General Phan Van Giang presented the Proposal on amendments,...

On the morning of June 11th, continuing the program of the Ninth Session, under the chairmanship of National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man, the National Assembly heard the Presentation and the Verification Report on the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on National Defense; the Law on Officers of the People's Army; the Law on Professional Soldiers, Workers and Civil Servants of the National Defense; the Law on Military Service; the Law on Vietnam Border Guard; the Law on People's Air Defense; the Law on Reserve Mobilization Forces; the Law on Civil Defense; the Law on Management and Protection of National Defense Works and Military Zones; the Law on Militia and Self-Defense Forces; and the Law on National Defense and Security Education.

At the session, on behalf of the Government , General Phan Van Giang , Member of the Political Bureau, Deputy Secretary of the Central Military Commission, and Minister of National Defense , presented the draft law.

General Secretary To Lam and delegates attend the session.

According to General Phan Van Giang, the amendment and supplementation of laws aim to promptly and fully institutionalize the policies and orientations in the Party's documents and resolutions, the conclusions of the Politburo and the Secretariat, the provisions of the Constitution, and the Law on Organization of Local Government (amended) related to the rearrangement and reorganization of administrative units at all levels.

The draft law consists of 12 articles, including 11 articles amending and supplementing 11 laws and 1 article on the effective date of implementation.

The draft law focuses on amending and supplementing several articles concerning the position, role, authority, functions, and tasks in the military and defense sectors related to the organization of two-tiered local governments to ensure consistency with the provisions of the Constitution, the Law on Organization of Local Governments (amended), and other relevant legal provisions.

Regarding the amendment and supplementation of some provisions of the Law on National Defense, related to the reorganization of the political system's apparatus concerning the two-tiered local government structure, amendments and supplements have been made to several points and clauses in three articles (Article 9, Article 21, Article 22), such as: Defining the construction of regional defense and the construction of the commune level as the foundation for local protection; the provincial People's Committee issuing curfew orders in one or more commune-level localities, and the commune-level People's Committee issuing curfew orders in one or more areas within its jurisdiction.

General Phan Van Giang, Member of the Political Bureau, Deputy Secretary of the Central Military Commission, and Minister of National Defense, presents the draft law. Photo: TRONG HAI

Regarding the amendment and supplementation of some provisions of the Law on Officers of the Vietnam People's Army , amendments and additions have been made to several points and clauses in two articles (Article 11 and Article 40), such as: Removing some positions of Commander, Political Commissar of the Provincial Border Guard Command, Deputy Commander, Deputy Political Commissar of the Provincial Border Guard Command, Commander, Political Officer of the District Military Command, Deputy Commander, Deputy Political Officer of the District Military Command to ensure compliance with Project No. 839-DA/QUTW dated April 25, 2025 of the Central Military Commission on continuing to reorganize local military organizations to be "lean, efficient, and strong" to meet the requirements of the mission in the new situation.

In addition, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee is assigned the responsibility to decide on the recruitment of reserve officers for training and the conscription of reserve officers into active service, as well as training and readiness checks for mobilization and combat readiness of reserve officials, civil servants, and non-commissioned officers residing in the locality.

Regarding the amendment and supplementation of some provisions of the Law on Professional Soldiers, Workers and Civil Servants of the National Defense , one article (Article 27) is amended and supplemented, thereby transferring the authority from the Commander of the District Military Command to the Commander of the Regional Defense Command to decide on the discharge of reserve professional soldiers who have reached the age limit or are no longer healthy enough to serve in the reserve category, as there is no longer a district level.

Regarding amendments and additions to some provisions of the Law on Military Service , amendments, additions, and repeals of some points and clauses in 18 articles include: Transferring authority from the district level to the provincial level for tasks such as: Establishing the Military Service Health Examination Council; deciding on the list of citizens called up for military service, performing service in the People's Public Security, and the list of those temporarily deferred or exempted from military service; recognizing citizens who have completed their military service during peacetime; and organizing the handover of troops to units (the troop handover ceremony is held at the Regional Defense Command).

In addition, the authority of the district level was transferred to the commune level for certain tasks: checking the health of reserve non-commissioned officers and soldiers; issuing summonses to individual citizens for: initial military service registration, preliminary selection and medical examination for military service, conscription, and service in the People's Public Security Force.

The authority of the district-level military command is transferred to the regional defense command to decide on: removing reserve non-commissioned officers and soldiers from the military service registration list, discharging them from service, and taking primary responsibility for organizing the troop handover ceremony and receiving the handover of non-commissioned officers and soldiers who have completed their active service…

Regarding amendments and additions to some provisions of the Law on Border Guard of Vietnam, amendments and additions have been made to several points and clauses in 5 articles, such as: Adding provisions on building border defense areas; Stipulating that the Border Guard Command decides to restrict or temporarily suspend activities in border areas under its management; Stipulating that the Commander of the Provincial Military Command proposes to the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee to decide on restricting or temporarily suspending crossings at border gates.

Regarding amendments and additions to certain provisions of the Law on People's Air Defense , amendments and additions have been made to several points and clauses in 11 articles, such as: Identifying key areas for people's air defense at the commune level; Transferring responsibility for commanding people's air defense from the Commander of the District Military Command to the Commander of the Regional Defense Command in directing and implementing people's air defense tasks, as the district level no longer exists.

In addition, the responsibilities of the Commander of the Regional Defense Command and the Commander of the Commune-level Military Command are supplemented with the authority to order the suppression and temporary detention of unmanned aircraft and other flying vehicles within their jurisdiction.

Regarding amendments and additions to certain provisions of the Law on Reserve Mobilization Forces , some points and clauses in 13 articles have been amended, supplemented, or repealed, such as: transferring the authority to register ownership of inland waterway vessels and road motor vehicles... from the district-level People's Committee to the provincial-level People's Committee; and transferring authority from the district level to the commune level in building reserve mobilization forces according to the targets set by the Chairman of the provincial-level People's Committee.

The delegates attending the session.

At the same time, the regulations stipulate the transfer of authority for organizing activities for reserve soldiers holding command positions in reserve mobilization units from the district-level People's Committee to the regional defense command; and the transfer of some tasks from the Chairman of the district-level People's Committee to the provincial-level People's Committee or the regional defense command in the assembly, transportation, and handover of reserve mobilization forces.

Regarding amendments and additions to some provisions of the Law on Civil Defense, amendments and additions have been made to several points and clauses in 5 articles, such as: Transferring some tasks from the district-level People's Committee to the commune-level People's Committee in the application and command of forces in civil defense; Adding the task of the regional defense command in advising the provincial-level civil defense command to direct the commune-level civil defense command in organizing, directing, and managing civil defense in the managed area…

Regarding the amendment and supplementation of some provisions of the Law on Management and Protection of National Defense Works and Military Zones , amendments and supplements are made to some points and clauses in 2 articles (Article 6 and Article 17), such as: Adding Type B Military Zones including shooting ranges and training grounds at the brigade level, within the inner limits of the safety zone; the safety radius of ammunition depots of independent battalion-level units and equivalent units below, since there is no longer a district level.

Regarding amendments and additions to some provisions of the Law on Militia and Self-Defense Forces , amendments, additions, and repeals of points and clauses in 19 articles, such as: Removing the authority of the Chairman of the People's Committee at the district level in deciding to extend the age and term of service in the Militia and Self-Defense Forces, in registering, temporarily postponing, terminating, and completing service in the Militia and Self-Defense Forces before the deadline, removing citizens from the list of those performing service in the Militia and Self-Defense Forces, and managing the Militia and Self-Defense Forces, since there is no longer a district level (this content is carried out by the Chairman of the People's Committee at the commune level).

In addition, the authority of the Hanoi Capital Command, the Ho Chi Minh City Command, and provincial military commands is supplemented in directing and guiding commune-level People's Committees, agencies, and organizations in selecting citizens to perform their duty in the militia and self-defense forces…

Regarding the amendment and supplementation of some provisions of the Law on National Defense and Security Education , some points and clauses in 7 articles have been amended, supplemented, or repealed, such as: Defining the target group within state agencies and organizations, political organizations, and socio-political organizations as village heads, hamlet heads, and heads of mass organizations in villages; removing the category of "Lecturers" as leaders of districts, towns, and cities under provinces, and leaders of district, town, and city committees under provinces.

It was agreed to submit the Law to the National Assembly for consideration and approval at the ninth session.

In reviewing the draft law, the National Assembly's Committee on National Defense, Security and Foreign Affairs agreed on the necessity of enacting the Law based on the political, legal, and practical grounds stated in the Government's submission, aiming to institutionalize the Party's guiding viewpoint on continuing to reorganize local government at two levels, ensuring consistency and uniformity within the legal system when amending and supplementing the 2013 Constitution and other laws related to the organization of the state apparatus.

The draft Law project basically meets the requirements of the Law on Promulgation of Legal Documents of 2025; at the same time, it was agreed to submit the Law to the National Assembly for consideration and approval at the ninth session according to the simplified procedure.

The National Assembly's Committee on National Defense, Security, and Foreign Affairs found that the policies stipulated in the draft Law are consistent with the Party's guidelines and policies.

VU DUNG

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Source: https://baodaknong.vn/dai-tuong-phan-van-giang-trinh-bay-to-trinh-ve-sua-doi-bo-sung-11-luat-ve-linh-vuc-quan-su-quoc-phong-255223.html