Instructions on supervision activities by elected bodies in the books by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong

Dr. TRAN THAI HA
Academy of Journalism and Communication

1. Introduction

According to the 2013 Constitution, the National Assembly holds the supreme supervisory power over State activities, while People’s Councils at all levels are responsible for supervising the enforcement of the Constitution and the law in their localities and the implementation of their resolutions. The supervisory activities of the National Assembly and People’s Councils at all levels are conducted in the context where many organizations and agencies in our country’s political system also perform similar functions and tasks, such as: inspection and supervision activities of the Party; inspection, auditing, and investigation activities of a number of State agencies; supervisory activities of the Fatherland Front and socio-political organizations. Therefore, it is necessary to correctly and clearly define the roles, responsibilities, scope and content of supervision of the National Assembly and People’s Councils at all levels so as to avoid overlapping and duplication as well as to avoid instances of neglect. On that basis, it is important to propose tasks and solutions for the National Assembly and People’s Councils at all levels to properly perform their supervisory functions in accordance with the provisions of the law, thereby meeting practical requirements.

2. The supervisory role of elected bodies

The supervisory activities of the National Assembly and People’s Councils at all levels are associated with the institutions of our State - a socialist rule-of-law State of the people, by the people, for the people; mastered by the people; all state power belonging to the people, the foundation of which is the alliance between the working class, the peasantry and the intelligentsia. State power is unified, with division, coordination and control among state agencies in the exercise of legislative, executive and judicial powers.

Firstly, supervision by elected bodies is one aspect in the implementation of state power

Our State is the State of the people, by the people and for the people; the people delegate their state power to the State. To ensure that state agencies properly and fully exercise the rights assigned to them, elected bodies are assigned the function of supervising state agencies in the performance of their functions, tasks and powers as prescribed by the Constitution and laws. The National Assembly and People’s Councils at all levels use their assigned power to supervise state agencies in complying with the Constitution and laws and implementing resolutions and decisions of the National Assembly and People’s Councils at the same level. Supervision by the National Assembly is the exercise of one of the powers of the highest organ of state power; supervision by People’s Councils is the exercise of one of the powers of local-level state authorities. Comrade Nguyen Phu Trong affirmed: “Supreme supervision of state activities is a really important function of our National Assembly”(1).

Secondly, supervision by elected bodies is an important component in controlling the exercise of state power

Although the Constitution clearly stipulates that state power is unified, and that state agencies do not possess their own separate powers but only exercise legislative, executive, and judicial powers, in practice, there remains a risk of abuse and misuse of power. Therefore, the issue of power control must be considered an important and ongoing task. Along the principle of “locking power in a cage of mechanisms”, it is necessary to “control the exercise of state power. Power is always at risk of “degeneration”; therefore, it is necessary to strengthen and improve the effectiveness of power control. All power must be tightly controlled by mechanisms; power must be bound by responsibility; where there is power, there is responsibility, the higher the power is, the greater the responsibility; anyone who abuses or takes advantage of power for personal gain must be held accountable and punished for their violations”(2).

The assignment of state power to each state agency in each field and at each level is necessary to avoid overreaching, doing things on behalf of others, overlapping, and not fully promoting the authority and responsibility of state agencies. Without this the effectiveness and efficiency of operations will fall short of requirements. However, decentralization and delegation of power easily lead to the mindset of “your rights, my rights”, “crabs rely on their claws, and fish rely on their fins”. To properly implement both of these aspects, it is necessary to “promote decentralization and delegation of power along with the strengthening of inspection, supervision, and strict control of power”(3); “All cadres and party members need to remember that all state power belongs to the people, the people exercise state power through direct democracy, through representative democracy through the National Assembly, People’s Councils and other state agencies. Therefore, it is absolutely forbidden to abuse or take advantage of power, not to rely on power to bend the straight into the crooked, and anyone who uses power must serve the people, be responsible to the people and voluntarily submit to the people’s supervision”(4).

Thirdly, the supervisory activities of elected bodies contribute to promoting more effective performance by state agencies in fulfilling their functions, tasks and powers

State agencies are tasked with organizing the implementation of the law and bringing the law to life: “The development and promulgation of legal documents is very important, but the more important thing is to properly implement the law, make the law come into life, and turn it into a vivid reality”(5). In this process, each agency must address specific issues arising in the fields and levels under its responsibility. In reality, besides agencies that implement the law properly and creatively apply legal provisions and decisions of the National Assembly and People’s Councils, there are still agencies that fail to implement them correctly, fully, or even commit violations, lack innovation, fail to cooperate closely in performing duties, rely on others, or shift responsibility. Through supervision activities, elected bodies promptly affirm and encourage agencies that perform well and creatively, bringing about high efficiency, and at the same time point out limitations and shortcomings, helping state agencies promptly overcome them, not allowing them to accumulate and develop into major violations, leading to serious consequences. Not only do they point out limited cases, but supervision by elected bodies also identifies specific agencies and individuals responsible for those limitations. “Through supervision, it is possible to properly evaluate performance and determine the responsibility of agencies, organizations, and leaders performing public duties, in order to promote the functioning of the state apparatus”(6).

The effectiveness of this supervision is most clearly demonstrated through the questioning and answering activities at the sessions of the National Assembly, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly and the People’s Council sessions. Unlike inspection and investigation of violations, supervision activities are only to observe, monitor, review, evaluate, point out the advantages and limitations in the activities of the supervised subjects. It promptly impacts and requires the supervised subjects to continue to promote the advantages, overcome pointed-out limitations and shortcomings so that state agencies can better fulfill their assigned functions, tasks and powers. At the same time, through supervision, the supervising subject also promptly grasps the difficulties and obstacles that the supervised subjects are facing, thereby recommending solutions to competent authorities.

Comrade Nguyen Phu Trong pointed out: “The National Assembly’s supervisory activities... contribute to promoting state agencies to enhance their achievements and advantages; overcome shortcomings and limitations; improve the quality and efficiency of their operations and successfully carry out the country’s political tasks”(7). Not only for state agencies that are under supervision, supervisory activities also have an effect on the subject of supervision. “In reality, supervision and questioning are a “push” to further promote and have a positive impact on solving the problems facing us. After supervision, both of the supervising subject and the supervised subject see through more responsibility, have a greater understanding, and feel themselves grown”(8).

Fourthly, through supervisory activities, limitations or shortcomings in legal regulations and inadequacies in deciding important issues facing the country and localities are discovered

Real-life situations are constantly changing, and no matter how thoroughly anticipated or planned, the law can never cover all areas or keep pace with life’s developments. Decisions by the National Assembly and People’s Councils at all levels concerning socio-economic development, culture, national defense, and security inevitably contain elements that do not fully align with reality. Therefore, the supervision activities of the National Assembly and People’s Councils at all levels will help to detect inadequacies in laws, guidelines and policies for timely amendment and improvement. General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong pointed out: “The supervision activities of the National Assembly... point out the provisions of the law that are lacking or not suitable and need to be amended and supplemented to ensure implementation”(9). Moreover, through supervision, we can also discern the direction for amending and supplementing laws, guidelines and policies.

3. Content of supervision by elected bodies

Firstly, comprehensively supervise the compliance and implementation of the Constitution and laws by state agencies

The National Assembly supervises the promulgation of legal documents by the Government and competent agencies; the People’s Council supervises the promulgation of regulatory documents by the People’s Committee and specialized agencies under the People’s Committee according to their authority. This is to ensure that the drafting and promulgation of legal documents comply with the Constitution and the law, avoid delays, lack of authority, conflicts between documents, especially inserting unclear interests of management agencies into documents, creating many cumbersome administrative procedures, causing obstacles for businesses and people. A core focus of the supervision by the National Assembly is “supervision of the promulgation of legal documents by the Government and competent agencies”(10).

Secondly, supervise the implementation of resolutions and decisions of the National Assembly and People’s Councils at the same level

Resolutions and decisions of the National Assembly and People’s Councils at all levels express the orientation, goals, mechanisms, policies, and conditions for ensuring and assigning responsibilities to state agencies in all areas of social life. These resolutions and decisions are implemented by state agencies in accordance with their functions, tasks and powers. Accordingly, the scope of supervision must “cover most areas, from socio-economics, culture, education, science and technology, social order and safety, to judicial activities”(11), “to promptly detect and take measures to adjust, supplement, promote positive aspects, minimize unnecessary consequences arising from policies; promptly correct errors and shortcomings and promote the implementation of socio-economic development tasks”(12).

Thirdly, thematic supervision of the resolution of outstanding, pressing issues that are of concern to a large number of voters

Within comprehensive supervision, it is necessary to focus on thematic supervision activities: “Supervision activities should not by spread out, rather they should focus on important and urgent issues that the people and voters are interested in(13); “content should focus on major and important issues of the country, the shortcomings and urgent issues of life, reflecting the thoughts and aspirations of the people”(14). The most obvious advantage of thematic supervision is that it goes deep into a number of key issues, which contain many difficulties, are intertwined with many mechanisms, policies, regulations and many subjects. Therefore, thematic supervision can thoroughly and insightfully assess the limitations and shortcomings of each relevant entity, point out root causes, lessons learned, obstacles, and propose sound, feasible solutions for reform and advancement.

Fourthly, supervision of the implementation of post-supervision conclusions and recommendation

The results of the supervision are only the first step. The effectiveness of the supervision depends on the implementation of the conclusions and recommendations after the supervision conducted by the relevant agencies and organizations. General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong affirmed: “Focus on supervising the implementation of conclusions and recommendations after the supervision”(15). Along with supervising the implementation of conclusions and recommendations of the supervision delegations, it is necessary to supervise the implementation of the resolutions of the National Assembly and People’s Councils on questioning and answering questions, especially on hot and urgent issues in the economy and society. Accordingly, the Government, ministries, sectors, and People’s Committees at all levels must actively push for implementation and periodically report on the progress and results of carrying out post-supervision conclusions and recommendations..

4. Conditions to ensure that elected bodies perform their supervisory functions well

Firstly, clearly define and correctly understand the functions, tasks, scope, subjects, methods and forms of supervision

First of all, the National Assembly and People’s Councils at all levels need to fully understand their roles and clearly define their responsibilities in correctly performing their supervisory function. Regarding the National Assembly - the agency with the supreme supervisory function, “Promote and improve the effectiveness of the implementation of the National Assembly’s supreme supervisory function over all activities of the state apparatus, especially the supervision of compliance with the law by state administrative agencies at all levels and judicial agencies. Continue to raise awareness and improve the way of conducting supervision to continuously improve the quality, ensuring that the State’s laws are strictly enforced”(16).

Supervisory activities must also comply with legal regulations and must not be arbitrary. “The amended Law on Supervisory Activities of the National Assembly needs to clearly define the scope, content, and supervisory mechanism of the National Assembly and its committees”(17).

Since 2008, Comrade Nguyen Phu Trong has stated that the revised Law on Supervision of the National Assembly needs to “specifically regulate, increase normative force, and include sanctions for the implementation of post-supervision recommendations, including the responsibility to respond to citizen complaints and denunciations and the fulfillment of commitments made in response to questioning”(18). The Law on Supervision of the National Assembly and People’s Councils promulgated in 2015 has demonstrated that spirit. This work still needs to be further studied and improved to define the scope, subjects, methods, and forms of supreme supervision by the National Assembly and supervision of People’s Councils at all levels to ensure consistency with material reality; improve the quality of questioning, explaining, and supervising legal documents, focusing on supervision, reviewing, and urging the implementation of recommendations after supervision, linking them with votes of confidence in the National Assembly and People’s Councils for positions elected and approved by the National Assembly and People’s Councils.

Secondly, continue to renovate supervision methods and forms

In recent years, the supervision activities of the National Assembly and People’s Councils have undergone many renovations and improvements in both content and form. However, “to improve the quality of supervision, in addition to strong determination, there must be appropriate methods, tools, and forms of supervision that ensure timely and accurate feedback about legal implementation, the effectiveness of policy enforcement, and the pressing needs of life that require adjustment”(19). Special attention must be given to renewing and improving forms of supervision: reviewing work reports, examining legal documents showing signs of wrongdoing, questioning and answering sessions, thematic supervision, confidence votes and no-confidence votes, and so on.

Thirdly, be open, transparent, and strictly implement accountability in the operations of state agencies

To monitor, evaluate and draw accurate conclusions, sufficient information is needed, all information must be accurate, updated and verifiable. For unclear matters, the supervised agency must give specific and honest explanations. “Openness, transparency and accountability are the first conditions for controlling power”(20).

Fourthly, build a mechanism for close coordination between the supervision of elected bodies and the inspection and supervision of the Party; supervision of the Fatherland Front, socio-political organizations and the people

The people are the masters and supervisors over the activities of state agencies through elected bodies, the Fatherland Front and socio-political organizations. In recent years of renovation, the supervisory role of the Fatherland Front and socio-political organizations has been promoted and in fact, this activity has had a notable impact. The reports synthesizing voters’ opinions of the Central Committee of the Fatherland Front at the sessions of the National Assembly and the National Assembly Standing Committee on socio-economic tasks reflect the people’s supervisory opinions.

From practice, Comrade Nguyen Phu Trong pointed out: “It is necessary to continue researching and improving legislation on social supervision and feedback, creating the best conditions to promote the people’s supervisory role, including direct supervision and supervision through the Fatherland Front and mass organizations. On the other hand, state agencies from the central to local levels must, based on their functions and duties, coordinate more closely and harmoniously with the Fatherland Front and mass organizations”(21).

Along with implementing democracy and supervision through representative organizations, people can directly participate in supervising the activities of state agencies and state officials and civil servants. People are very interested and often have many opinions expressing dissatisfaction and opposition to negative phenomena of state agencies, officials and civil servants, especially manifestations of corruption, waste, abuse of power for personal and family benefits, or “group interests”. Therefore, it is necessary to “Implement a mechanism for public supervision and public opinion. Research needs to be done to have appropriate forms to expand the scope of public participation...”(22).

In our country’s political system, the State is under the leadership of the Party, all State agencies include Party committees and organizations; key officials of State agencies are all Party committee members and Party members. Alongside the supervision of the National Assembly and People’s Councils at all levels are the Party’s inspection and supervision activities; the State Inspectorate’s inspection; investigations by authorized agencies; audits by the State Audit Office; and the oversight of the Fatherland Front and socio-political organizations. Therefore, it is necessary to promote these activities, creating a combined strength: “Promote the role of supervising the exercise of power through the inspection and supervision of the Party; inspection and audit of the State; supervision of elected bodies and elected representatives, of judicial bodies, the Fatherland Front and its member organizations, of the press, the people and society... Enhance the role of journalism and media; strengthen communication on good people and good deeds; challenge and refute wrong views, corrupt and negative behaviors”(23).

Fifthly, improve the quality of National Assembly deputies and People’s Council deputies at all levels

The supervisory agents of elected bodies include both collectives (the National Assembly, the National Assembly Standing Committee, the Ethnic Council, the National Assembly Committees, the National Assembly delegations; the People’s Council, the People’s Council Standing Committee, the People’s Council committees, the People’s Council delegation groups) and individual National Assembly deputies and People’s Council deputies. Ultimately, however, the responsibility and quality of National Assembly and People’s Council deputies determine the quality and effectiveness of their supervisory activities. Therefore, it is necessary to “focus on improving the quality of National Assembly deputies, considering it a decisive step in improving the quality of the implementation of the functions, tasks, and powers of the National Assembly”(24). Accordingly, it is necessary to promote the central role of National Assembly deputies and People’s Council deputies at all levels; improve the quality and efficiency of operations, ensure standards and structures for National Assembly deputies and People’s Council deputies at all levels; link the responsibilities of National Assembly deputies and People’s Council deputies at all levels with constituencies and voters; strongly renovate the content and forms of contact with voters by National Assembly deputies and People’s Council deputies at all levels; perfect the mechanism of voters’ supervision and the mechanisms, methods and criteria for evaluating National Assembly deputies and People’s Council deputies at all levels; foster supervisory skills, ensure conditions for National Assembly deputies and People’s Council deputies at all levels to truly perform their central role.

5. Conclusion

Supervision is one of the main functions of the National Assembly and People’s Councils at all levels. The effective performance of the supervisory function of the National Assembly and People’s Councils at all levels will contribute to fulfilling the role of these bodies as organs of state power; contributing to strictly controlling the implementation of state power; contributing to promoting state agencies to better perform their functions, tasks and powers; promptly detecting limitations and shortcomings in legal provisions and inadequacies in deciding important issues for the country and localities. In order to fully implement the supervisory role according to legal provisions and improve the quality of supervision activities, it is necessary to synchronously implement solutions from raising awareness and responsibility to renovating and perfecting mechanisms, regulations, forms and methods of supervision, as well as enhancing the quality of National Assembly deputies and People’s Council deputies at all levels.

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Received: December 20, 2024; Revised: January 7, 2025; Approved for publication: January 15, 2025.

Endnotes:

(1), (5), (6), (8), (9), (10), (11), (12), (13), (16), (17), (18), (19), (24) Nguyen Phu Trong: The National Assembly in the process of renovation to meet the requirements of building and perfecting the socialist rule of law state of Vietnam, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2024, pp.238, 334, 380, 342-243, 336, 238-239, 238, 340, 460, 269, 256, 300-301, 229, 379.

(2), (4), (20), (22), (23) Nguyen Phu Trong: Resolutely and persistently fight against corruption and negativity to contribute to building our Party and State to be increasingly clean and strong, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2023, pp.39, 32, 31-32, 66, 50.

(3), (7), (14), (15), (21) Nguyen Phu Trong: Some theoretical and practical issues on socialism and the path to socialism in Vietnam, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2024, pp.57, 77, 77, 80, 117-118.