The role of the People’s Procuracy in civil
hearings divided deputies when they debated proposed changes to the Civil
Procedure Code at a plenary session of the National Assembly yesterday, Nov 25.

Photo: VNN

“The
procuracy’s presence and opinion would not accord with the principle of
protecting the right to be heard and to make decisions,” said deputy Vi Thi
Huong, northern Dien Bien Province.

The key
principle in the civil process was the legal right to change decisions or enter
voluntary agreements, she said.

The
deputy said Civil Procedure Code stipulated that the procuracy must consider all
documents relevant to the civil process when it was introduced in 2004 but this
had later proved unnecessary.

The code
had later been changed to exclude the procuracy from a number of hearings.

“It
would be a retrograde step to reintroduce the procuracy to civil trials,” she
said.

Deputy
Vo Thi Thuy Loan, southern Tien Giang Province, agreed.

“It’s
not necessary for the procuracy to be involved in all hearings,” argued the
deputy who used divorce as an example to support her argument.

“The
intervention of the procurator in divorce proceedings was unnecessary and would
make the process longer and more complicated,” she said.

It could
also invade the couple’s privacy.

Other
deputies argued that the presence of the procuracy at civil hearings would
ensure objective judgements.

Opinions

The
procurator could provide opinions about the performance of the judge, jury and
the contestants, said deputy Pham Quoc, southern Dong Nai Province.

The
procuracy would act as an observer and monitor of the court’s judgement.

Deputy
Ha Cong Long, Central-Highland Gia Lai Province, said the procuracy’s presence
was indispensable to objective opinions about verdicts.

Some
deputies worried about what they said was a lack of detail in the amended
regulations governing reconsideration and review.

The
process for reconsidering the People’s Supreme Court Judgement Council’s
verdicts should be more rigorous and include National Assembly committees, said
deputies Tran Thi Phuong Hoa, northern Nam Dinh Province, and Dinh Xuan Thao,
southern Kien Giang Province.

Most
deputies agreed with the amendment to assign an independent authority to assess
property to reduce the judiciary’s workload.

Co-operative Law

Lawmakers yesterday also discussed the amended Co-operative Law, of which the
regulations on product supply and employment were said to be overcomplicated and
therefore inappropriate.

The
draft document stipulates that the supply of a co-operative’s products and
services for outside markets could account for no more than 40 per cent of the
total value of all products and services it produces.

It also
sets 40 per cent as the maximum percentage of the co-operative’s jobs that can
be taken by non-members.

Such
regulations would cause problems for co-operatives in the future, said deputy
Nguyen Tien Quan from central Quang Nam Province.

Some
small craft co-operatives have just a dozen or so members but are able to create
hundreds and even thousands of seasonal jobs across the country. “If the amended
law is passed, will all of these co-operatives break it?” said Quan.

VietNamNet/Viet
Nam News