Constitutionalism in Asia in the Early Twenty-First Century

(Greg DeLong) #1

The important point here is the trend to specify the constitutional provisions


concerning human rights so that they will be feasibly implemented. Currently, the


Constitution commits to a wide range of rights, but in abstract language, which


makes the human rights constitutional provisions largely irrelevant to the people’s


quotidian activities. To handle this shortcoming, Vietnam intends to define in


more detail constitutional rights in the hope that they can be meaningfully put into


practice.


Due to the international and domestic factors, Vietnam plans to revise her


current Constitution a second time and bring the constitutional framework into


line not only with national transition but also with global development. Import-


antly, the proposal for reforming the constitutional framework of the state apparatus


and of human rights manifests the inclination toward some international standards


of modern constitutionalism: limited government, judicial review, judicial inde-


pendence, and human rights protection.


The draft revised constitution


On November 15 and 16 , 2012 , in its plenary session, the National Assembly


discussed the draft revised constitution submitted by the Constitutional Amend-


ment Committee. Subsequently, the draft was further developed by the Consti-


tutional Amendment Committee and then was released to the public for debate


from January 2 to March 31 , 2013.
84
The draft introduced around a hundred revised


or new articles to the current constitution, which has 147 articles. Its important


contents are as follows.


Its preamble defined the Vietnamese people as the subject to ordain the consti-


tution. With regard to the political system, the draft introduced the new principle


of control among state branches in the practice of legislative, executive and judicial


powers, which is relatively similar to the Western principle of checks and balances.


Moreover, the draft further strengthened the principle of the distribution of powers


by, for the first time, clearly defining that the NA shall practice the legislative


power, the Government shall practice the executive power, and the courts shall


practice the judicial power. In addition, the draft introduced the Constitutional


Council as the special body of constitutional review, but with rather weak power.


The draft also further emphasized human rights protection in several ways, such as


inserting the term “human rights” (quyen con nguoi) into the title ofChapter 2 ,


“Human Rights and Citizens’ Rights and Duties,” clearly defining rights provisions,


and supplementing some important rights, for example the right to life. To


enhance the role of the courts in protecting human rights, the draft formally


recognized the courts as the bodies authorized to practice the judicial power to


(^84) A draft of the revised constitution is available on the website of the National Assembly,
http://duthaoonline.quochoi.vn/DuThao/Lists/DT_DUTHAONGHIQUYET/View
Detail.aspx?ItemID= 32 &TabIndex= 1. It also appears in most online state media.


216 Bui

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