Amending the Law on Emulation and Commendation: Increasing decentralization, avoiding rampant commendation

Ensure that rewards are "timely, for the right people, for the right jobs".

Continuing the program of the First Session, the 16th National Assembly, on the afternoon of April 8, the National Assembly listened to the Submission and Appraisal Report on the Draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Emulation and Commendation.

Presenting the Submission on the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Emulation and Commendation, Minister of Home Affairs Do Thanh Binh said that the development of the draft Law is necessary to institutionalize the Party's guidelines and policies on arranging the organizational structure, promoting decentralization, delegation of power and innovating emulation and commendation work in the new situation.

The draft Law focuses on solving problems arising from practice when implementing the 2-level local government model. The draft supplements the principle of focusing on rewarding individuals and collectives who are pioneers and bring practical efficiency in innovation, digital transformation, and application of science and technology. Along with that, the draft Law aims to promote administrative procedure reform, shifting from paper records management to digital data platforms, ensuring that rewards are "timely, for the right people, for the right jobs".

The draft Law is expected to amend and supplement 48/96 articles of the Law on Emulation and Commendation No. 06/2022/QH15, with a structure of 4 Articles:

Article 1: Focus on amending and supplementing regulations on emulation, emulation titles, forms of commendation, especially redefining the authority and responsibility for commendation and proposals for commendation.

Article 2: Implement the abolition and replacement of phrases and clauses attached to "district level" and standards that are no longer suitable for the current reality of Party organization classification.

Articles 3 and 4: Regulations on effectiveness and transitional clauses to ensure the rights of collectives and individuals requesting commendation, commendation dossiers that are in the process of review before the Law takes effect.

Proposing to assign the Government to stipulate more specific criteria for agencies and units authorized to award certificates of merit, avoiding spreading widely.

Presenting the Summary Report on the appraisal of the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Emulation and Commendation, Chairman of the Committee for Culture and Social Affairs Nguyen Dac Vinh agreed with the necessity of amending and supplementing the draft Law to institutionalize the Party's policy on arranging the organizational structure, promoting decentralization and delegation of power, promoting science, technology, innovation and digital transformation; and at the same time overcoming some obstacles regarding emulation and commendation standards.

The draft Law is basically in line with the Party's policy, the Constitution and ensures the unity of the legal system, however, it is necessary to continue to review relevant laws.

The Committee also agreed with the scope of regulation and subjects of application, however, proposed that the Government supplement financial and budget impact assessment related to expanding the subjects of commendation, and at the same time carefully consider the decentralization for agencies and organizations that do not have the authority to issue legal normative documents; it is necessary to assign the Government to stipulate more specific criteria for agencies and units assigned the authority to award certificates of merit, avoiding widespread dissemination; ensure uniformity in the emulation and commendation system.

In addition, the thẩm tra agency also proposed to maintain the time standards for individuals and collectives when awarding or posthumously awarding the Labor Order and the Fatherland Protection Order as currently regulated; regarding the responsibilities of Vietnamese individuals and organizations when receiving forms of commendation from foreign individuals and organizations.

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