Deputies query top judge about the quality of trials
HA NOI (November 17, 2003)— Both the quality of trials and the competence of the judiciary were at the heart of many questions asked of the Supreme People’s Court’s Chief Judge, Nguyen Van Hien, in the National Assembly last Saturday.
The deputies conceded that much progress had been made in judicial reform but said much remained to be done.
Asked by Nguyen Thi Van Lan, HCM City, and Nguyen The Hiep, Da Nang, about the numerous provincial and district court verdicts revised or revoked, the chief judge replied that revision or revocation of 19.3 per cent of all verdicts was acceptable.
It was up to 40 per cent in other countries of the region and the world.
The chief judge said that statistics showed that about 25,820 or 19.3 per cent of the 133,767 prosecutions in criminal, civil and economic courts of the first instance since the beginning of the year had been followed by an appeal.
Of the 21,661 finally heard by the Appeal Courts, the verdicts of 7,295 had been changed and only 1,616, or just 1.2 per cent of all trial decisions, had been overturned.
Nguyen Thac Nhuong, Bac Ninh province, said wrong decisions went beyond mere comparative figures to grave political and economic consequences for citizens.
Many deputies and voters remained worried about the quality of provincial and district court trials, he said.
But the chief judge said only a small number of appeals were caused by an abuse of power by the judiciary, bribe-taking or violations of legal procedure.
The revision of decisions and quashing of court verdicts mostly resulted from after-trial agreements by both plaintiffs and defendants and the provision of new evidence and witnesses.
This showed that the quality of court trials has been significantly improved, the chief judge said,...
emphasising that tougher penalties would be handed down to judges and other court officials found guilty of bribe-taking and other violations of law.
Dinh Huu Toi, Nghe An province, and Nguyen Minh Thuyet, Lang Son province, queried the delayed execution of court decisions and asked the chief judge how this could be changed.
The deputies were told that the Criminal Procedures Law requires that court decisions be executed within 15 days but this could not be done because every year the appeal courts have to deal with a great number of trials.
Therefore an amendment that matched reality was needed.
The chief judge said that holding trials in remote regions needed a week’s travelling as well as time for the processing of papers and the issuing of warrants of execution.
Effective co-operation between the relevant agencies, such as police and local officials, was also required.
The chief judge pledged to work closely with other relevant offices to address the issues raised by the deputies.
The deputies, in turn, asked that more heed be given to forging a strong contingent of qualified staff with high professional and ethical standards to meet the nation’s demands in the new stage of development. — VNS
