Towards a National Assembly That Makes Laws?

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HANOI 000677 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MLS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV SOCI VM SUBJECT: Towards a National Assembly That Makes Laws? HANOI 00000677 001.2 OF 003 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: In spite of the National Assembly's evolving role as Government watchdog, its involvement in Vietnam's lawmaking process remains limited. Both the GVN and the National Assembly recognize that this is partially due to the Assembly's lack of resources, particularly professional staffers. Furthermore, the National Assembly's tradition of collective decision- making, combined with disconnects between itself and the GVN, currently hamstring its ability to draft legislation. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) A notable, and relatively recent, development in Vietnamese politics has been the expanding role of the National Assembly (NA). The legislature is increasingly taking on the job of ombudsman and Government watchdog, and live television broadcasts of parliamentarians taking Government ministers to task has become a regular feature of the NA's semiannual sessions. However, one area in which the Assembly's development is lagging is, ironically, in the actual lawmaking process. The GVN traditionally has the lead in drafting laws, but is seeking not only a greater and more effective give-and-take by the Assembly in the lawmaking process, but also an increased role for the legislature in the actual formulation of laws. GVN: "National Assembly Not Involved Enough" -------------- ¶3. (SBU) According to Pham Tuan Khai, Director of the Office of the Government's (OOG) Committee for Legislative Affairs, one significant problem is the "lack of participation early on" by NA members in the lawmaking process. Legislators should involve themselves more proactively in the drafting process to allow both the GVN's law drafters and NA representatives to reach a common approach regarding the spirit, and eventual implementation, of new laws. In some cases, members of the Assembly get involved too late, which leads to the GVN's inability to incorporate their ideas into draft laws before the NA is scheduled to formally approve them. "We expect the National Assembly to fully participate in the drafting process in order to minimize unexpected and last-minute changes," which can sometimes prevent GVN agencies from effectively implementing laws once they are passed, Khai asserted. ¶4. (SBU) Another problem is the scarcity of capable professional staff members in the National Assembly, Khai continued. In many cases, NA staffers who attend drafters' meetings fail to take advantage of the opportunity to add their insights into draft laws, and their lack of expertise and policy understanding has sometimes led to problems. But When It Does Get Involved... -------------- ¶5. (SBU) For now, the majority of draft laws are prepared by various Government agencies, Khai continued. He emphasized that, in the long run, there must be a formal mechanism to facilitate parliamentary participation in the drafting process to improve the efficacy of Vietnamese law and the effectiveness of its implementation. Offering one example of how "things can go wrong," Khai noted that the NA formulated on its own and passed an Ordinance on Population in January 2003 that allowed couples to decide the size of their families and the number of children they want. The National Assembly's "unexpected liberty" in creating this ordinance contradicted GVN policy and, in fact, "harmed the GVN's long-term efforts to promote family planning projects, which had proved to be very effective in controlling birth rates." The implementing decree for the ordinance that the GVN subsequently announced (in September 2003) requires couples to follow the small-family model of one or two children, contravening the letter and spirit of the National Assembly's ordinance. To resolve this contradiction, the GVN has formally requested that the NA revoke this ordinance, Khai explained. ¶6. (SBU) However, the NA sometimes "gets it right," Khai continued. In a "model of National Assembly participation in the lawmaking process," Khai noted that the NA's Committee on Science, Technology and Environment has taken the lead in coordinating the HANOI 00000677 002.2 OF 003 drafting of the Electronic Transactions Law, presiding over meetings of representatives from various Government agencies to discuss the bill. This is a good example of how the NA can be more active in legislative affairs by playing a coordinating role and helping to deal with the issue of different GVN agencies trying to protect their own interests and turf. To formalize its participation in the lawmaking process, the NA should come up with a mechanism on its own, because legislators "would probably oppose any GVN- proposed mechanism," Khai wryly noted. Assembly Agrees It Needs More Staffers -------------- ¶7. (SBU) According to Nguyen Sy Dzung, Deputy Director of the Office of the National Assembly (ONA),both Vietnam's Constitution and the Law on the National Assembly's Organization allow delegates play a leading role in the lawmaking process by submitting their own bills. However, the Assembly's current composition and structure make this difficult. Lacking professional staff and the resources to do "policy analysis," the legislature is often under pressure to "just pass" the GVN's proposed bills and let the Executive Branch come up with the necessary regulations and implementing decrees, he acknowledged. "Assembly Makes an Effort to Play Lawmaking Role... -------------- -------------- ¶8. (SBU) When it comes to the NA's own legislative initiatives, National Assembly members often come up with their own "ideal laws," which sometimes prove to be impractical or unacceptable to the GVN, senior Assembly staffer Nguyen Chi Dzung said. On the specific example of the Population Ordinance raised above by the OOG's hai, he defended the stand that the NA took, assrting that the ordinance was in accordance with international conventions. NA members do not wantto revoke Assembly ordinances and other laws that the GVN dislikes. When it comes to family planning issues, they believe that the GVN agencies involved should be able to come up with solutions to educate Vietnam's citizens, rather than punish them, he asserted. ...But the GVN Does Not Make It Easy" -------------- ¶9. (SBU) On the issue of Assembly commentary on GVN- drafted legislation, in many cases the Government will submit bills to the National Assembly that "say only the right things" and are "too broad and vague," Chi Dzung continued. This effectively prevents NA members from making any critical comments. Moreover, the GVN's subsequent implementing decrees either do not fully represent the spirit of the original bill or advance only a particular GVN agency's interests. In order to resolve this problem and facilitate the true discussion of GVN-proposed bills, many NA delegates, including Chairman Nguyen Van An, have formally requested that draft laws submitted to the NA be accompanied by draft implementing decrees. Collective Decision-Making an Obstacle -------------- ¶10. (SBU) The criticism that NA representatives are too "passive" at legislation drafting meetings is "unreasonable," Chi Dzung said. Emphasizing what he referred to as "the primary principle guiding the operation of the National Assembly -- 'collective decision-making,'" Chi Dzung said NA staffers or members who attend drafting meetings are not supposed to speak on behalf of any single NA committee, let alone the whole NA. They attend these meetings to get a better understanding of the GVN's approaches to keep NA committees and delegates informed as well as prepare them for formal discussions of GVN-proposed bills during Assembly sessions, he said. ¶11. (SBU) Again stressing the collective decision- making principle, Chi Dzung noted that the NA should not take the lead in "coordinating GVN drafting efforts" by chairing GVN legislation drafting meetings. GVN drafters themselves must be able to assume this burden and defend certain legislation's feasibility. Nobody, even ranking NA officials, can speak on behalf HANOI 00000677 003.2 OF 003 of the whole NA. Any items on the agenda of a NA session, especially draft laws, must be collectively and thoroughly debated and approved by the Assembly as a whole, he underscored. Comment -------------- ¶12. (SBU) As both our GVN and NA interlocutors acknowledge, until the Assembly addresses its human and other resource issues, it will be difficult for the body to be more proactive in the lawmaking process. Another obstacle is the conflict between the GVN's desire to have the Assembly, or individual Assembly members, play a greater role in the drafting of legislation and the legislature's reluctance to buck its tradition of collective decision-making. Perhaps the Assembly's plan to increase the number of its full- time delegates to as much as 50 percent of its total membership (from its current level of 25 percent) will further strengthen its lawmaking role. In the meantime, however, scarcity of resources and ongoing disconnects between the GVN and the Assembly are likely to limit the range of the legislature's lawmaking activities. End Comment. MARINE