Government News In Brief NA Standing Committee discusses draft laws The National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee gave opinions on the drafts of the revised Law on Administrative Procedures and the revised Criminal Procedure Code at ​its 42nd session in Hanoi on October 14. Head of the NA Committee for Legal Affairs Phan Trung Ly and permanent member of the NA Committee for Judicial Affairs Do Van Duong suggested clarifying the role, position, function and tasks of the People’s Procuracy in the draft revised Law on Administrative Procedures in line with the Constitution’s regulations. Prosecutor General of the Supreme People’s Procuracy Nguyen Hoa Binh proposed keeping the stipulation in the current Law on Administrative Procedures that the People’s Procuracy is the agency in charge of conducting procedures in the field, which received consensus from a majority of lawmakers. Regarding the opinion statement of the People’s Procuracy at the court during administrative cases, the NA Standing Committee agreed that the procurator will not propose ways to deal with administrative cases in line with the 2014 Law on the Organisation of the People’s Procuracy, the 2013 Law on the Organisation of the People’s Court and the 2013 Constitution. As regard the revised Criminal Procedure Code, most deputies supported the principle stipulated in the draft that an accused person is considered innocent until proved otherwise in accordance with the proceedings and procedures stipulated by the Code and the court’s verdict takes effect. The draft’s stipulation that the defendant is allowed to read and take note of copies of documents relating to their incrimination also received approval, as did the stipulation on compulsory recording of interrogations. Lawmakers proposed adding strict regulations on the procedures for and the preservation and utilisation of the recordings to serve the investigation, prosecution, and judgment. Central Enterprises Bloc holds Party Congress    The second Congress of the Party Organisation of the Central Enterprises Bloc (CEB) opened in Hanoi on October 14.  The CEB Party organisation comprises of 35 smaller Party organisations grouping 5,561 Party cells and more than 80,000 members.  Addressing the congress, Politburo member and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung praised the efforts and success of the CEB Party Organisation in leading enterprises in the bloc to overcome difficulties and maintain their core role in the economy over the past five years amidst the complicated changing domestic and world situation.  The enterprises serve as an important source for the Party and State to ensure demand-supply balance for essential goods, regulate interest rates in commercial banks, thus contributing greatly to stabilizing the macro-economy, ensure social security and take the economy to recovery and growth, the PM said.  At the same time, PM Dung requested the CEB Party Organisation to squarely face their weaknesses and faults in order to take timely and effective correcting measures. He laid emphasis on slow restructuring and low business and production efficiency of enterprises in the bloc.  The PM suggested several key tasks for the CEP Party Organisation in the 2015-2020 tenure, one of which is to continue proposing mechanisms and policies to remove obstacles facing State-owned enterprises (SOE) to improve their capacity and competitiveness.  The Party organisation should also focus on directing the comprehensive restructuring of SOEs and the renovation of business administration and production technology.  In particular, he urged the CEB Party organisation to intensify Party-building efforts and try to build a contingent of capable officials for its enterprises.  Enterprises under the CEB Party Organisation contribute one third of the total national State budget collection annually, and employ over 1.3 million labourers.  According to the political report at the congress, in the 2010-2015 period, the bloc’s total revenue reached nearly 6.5 quadrillion VND (295 billion USD), with pre-tax profit of more than 600 trillion VND (27.2 billion USD) and budget contribution of over 1 quadrillion VND (45.4 billion USD), equivalent to average yearly growth of 29.2, 24.3 percent and 23.53 percent, respectively, compared to the 2007-2010 period.  Particularly, owner’s equity of businesses in the bloc rose 74 percent over the past five year to reach 1.2 quadrillion VND (54.5 billion USD), with total asset hitting 5.8 quadrillion VND, up 66.4 percent.  In the 2015-2020 period, the CEB Party Organisation aims to renovate its leadership method and enhance its capacity, building pure and strong Party chapters that plays a central role in SOEs.  It will also work to promote the key role of SOEs in the country’s market economy, contributing to the national industrialisation and modernisation. Party Organisation of Central Agencies Bloc opens 12th congress The Party Organisation of the Central Agencies Bloc (CAB) convened the 12th congress for the 2015 – 2020 tenure in Hanoi on October 14.  The CAB Party Organisation comprises 63 subordinate Party organisations of strategic bodies playing advisory and macro-managerial roles for the Party, State, Vietnam Fatherland Front and people’s organisations. They include more than 63,000 Party members and 680,000 public servants and workers, according to a political report at the congress.  The event is scheduled to review the five-year implementation outcomes of the resolution of the CAB Party Organisation’s 11th congress and set up missions for the 2015 – 2020 term.  Participants will also scrutinise and give feedback on draft documents to be submitted to the 12th National Party Congress, slated for early 2016.  Officiating at the function, Politburo member and President Truong Tan Sang lauded the CAB’s advisory efforts, especially in issues regarding “doi moi” (renovation), industrialisation, modernisation, international integration, socio-economic development, defence and security ensuring, external relations, and the reinforcement of the Party, State and political system.  The CAB Party Organisation has actively contributed to Vietnam’s success in stabilising and restructuring the macro-economy, ensuring social welfares, enhancing the country’s stature in the world, safeguarding territorial integrity, and defeating sabotage schemes of hostile forces, he stressed.  As their activities directly affect the entire political system’s operations and the national development, the Party sub-committees and members must be thoroughly aware of the role of the CAB Party Organisation as well as their responsibility towards the Party and people.  The leader tasked the CAB Party Organisation with improving the advisory capacity of its agencies, staff and Party members in order to propose the best possible guidelines and policies on socio-economic development, defence and security maintenance, sovereignty and territorial integrity protection, external relations, and Party building.  The CAB Party Organisation must also step up inspections and supervisions so as to timely deal with arising problems and violations, helping ensure discipline and unity within the Party, President Truong Tan Sang added. Assembly mulls role of People's Procuracy The role of the People's Procuracy in prosecution processes of administrative cases was fiercely debated in yesterday's National Assembly Standing Committee (NASC) meeting. Yesterday, the NASC debated two revised laws on Administrative Procedure and Criminal Procedure which would be discussed and passed in the upcoming NA session this month. Nguyen Van Hien, chairman of NA Justice Committee, said that the opinions of NA deputies on the role of the People's Procuracy in administrative cases were split into three groups. The first group agreed with having the procuracy as prosecutor while the second suggested the procuracy as a judical supervision agency, the last group thought the procuracy should act as an agency taking part in procedural processes. Hien told the meeting that the Constitution 2013 regulates VN to allow online immigration the procuracy's role as a judicial supervising agency for administrative and civil cases of marriage and family, business, trading, and labour. Thus, in the revised law, the agency could not be a prosecutor in administrative cases, Hien said. In the meeting, head of the People's Supreme Procuracy, Tran Hoa Binh, suggested keeping the procuracy's role of a prosecution agency as in the current law. After nearly one hour of discussion the NASC voted with the majority agreeing with Binh's opinion. One new point in the draft revised law is that if a defendant is an organisation or head of organisation, he can authorise his deputy to represent him at court. Many participants argued that the defendant himself should be present at court. In many administrative lawsuits courts discovered many documents not complying with law. To overcome this, many deputies suggested adding to the draft law a regulation which gives courts a right to amend or annul unqualified legal documents. In yesterday's debate on the revised Criminal Procedure Law, participants agreed with the NASC's report on collecting opinions of NA deputies. The deputies agreed on using the "presumption of innocence" aimed at respecting human rights and citizenship, the role of lawyers was also increased in the draft law. Deputy Minister of Justice, Dinh Trung Tung, suggested adding tax agencies and securities committees as investigators of criminal cases. Many deputies agreed with voice and camera recording during interrogation at investigation offices. However, some opposed and said the recording should only occur in cases where those arrested were accused of serious crimes. The NASC said that recording interrogations was necessary to ensure transparency and protect those accused from forced confessions and torture, as well as to protect interrogators from slander. In the afternoon, the NASC discussed the draft Law on Custody and Detention, and the draft Law on Criminal Investigation Orgnisation.  VNA/VNS