The amended Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam took effect on January 1, 2014, and the National Assembly adopted Resolution 64/2013/QH13 to quickly realise the legal document.

In an interview granted to Vietnam News Agency on the issue, Associate Professor Dr. Le Minh Thong, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly’s Committee for Legal Affairs and deputy head of the Editorial Board of the Committee on Drafting Amendments to the 1992 Constitution, stressed the need for the entire political system and people of all walks of life to grasp the contents and spirit of the Constitution.

The implementation of the Constitution also requires a high public consensus, he said, urging more research activities to make clear the important role and significance the legal document has played in social life as well as theoretical and practical grounds of the amendments and supplements.

According to Thong, it is a must to review the legal system in line with new regulations of the Constitution, remove regulations and legal documents no longer suitable or against the Constitution in a timely manner while adding new legal documents in order to concretise new points set in the Constitution, matching each field of social life.

Apart from screening the law building programme in 2014 and 2015, the National Assembly will focus on devising new legal documents regarding State apparatus organisation, creating favourable conditions for the election of the 14th National Assembly and the formation of a new State apparatus in accordance with the Constitution’s regulations.

In addition, it is necessary to review laws related to human rights and citizens’ fundamental rights and obligations, making the best use of Chapter II which stipulates such rights.

Attention should also be paid to laws on socio-economic issues, he said, highlighting the need to amend and supplement the issues against the socialist-orientated market economy and common economic policies.

Along with the legal concretisation of issues regarding culture, education, science, technology, environment and social welfare, those related to national defence and international integration must be checked to ensure that the process takes place more rapidly and effectively.

Thong further said that the Constitution’s chapter on people’s councils and committees was replaced by another on local authorities, adding that such new points are expected to make it easier for the overhaul of local authorities.

The whole political system and society is responsible for the implementation of the Constitution. Each agency, organisation and community, in their capacity, has their own way to deploy the legal document suitable with the reality, he said.

Divided into 11 chapters with 120 articles (one chapter and 27 articles fewer than the previous version), the amended Constitution clearly states that the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is governed by law and mastered by the people.

It fully specifies political and economic regimes, showing the nature of Vietnam’s economy as a market-based one following socialist orientations.

The document also highlights culture, science-technology, environmental protection, human rights, citizens’ basic rights and obligations, national defence, the State apparatus, the validity and amendments to the Constitution.

Along with the Constitution, six new laws, including the Laws on Amendments and Supplements to some articles of the Laws on Residence, Value-added Tax and Corporate Income Tax, plus the Law on Science and Technology, the Law on National Defence and Security Education, and the Law on Mediation at the Grassroots Level, came into force on January 1, 2014.-VNA