Submit to the National Assembly for comments on the State of Emergency Law at the 9th session

On the afternoon of March 14, the National Assembly Standing Committee gave its opinion on the draft Law on State of Emergency.

General Nguyen Tan Cuong, Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army and Deputy Minister of National Defense, reported at the meeting (Photo: Pham Thang)

Reporting at the meeting, General Nguyen Tan Cuong, Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army, Deputy Minister of National Defense, said that the promulgation of the Law on State of Emergency aims to overcome the limitations and shortcomings of the law on state of emergency such as: the concept of state of emergency to distinguish it from urgent situations; the form of documents; the authority to regulate state of emergency and declare and announce state of emergency; and relief and support policies to respond to state of emergency, ensure social security, and restore the economy.

According to Mr. Cuong, since the State of Emergency Ordinance and a number of specialized laws regulating the state of emergency, our country has never declared a state of emergency. Even during the period of fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, although a state of emergency has not been declared, a number of measures similar to those of a state of emergency have been applied to respond to the pandemic. The process of fighting the Covid-19 pandemic has brought many lessons, but also revealed limitations and inadequacies in the organization of the implementation of laws on the state of emergency.

In addition, the world situation is undergoing unprecedented rapid and complex changes, towards multipolarity, multi-center, multi-layer and strong division. Policy adjustments and strategic competition between major countries and power centers will become increasingly fierce. Conflicts and wars will take place in many regions, more complicatedly, with many new forms and methods.

Natural disasters are on the rise, evolving abnormally and irregularly, causing serious consequences, increasing emergency situations of incidents and disasters, requiring countries to take urgent response measures. Vietnam is one of the five countries most seriously affected by climate change; dangerous epidemics occur frequently and at a higher rate. In addition, hostile and reactionary forces are constantly sabotaging.

From the above analysis, Mr. Cuong said: "The development and promulgation of the Law on State of Emergency is necessary to perfect the legal corridor, ensure the unity and synchronization of the legal system, and meet practical requirements."

During the preliminary review of the draft Law, Mr. Le Tan Toi, Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee on National Defense, Security and Foreign Affairs, said that the Standing Committee of the National Assembly's Committee on National Defense, Security and Foreign Affairs agreed on the necessity of promulgating the Law based on political, legal and practical grounds as stated in the Government's Submission and found that the promulgation of the Law on State of Emergency is aimed at institutionalizing the Party's guidelines and policies on perfecting the system of legal documents on disaster and incident prevention, response and recovery; ensuring compliance with the provisions of the 2013 Constitution on human rights and civil rights. The promulgation of the Law aims to promptly overcome shortcomings and limitations in the practical implementation of the law on state of emergency, especially since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Concluding the session, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Quang Phuong said that through discussion, the National Assembly Standing Committee highly appreciated the Government and the Ministry of National Defense for their active and responsible efforts in preparing the Law dossier, ensuring its completeness and progress according to regulations. The Standing Committee of the National Defense, Security and Foreign Affairs Committee also conducted a preliminary review.

The National Assembly Standing Committee basically agreed with many contents in the draft Law submitted by the Government and reviewed by the National Defense, Security and Foreign Affairs Committee and agencies of the National Assembly.

Mr. Phuong assessed that the draft Law basically adheres to the Party's guiding viewpoints on innovating and perfecting the law-making process and requires innovation in thinking about law-making, and is qualified to be submitted to the National Assembly for consideration and comments at the 9th session.

To complete the draft Law, Mr. Phuong suggested that it is necessary to continue to carefully review legal documents and regulations related to the state of emergency and international treaties, ensuring consistency, compatibility, feasibility, and harmoniously handling related contents and regulations to ensure consistency in the legal system.

In addition, continue to research and institutionalize the viewpoint on innovation in thinking in law-making, principles of state management, decentralization, delegation of power to the Government, Prime Minister, ministerial-level agencies, and simplification of administrative procedures.

Source: https://daidoanket.vn/trinh-quoc-hoi-cho-y-kien-luat-tinh-trang-khan-cap-tai-ky-hop-thu-9-10301574.html