

The Sixth National Assembly (1976–1981)

This was the first election following the reunification of the North and South and the voters selected 492 members, of which 243 represented the South and 249 the North In this term, the National Assembly adopted the name “the Socialist Republic of Vietnam” (Cộng hoà xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam) for the re-unified country, merged corresponding organizations between the Government of North Vietnam and the Provisional

Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam, and renamed Saigon as Ho Chi Minh City It also approved the new Constitution in 1980

The Seventh National Assembly (1981–1987)

The Seventh National Assembly and its 496 members witnessed the end of the

Vietnamese centralized and heavily-planned economy and the CPV’s launch of the

Renewal Policy (Đổi mới) to adopt market economy Trường Chinh was elected as

Chairman of the State Council and Nguyễn Hữu Thọ was elected as Chairman of the National Assembly

The Eighth National Assembly (1987–1992)

In previous elections, because successful candidates were chosen in advance, the electoralprocess was not genuine No one could run for office unless approved by the CommunistParty, and in many cases the local body of the party simply appointed the candidates.Nevertheless, every citizen had a duty to vote, and, although the balloting was secret, the electorate, through electoral study sessions, received directives from the party concerning who should be elected The elections in 1987, however, were comparatively open by Vietnamese standards It was evident that the party was tolerating a wider choice in candidates and more debate The 1987 election chose 496 deputies for the Eighth

National Assembly In this term, the National Assembly approved the 1992 Constitution,

in which the citizen’s personal ownership of properties in business was guaranteed Lê Quang Đạo was appointed to be the National Assembly’s Chairman

The Ninth National Assembly (1992–1997)

The 1992 election established the first National Assembly after the 1992 Constitution came into effect From this term, the National Assembly’s agenda has been filled with law-making procedures to serve the Đổi mới Policy Nông Đức Mạnh was elected as the National Assembly’s Chairman and he served this position until 2001

The Tenth National Assembly (1997–2002)

During the tenth term, Chairman Nông Đức Mạnh was chosen to be the CPV’s

Secretary-General in its Ninth Congress and ceased his role as the National Assembly’s Chairman.Nguyễn Văn An was appointed to replace Mạnh.

The Eleventh National Assembly (2002–2007)

The National Assembly consisted of 498 elected deputies In 2002 Nguyễn Văn An waselected as the Chairman of the National Assembly On June 26, 2006, Mr Nguyễn PhúTrọng was elected as the Chairman of the National Assembly

The Twelfth National Assembly (2007–2011)

The Twelfth National Assembly (2007–2011) had 493 members In this term, NguyễnPhú Trọng was elected as the Chairman of the National Assembly.[1]

The Thirteenth National Assembly (2011–2016)

National Assembly consisted of 500 elected deputies In this term, Nguyễn Sinh Hùng was elected as the Chairman of the National Assembly NA Vice Chairpersons: Tòng ThịPhóng, Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân, Uông Chu Lưu and Huỳnh Ngọc Sơn

The Fourteenth National Assembly (2016–2021)

National Assembly consisted of 496 elected deputies In this term, Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân was elected as the first Chairwoman of the National Assembly NA Vice Chairpersons: Tòng Thị Phóng, Uông Chu Lưu, Phùng Quốc Hiển and Đỗ Bá Tỵ

The Fifteenth National Assembly (2021–2026) - Latest election:

The Communist Party won 485 seats, while non-party members affiliated with the

Communists won the remaining 14

In this term, Vương Đình Huệ was elected as the Chairman of the National Assembly Vice Chairpersons are Trần Thanh Mẫn (first), Nguyễn Khắc Định, Nguyễn Đức Hải and Trần Quang Phương

socio-The National Assembly has the highest authority to make Constitution and Laws Legaldocuments promulgated by the National Assembly are the Constitution, codes, laws andresolutions.

The National Assembly has three main functions: legislative, deciding the important issues of the country and carrying out the supreme supervision power of all activities of the State.

1 The Legislative Function

The National Assembly is the sole body empowered to adopt the Constitution and the laws The National Assembly not only adopts and amends the Constitution and the law, but also decides on the legislative program

According to the 1992 Constitution, the President of the Republic, the Standing

Committee of the National Assembly, the Ethnic Council, the Committees of the NationalAssembly, the Government, the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuracy,the VietNam Fatherland Front and its members, as well as the individual Deputies to the National Assembly have right to present bills to the National Assembly

Before being presented to the National Assembly, bills are first examined and commented

on by the Ethnic Council or the relevant Committee of the National Assembly The bills are then sent to all Deputies to the National Assembly not later than 20 days before the opening date of the National Assembly session

The bills which require public discussion are published and aired by the mass-media, so that the people and the state organs at all levels are able to have comments before

presentation of those bills to the National Assembly

All bills are discussed at the National Assembly session, first by groups of members, and then by all the members at a plenary session.

A bill becomes duly-adopted law when a single majority of the Deputies to the National Assembly vote in favor of its adoption

After being adopted by the National Assembly, the bill must be signed by the President ofthe National Assembly The President of the Republic promulgates the law, which

becomes effective no later than 15 days from the date of its adoption

2 The function of deciding the important issues of the Nation

As the highest state authority, the National Assembly makes decisions on the economic development plans of the country; on the national financial and monetary policies and on the estimates of the national revenue and expenditure plans It also

socio-decides the State budget, approves the national revenue and expenditure balance of

account, and levies, amends and abolishes taxes

The National Assembly elects the President of the Republic, the Chairman of the National Assembly and the Prime Minister It approves all appointments of Ministers upon the recommendation of the Government

The National Assembly has the authority to establish and dissolve ministries and

ministerial level agencies of the Government, as well as to establish, merge, divide and adjust the boundaries of the provinces and cities directly under the central authority It can also establish or dissolve special administrative economic establishments

The National Assembly decides issues of war and peace It also has the power to declare

an emergency situation and may take other special measures to ensure national defense and security

The National Assembly decides on amnesties and referendums

With respect to foreign affairs, the National Assembly decides on fundamental externalpolicies At the request of the President of the Republic, it ratifies or revokes those

international treaties that VietNam has signed or adhered to

3 The supervision function

The National Assembly exercises the supreme power of supervision over all activities ofthe State This function is carried out through the activities of the National Assembly, theStanding Committee of the National Assembly, the Ethnic Council, the Committees of theNational Assembly and individual deputies to the National Assembly

The National Assembly examines all working reports of the President of the Republic, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, the Government, the Supreme People's Court and of the Supreme People's Procuracy.

The National Assembly considers Activity Reports of the President of the Republic, theStanding Committee of the National Assembly, the Government, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuracy It is entitled to abolish any legal documents issued by the President of the Republic, the Standing Committee of the National

Assembly, the Government, the Prime Minister, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuracy, that is not conformed to the Constitution, the Laws and Resolutions of the National Assembly

The Standing Committee of the National Assembly supervises the implementation of the Constitution, the Laws, and the Resolutions of the National Assembly, as well as the Ordinances, and Resolutions of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly It alsosupervises the activities of the Government, the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuracy It may suspend the effect of any legal document of the Government, the Supreme People's Court, and the Supreme People's Procuracy, which is not in

conformity with the Constitution, the Laws or the Resolutions of the National Assembly, and may request the National Assembly to consider abolishing any such documents, and

to abolish any such documents of the Government, the Prime Minister of the Government,the Supreme People's Court, and the Supreme People's Procuracy, which are not

conformity with the Ordinances and the Resolutions National Assembly of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly

The Ethnic Council and the Committees of the National Assembly supervise the

implementation of the Constitution, the Laws and the Resolutions of the National

Assembly within their respective fields of responsibility They may require the agencies,organizations and individuals under their supervision to provide documents and reports

on the subjects under consideration

If any violation of the law is discovered, the Ethnic Council and the Committees of the National Assembly are entitled to require the violating organization or individual to ceasesuch violation They may also recommend measures against the authorities or/and and may also report the matter to the Standing Committee

The results of the supervision, together with the recommendations of the Ethnic Council

or the Committees, are reported to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly andthe relevant agencies are notified

The Deputies to the National Assembly may question the President of the Republic, the President of the National Assembly, the Prime Minister, Ministers and other members of the Government, the President of the Supreme People's Court and the Procurator General

The person who is questioned must answer in person to the National Assembly at its session In case investigation is required, the National Assembly may decide to convey the question either to the Standing Committee or to the next session, or by written

response The deputies to the National Assembly may also require the state agencies, social organizations, economic organizations, and the armed forces units to answer any questions put to them The Head of such agencies, organizations and units are obliged to answer within the period of time as provided by the law

NA Standing Committee; and the performance of the Government, Supreme People’sCourt, Supreme People’s Procuracy.

The National Assembly Standing Committee shall issue ordinances to clarify the

Constitution, laws and ordinance

1.3 Organizational Structure

The Standing Committee of the National Assembly shall be composed of the Chairperson,who is the Chairperson of the National Assembly, Vice Chairpersons, who are Vice Chairpersons of the National Assembly, and Members Members of the Standing

Committee of the National Assembly must be National Assembly deputies who work on a full-time basis and may not concurrently be members of the Government The numbers of Vice Chairpersons and Members of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly shall be decided by the National Assembly

1.4 Term

The term of office of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly must start fromthe time the Standing Committee is elected by the National Assembly and end when a new Standing Committee is elected by the new National Assembly

1.5 Agencies of the standing committee of the National Assembly

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1.5.2 Structure

Commission on People’s Aspiration (Ban Dân Nguyện): This is a subordinate of the

Standing Committee It is responsible for collecting people's aspiration and opinions andpresenting those opinions with the National Assembly It is headed by a Chief

Commission on Delegate Affairs (Ban Công tác Đại biểu): This is a subordinate of the

Standing Committee It manages any affairs and issues involving delegates of the

National Assembly It is headed by a Chief

Legislation Research Institute (Viện Nghiên cứu Lập pháp): This is a subordinate of the

Standing Committee

1.6 Other responsibilities

The Standing Committee of the National Assembly preparing, convening and presiding over National Assembly sessions:

1 Making of laws and ordinances

2 The Standing Committee of the National Assembly shall enact ordinances on matters assigned by the National Assembly

3 Interpretation of the Constitution, laws and ordinances

4 Oversight by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly

5 Suspension and annulment of documents of central state agencies

6 The Standing Committee of the National Assembly directing, harmonizing and coordinating activities of the Ethnic Council and Committees of the National Assembly

7 Responsibility of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly for the

election, relief of duty, removal from office and approval of positions in the state apparatus

8 Responsibility of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly for activities ofNational Assembly deputies and National Assembly deputies’ delegations

9 The Standing Committee of the National Assembly overseeing and guiding

activities of People’s Councils

10 Establishment, dissolution, consolidation, separation, and adjustment of boundaries

of administrative units under provinces or centrally run cities

11 Decision on state of war and general or partial mobilization; declaration or

cancellation of state of emergency

12 Responsibility of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly for external relations of the National Assembly

2 Council on ethnic minorities and committees of the National Assembly

2.1 Position and Function

The Ethnic Council and Committees of the National Assembly are agencies of the

National Assembly which shall take responsibility before and report on their work to the National Assembly; when the National Assembly is in recess, they shall report their work

to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly

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2.2 Working principles, term of office and reporting responsibility

The Ethnic Council or a Committee of the National Assembly shall work on a collegial basis and make decisions by a vote of the majority

The term of office of the Ethnic Council or a Committee of the National Assembly mustfollow the term of the National Assembly

At the year-end session of the National Assembly, the Ethnic Council and Committees ofthe National Assembly shall send their work reports to the National Assembly deputies and the Standing Committee of the National Assembly At the final session of each

National Assembly, the Ethnic Council and Committees of the National Assembly shall send summary reports on their activities to National Assembly deputies

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2.3 Organizational Structure

2.3.1 The Ethnic Council and Committees of the National Assembly

The Ethnic Council shall be composed of the Chairperson, Vice Chairpersons and

standing, full-time and other Members A Committee of the National Assembly shall becomposed of the Chairperson, Vice Chairpersons and standing, full-time and other

Members

The Chairpersons of the Ethnic Council and Committees of the National Assembly shall

be elected by the National Assembly; Vice Chairpersons and standing, full-time and otherMembers of the Ethnic Council and Committees of the National Assembly shall be

approved by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly

The standing body of the Ethnic Council or a Committee of the National Assembly shall assist the Ethnic Council or Committee in dealing with regular affairs of the Council or Committee when the latter is in recess

The standing body of the Ethnic Council must comprise the Chairperson, Vice

Chairpersons and standing Members The standing body of a Committee of the National Assembly must comprise the Chairperson, Vice Chairpersons and standing Members.The Ethnic Council or a Committee of the National Assembly shall establish

subcommittees to study and prepare matters under its field of work The head of a committee must be a member of the Ethnic Council or a Committee while other members

sub-may be other than members of the Ethnic Council or the Committee or National

Assembly deputies

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2.3.2 Committees of the National Assembly includes:

a/ The Law Committee

b/ The Judicial Committee

c/ The Economic Committee

d/ The Finance and Budget Committee

e/ The National Defense and Security Committee

f/ The Committee for Culture, Education, Youth, Teenagers and Children

g/ The Social Affairs Committee

h/ The Science, Technology and Environment Committee

i/ The External Affairs Committee

2.4 Tasks and powers

2.4.1.The Ethnic Council

To verify bills and draft ordinances on policies on ethnicities; to verify other draft

documents as assigned by the National Assembly or its Standing Committee; to verify theassurance of the policies on ethnicities in bills and draft ordinances before they are

submitted to the National Assembly or its Standing Committee

To contribute opinions on the promulgation of the Government’s regulations to

implement policies on ethnicities

To oversee the implementation of laws and resolutions of the National Assembly and ordinances and resolutions of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly in the field of ethnicity; to oversee the implementation of policies on ethnicities, programs and plans for socio-economic development in mountainous regions and ethnic minority areas

To oversee ethnic work-related documents of the Government, the Prime Minister,

ministers and heads of ministerial-level agencies

To submit bills before the National Assembly and draft ordinances before the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on matters under the charge of the Ethnic Council.

To make proposals on the State’s policies on the State’s policies on ethnicities and the organization and operation of concerned agencies and proposals related to ethnic work

2.4.2 Committees of the National Assembly

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2.4.3 Responsibilities of The Ethnic Council and Committees of the National Assembly

1 Responsibility for verification and coordination among the Ethnic Council and

Committees of the National Assembly

2 Responsibility of the Ethnic Council and Committees of the National Assembly for protecting the Constitution

3 Plenary meetings of the Ethnic Council and Committees of the National Assembly The Ethnic Council or a Committee of the National Assembly shall hold a plenary

meeting to verify bills, draft ordinances or resolutions or other reports or documents for

submission to the National Assembly or its Standing Committee; and consider and decide

on other matters falling within its tasks and powers

4 Request for reporting, provision of documents and assignment of members for

consideration and verification

5 Explanation at meetings of the Ethnic Council and Committees of the National Assembly

Requesting members of the Government, the Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s

Court, the Procurator General of the Supreme People’s Procuracy, the State Auditor General and concerned persons to explain matters in the fields under the charge of the Council or Committee

Requested persons shall report and make explanations at meetings of the Ethnic Council

or Committee

The Ethnic Council or a Committee of the National Assembly shall make conclusions on explained matters, which shall be sent to the Standing Committee of the National

Assembly, National Assembly deputies and concerned agencies and organizations

6 Work coordination with local agencies and organizations

7 External relations and international cooperation

Maintaining relations with concerned agencies of the national assemblies of other

countries, other concerned foreign agencies and international organizations in order to study and exchange professional experience, contributing to enhancing external relations and international cooperation in line with the State’s external policies

Proposing and planning annual programs on external and international cooperation

2.5.1 Establishment of an Ad-hoc Committee

1 An Ad-hoc Committee of the National Assembly shall be established in the following cases:

a/ To verify bills, draft ordinances or other reports or documents submitted by the

Standing Committee of the National Assembly to the National Assembly or with contentsrelated to the fields under the charge of the Ethnic Council and other Committees of the National Assembly;

b/ To investigate a specific matter when deeming it necessary

2 The Standing Committee of the National Assembly shall propose the National Assembly

to consider and decide on the establishment of an ad-hoc Committee at the proposal of the Ethnic Council, a Committee of the National Assembly or at least one-third of the total number of National Assembly deputies