Chairman of the Law Committee Hoang Thanh Tung said that after the reorganization, the number of National Assembly agencies including the Ethnic Council and 7 committees will be reduced by 2 committees compared to the present.

Continuing the 42nd Session program, afternoon of February 6, Standing Committee of the National Assembly giving opinions on a number of major issues, there were still different opinions in the process of drafting the Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Organization of the National Assembly and draft resolutions on the organizational structure, tasks and specific powers of the National Assembly's specialized agencies.

Reporting at the meeting, Chairman of the National Assembly's Law Committee Hoang Thanh Tung said that the majority of opinions agreed with the drafting of the National Assembly's Resolution on the organizational structure of the National Assembly's specialized agencies. After implementation arrange, The number of specialized agencies of the National Assembly includes the Council of Nationalities and 7 Committees.

The plan previously agreed upon by the Central Committee clearly stated the termination of the Foreign Affairs Committee's activities, transferring its tasks to the National Defense and Security Committee, the National Assembly Office, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. At the same time, the National Defense and Security Committee was renamed the National Defense, Security and Foreign Affairs Committee.

In addition, the Law Committee and the Judiciary Committee will be merged into the Law - Judiciary Committee; the Economic Committee and the Finance and Budget Committee will be merged into the Economic - Finance Committee; the Social Committee and the Culture - Education Committee will be merged into the Culture and Social Committee.

Two agencies under the National Assembly Standing Committee, the People's Aspirations Committee and the Delegation Affairs Committee, were also upgraded to two committees of the National Assembly. Accordingly, the People's Aspirations Committee was renamed the People's Aspirations and Supervision Committee; the Delegation Affairs Committee was renamed the Delegation Affairs Committee.

The Council of Nationalities and the Committee of Science, Technology and Environment are the two units that keep their names.

Currently, the National Assembly's agencies include the Ethnic Council and 9 committees (including the Law Committee; the Judiciary Committee; the Economic Committee; the Finance and Budget Committee; the National Defense and Security Committee; the Culture and Education Committee; the Social Committee; the Science, Technology and Environment Committee; and the Foreign Affairs Committee).

Thus, after the arrangement, the number of National Assembly agencies will be reduced by 2 committees.

Agree to keep the name "National Assembly agency"

According to Chairman Hoang Thanh Tung, there are opinions suggesting continuing to clearly stipulate in the Law on Organization of the National Assembly the number and names of the National Assembly Committees to ensure the legal status of the agencies; the phrase "agency of the National Assembly" should be used instead of the phrase "specialized agency of the National Assembly".

The drafting committee finds that, in the context of reorganizing the state apparatus and the need to innovate legislative thinking, not rigidly stipulating the number and names of the National Assembly agencies in the Law is appropriate and convenient for continuing to reorganize, adjust, and ensure harmony in the organizational structure with the functions, tasks, and powers of the agencies.

This issue was also approved by the Politburo when giving opinions on draft laws on organizational structure. The use of the phrase “specialized agencies of the National Assembly” is consistent with the functions and nature of the activities of these agencies.

During the discussion at the meeting, delegates basically agreed with the arrangement plan of the Drafting Committee; many opinions said that using the phrase "professional agencies of the National Assembly" is not suitable for the functions and nature of the activities of these agencies. Delegates suggested not calling them professional agencies of the National Assembly but rather agencies of the National Assembly.

Agreeing with the naming of the agency as the National Assembly, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man emphasized that the scope, tasks, and powers of the National Assembly, the Government, and State agencies in the field of law-making need to be clearly defined; only regulating basic, principled issues, and the contents stipulated in specialized laws are appropriate to the requirements, nature, and specific characteristics, ensuring effective State management in each field.

The National Assembly Chairman also noted the relevance of the Law on Organization of the National Assembly, the Law on Organization of the Government and the Law on Organization of Local Government, so it is necessary to clearly define the scope, tasks and powers.

Concluding the discussion, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Khac Dinh said that the National Assembly Standing Committee agreed to maintain the term "National Assembly agency" as in the current law; agreed with the principles and content of the division of authority of the Council and Committee as in the draft resolution.

In some areas and tasks such as religion and international treaty review, the National Assembly Standing Committee proposed to maintain stability for now, that is, whichever agency was previously in charge should transfer the status quo after the merger to continue implementation, avoiding disruption. The National Assembly Standing Committee believes that the dossier of the draft Law, 3 draft Resolutions and accompanying documents are qualified to be submitted to the National Assembly and the National Assembly Standing Committee for consideration and decision.