VietNamNet Bridge – Minister of Justice Ha Hung Cuong told a HCM City-based newspaper that the time is ripe to amend the Constitution and under the principle of jurisdiction, the Constitution must be written in a different way.

Minister of Justice Ha Hung
Cuong

Cuong said that the need to change the Constitution was mentioned years ago, not only at the 11^th National Communist Party Congress (took place in January 2011). The current Constitution was amended in 2001 but it most of it have remained unchanged from the 1980 Constitution.

Since the Constitution was compiled, Vietnam has experienced a lot of changes, especially economic and social. Many great policies have been issued, which are completely new to the ideology and viewpoints employed at the time the Constitution was compiled and amended.

According to Minister Ha Hung Cuong, the decision to build a socialist state of law was made at the 7^th Party Congress and at present, the construction of a state of law is a necessity.

“This is manifested from the leadership of the Party, the management of the government, legislative activities of the National Assembly to the people’s business. Everything is measured by law. That great change needs to be reflected consistently in the Constitution, not only mentioned in several lines, like in the current Constitution,” he emphasized.

As the 11^th Party Congress ratified the Political Creed 2011 and the social-economic development strategy to 2020, which define the political viewpoints and directions to the mid-21^st century and confirms the policy to change the Constitution, Minister Cuong stated: “The time is ripe to change the 1992 Constitution”.

Regarding the content, Cuong said that the most important is the point on “renovating politics along with economic renovation”, which is confirmed in the documents of the Party.

The amended Constitution needs to define the apparatus of the state of law, the Minister said.

The 1992 Constitution was amended in 2001 and it added the content about the socialist state of law, which operates under the one-party political institution. This needs to be further researched by law makers and specialists.

The political report of the 11^th National Party Congress added the words “clear” and “control” to the point on “coordination between state agencies in terms of implementing the legislative power, executive power and judicial power”. It is necessary to make it clear in the amended Constitution.

The Minister of Justice said that the current Constitution was suitable for the subsidy period. The three powers are not clearly defined and the upcoming amendment to the Constitution needs to solve this issue.

He said the Constitution needed to be written in a new way, to be more concise than the current one.

He confirmed that amending the Constitution was to ensure that its content and expression are general enough to ensure that the Constitution lifespan will be longer.

The 11^th Party Congress requires that the power and responsibility of the State President are more clearly defined. “The Party discussed the election of the Party Secretary General who is also the State President. I think that it will be further discussed in the process of reform of the Party apparatus and organization”.

Former National Assembly Nguyen Van An said that the amended Constitution must clearly define who are the country’s owners and their rights. The current Party Political Creed, the Constitution and the law confirm that the people are the country’s owners but specific regulations about the rights of the owners are insufficiently described.

LT