The urgent need to promulgate the Law on Professional Engineering Practice and Law on Dissemination of Science and Technology Knowledge.

On November 21 ^st, at National Assembly's discussion session about the draft Law on Amending and Supplementing some articles of the Law on Promulgation of Legal Documents, Dr.Sc. Nghiem Vu Khai, Vice Chairman of the VietnamUnion of Science and Technology Associations (VUSTA), the 14 ^thNational Assembly’s delegate delivered an important speech, emphasizing relevant agencies’ role in acquiring and revising draft laws, ordinances and resolutions, simultaneously need to fully institutionalize the Party's guidelines and policies, and ensuring the Party's leadership in the law-making process.

Dr.Sc. Nghiem Vu Khai

In order to contribute to the implementation of the Party's views and policies on intellectual mobilization, scientific and technological development, in the coming time, Dr.Sc. Nghiem Vu Khai proposed the National Assembly to accelerate the process and research to make the Law on Professional Engineering Practice and the Law on Dissemination of Science and Technology Knowledge. For full update to readers, Editorial Board would like to publish Dr.Sc. Nghiem Vu Khai's full speech to the National Assembly.

“Dear Chairman and Vice chairmen of the National Assembly,

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

First of all, I would like to express my consensus on a need to amend and supplement some articles of the Law on Promulgation of Legal Documents; basically agreed with the Government's Proposal and Verification Report of Legal Committee.

I would like to share my opinions on specific contents as follows:

1. The responsibility of receiving and revising draft laws, ordinances and resolutions should be devolved to whom, the submitting agencies, organizations and delegates of the National Assembly or the verification agencies.

Until now, the Government presents 2 options:

Option 1:Agencies, organizations, and delegates of the National Assembly who submit drafts, ordinances or draft resolutions shall be responsible for the reception and revision of draft laws, ordinances and resolutions.

Option 2:The verifying agency shall be responsible for the reception and revision of draft laws, ordinances and resolutions.

In the Government's Report, advantages and disadvantages of each plan were analyzed. However, I personally agree with Option 2, because:

Firstly, this plan has been implemented since 2002 (at the beginning of the 11 ^thNational Assembly), and has been still working well. As stated in the Government’s Report: “some problems and shortcomings are due to the poor implementation of the process and the responsibility of agencies involved in this process hasn’t been executed completely. Therefore, it is necessary to research how to amend and supplement regulations in order to raise each agencies’ responsibilities from steps of drafting, appraising, verifying, getting opinions to receiving, explaining and adjusting the draft laws to improve quality of each document as well as quality of the whole legal system, rather than change the role of unit in charge of reception and revision because of some recent shortcomings.

Secondly, legislature is one of the three major functions of the National Assembly; therefore, the National Assembly's agencies need to play a leading role in the reception and revision step of the draft laws before they are passed by the National Assembly. The question is how to assign to promote government agencies’ role and responsibilities, especially the role of the drafting agency head and state management agency in the oncoming time. Based on my experience in many years of participating in making laws (both in drafting committee or verification committee), I believe, drafting agency’s role, especially the head, is very important. That role is expressed by political responsibility, strategic vision, management experience as well as a sense of vigilance and close cooperation, and community responsibility with the verifying agency.

Thirdly, the initial coordination between Legal Committee and a committee expected to be assigned to preside over the verification from law-making proposals to draft laws. Comprehensive, objective and serious assessment of criteria, conditions and requirements on quality of law-making proposals in accordance with the process before being included in the program of law, ordinance and resolution formulation is an important step which decides the quality of legal documents later.

There are, of course, other factors as the delegates analyzed.

2. Full institutionalization of the Party's guidelines and policies and ensuring the Party's leadership in the process of law-making.

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

In 2008, the 10 ^thCentral Executive Committee issued Decree No. 27 on BUILDING A QUALIFIED HUMAN SOURCE IN THE PERIOD OF PROMOTING THE COUNTRY’S INDUSTRIALIZATION AND MODERNIZATION. On April 16 ^th, 2010, Political Bureau issued Directive No. 42-CT / TW on "Continuing to renovate, improve the quality and performance of the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations in the period of promoting the country’s industrialization and modernization”. Shortly thereafter, Secretariat Committee  issued Announcement No. 353-TB / TW (June 25, 2010), requesting to research and promulgate the Law on Professional Engineering Practice and the Law on Dissemination of Science and Technology Knowledge in the beginning of the 13 ^rdNational Assembly.

In order to implement the above-mentioned undertakings and policies of the Party towards the intellectuals as well as the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations (VUSTA), in May this year, VUSTA submitted the proposal dossier of the Law on Professional Engineering Practice to National Assembly Standing Committee.

At the National Assembly’s 7 ^thsession, in the report No. 409 / BC-UBTVQH14 dated June 10 ^th, 2019 on explanation, reception and revision of law making program, resolution and ordinance of National Assembly Standing Committee states that"Regarding the draft of the Law on Professional Engineering Practice ... National Assembly Standing Committee will consider; if all requirements are met, it will be added to the Program”.

Currently, VUSTA has still been continuing to finalize the law-making proposal, has built the first draft Law on Professional Engineering Practice with 9 Chapters and 54 Articles.

However, until now, through several meetings, opinions of the relevant authorities remained different. With this progress, it is difficult for these two draft Laws (Law on Professional Engineering Practice and Law on Dissemination of Science and Technology Knowledge) to be passed during the 14 ^thNational Assembly. The risk of delay in implementation of the Central Party’s direction for 2 consecutive sessions is obvious.

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

In the Party and State's documents, resolutions and policies, they have recently continued to confirm the role of science & technology as well as the role of science & technology intellectuals. Leaders of the Party, National Assembly and the Government have carried out many activities to show their concern and care for qualified human resources development to increase national competitiveness; developing Vietnam's mechanical engineering industry, innovation in the context of industrial revolution 4.0.

To accomplish the above strategic tasks, the role of professional engineers is the most critical. I also would like to report to the National Assembly that the leading technology countries in the world have all enacted Law on Professional Engineering Practice, as in the United States, the first Law on Professional Engineering Practice was enacted in 1907 (over 110 years). Out of 10 ASEAN countries, only Laos and Vietnam do not have this law. This is worth thinking!

Being a social-political organization of the Vietnamese science & technology intellectuals, VUSTA respectfully recommends that the relevant authorities implement the guidance of the Central Government in a timely manner.

Thank you.

Dr.Sc. Nghiem Vu Khai”

Author:P.V