Meet the requirements of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child

On the morning of October 23, at the National Assembly House, continuing the 8th session, under the chairmanship of National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man, the National Assembly discussed in the hall a number of contents with different opinions of the draft Law on Juvenile Justice. Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Khac Dinh chaired the meeting.

Ensuring safety for the community and victims

Presenting the Summary Report on explanation, acceptance and revision of the above draft Law of the National Assembly Standing Committee, Chairwoman of the Judicial Committee Le Thi Nga said that regarding the measure of education at reformatory schools (Article 52), many opinions agreed with the regulation of converting the judicial measure of education at reformatory schools under Article 96 of the Penal Code into a measure of diversion. However, there were opinions suggesting to consider this measure because sending to reformatory schools also deprives a minor of some of his/her freedom. The report said that before 2015, the Penal Code stipulated two judicial measures applicable to minors, including: education at communes, wards and towns and education at reformatory schools. Because they are judicial measures, the two measures mentioned above can only be applied after the court of first instance has tried and issued a verdict. At that time, the minor may have been detained at all three stages (investigation, prosecution, trial) and the detention period can be up to nearly nine months for serious crimes and nearly 12 months for very serious crimes.

When amending the Penal Code in 2015, the National Assembly decided to change the judicial education measure at communes, wards and towns into a supervision and education measure (essentially a diversion measure as in the draft Law); and now the draft Law on Juvenile Justice continues to propose changing the judicial education measure at reformatory schools into a diversion measure. These proposals are all aimed at "serving the best interests of the juvenile", but still ensuring the safety of the community and the victim. This also meets the requirements in Article 40 of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child "Whenever appropriate and necessary, measures should be proposed to handle children who violate the criminal law without having to use judicial procedures". Incorporating the opinions of many National Assembly deputies, the National Assembly Standing Committee proposed that the National Assembly retain the provisions of the draft Law on education at reformatory schools as a diversion measure; At the same time, it said that it had coordinated a thorough review of each case where this measure was applied to ensure strictness (in Article 52).

Regarding the above issue, delegate Duong Van Phuoc (Quang Nam delegation) suggested that the Drafting Committee should supplement the penalty provision (Article 3) in the direction of not applying the penalty to the act of inciting people under 18 years old to commit crimes against minors. According to the delegate, minors have limited awareness and impulsive thinking, so supplementing this provision is reasonable, demonstrating the humanity, friendliness, and progress of the draft Law. Regarding the conditions for applying the diversion measure, according to the delegate, the provision "minors agree in writing to the diversion treatment" in Clause 3, Article 40 is not appropriate, because Clause 3, Article 6 stipulates that "handling minors must be based on the criminal act, personal background, awareness, dangerous nature to society...". The penalty is not intended to punish but to educate, deter, and prevent crime. Therefore, the handling of diversion does not require the minor to agree in writing to the handling of diversion. Therefore, the above provision should be considered to be removed. At the same time, it is proposed to add conditions for handling diversion, including: voluntarily correcting and remedying the consequences; having reconciled; being requested by the victim's representative to apply the handling measure of diversion.

Delegate Phan Thi Nguyet Thu (Ha Tinh Delegation) and some delegates said that when resolving criminal cases, if only the criminal act is resolved without resolving the material consequences, the case will not be thoroughly resolved. In addition to handling the redirection to protect the interests of minors, the Law needs to have principles to protect the rights and legitimate interests of the victim. Therefore, it is appropriate for the Law to stipulate that the victim's opinion is required. If it is stipulated as in Point i, Clause 1, Article 57, an additional civil case will arise in the dispute over compensation for the defendant's actions. In the process of resolving civil cases, it is also necessary to review the defendant's illegal acts; it is recommended that the Drafting Committee consider the regulation in the direction that when there is a dispute over compensation, the investigation agency and the prosecutor's office will not handle the redirection but transfer the case file to the court for consideration and decision. This is consistent with the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code; the Law on Enforcement of Civil Judgments; The Law on Enforcement of Criminal Judgments does not give rise to other civil cases.

Referring to Article 147 on friendly trial procedures, a delegate said that, when adjudicating, if the minor is found to be eligible for diversion measures, the Trial Panel will consider and decide to apply diversion measures. This decision must contain the contents specified in Clause 1, Article 57 of this Law and may be appealed or protested according to the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code. Appeals and protests may prolong the trial period, because the order of appeal, retrial, and review of judgments... will be disadvantageous to the minor. Therefore, it is recommended that the Drafting Committee consider this provision in the direction of assigning the investigation agency and the Procuracy to implement the decision on diversion measures right from the above stages.

During the working session yesterday morning, the National Assembly listened to the Government's Submission and the Economic Committee's Verification Report on the policy of adjusting the national land use planning for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050.

In Article 21 on supporting community reintegration in the draft Law on Juvenile Justice, I propose to add specific policies to support juveniles who have completed their education measures at reformatory schools, completed their prison sentences, and reintegrated in ethnic minority and mountainous areas where cultural and economic living conditions are still difficult; at the same time, increase support for psychological and legal counseling in ethnic languages ​​to help reintegrated people overcome language and customs barriers.

Delegate Tran Thi Thu Phuoc (Kon Tum Delegation)

Additional measures to support communities, especially in ethnic minority, mountainous and island areas, where many cultural heritages are at risk of being lost or forgotten, are needed. Communities need financial and material support and participation in training programs to improve their capacity to protect heritage.

Delegate Thach Phuoc Binh (Tra Vinh Delegation)

Promoting cultural heritage values ​​with focus and key points

On the same afternoon, the National Assembly held a plenary discussion in the hall on a number of contents with different opinions of the draft Law on Cultural Heritage (amended).

Presenting the report on explanation, acceptance and revision of the above draft Law, Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee on Culture and Education Nguyen Dac Vinh said that the draft Law after being accepted, revised and completed consists of nine chapters and 100 articles, two articles less than the draft submitted at the 7th session. The draft Law has been revised in a focused and key direction, suitable to the requirements of practice and the specific characteristics of each type of cultural heritage.

Delegate Trinh Lam Sinh (An Giang Delegation) and some delegates said that the draft Law on Cultural Heritage (amended) was built on the basis of inheriting the Law on Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Cultural Heritage in 2009 and legal documents. However, in the past, the regulations guiding the implementation of the Law on Cultural Heritage were still lacking and not specific in some areas, for example: conditions for establishing museums, expenditure norms in professional activities in the field of cultural heritage, heritage inventory norms, norms for building relic dossiers, intangible cultural heritage dossiers. In addition, the budget for conservation, restoration, rehabilitation and teaching activities was also limited; there were difficulties in handling between conservation and tourism development needs... Therefore, the delegates proposed that the Drafting Committee and the reviewing agency supplement the draft Law; at the same time, amend, supplement and issue new guiding regulations immediately after the Law was passed.

Commenting on the ownership of cultural heritage in Article 4, delegate Dao Chi Nghia (Can Tho City Delegation) said that at point a, clause 3, cultural heritage is established as private ownership, including relics, antiquities, national treasures, documentary heritage collected and preserved by an individual or a legal entity. The delegate suggested considering the regulation that national treasures are privately owned, because national treasures are relics and antiquities of special value, rare and representative of the country in terms of history, culture and science. If private ownership is established, organizations and individuals will have ownership rights to the heritage; have the right to exchange, buy, sell, give, and donate, leading to the risk that the heritage is easily taken abroad or abused, used for the wrong purpose, affecting the national image. Meanwhile, the discovery, recovery, purchase and return of national treasures of Vietnamese origin from abroad to the country is of great concern to the Party and State.

In the working session yesterday afternoon, authorized by the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Ho Duc Phoc presented the Proposal on the policy of additional state capital investment at the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (VCB). Chairman of the National Assembly's Economic Committee Vu Hong Thanh presented the Report on the verification of the above content.

The draft Law on Juvenile Justice stipulates that the opinions of minors must be respected and not considered unreliable simply because of their age. However, Clause 1, Article 18 of the draft Law stipulates that “a minor who does not plead guilty is not considered to be insincere in his or her testimony”; the Drafting Committee should reconsider this provision because it is inappropriate and does not encourage minors to present the truth in order to be respected and trusted, and also risks causing difficulties in the process of working, verifying, and clarifying objective truths.

Delegate Huynh Thanh Phuong (Tay Ninh Delegation)

The criteria in the draft Law on Cultural Heritage (amended) are still general and qualitative, making it difficult for specialized agencies to identify and propose intangible cultural heritages at risk of being lost. The draft Law also does not specify which agency will provide guidance. The drafting committee needs to study and specify the criteria, or assign the Government to specify this content in detail to have a unified understanding and facilitate implementation.

Delegate Nguyen Thi Hue (Bac Kan delegation)

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