According to the proposal submitted by the Government, the four laws will be presented for feedback and adoption at the 10th session of the National Assembly, scheduled for October 2025.

Minister of Justice Nguyen Hai Ninh presented the Government's motion to adjust the legislative program for 2025.

The Government proposed that two of the laws - the revised Law on Thrift Practice and Waste Combat and the E-commerce Law - be developed through the standard legislative process. The other two - the revised Law on Judicial Expertise and the Cybersecurity Law - would follow a streamlined process.

Members of the Committee on Legal and Judicial Affairs and other relevant bodies agreed with the necessity of adding these four draft laws. They emphasized the importance of drafting high-quality legislation that aligns with and complements recently passed laws, particularly those approved during the 9th session of the National Assembly.

For the revised Law on Thrift Practice and Waste Combat, lawmakers stressed that it should not include provisions related to specialized or administrative inspections. Nor should it detail the content of thrift or waste-combat inspections, as these would conflict with the oversight responsibilities of the National Assembly and the newly passed Law on Inspection.

They also recommended clearly defining the responsibilities of individuals whose actions result in waste, specifying disciplinary, administrative, or criminal consequences. Additionally, restitution and compensation requirements to the State should correspond with the severity of the wasteful actions to enhance deterrence.

The draft law should also improve oversight and reporting mechanisms to ensure transparency and early detection of violations in financial management, budgeting, public investment, land use, and natural resource exploitation.

Regarding the Cybersecurity Law, members suggested that if the law is intended to replace both the existing Cybersecurity Law and the Law on Network Information Security, its name should reflect this broader scope. It must integrate the regulatory coverage of both laws while eliminating overlapping content.

On the E-commerce Law, the Committee noted that legal relations in this sector currently fall under multiple regulatory frameworks. However, the Government’s proposal did not sufficiently clarify the law's relationship with existing legislation or identify specific legal gaps and overlaps that need to be addressed.

Therefore, the draft law must be thoroughly reviewed to define its scope, applicable subjects, and content clearly. This will help avoid contradictions, ensure consistency within the legal system, and reflect the evolving nature of legal thinking in this area.

Given the cross-border nature of e-commerce and its involvement of diverse domestic and international stakeholders - ranging from investment and import-export to service provision and commercial transactions - the drafting process must align with relevant international treaties to which Vietnam is a party.

Chairman of the Committee on Legal and Judicial Affairs Hoang Thanh Tung presented the committee’s report on the Government’s proposal.

As for the revised Law on Judicial Expertise, the Committee urged a careful review of its provisions to ensure compliance with principles of decentralization and delegation. The draft should resolve current legal inconsistencies and overlaps to meet practical needs.

Crucially, the revised law must align with the duties and powers of judicial bodies and procedural entities as defined in recently approved laws on judicial system organization and criminal procedure.

This is particularly important in addressing issues that hinder the resolution of criminal cases involving corruption and economic crimes, where prolonged judicial assessments and evasion of responsibilities have been recurring problems.

The law must also strengthen oversight mechanisms to promptly detect and strictly penalize misconduct or legal violations in judicial assessments.

On broader legislative procedures, the Committee emphasized strict adherence to standard legislative protocols. The fast-track process should be proposed only when genuinely necessary and when all legal conditions under Article 50 of the Law on Promulgation of Legal Normative Documents are fully met.

Regarding the terminology for “revised” versus “replaced” laws, the committee recommended maintaining traditional usage: laws that are comprehensively revised should still be referred to as “revised,” while amendments to specific articles should reflect the scope in the title.

The Standing Committee generally agreed with the Government’s proposal and the Committee on Legal and Judicial Affairs’ report, supporting the addition of the four draft laws and the proposed legislative procedures.

Speaking at the session, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man noted that the 10th session will be the last of the 15th National Assembly’s term. Therefore, all proposed laws must be finalized and submitted during this session. If the drafts are well-prepared and of high quality, they may be submitted via the expedited process.

He also clarified the legal distinction between a “revised” law and a “replaced” law. A revision modifies certain provisions while keeping the original law valid. In contrast, a replacement constitutes an entirely new law, rendering the previous one legally obsolete.

PV