VietNamNet Bridge – Establishment of a Constitutional Council and local administration model were brought into sharp relief at the National Assembly Deputies' second-day discussion on draft amendments to the Constitution 1992 yesterday, June 4.

Many deputies agreed to set up a council to better supervise the adoption of regulations under the Constitution.

Those who agreed with the idea said the establishment of the council would not contradict regulations stating the Assembly was the highest State power body.

Deputy Bui Manh Hung from southern Binh Phuoc Province said the establishment of a council was in line with the nation's development.

Deputy Vu Trong Kim from central Quang Ngai Province said such a council was necessary to handle violations of the Constitution.

Currently, Assembly agencies did not have full jurisdiction to deal with such violations, he said.

Some deputies said that tasks and powers provided to the council would make it better meet the society's demands.

However, some deputies disagreed with the idea, arguing that the establishment of the council, which had yet to be given clear principal, position and co-operation mechanism with other agencies, could lead to overlapping of functions and tasks of related agencies.

Regarding the organisation, task and power of the Constitutional Council, chairman of the Union of Associations of Science and Technology, of central Thanh Hoa Province, Nguyen Van Bao said the establishment of the council was necessary to protect the Constitution, and was a measure adopted by most countries of the world.

However, the council should only have responsibilities for inspecting legal documents issued by agencies to see whether they were constitutional. The council should also have the power to inspect responsibilities of units and individuals of agencies in performing their tasks, he said.

Regarding local administrations, many deputies proposed the Constitution would clearly define the model of local administrations meeting development demands while clearly distinguishing task and positions of the People's Committee and People's Council.

Deputy Bui Van Xuyen, from northern Thai Binh Province, said the draft Constitution should regulate the construction of the local administration model in line with natural and cultural conditions of each locality and region.

At present, the organisation of the local administration model in different areas was unreasonable and must be changed, he said.

Deputy Nguyen Thi Quyet Tam from HCM City proposed the NA Standing Committee should review and assess the trial programme of abolishing the People's Council at district-, suburban district- and ward-levels to make decision on whether to keep the People's Council at those levels.

Tam said the trial programme proved successful after it was implemented in 24 districts and suburban districts in HCM City over the past three years. It had helped to promote the role of the city's People's Council while socio-economic conditions in these areas were developing, she said.

Many deputies proposed to clearly distinguish local administration models of urban and rural areas.

Deputies also discussed other matters of public concern, such as human and civil rights, the name of the country and forms of economic sectors.

Closing the discussion, NA Vice Chairman Uong Chu Luu said the draft amendments to the Constitution 1992 received great attention and support from the public, contributing to raise public awareness of the Constitution and laws.

He expressed thanks to Vietnamese people from all walks of life, both inside and outside the country, for providing feedback on the draft amendments, and assured them their opinions were duly noted.

The National Committee for Drafting Amendments to the Constitution 1992 welcomed and continued to collect feedback from the public to help finalise and make the Constitution match public aspirations and the country's development demands, he said.

Voter opinions

Meanwhile, NA deputies' two-day discussion on draft amendments to the Constitution, which was broadcast live on national radio and TV, drew great attention from voters around the country.

Chairman of the Ha Noi Bar Association Nguyen Trong Ty said it was costly to change the country's name and was unnecessary as it could confuse the public.

Chairman of the War Veterans Association of southern Binh Duong Province Phan Thanh Son expressed pleasure at opinions of many deputies to keep the country's name and affirm the leadership of the Communist Party of Viet Nam.

Standing Vice Chairwoman of southern Vinh Long Province's People's Council Huynh Kim Nguyen said the draft amendments to the Constitution had new points that upheld previous constitutions while matching the new development trend of the country, particularly the regulations relating to the political regime, human rights, economy, culture, education, science and technology and national defence.

Source: VNS