The National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee’s 30th session started on January 10 in Hanoi under the chair of NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan.

NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (middle) opens the NA Standing Committee’s 30th sessionNA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (middle) opens the NA Standing Committee’s 30th session

Opening the session, the NA leader said that during the session, members of the committee will give their ideas on a number of issues of the draft revised Law on Execution of Criminal Judgments, consider and decide the sending of a representative to the national council for judge selection and supervision.

They will define the adjustment of administrative boundaries of two communes in Hong Ngu district of the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap, and the establishment of Thuong Thoi township of Hong Ngu district. 

The merge of administrative units at the communal level as well as the formation of six wards in Chi Linh district and of Chi Linh city of the northern Hai Duong province are also included in the agenda.

The draft revised Law on Execution of Criminal Judgments was discussed during the NA’s sixth session. After that, the NA Judicial Committee coordinated with the Ministry of Public Security and relevant agencies to adjust the bill in line with ideas given by legislators.

At the session, members of the committee focused on debating major issues of the bill including the production area for prisoners; the rights and obligations of prisoners; the execution of commercial entities; the responsibility to manage, supervise and educate prisoners released conditionally before their due date and those on probation and community sentence.

They agreed that the specification of human rights for prisonersin conformity with the Constitution is a must, but stressing the need to take suitable steps to ensure the feasibility. 

They clarified that along with ensuring basic rights such as those to life safety, labour, working and vocational training access, the realisation of some other rights such as those to marriage, giving birth, or egg cell and sperm storage will depend on the socio-economic conditions and the State’s satisfaction capacity.

Meanwhile, members of the NA Standing Committee concurred that the execution of criminal judgments given to commercial entities will be conducted by police at the provincial and military zone levels.

At the same time, the management, supervision and education of conditionally released prisoners, and prisoners taking probation and serving community sentences will be assigned to communal police.

NA Vice Chairman Uong Chu Luu asked relevant ministries and agencies to learn international practices and experience from other countries in the fields, thus providing more information to the NA and its Standing Committee as references, so that the bill can be debated and passed during the NA’s seventh session.

Also on January 10, the NA Standing Committee agreed to send Dao Viet Trung, Chairman of the President’s Office, to the national council for judge selection and supervision to replace Giang Son who retired on October 1, 2018.-VNA