General Secretary To Lam calls for overhauling the legal system to remove overlaps and improve implementability

On the morning of April 6, the first session of the Sixteenth National Assembly opened solemnly in Hanoi. In his opening speech, General Secretary To Lam, representing the Party Central Committee, congratulated the strong results of the election of deputies to the Sixteenth National Assembly and the People’s Councils at all levels for the 2026–2031 term, as well as the delegates elected by voters nationwide.

General Secretary To Lam also highlighted and valued the important contributions of the XV National Assembly and the People’s Councils at all levels for the 2020–2025 term. He said that during that period, the National Assembly and People’s Councils renewed their organization and methods of operation, improved the quality of lawmaking and oversight, and resolved many important national issues—helping remove institutional bottlenecks, restore and develop the economy and society, strengthen national defense and security, and enhance Vietnam’s standing in the world.

According to the General Secretary, these achievements, together with Vietnam’s 80-year tradition of the National Assembly, provide a solid foundation for the Sixteenth National Assembly to inherit, develop, and lift the country to a higher level. He warned, however, that the new development phase requires higher, faster, and more decisive standards for the institutional framework, growth model, governance quality, policy response capacity, rule of law implementation, and improvements in people’s living standards.

Legislative reform and development-oriented lawmaking

General Secretary To Lam urged the Sixteenth National Assembly to reform legislative work to build a modern, unified, stable, and feasible legal system that supports development. He called for strengthening the capacity to translate Party resolutions into policies and laws, and for creating a solid legal framework to implement the 2026–2031 socio-economic tasks and future stages.

He said the legal system should serve as a genuine institutional foundation for development, protect human rights and civil rights, and act as a driver for innovation—freeing productive forces and opening new development space. Lawmaking, he added, must be scientific, democratic, and transparent, with thorough consideration of input from experts, scientists, businesses, the public, and international experience.

General Secretary To Lam emphasized that each law should originate from national interests and the legitimate interests of the people, while firmly preventing cronyism, parochial interests, and negative policy distortions. He also stated that enforcement effectiveness and satisfaction of people and businesses should be key measures of legislative quality.

Substantive and accountable oversight

The General Secretary proposed enhancing supreme oversight in a substantive, incisive, and accountable manner. He said oversight should focus on major issues, critical sectors, and “bottlenecks within bottlenecks” in development, as well as matters of public concern.

He further specified that oversight should especially cover the execution of major Party guidelines, enforcement of laws, and the management and use of national resources and public assets, along with the practice of economy and thrift with accountability of state agencies.

Each oversight item, he said, should have specific responsibility, clear deadlines, and tangible deliverables, based on data, evidence, and quantitative indicators, with clear comparisons between targets and results. He also called for strong roles for parliamentary bodies, MPs, and parliamentary delegations, in coordination with Party oversight, inspection, auditing, and other state mechanisms to create a synergistic force for timely and effective action.

Timely decisions on major national issues

General Secretary To Lam stressed the need to raise courage and vision in deciding major national issues. In a transitional period with pivotal development prospects, he said the National Assembly must decide correctly and timely, noting that delays can cause Vietnam to miss strategic opportunities.

He said economic and social matters, the state budget, public investment, national program targets, and major national projects are long-term national interests and require comprehensive, scientific, and cautious consideration to avoid development bottlenecks caused by delays.

With constrained resources, he called for improving policy analysis quality, forecasting capacity, and impact assessment, and for selecting breakthrough stages, key projects, and priority fields to concentrate resources and avoid dispersion.

Modernizing parliamentary operations and strengthening links with voters

The General Secretary called for continuing reforms in organizing Parliament’s work toward modern, professional, people-friendly, practical, and policy-responsive operations. He said Parliament should improve adaptive capacity and timeliness in policy review and decision-making, consider increasing the number of sessions, diversify and flexibly organize activities, and accelerate digital governance and online formats.

He also emphasized improving the quality and effectiveness of each MP’s work, particularly full-time MPs, and strengthening and empowering parliamentary delegations as close links between Parliament and voters and the people.

General Secretary To Lam said Parliament must stay closely connected to the people by expanding channels to receive and listen to public opinion from voters, the people, business communities, and intellectuals, and by increasing openness and transparency in all activities. He called for building a digital, modern, smart Parliament, while prioritizing a people-friendly Parliament that understands and serves the people.

He concluded by expressing confidence that the Sixteenth National Assembly’s term has begun with a heavy responsibility, and that each MP will continuously cultivate political bravery, raise competence and a sense of responsibility, and place national interests above all in every decision—contributing to realizing Vietnam’s aspiration of a peaceful, independent, democratic, rich, and prosperous future.