Hanoi (VNA) – With all attending members in favour, the National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee on July 8 passed a revised ordinance that sets People’s Court procedures for ordering compulsory rehabilitation of drug-dependent 12-to 18-year-olds.
Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court Nguyen Van Quang, presenting the submission, said the replacement ordinance is needed to align with the 2025 Law on Drug Prevention and Control and fix persistent shortcomings.
The draft ordinance fully revises and adds rules for first-instance hearings that decide whether to send drug-dependent minors to compulsory rehabilitation facilities, as well as for appellate hearings that handle complaints, recommendations and protests against those decisions.
Under the changes, judges will gain the power to actively manage questioning and debate at hearings, scrapping rigid prescribed procedures to drive more effective case settlement.
The ordinance also shortens several procedural deadlines to accelerate case handling and reduce the strain of temporarily detaining drug-dependent persons, including tighter timelines for issuing rehab orders and notifying parties that a case has been accepted.
It further stipulates that if a prosecutor is absent from the first-instance rehab hearing, the court will not adjourn, a move meant to uphold the responsibility of state agencies and keep cases on track.
For appellate hearings on complaints, recommendations and protests, the draft keeps existing rules, under which a prosecutor must attend, and the court postpones proceedings if one is absent.
Phan Chi Hieu, Chairman of the NA Committee on Legal and Judicial Affairs, said the committee endorsed the ordinance, stressing it is consistent with the Constitution and largely coherent with the 2025 Law on Drug Prevention and Control and relevant laws.
NA Chairman Tran Thanh Man asked relevant agencies to tighten coordination to prevent overlapping responsibilities and information bottlenecks during dossier processing.
He called for renewed approaches and better rehabilitation, alongside infrastructure and workforce upgrades to relieve pressure on rehab facilities.
The leader stressed the need to expand post-rehabilitation support and community reintegration, strengthen management through digital transformation, and push voluntary rehabilitation at home and within communities./.
