Amending the Constitution to ensure sustainability and adaptability to development requirements

The amendment and supplement of a number of articles of the 2013 Constitution focuses on two important groups of contents. One is the provisions related to the Vietnam Fatherland Front and socio-political organizations. The other is the provisions in Chapter IX to implement the two-level local government organization model; at the same time, there are transitional provisions to ensure that local governments operate smoothly and without interruption, in accordance with the roadmap for the implementation of the arrangement and merger of provincial and commune-level administrative units, without organizing at the district level.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Justice is assigned to collect opinions from the people and other agencies within 1 month, and at the same time synthesize the comments to submit to the Government to submit to the Drafting Committee to amend and supplement a number of articles of the 2013 Constitution.

According to plan, the time to complete the amendment and supplementation of a number of articles of the 2013 Constitution is no later than June 30.

Speaking on the sidelines of the National Assembly, Delegate Nguyen Chu Hoi ( Hai Phong National Assembly Delegation) said that with the spirit of “running and lining up at the same time”, the National Assembly is preparing, continuing to discuss, and at the same time collecting public opinions. According to the delegate, from May 6, 2025, public opinions will begin to be collected and the preliminary report has recorded the overwhelming majority of opinions in agreement.

Delegate Nguyen Chu Hoi (Hai Phong National Assembly Delegation).

PV:   Sir, we are in the process of collecting public opinions on the draft Resolution to amend the 2013 Constitution. How do you evaluate the process of collecting opinions in this month? Do you expect this to be a substantial and effective contribution to amending the Constitution?

Delegate Nguyen Chu Hoi: We all know that this National Assembly session is historic in nature, to resolve historical issues. In particular, we focus on amending the Constitution and related laws to perfect new regulations and statutes to be consistent with and operate the apparatus well in the spirit of the Central Resolutions - to institutionalize and continue to concretize and realize so that the apparatus operates effectively and efficiently.

It must be said that from the central to local levels and even policy-making bodies such as the National Assembly are under time pressure. Therefore, the way of doing things is very important.

Firstly, I understand that we do not have to amend the entire Constitution but only make technical amendments to about 8-9 Articles. Currently, it is expected to be 8 Articles.

This is not a process of amending the entire Constitution, so the time for public consultation is not required to be as long as required by law.

We are also in the spirit of “running and queuing at the same time”, so the way to do it is parallel. The National Assembly prepares and continues to discuss, while at the same time collecting public opinions. From May 6, 2025, we will start collecting public opinions and according to the preliminary report, the overwhelming majority of opinions are in agreement.

PV: Amending the Constitution is considered a way to ensure the sustainability and adaptability of the Constitution to social changes and development requirements. Can you specifically analyze the sustainability of the Constitution after this amendment?

Delegate Nguyen Chu Hoi: We have a unified policy and are working on it. This step is the final step, so most opinions are in agreement on the method, the provisions, the contents of the amendment orientation, the must be amended, and the must be amended.

However, it is necessary to pay attention to some issues, first of all, how to avoid duplication in the amendments and in the proposed amended Constitution with the Law on Organization of Local Government.

Second, in terms of amending the format of the document, it must be done in a strict manner. Because the Constitution has a “very long life”, it raises constitutional issues. The terms of the National Assembly and the different periods of development of the country are determined as issues “from practice”.

In terms of law, in addition to the provisions of law, there is also the practice of law. The same is true for international law, such as the United Nations Convention, the parts of legal practice are very important. Specifically, the International Convention on the Law of the Sea also highly respects legal practices in different maritime areas. This is the experience of solving practical problems.

The same is true for the Constitution. Accordingly, if we want the Constitution to have open but very strict provisions, the life of the Constitution must be long, but in each period we can flexibly use different terms.

Therefore, the Law on Organization of Local Government is to specify and realize the issues stipulated by the Constitution. This ensures the flexibility of a constitutional document. It will be convenient in the process of application later, not only in this period but also in other periods, with other rights. And when the time comes to amend, it will also be easy.

PV:   This Constitutional Amendment mentions socio-political organizations under the Fatherland Front. As a delegate introduced by the Vietnam Fatherland Front, what is your contribution to this content?

Delegate Nguyen Chu Hoi: According to the new regulations, the amended Constitution defines the role and position of the Fatherland Front, as well as of mass organizations established and managed by the State. I think that the word "directly under" here is understood as being under the management of the Fatherland Front.

The Fatherland Front is a collective organization, and the Fatherland Front without a collective organization cannot become the Fatherland Front. Whether standing outside or standing inside, under the management of anyone, it is all under the "hat of the Fatherland Front". This time, the Constitution as well as the new institution mention more specifically the role of the Fatherland Front. Thus, it is still on the basis of ensuring the independence of organizations to promote the specificity and goals, and distinct nature of the sectors. That is, there are still differences but they are under the same management. Just like the personnel working in any field, at any level, or under any model, they are still subject to the State management of education and training.

In principle, every country has unified management of the State. This unity does not mean “locking them in one basket”, but linking them together and being coordinated by the State. Therefore, I think that in the future activities of the Fatherland Front and the law on the Fatherland Front, if necessary, they must be amended to conform to the new spirit. That is, there must be unified management within the Front bloc, but they can still operate independently to promote the specific characteristics of each field.

PV: Thank you!

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Source: https://vov.vn/chinh-tri/sua-hien-phap-de-dam-bao-tinh-ben-vung-va-thich-ung-theo-yeu-cau-phat-trien-post1201401.vov