Notably, the number of judges at the Supreme People's Court will be increased to a maximum of 27.

On the afternoon of April 26, the National Assembly’s Standing Committee discussed and provided opinions on the draft amendments to the Law on the Organization of People's Courts.

Presenting the proposal, Nguyen Van Tien, Deputy Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court, stated that the draft law proposes restructuring the court system by eliminating the High People's Courts and district-level People's Courts.

Instead, Regional People's Courts would be established, and specialized courts would be transformed into specialized divisions within these regional courts.

Under the proposed model, the court system will consist of three levels: the Supreme People's Court, provincial and centrally-governed city People's Courts, and Regional People's Courts.

Additionally, the draft law proposes increasing the number of Supreme People's Court judges from the current 13-17 to between 23-27 to handle the increased workload resulting from the integration of tasks previously performed by the abolished High and District People's Courts.

Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court Le Minh Tri confirmed that the proposal to increase the number of judges had been approved by the Politburo.

The draft law also proposes the establishment of specialized courts focusing on economic affairs, intellectual property, and bankruptcy cases at certain regional courts.

According to representatives of the Supreme People's Court, the creation of specialized courts will not increase the number of organizational units, as they will be integrated within the structure of Regional People's Courts. The specialized divisions have already been mentioned in previous versions of the Law on the Organization of People's Courts. The number of regional courts, set at 355, was previously approved by the Politburo and the Central Committee, ensuring that the restructuring will not lead to new administrative layers.

Moreover, the draft law proposes expanding the eligibility criteria for Supreme People's Court judge appointments to include individuals who are already judges of the People's Courts or have held the position of department head (or equivalent) at the Supreme People's Court for at least five years.

Chief Justice Le Minh Tri explained that expanding the eligibility criteria aims to address practical bottlenecks and create a broader pool of candidates for Supreme Court appointments.

Concluding the discussion, Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Khac Dinh announced that the Standing Committee agreed that the draft was sufficiently prepared to be submitted to the National Assembly for consideration and approval at its ninth session under an expedited process.

The Vinh