President urges NA to improve justice system, legislation to create a state ruled by law

The President has urged the National Assembly (NA) and Provincial People’s Councils to maintain their prominent roles in strengthening the legislation system following their outstanding performance in past years.
Speaking at a meeting of members of the National Assembly’s 9th legislature and Provincial People’s Councils’ 2nd legislature on Friday, President Thongloun Sisoulith noted that implementation of the Resolution adopted by the 11th Party Congress had been ongoing for almost three years and that the two legislative bodies had satisfactorily performed their political duties beyond the mid-term.

Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith.

President Thongloun highlighted the important work carried out by the legislative bodies and other organisations in representing the rights and interests of the entire population.
“We have strengthened the legislation system in a systematic way to create a strong foundation for transition to a state that is governed by the rule of law,” the President said.
The National Assembly, Provincial People’s Councils and the Vientiane People’s Council have played a major role in resolving important national and local issues, including through the adoption of two national agendas, as well as stepping up the monitoring of administrative and judicial bodies in ways that were proactive.
Over the past three years, the National Assembly has also been actively involved in foreign affairs at the regional and global levels, in line with the Party’s foreign policy of friendly engagement.
“Most notably, the National Assembly hosted the CLV Summit involving Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam from December 5-7. The meeting confirmed the strengthening of the longstanding close cooperation and building of solid foundations between the three neighbouring countries,” the President said.
He praised National Assembly and Provincial People’s Council members for their active role in representing Lao citizens and carrying out their political duties with the aim of strengthening the foundations for further improvements in the years to come.
“The Party Central Committee appreciates the political responsibility and leadership demonstrated by Party committees, the leadership of the National Assembly and Provincial People’s Councils, and their significant contribution to the development and implementation of the Resolution of the 11th Party Congress and fulfilment of the 9th five-year National Socio-Economic Development Plan,” the President said.
At the same time, President Thongloun called on the NA and Provincial People’s Councils to ensure their work was productive and efficiently carried out.
The President stressed the need to formulate new legislation and refine existing laws that suffered from a lack of clarity, suggesting that the need for frequent revisions was due to the poor quality of original legislation.
He also called on the NA to put quality over quantity when formulating laws, saying that the content of some laws overlapped with similar laws, making enforcement difficult.
The development of legislation is still incomplete, he added, noting that the enforcement of laws was weak, meaning that the needs of society were not properly addressed.
Poor law enforcement meant that violation of laws was common and widespread, and not enough had been done to resolve this problem.
“It is necessary to strengthen the role and capacity of the National Assembly and Provincial People’s Councils in monitoring, inspecting and implementing the duties of the state power system related to audits and inspections,” the President said.
“Important issues must be forcefully dealt with to resolve the unsatisfactory findings of audits, to ensure that issues brought to light through inspections are addressed quickly and firmly,” he added.
The President also referred to the monitoring and inspection work carried out by the NA and People’s Councils at the provincial level in conjunction with state inspection agencies, the Lao Front for National Development and mass organisations, saying this work should be carried out more diligently and in greater depth, as required by the Constitution and the country’s laws.
He also urged the legislative bodies to institute new and imaginative changes as part of efforts to shore up the progress and aims of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, improve development plans and coordination between government agencies, and enhance democracy in the parliamentary system.
The head of state instructed the NA to ensure the direction of the Party’s work reached a deeper and more effective level in the second half of the 9th legislature, as well as increase the unity and political responsibility of NA members and other government officials in legislative bodies.
In addition, the National Assembly was advised to increase cooperation with the parliaments of friendly countries and create stronger links with international parliaments based on the government’s foreign policy of independence, friendship and cooperation.

By Times​ Reporters​
 (Latest Update December 25, 2023)