“Unfeasible regulations will only remain on paper and the public don’t care about them but even violate them,” deputy chairwoman of the National Assembly’s Justice Committee Le Thi Nga has said. Nga made the remark in an interview with Tuoi Tre about the situation in which many decrees or circulars have been enacted although they are not practical and thereby unfeasible. Some of them are even considered as jokes, such as the regulation (just abolished) on adding three scores to the results of universality exam papers done by women holding the title “Heroic Vietnamese Mother” or by those who engaged in revolutionary activities before 1945. Such heroic mothers are generally in their 90s now. Regarding this regulation, included in Circular 24 recently issued by the Ministry of Education and Training, Nga said, “An official involving in issuing this regulation has explained that the age of heroic Vietnamese mothers will be younger in the future. This may happen, but in fact, how many such mothers or revolutionaries have attended university exams so far? In addition, are there any predictions that say that such women will take university exams in the future?”

Such a regulation is not wrong but it is not practical at all, Nga said, adding that regulations must not be issued for form’s sake, but must be issued for purposes of social management. “Have officials who created the regulation ever thought whether such incentive will be received with pleasure by the heroic mothers?” Nga emphasized that concerned agencies should listen to feedback from the public about the irrationality or unfeasibility of any regulations they have issued. The official also answered some other questions from Tuoi Tre.Q: People say that it is unfeasible to implement a regulation obliging family members to contribute to the family’s budget within their financial ability. What do you think about this issue? A:  The law on penalties for administrative violations regulates that the agency that issues a fine must prove the existence of the violation subject to that fine. In this case, such a contribution is carried out in a family, between a husband and a wife, so it is very hard for any agencies to prove it. Moreover, such a regulation may lead to a situation in which it is the victim that will pay the fine, since in Vietnam women usually manage their family’s budget. In order to become practical and enforceable, laws must meet common norms in line with international practice but it must also be conformable to tradition, moral philosophy, habits and customs of each nation.Q: Is it necessary to revise procedures regarding reviewing circulars before they are issued? A: The Justice Ministry should be assigned to take part in the procedure to review the promulgation of circulars by all other ministries. As far as I know, the ministry has made a plan to pilot a mechanism of control over the preparation and enactment of circulars in all ministries. This mechanism will help ensure the objectiveness, transparency and enforceability of circulars. Q: Not only circulars, but some decrees have also been issued despite their impracticality. Why?   A: It is because the drafters of such decrees did not comply with the Law on Issuance of Legal Documents and that such decrees were not carefully considered before they were issued.Q: Which solutions do you think are necessary to prevent poor-quality circulars from being issued? A: The most important solution is to improve the performance efficiency of cadres and civil servants by assigning clear responsibilities to each of them. Over the past decades, no officials have been dismissed, demoted, disciplined, or forced to pay compensation for their mistakes in relation to initiating, verifying or issuing legal documents that are wrong or unenforceable or stir up negative responses from the public.          Currently, if any ministries issue poor-quality legal documents, the National Assembly should question those ministers or give them a vote of confidence. In case the officials committed such mistakes, they must be given strict disciplinary actions. I believe that if such strong actions are taken, the situation will change.