How unique is Hanoi?

On the afternoon of May 28th, the 7th session of the 15th National Assembly continued its discussion on the draft revised Law on the Capital City. The main topic of discussion remained the extent to which Hanoi should be granted special powers and unique privileges to achieve both superiority and breakthroughs in policy, creating momentum for the capital's development, while still ensuring the consistency of the legal system.

Minimize the number of projects that require the conversion of forest land.

This draft law continues to propose allowing the Hanoi People's Council to decide on urban railway projects and urban railway projects under the TOD (Transit-Oriented Development) model, including cases requiring the conversion of production forest land of 1,000 hectares or more, rice paddy land of 500 hectares or more, and resettlement of 50,000 people or more. In addition, the draft law also proposes granting the Hanoi People's Council the power to decide on public investment projects and public-private partnership (PPP) investment projects without limiting the total investment capital. Hanoi is also allowed to decide on investment projects requiring the conversion of production forest land up to 1,000 hectares or rice paddy land up to 500 hectares to other purposes consistent with the land use plan approved by competent authorities.

Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court Nguyen Hoa Binh explains the draft revised Law on the Organization of the People's Courts.

Gia Han

However, many delegates suggested that careful consideration is needed regarding the regulation allowing Hanoi to decide on investment projects involving the conversion of over 1,000 hectares of forest land and over 500 hectares of rice land, and the resettlement of over 50,000 people.

Representative Pham Van Hoa ( Dong Thap delegation) argued that Hanoi should only have the authority to decide on conversion projects involving less than 1,000 hectares of forest land and less than 500 hectares of rice paddy land. Projects exceeding this amount would require approval from higher authorities. "I think that's more appropriate. Although there are special mechanisms in place, they cannot be so highly special," Mr. Hoa emphasized. Similarly, the Vice Chairman and General Secretary of the Vietnam Red Cross Society, Nguyen Hai Anh (Dong Thap delegation), stated that Hanoi's forest cover rate is only 5.59%, placing it among the provinces and cities with the lowest forest cover rates nationwide. Therefore, the representative suggested that Hanoi should focus on preserving more forest land, minimizing projects requiring the conversion of production forest land, and simultaneously finding solutions to increase green space in the city center. Representative Nguyen Hai Anh also suggested that in special cases where it is necessary to convert production forest areas, stricter regulations should be established, and a mechanism for soliciting public opinion should be added. He also proposed that the draft law on the Capital City should specify a maximum area for conversion, instead of the current minimum area of ​​1,000 hectares for forest land and 500 hectares for rice paddy land.

Concerns about the urban governance model

Meanwhile, National Assembly Deputy Ha Sy Dong, Vice Chairman of the Quang Tri Provincial People's Committee, expressed concerns about the proposed model of urban government in Hanoi. According to him, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang have both implemented a single-tier urban government model, which has proven very effective due to its suitability to urban characteristics. Hanoi, on the other hand, is only currently piloting a model of not having ward-level People's Councils (while still maintaining district-level People's Councils). "With similar urban characteristics, there cannot be multiple models of urban government organization. Hanoi has two tiers of government, while Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City have a single tier (without district and ward-level People's Councils)," the Quang Tri delegation representative stated, suggesting a review of the organizational model to ensure consistency.

Representative Pham Van Hoa (Dong Thap delegation)

Gia Han

Furthermore, regarding staffing, the National Assembly (NA) has issued Resolution 98 decentralizing authority to Ho Chi Minh City, granting it the right to decide on the structure and number of civil servants working in communes, wards, and towns. "The spirit and policy of the Party is to promote decentralization, delegation of power, and the self-governance role of the capital's government. Therefore, the NA should promote decentralization of staffing management, granting Hanoi the right to decide on the staffing of civil servants and public employees," Representative Dong stated. He also expressed concern that the draft law only focuses on decentralization and delegation of authority within the capital's government, without addressing the decentralization and delegation of authority from the Government to the capital's government. Proposing a more focused decentralization of the Government to Hanoi, Representative Ha Sy Dong emphasized that this would give the capital's government sufficient authority to be proactive, flexible, and dynamic in implementing economic , cultural, and social development policies. Concluding the discussion, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Khac Dinh said that ensuring both distinctiveness and superiority while maintaining unity and consistency is "somewhat difficult" because if it's unified, it can't be distinctive, and if it's distinctive, it can't be unified. Nevertheless, he requested that the draft law incorporate a combination of distinctiveness within a unified framework.

Should a cultural and industrial center be built on the sandbar in the Red River?

Representative Pham Van Hoa (Dong Thap delegation) suggested that the drafting committee and Hanoi City "consider" allowing Hanoi to build a cultural and industrial center on the Red River floodplains and other areas with advantageous locations and cultural spaces that are consistent with the planning. "I believe that Hanoi does not necessarily need to use the Red River floodplains to build a cultural and industrial center... It will greatly affect the ecological environment and the lives of the people," said Representative Pham Van Hoa. Conversely, Representative Nguyen Anh Tri (Hanoi City delegation) acknowledged that the alluvial plains on both sides of the Red River are largely unused land. If developed, they could provide living and working spaces for millions of people. However, sharing Representative Pham Van Hoa's opinion, Mr. Nguyen Anh Tri noted that the drafting committee needs to further refine this content.

The court gathering evidence will "create a bizarre case."

On the morning of May 28th, the National Assembly discussed several contentious issues in the draft revised Law on the Organization of the People's Courts. The Supreme People's Court proposed reforming the court model based on jurisdiction, rather than administrative boundaries, including renaming provincial People's Courts to appellate People's Courts and district People's Courts to first-instance People's Courts. While some supported the proposal, many deputies disagreed, arguing that renaming the courts was not truly necessary. In explaining the matter, Supreme People's Court Chief Justice Nguyen Hoa Binh stated that reforming and organizing courts according to jurisdiction has a long tradition, is governed by Party resolutions, and is stipulated in the legal system. The Constitution stipulates two levels of adjudication, and the draft law itself specifies the duties of first-instance and appellate courts, not district or provincial courts. According to Mr. Binh, reforming the courts is also an international trend. "We will abide by whatever the National Assembly votes on; it may remain the same, or it may be reformed. But one thing is certain: this is the trend. If we don't do it today, our children and grandchildren will," Mr. Binh said. Another issue in the draft that received much attention was whether to abolish the court's obligation to collect evidence. Some opinions supported the abolition, arguing that it would make the trial panel more independent and objective; however, some deputies worried that abolishing it would create difficulties for vulnerable people. Supreme Court Chief Justice Nguyen Hoa Binh said that, taking into account the opinions of deputies from the previous session, the draft stipulates that the court will guide and assist the parties in collecting evidence; the specifics of how this assistance will be provided will be clarified later. Recalling a deputy's comment that "80% of cases do not have lawyers participating, so the court must take responsibility for collecting evidence for the people," Mr. Binh said that no other country has such a regulation as ours. According to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, a plaintiff must have evidence to ensure they win before filing a lawsuit, not just bringing a petition to court. The court serves the people, but its role is to ensure justice, to judge correctly, and to comply with the law, not to collect evidence. "The plaintiff is the people, and the defendant is also the people. In a case where the plaintiff files a lawsuit and brings a petition to court, the court serves the plaintiff's people by going to agencies to collect evidence, and then goes to serve the defendant's people by collecting evidence. This creates a bizarre case where two sides sue each other, and the court collects evidence and rules based on its own documents. This is a type of case that no other country does," Mr. Binh said.

Thanhnien.vn

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ha-noi-duoc-dac-thu-den-muc-nao-185240528222450404.htm