Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court Le Minh Tri emphasized that increasing the number of Supreme Court judges is essential to ensure adequate staffing to timely and effectively handle the volume of cassation and retrial cases transferred from the High People's Courts.

The National Assembly today is scheduled to discuss a draft law amending and supplementing several articles of the Law on the Organization of the People's Courts.

This draft law proposes changes to the court system structure, such as ending the operation of High People’s Courts and District People’s Courts and establishing Regional People’s Courts. Additionally, specialized first-instance courts would be reorganized as specialized divisions within the Regional Courts.

The proposed court system structure includes: the Supreme People's Court, the Provincial/Municipal People’s Courts, and the Regional People’s Courts.

Based on this new three-tier model, the Supreme People’s Court would also take on appellate jurisdiction over criminal cases in which the judgments or decisions by the provincial courts have been appealed or protested and have not yet taken legal effect.

During a group discussion on May 8, some deputies asked why the draft does not assign criminal cases with sentences exceeding 20 years to the Regional Courts.

Responding to this, Chief Justice Le Minh Tri explained that the provincial courts would temporarily continue to try serious criminal cases, including those punishable by over 20 years in prison, life imprisonment, or the death penalty. This transitional arrangement is necessary because some judges in remote or mountainous regions may not yet meet the necessary capacity requirements.

He added that once judicial capabilities are more uniformly improved, the Supreme People's Court will consider expanding the jurisdiction of Regional Courts to cover all criminal first-instance cases.

Regarding a proposal from National Assembly deputies to require provincial chief justices to answer questions before provincial People's Councils, Le Minh Tri clarified that this responsibility already exists under the Law on Oversight Activities of the National Assembly and People's Councils. As this pertains to constitutional provisions, any changes would depend on future amendments to the Constitution.

In its contribution to the draft resolution amending certain articles of the Constitution, the Supreme People’s Court has recommended maintaining this responsibility for provincial chief justices. Based on the constitutional amendments, the Court will later propose changes to the Law on Oversight Activities to align with the Constitution and avoid redundancy by not repeating such requirements in the current law.

The need to increase Supreme Court judges

The draft law proposes increasing the number of Supreme Court judges from 13-17 to 23-27. While some support this move, others have called for a clearer justification.

Chief Justice Le Minh Tri stated that the increase is necessary to ensure the Supreme Court has sufficient manpower to handle the high volume of cassation and retrial work that will be transferred once the High Courts cease operation.

Statistics show that the Supreme Court and the High Courts are currently processing around 11,200 cassation and retrial petitions annually and hearing about 1,000 cases each year under these procedures.

To reduce and control the number of petitions and cases requiring cassation and retrial, the Supreme Court plans to implement a range of measures, including improving the quality of first-instance and appellate trials, enhancing the qualifications and skills of judges and other judicial personnel, and strengthening professional discipline and integrity.

The Supreme Court also emphasized its commitment to strict standards in the selection and appointment of new Supreme Court judges.

Although the proposal to broaden appointment eligibility expands the candidate pool, it still requires that appointees be current judges of the People's Court and meet or exceed the existing legal standards and qualifications.

Specifically, candidates considered under this special provision must have held the rank of department director for at least five years, be sitting judges, and have deep expertise in legal practice and adjudication. They must also possess extensive experience in guiding judicial procedures, developing legal precedents, and ensuring consistent application of the law in trials.

Tran Thuong