On the morning of April 9, the National Assembly discussed in groups about 4 draft Laws including: The draft Law on Civil Status Registration (amended); The draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Notarization; The draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Legal Aid and the draft Law on Access to Information (amended).
Speaking at the group, Politburo Member, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man agreed with the necessity of issuing draft laws because these are all draft laws that directly and regularly affect people.
According to the National Assembly Chairwoman, in the context of organizing 2-level local government, it is necessary to amend laws to be more suitable to reality and better ensure the rights of the people.
Contributing opinions on the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Legal Aid, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man noted that it is necessary to have a multi-dimensional perspective from the perspective of beneficiaries to implementers and service providers, how to mobilize and further strengthen the participation of lawyers in supporting vulnerable groups (single elderly people, children, people without shelter...).
The National Assembly Chairwoman said that regarding the expansion of beneficiaries in Article 7, the Drafting Committee needs to study and supplement people with average living standards but falling into difficult circumstances.
Thereby, it is necessary to supplement the group of people who are not poor households but encounter upheavals and face severe financial difficulties. Currently, the poverty rate of the whole country is only 1.3%, but the near-poverty rate is 3 times higher and the risk of re-poverty is always present.
We must pay close attention to this group" - National Assembly Chairman emphasized.
Regarding children, the National Assembly Chairwoman proposed expanding the scope of legal aid for all children in criminal and civil cases related to the legitimate rights and interests of children instead of only limiting it to certain conditions as at present.
For workers, according to the National Assembly Chairwoman, it is necessary to add subjects who are illegally laid off workers or workers in collective labor disputes.
Regarding the application of information technology and digital transformation, the National Assembly Chairwoman said that digital transformation has crept into every corner, including farmers selling goods to ethnic minorities doing tourism in the highlands... Therefore, the Law on Legal Aid must also grasp this trend.
Through this, electronic identification must be integrated into the processing process, promoting the effectiveness of the National Population Database; legalizing the legal value of online consultation and submitting electronic dossiers with value equivalent to paper dossiers to shorten "golden time" and travel costs for people.
At the discussion session, delegate Nguyen Thanh Sang (Ho Chi Minh City delegation) expressed special concern for vulnerable groups and ethnic minorities in accessing legal aid rights.
This delegate said that legal support for this department is an inevitable requirement. Therefore, the delegate proposed to amend the regulations in Article 7 instead of requiring residence in "especially difficult areas", only requiring residence in "difficult areas" to be eligible for benefits.
Along with that, the delegate proposed to add the "low-income people" group, accompanied by the condition of having confirmation from local authorities. The channel of confirmation from the grassroots level is an important basis for correctly assessing people's circumstances.
