National Assembly revises law on international pacts

National Assembly’s Standing Committee members on October 13 agreed that the revised law on Signing, Joining and Implementing International Treaties must serve as a strong legal framework.

Chairman of the NA's External Relations Committee Tran Van Hang said the existing law, which was approved in 2005 and took effect in 2006, needed revisions to fix shortcomings and better align with last year's revisions to the Constitution.

The need is urgent because Vietnam wants deeper international integration, and the nation, along with 11 other Trans-Pacific Partnership member countries, reached a final consensus on the world's largest free trade agreement earlier this month, according to Hang.

He added that Vietnam signed more than 100 international treaties and conventions in all fields in a year.

When assessing the draft revised bill, the NA's External Relations Committee applauded the shortened process for signing and ratifying international treaties.

"The shortened process will help to save resources, show the country's determination in administrative simplification and hasten the treaty's implementation," Hang said.

However, the committee called for bill compilers to review content relating to the supervisory role and competence of the National Assembly, NA Standing Committee and State President in signing international treaties.

The move would help to prevent an overlap with the existing Law on National Assembly Supervisory Activities, Hang said.

Head of the NA's Ombudsman Committee Nguyen Duc Hien said the bill should have regulations for complaints during the implementation of treaties in Vietnam.

Vice Chairman of NA's Law Committee Le Minh Thong said that according to the Law on Public Debt Management, the negotiation and signing of overseas development assistance (ODA) is subject to the law on Signing, Joining and Implementing International Treaties.

However, the draft bill did not have any article on ODA, which could cause a gap in ODA negotiations, Thong said.

Thong said there was no need to have two agencies – the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Justice – to assess an international treaty before the country is ready to sign the treaty.

"Two agencies are assigned to do the same work, which is evidence of a cumbersome administration and causes difficulty in identifying responsibility," he said.

He also said the bill should have a chapter explaining the content of treaties to avoid misunderstandings.

Under the existing law, the NA Standing Committee and Government are in charge of explaining treaties.

The revised law now has nine chapters with 90 articles. Compared to the current law, the draft bill retains 10 articles, erases 24, amends 73 and adds 20 new articles, making it practically a brand new law.

Also on October 13, Chairman of the NA Office Nguyen Hanh Phuc announced that preparations for the NA meeting on October 20 were completed.-VNA