At the meeting, Ms. Le Thi Nga - Chairwoman of the National Assembly's Judicial Committee reported on the explanation, acceptance and revision of the draft Law on Juvenile Justice. Accordingly, regarding the educational measure at reformatory schools (Article 52), Ms. Nga said that many opinions agreed with the provisions of the draft Law on converting the judicial educational measure at reformatory schools stipulated in Article 96 of the Penal Code into a diversionary measure. There were opinions suggesting to consider this measure because sending juveniles to reformatory schools also deprives them of some of their freedom.

Regarding the above issue, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly expressed its opinion: Before 2015, the Penal Code stipulated 2 judicial measures applied to juvenile offenders (including: educational measures at communes, wards, and towns and educational measures at reformatory schools). Because they are judicial measures, these 2 measures can only be applied after the Court of First Instance has tried and issued a verdict. At that time, juvenile offenders may have been subject to temporary detention at all 3 stages (investigation, prosecution, trial) and the detention period can be up to nearly 9 months for serious crimes and nearly 12 months for very serious crimes.

When amending the Penal Code in 2015, the National Assembly decided to change the judicial education measure at communes, wards and towns into supervision and education measures (essentially a diversion measure as in the draft Law); and now the draft Law on Juvenile Justice continues to propose changing the judicial education measure at Reformatory Schools into diversion measures. These proposals are all aimed at "in the best interests of juveniles" but still ensure safety for the community and for victims because Reformatory Schools are strictly disciplined educational environments directly managed by the Ministry of Public Security. At that time, juveniles will be placed in Reformatory Schools right from the investigation stage and the prosecution process will be completed soon; the detention period of juveniles will be significantly shortened; and the interruption of juveniles' right to study and vocational training will be minimized.

Responding to the requirements in Article 40 of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, "whenever appropriate and necessary, measures should be proposed to deal with children who violate criminal law without having to resort to judicial procedures"; "Incorporating the opinions of many National Assembly deputies, the National Assembly is requested to keep the provisions of the draft Law on Education at Reformatory Schools as a diversionary measure, and at the same time, has coordinated to carefully review each case where this measure is applied to ensure strictness (in Article 52)" - Ms. Nga said.

According to Deputy Pham Van Hoa (Dong Thap National Assembly Delegation), the draft Law stipulates educational measures at reformatory schools (Article 52), which is consistent with the current reality of our country. Accordingly, when violating the law, juveniles can be detained at all three stages, and the detention period can be up to nearly 9 months for serious crimes and nearly 12 months for very serious crimes. If within the scope of application, it should be redirected, instead of being brought to trial, to ensure the right to education and learning for juveniles.

Regarding the authority to apply diversion measures (Article 53), Mr. Hoa said that assigning the investigation agency and the Procuracy to decide to apply diversion measures as in the draft Law will ensure the principle of speed and timeliness, helping juveniles who meet the conditions to soon apply diversion measures instead of requiring the investigation agency and the Procuracy to prepare a dossier requesting the Court to apply, which both extends the time limit and creates procedural issues.

According to Mr. Hoa, the police and the prosecutor's office discovered that the children had violated the law and proposed to change their course of action from the beginning. If the court were to change their course of action during this time, the juvenile's detention or release would also be greatly affected. Therefore, handing over the investigation to the police and the prosecutor's office is in line with the process and procedures very well.

Delegate Le Thanh Hoan (Thanh Hoa National Assembly Delegation) said that Article 40 of the draft Law stipulates that the juvenile must admit that he/she has committed a crime and agree in writing to the diversion of the criminal case. Although the juvenile may rely on the advice of his/her parents, guardians, or legal representatives, the final decision to plead guilty or not to plead guilty still depends on the juvenile himself/herself.

In addition, according to Mr. Hoan, juveniles are not considered to have full autonomy in making decisions, including whether to smoke, drink alcohol or not have the right to vote in an election, while they are pressured to admit to committing a crime without really being aware enough to know what a crime is. This is consistent with the approach that juveniles do not have full civil capacity.

“It is necessary to supplement processes and procedures to ensure that decisions to admit criminal acts are made voluntarily and clearly by juveniles, without being forced, such as being provided with legal aid or meeting a lawyer to defend themselves before the juvenile admits guilt. In addition, the application of measures to send the juvenile to a reformatory school also requires the consent of the juvenile, which is unreasonable, so it is recommended to consider removing this provision. In addition, it is necessary to clarify whether the measure of changing the handling of the redirection requires the consent of the juvenile or not,” said Mr. Hoan.

Deputy Nguyen Thi Viet Nga (Hai Duong National Assembly Delegation) said that Clause 1, Article 153 of the draft Law stipulates that "the examination of traces on the body of a minor victim must have the participation of their representative". Ms. Nga assessed that this is very necessary to ensure the rights of the victim who is a minor. At the same time, it is necessary to consider additional regulations on the consent of the minor victim himself if he is of a certain age, possibly from 13 years old or older, for the examination of traces on the body, especially for sensitive and private areas and parts. This shows respect as well as avoids causing negative psychological effects on the victim who is a minor.

Deputy Truong Thi Ngoc Anh (Can Tho National Assembly Delegation) said that the draft Law fully reflects the Party's policy and the humane nature of the State in ensuring the rights and interests of juvenile offenders. Regarding Article 37 on the measure of redirection, Ms. Anh proposed to remove the measure of "reprimand" in Clause 1, because it is very difficult to apply in practice. If implemented, it is necessary to specify the participants, authority, and form of implementation. In Clause 8, it is proposed to study and supplement the provisions on exceptional cases in cases where the family of the person is prohibited from going to places that pose a risk of causing juvenile offenders to commit new crimes. Such as in the case of having to change the place of residence to near areas according to the provisions of the measure of redirection to ensure compliance with reality and ensure the effectiveness of the Law.

Regarding Article 42 on apologizing to the victim, Ms. Anh suggested that the phrase “and the local authorities where the offender resides and where the victim resides” should be added after the phrase “the representative of the offender”, because the apology requires the witness of the authorities of the two localities. This is a provision to ensure the implementation of local administrative management of the offender if there is a recidivism.

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On the same day, the National Assembly listened to Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Do Duc Duy, authorized by the Prime Minister, present the Proposal on the policy of adjusting the National Land Use Plan for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050. Reporting to the National Assembly, Mr. Duy said that according to the provisions of the 2024 Land Law, the Government will submit to the National Assembly to adjust the National Land Use Plan with the main contents including: Adjusting 8 land use indicators including: agricultural land group (including land types: rice land, special-use forest land, protective forest land, production forest land is natural forest); non-agricultural land group (including land types: national defense land, security land); Not submitting to the National Assembly for approval the National Land Use Plan.
According to Mr. Duy, the calculation and determination of 8 land use indicators in the adjusted National Land Use Plan this time needs to be carefully reviewed and balanced with land use indicators of sectors, fields and localities. In particular, priority should be given to allocating land funds for national defense and security purposes, stabilizing rice-growing land funds to ensure national food security, strictly managing forest land, maintaining forest cover to contribute to protecting the ecological environment, responding to climate change and achieving sustainable development goals.
Examining the above issue, Mr. Vu Hong Thanh - Chairman of the National Assembly's Economic Committee expressed that the Government's proposal to adjust the National Land Use Plan is consistent with the National Assembly's requirements in Resolution No. 103/2023/QH15 dated November 9, 2023 of the National Assembly. "Therefore, we agree with the necessity of adjusting the National Land Use Plan," said Mr. Thanh.