by Vu Kim Chung
30-6-2000
Vietnam's national assembly continued to sit until June 9, 2000. The tenth National Assembly’s seventh session had opened on May 9 at the Ba Dinh Hall, in Hanoi. Legislators debated and passed new legislation and amended many of the country's laws in an attempt to improve the investment climate in the country and to reduce contradictions in many of the country's laws.
National Assembly Passes Articles of Draft Science and Technology Law
The National Assembly (NA) continued its passage of the remaining articles in the Draft Law on Science and Technology at a plenary meeting chaired by its vice chairman, Vu Dinh Cu on May 31. The deputies discussed and passed articles of chapter III, the whole text of chapter III and articles 34-41 of chapter IV of the Draft Law. Fifty six deputies from 35 cities and provinces raised their opinions on the law. Minister of Science, Technology and Environment Chu Tuan Nha discussed the issues raised by the deputies.
NA Passes Draft Science and Technology Law
National Assembly deputies discussed and passed the full text of the Draft Law on Science and Technology on June 1. Forty-seven deputies from twenty-eight cities and provinces contributed their ideas to the draft law. During the discussions, minister of science and technology, Chu Tuan Nha, answered questions raised by and received the ideas of the deputies.
On the same day, the NA deputies held a session under the chairmanship of NA deputy chairwoman, Truong My Hoa, to discuss and approved parts of the Draft Marriage and Family Law. Minister of justice, Nguyen Dinh Loc, on behalf of the NA Draft Law Compiling Board, Permanent Justice Commission and the Secretariat, read a report on receiving amendments of the Amended Draft Marriage and Family Law on the basis of ideas contributed by the deputies after group discussions.
NA Continues Discussing Draft Marriage Law
National Assembly held a plenary meeting on June 2, chaired by its vice chairwoman Truong My Hoa, to continue to discuss and approve part of the Draft Law on Marriage and Family (amended).
Mr Bui Ngoc Thanh, on behalf of the Secretariat read chapter II of the amended draft law. The deputies discussed and passed the remaining articles of chapter I and the whole text of chapter I and the articles and whole text of chapter II of the draft law. Eighty four deputies from 44 cities and provinces gave their opinions. Minister of Justice Nguyen Dinh Loc explained issues raised by the deputies.
Draft Marriage Law under Discussion
The National Assembly, led by Vice Chairman Truong My Hoa, continued discussing and passing the amended Draft Law on Marriage and Family on June 5. Mr Bui Ngoc Thanh, on behalf of the Secretariat, read Chapters III, IV, V and VI of the adjusted Draft Law. The National Assembly discussed and passed articles and the full texts of Chapters III and IV of the Draft Law. Eighty-three deputies from 36 provinces and cities contributed their ideas.
During the compiling process, Justice Minister Nguyen Dinh Loc explained and received ideas of the deputies. The following day , the National Assembly continued discussing and passing the amended Draft Law on Marriage and Family.
"We should opt for more advanced and civilized marriage regulations," National Assembly (NA) Chairman Nong Duc Manh told NA deputies during their heated debate during the June 3-4 weekend on conditions for getting marriage to be stipulated in the revised Family and Marriage Law. Some NA deputies objected to the current regulations, which prohibit marriage among family members within three generations, saying the time space should be extended to four or even five generations to avoid genetic-based deformities.
Justice Minister Nguyen Dinh Loc explained that the compilation of the regulations was based on scientific research which indicated that family members having up to four-generation connections would not cause racial degeneration. The stipulation was approved after two votings with only 58.3 percent of votes in favour.
NA deputies also discussed whether or not to include the prohibition of marriage of people infected with HIV/AIDS and skin diseases in the revised law. On the issue, Minister Loc said HIV/AIDS is a social phenomenon that requires joint efforts from the whole society for settlement. HIV/AIDS carriers should not be isolated, but should be given help to overcome difficulties in their lives, Loc added. Moreover, there have been measures to prevent the spread of the disease, he said. Loc's opinion received approval from the majority of NA deputies.
Some deputies asked why the regulated minimum marriage age for men is 20 while it is only 18 for women and whether it is an unequality between men and women in marriage. Minister Loc said reality proves that a man needs more time to become socially mature than a woman. Therefore, the regulated marriage ages for men and women should be different.
The revised law also bolstered children's rights by supplementing a stipulation saying that parents must listen to and respect their children's opinions as the previous regulations only set the parents' responsibility for bringing up, protecting and caring for their children without requiring them to listen to and respect their children's opinions. After three days of discussion - June 1, 2 and 5 - NA deputies passed Chapters I, II, III and IV of the revised Family and Marriage Law.
The National Assembly held the 23rd working day of its seventh session on June 6, chaired by its vice chairwoman Truong My Hoa to continue discussing and passing the Law on Marriage and Family. Mr Bui Ngoc Thanh, on behalf of the Secretariat, read the chapters VII, VIII, IX and X of the revised draft law. The deputies discussed and passed the articles and texts of chapters V, VII, VIII, IX; articles 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 57, 58, 59, 60 and 61 in chapter VI and articles from 84 to 80 in chapter X of the draft law. Eighty four deputies from 37 cities and provinces raised their opinions. Minister of Justice Nguyen Dinh Loc answered questions put by deputies.
Vietnam-China Border Treaty Presented to NA
State President Tran Duc Luong read a presentation for the NA’s ratification of the Vietnam-China Land Border Treaty on the morning of June 7, under the chairmanship of the National Assembly chairman, Nong Duc Manh, at the plenary session. Foreign Minister Nguyen Dy Nien, on behalf of the prime minister, made a report explaining the Vietnam-China Land Border Treaty.
Head of the NA’s External Relations Committee, Do Van Tai presented a report on the opinions of the NA’s External Relations Committee, the Security and Defence Committee and Law Committee on the ratification of the Vietnam-China Land Border Treaty. NA deputy chairman, Mai Thuc Lan, on behalf of the NA’s Standing Committee delivered a report on the committee’s approval of the prime minister’s proposal to relieve some government’s members of their duties and appointed new ones and a statement introducing personnel to the NA to elect a deputy head of the NA’s Economic and Budget Committee.
For the rest of the day, deputies worked in groups. The NA worked in the plenary meeting on June 6.
NA Passes Marriage and Family Law
The National Assembly passed the full text of the amended draft Law on Marriage and Family on June 8.
Mr Bui Ngoc Thanh, on behalf of the Secretariat read chapters XI, XII and XIII of the amended draft law. The deputies discussed and passed the remaining chapters, articles and the whole text of the draft law. Fifty two deputies from 29 cities and provinces gave their opinions. Mr Thanh continued with the full text of the draft resolution on the implementation of the Law on Marriage and Family. Two deputies raised opinions. The deputies discussed and passed the resolution. Minister of Justice Nguyen Dinh Loc answered the questions put by the deputies.
The revised Marriage and Family Law, recognises that a woman could have a child without a husband, but forbids marriage between a foreigner and Vietnamese for mercenary motives as well as the beating of a wife and children.
The freshly-adopted 13 chapter, 110 article law has revised the existing one passed in 1986, which, as agreed upon by delegates, should be made more specific and progressive while promoting the preservation of traditional and moral values of the Vietnamese society.
Article II allows the newly emerged phenomena of cohabitation and trial marriages practised by young men and women before their official wedding, although it raised fears for possible unexpected consequences, and some like Nguyen Thi Binh from the Quang Nam delegation wanted to have these practices outlawed. In this regard, Justice Minister Nguyen Dinh Loc, who is also Chairman of the Draft Committee, explained that the article does not recognise a man and a woman living together without registered marriage as husband and wife. However, he said, legal action will not necessarily be taken against unmarried couples living together as such a relationship would fall under the purview of love and morality.
Article II also prohibits actions that take advantage of marriage to foreigner for women trading or other mercenary motives and this included women who married foreigner for the express purpose of being able to emigrate to another country, even if this took place without the man's knowledge.
The revised law encourages voluntary and progressive marriages, monogamy, spousal equality, parents' obligations on nurturing and bringing up their children and making them useful citizens, children's obligations to respect, look after and take care of their parents and grandparents, no discrimination in treatment of children- between sons and daughters, between own and adopted children as well as between children born within and out of wedlock.
National Assembly Closes Seventh Session
The seventh session of the tenth National Assembly closed in Ha Noi on June 9 after one month of sitting.
During the session, the NA examined and supplemented the Government report on the implementation of the socio-economic development tasks and State budget for 1999 and the carrying out of such tasks for 2000. NA deputies approved five draft laws, namely the Science and Technology Law, the Marriage and Family Law (revised), the Foreign Investment Law (revised), the Oil and Gas Law (revised) and the Criminal Proceedings Code (revised). They also gave opinions to the Anti-Drug and the Insurance Business Bills.
The NA ratified the Viet Nam-China Land Border Treaty, which was signed by the two countries in December 1999.
The NA noted that despite a number of difficulties, the country's socio-economic situation had seen positive signs with better performance of a number of key socio-economic tasks compared to 1999. The improvements, the NA said, helped pave the way for the fulfilment of targets set for 2000 stated in the NA Resolution.
However, NA deputies also focused on difficulties and shortcomings, particularly newly-arisen ones concerning food, cash crops, deflation, failure in the stimulation of demands, slowness in construction capital, increases in both traffic accidents and social evils, and inadequate state management. Proceeding from this reality, deputies asserted resolve to continue with the socio-economic tasks for 2000 at a higher speed than in 1999 and to speed up the country's economic growth rate. NA deputies aimed to create vigorous changes in economic efficiency and competitiveness, sci-tech development, personnel training and settlement of urgent social issues.
Emphasis was also placed on improving the spiritual and cultural life of all social strata, maintaining socio-political stability and expanding external relations.