Lawmakers query judicial, economic corruption issues

Deputies raised a number of questions concerning the measures required to improve the quality of judicial work and the settlement of economic corruption cases, at the Q&A session of the ongoing fourth sitting of the 14th National Assembly in Hanoi on November 18.

Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court Nguyen Hoa Binh taking the floor to answer the lawmakers’ queries (Photo: VGP)

Taking the floor to answer the lawmakers’ queries, Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court Nguyen Hoa Binh stressed the need to comply with the regulations stipulated in the new criminal procedure code in the three stages of investigation, prosecution and judgment.

The Supreme People’s Court has issued standard procedures for the building of precedents and plans to establish a national legal precedent advisory council, he said, adding that in the future, this will help to remove certain difficulties.

“We will not apply only the precedents of Vietnam but also that of the world,” he noted.

Since the beginning of this year, the court has publicised 32,318 verdicts, which received positive comments from the public, as well as constructive opinions, Binh said, adding that the announcement of verdicts on the Internet is in line with the court’s principles of publicity and transparency.

Verdicts relating to juveniles will not be publicised, he noted.

The court has decided to supplement one more judge for each district with the number of cases averaging 12, while encouraging judges to increase their responsibility and improve their profession and ethics.

Since 2016, the court sector has stopped the selection of judges and it is proposing that the NA Standing Committee increases the number of judges to 6,000, according to the situation in each locality, Binh answered.

Fielding questions with regards to the major economic corruption cases in 2017, the Chief Justice was joined by Minister of Public Security To Lam who admitted that there are certain restrictions in the legal regulations in preventing and combating corruption.

The coordination between the relevant agencies is still limited, he said, therefore, the Ministry of Public Security will step up its coordination with the investigation, audit, court, and customs agencies in the near future in order to accelerate the investigation of corruption cases, he added.

Prosecutor General of the Supreme People’s Procuracy Le Minh Tri took part in the session, saying that his institution has proposed that the central Steering Committee on preventing and combating corruption coordinates with the Supreme People’s Court, the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Justice to build a joint circular stipulating the necessary inspection cases to prevent the prolonged settlement of corruption cases.

National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan recognised the positive changes in the judicial work and pointed to a number of shortcomings in the field.

She urged the court sector to proactively implement judicial codes, legal regulations, and resolutions, as well as promulgating execution guidance documents.

The senior legislator also requested improving the quality of inspection, prosecution, and judgment.

(Source: NDO)