Improving quality of legislature’s operations to realise wish of late Party leader Nguyễn Phú Trọng

Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng met voters of Đống Đa District in Hà Nội before the sixth session of the15th National Assembly in October 2023. VNA/VNS Photo Trí Dũng

HÀ NỘI — Politburo member and Chairman of the National Assembly Trần Thanh Mẫn has written an article on ‘Realising the wish of Nguyễn Phú Trọng, the National Assembly continues to enhance quality, effectiveness of operations to meet requirements of national development and people’s expectations’.

The NA leader mourns the great loss of the Party, the country, the nation and people with the death of Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng, who passed away on July 19, stressing that the Party leader devoted nearly 60 years of his life to the Party, the country and the people.

As a leader at strategic level with outstanding capacity, the General Secretary has, along with the Politburo, the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat and the Party Central Committee, led and directed the entire Party, armed forces and people to intensify the national cause of Đổi Mới (renewal) in a comprehensive and synchronous manner, maximise the strength of the national unity and international solidarity, NA Chairman Mẫn wrote.

He stressed that the Party leader was both the “helmsman” and the initiator of the “blazing furnace” campaign, leaving a deep imprint on people’s mind and the operation of the entire political system.

Mẫn wrote that as Chairman of the NA in the 11th and 12th tenures, a NA deputy in the 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th tenures, President of the State and General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam, Trọng always paid special attention to and given comprehensive leadership and comprehensive and in-depth instructions to the organisation and operation of the NA, aiming to build a really strong legislature with increasingly effective operation, deserving its role and position as the highest representative body of the people, the highest body of State power of the Socialist Republic of Việt Nam, contributing to the building and perfection of the socialist rule-by-law State and meeting the increasingly higher requirements of the national cause of Đổi Mới.

According to Mẫn, the Vietnamese NA, under the leadership of the Party with Trọng at the helm, has made strides in the right direction in recent tenures, enhancing the quality and effectiveness of its operation, strongly upholding democracy and the rule of law, fully exercising the people’s right to mastery, keeping abreast with developments in reality, thus together with the political system helping the country overcome every difficulty and challenge to continue develop rapidly and sustainably.

The NA’s law-making activity continues to be accelerated, with remarkable progress in terms of both quantity and quality as well as in process and procedures, with long-term law-building programmes put in place. Attention has been paid to the consistency, feasibility and transparency of the law system as well as harmony with international law, thus basically meeting the requirements of the cause of Đổi Mới and national construction and defence.

The NA’s oversight work has been strengthened with new changes in the format, especially in question-and-answer activities and thematic supervision. The decision making process with regard to important matters of the country has become more and more far-reaching and appropriate, meeting reality’s demands, national interests and people’s will and aspiration. The position, role and prestige of the country in general and of the NA in particular have been enhanced in the international arena.

Overall, the NA’s operation has grown more and more democratic, open and transparent. The legislature has accompanied and kept close connections with voters and people, acted drastically first and foremost in the interest of the people and effectively performed its functions, tasks and power in line with the Constitution and the law, contributing greatly to national construction and defence.

From the theoretical aspect, General Secretary Trọng devoted much attention to the research, assessment and review of the process of reforming the NA’s organisation and operation in particular and building a socialist rule-of-law State in general in Việt Nam. Step by step he drew out key and important issues, contributing to consolidating and developing the Party’s theories on the socialist rule-of-law State and the reform of the NA’s organisation and operation, which is significant to orienting further work in NA reform and building of a socialist rule-of-law State truly of the people, by the people and for the people in Việt Nam.

General Secretary Trọng has made drastic instructions on continously renewing the organisation and operation of the NA, such as further enhancing capacity and quality of law building activity; building a consistent, feasible and transparent system of law; increasing the quality and effectiveness of the NA’s oversight work; improving the quality of decision making on important matters to ensure national interests and meet the people’s will and aspiration; further promoting external activities and international integration of the NA so as to raise the country’s role, position and prestige in the international arena, maintain a peaceful political environment for the cause of Đổi Mới; and organising democratic, fair and legal elections to select worthy deputies to represent the people in the NA.

The Party leader has required the enhancement and renewal of the Party’s leadership over the NA, noting that it is the decisive factor for the NA to fulfill the mission assigned to it by the people. He urged increasing democracy and the rule of law in every activity of the NA to “create greater strength and dynamism and creativity in the political system.”

He also stressed that the NA must stay close to the people, grasp the thinking, aspirations and legitimate demands of the people and listen to and fully reflect the people’s will and aspirations, which he said is an important factor ensuring that the NA makes the right decision and truly is the supreme representative body of the people.

General Secretary Trọng always reminded each NA deputy to be fully aware of their authority and responsibility as a representative of the people. Together with reforming the NA’s organisation, apparatus, personnel work and operation, first of all every NA deputy and NA agency must make efforts, act strongly and effectively first and foremost in the interests of the people and the country, and proactively prevent negative phenomena in the NA’s activities.

At the opening of the first session of the 15th NA, Trong gave important instructions over the reform of the organisation and operation of the legislature, stressing that it is an urgent need when Việt Nam is facing a host of difficulties and challenges due to adverse external impacts and limitations and weakness at home. These aim to improve the legislature’s operational quality and efficiency, and successfully implement the resolution of the 13th National Party Congress, meeting the requirements in national construction and defence in the new period.

Thoroughly grasping General Secretary Trọng’s guidelines and expectations, the NA needs to carry forward achievements and experience gained over the past nearly 80 years; renew and better its operational quality and effectiveness to best meet the country’s requirements and political tasks in the new period and to build a democratic, rule-of-law, proactive, united, and responsible legislature.

The NA should constantly research and renew both operation contents and methods, improve the quality and efficiency of its operation, well perform its functions, tasks and authority in line with the Constitution and law; and promptly institutionalise the Party’s guidelines and policies, meeting reality’s requirements and aspirations of the people.

In terms of organisation, the NA will constantly overhaul and streamline its apparatus, making it more efficient; pay more attention to improving the quality of deputies, especially full-time legislators; properly follow the principle of ensuring the structure and improving the quality of deputies, with personnel quality as the focus; and consider reducing the number of deputies working in the State apparatus and increasing those who are scientists and deputies with qualifications, capacity and conditions to serve the NA.

Regarding operation, the NA will continuously reform its work across all the three functions of constitution and law-making, supreme oversight, and making decisions on the country’s important matters.

In lawmaking activities, the NA will actively and proactively perfect the legal system and effective law enforcement mechanisms. Particularly, the legislature needs to continue building a democratic, fair, humane, complete, timely, harmonious, consistent, open, transparent, stable, feasible and accessible legal system that is capable of regulating all social relations, puts the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of people, organisations and businesses at the centre and promotes innovation. The NA will focus on perfecting the legal system across all fields, promptly removing difficulties and obstacles, unleashing and promoting all potential and resources, and creating new motives for rapid and sustainable development of the country. The NA needs to continue perfecting the process of law making, promote the dynamism, creativity, positivity, role and responsibility of stakeholders, especially the Government, in the law making process as well as the role of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, socio-political organisations and people, experts and scientists.

In oversight activities, the legislature needs to work harder to identify the scope, objects, methods, and forms of supreme supervision; improve the quality of question-and-answer activities, pay more heed to post-supervision work to ensure legal effect and the implementation of the NA’s conclusions and resolutions.

For Q&A activities, it is necessary to continue enhancing debate and clarify responsibility of individuals. After hearing sessions, relevant resolutions will be issued, clearly defining the responsibility of concerned organisations and individuals in implementing the resolutions.

The NA will continue perfecting the conduct of vote of confidence for positions elected or approved by the legislature, ensuring the operational stability and efficiency of the State apparatus and the Party leadership in personnel work.

For making decisions on important issues of the country, the NA will strengthen the Party leadership and further reform the decision-making process on matters regarding socio-economic development, state budget, state apparatus organisation, key national projects and works, ensuring the common interests of the nation, and matching the will and aspirations of the people.

On the front of foreign relations, the NA will proactively and actively integrate into the world and boost international cooperation, contributing to the implementation of the Party’s and the State’s foreign policy of openness, multilateralisation, and diversification of international relations.

NA Chairman Mẫn concluded that while mourning General Secretary Trọng, there is a strong belief that under the Party leadership, the General Secretary’s thoughts and desire for the reform of the NA’s operation and organisation, will continue to be disseminated and realised through the actual activities of the NA for a strong, wealthy Việt Nam and more prosperous and happier people. — VNS