minister; and the relations of the Government to the National Assembly and the
judiciary.
(^70) These suggestions indicate a movement toward a less concentrated
model of constitutional design and practice.
The organizational problem of the procuracy: challenging the
Soviet institution?
Once again, the procuracy faces constitutional reform. Yet, unlike the last, 2001 ,
reform that focused on the adjustment of the functions of the procuracy, recent
advocacy has substantially challenged the organization of the procuracy.
As mentioned above, the ethos of the procuratorial system in Vietnam is its
existence as an independent branch. The rationale of separating the procuracy
from the Government and the courts emanates from the aspiration of socialist
legality in creating an independent supervisory agency to ensure conformity of
executive officials (mainly ministers) and local governments to the central political
institutions’ higher legal normative documents, such as the Constitution and the
laws of the legislature. As the general supervision (kiem sat chung) function of
the procuracy was significantly truncated by the 2001 constitutional reform, the
rationale of reforming the procuracy again has been considerably jeopardized.
The problem of the procuracy is that in court proceedings the line between its
two functions (conducting public prosecution and supervising judicial activities) is
blurred, and this has significantly affected the independence of judicial activities.
71
One solution is to restrict the procuracy supervising power and concentrate on
prosecution. Since the supervising power is limited, there is little rationale for the
procuracy to exist organizationally as an independent branch. This idea spurred an
appeal for transforming procuracy as an independent system into prosecution
(vien cong to) arranged inside the Government.^72 Importantly, the matter of organ-
izational metamorphosis of the procuracy is not only a scholarly concern but also a
Party direction. Resolution No 49 -NQ/TW on Judicial Reform Strategy to 2020
(hereinafter Judicial Reform Strategy) encourages the “study [of] the transformation
of the procuracy to the prosecution.”^73
(^70) “Constitutional Proposal.”
(^71) Nguyen Hung Quang, “Lawyers and prosecutors under legal reform in Vietnam: the
problem of equality,” in Stephanie Balme and Mark Sidel (eds.),Vietnam’s New Order:
International Perspectives on the State and Reform in Vietnam(New York: Palgrave
Macmillan, 2007 ), p. 168.
(^72) See Bui Ngoc Son, “Vien canh Vien kiem sat o Viet Nam” (Prospect of the procuracy in
Vietnam) 20 ( 157 )( 2009 )Legislative Studies Journal 20. See also Dao Tri Uc, “Ve Vien kiem
sat o Viet Nam” (On the procuracy in Vietnam) ( 2011 ) 7 ( 192 )Legislative Studies Journal 5.
(^73) “Nghi quyet so 49 -NQ/TW ngay 02 / 6 / 2005 cua Bo Chinh tri ve Chien luc Cai cach Tu
phap Den Nam 2020 ” (Resolution No 49 -NQ/TW dated 02 / 6 / 2005 of the Politburo on
Judicial Reform Strategy to 2020 ), atwww.moj.gov.vn/ct/thongtinchienluoc/Lists/Van-
BanThongTin/View_Detail.aspx?ItemID= 12 &CateID= 1.