The Vietnamese National Assembly has made great strides over the past 59 years.

On January 6, 1946, only four months after the birth of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV), all Vietnamese citizens over 18 years old, regardless of gender, religion or political view, went to the poll in the country's first general election to select their representatives in the National Assembly. This marked the first leap forward for democratic institution in the DRV.

Three days later, on January 9, 1946, the new National Assembly met and adopted the first Constitution of the DRV. The legislature also approved the first Cabinet led by President Ho Chi Minh.

Throughout the two resistance wars against French colonialists and US imperialists as well as in post-war national construction, the National Assembly has proven its role as the highest power body representing the people through appropriate decisions ensuring the interests of people of all walks of life and the efficient operation of the government.

After the general election in 1976, the sixth National Assembly, the first legislature of a reunified Vietnam, decided to change the name of the country to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, and to rename Sai Gon-Gia Dinh after President Ho Chi Minh.

After four revisions, the 1992 Constitution established the full legal foundation for the organisation and operation of the Vietnamese National Assembly, under which the legislature has three important functions of law making, monitoring the government's operation, and deciding important issues of the country. The 1992 Constitution was a milestone in Vietnam's legislative work.

The Doi Moi (renovation) cause initiated in 1986 and led by the Communist Party of Vietnam also blew new winds into the National Assembly's activities. The law-making body played an important role as a democratic forum to discuss issues important to the country, to build up and adjust the country's legal system, and to supervise the implementation of laws nationwide.

The Vietnamese NA joined the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Organisation (AIPO) and the Francophone Parliamentary Alliance (APF). It was one of the founders of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF) and the Association of Asian Parliaments for Peace (AAPP), and has established ties with the parliaments of many countries.

The NA has worked hard to reform the law-making work to meet the urgent demands of the national industrialisation and modernisation, which were to make comprehensive changes to the legal framework and remove all obstacles in terms of mechanism, policies and administrative procedures to mobilise to the fullest all resources and create an impetus for all economic sectors to boost production and business.

As a result, during the three latest tenures, the number of legal documents passed by the National Assembly in each working session has increased to 17-20 from only 7-8. The NA has set the goal to adopt between 40-50 legal documents at each session.

The quality of the laws has also improved remarkably with the establishment of a specialised board in charge of legal work in the government and the sharp increase in the number of full-time NA deputies.

The law-making process has been expanded to involve experts and management officials of related fields, as well as individuals and organisations related to the law under compilation, which helps enhance the feasibility of new laws.

The NA has paid special attention to legal documents serving the country's international integration process, especially in the economic field. A series of laws have been promulgated or revised to make Vietnam's regulations compliant with its international commitments.

Most recently, before the 11th NA convened for the ninth session in May and June of this year, the NA adopted a resolution to speed up the adoption of laws on competition, enterprises, investment, auditing, taxation, foreign exchange and marine and air transportation.

Changes have also been seen in the NA's other activities. The decision-making process relating to key positions in the Government has become transparent and public with a breakthrough in June of 2004, which was a confidence vote on the then Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Le Huy Ngo.

The increasing presence of the media at the NA sessions testifies to the democratic atmosphere in the people’s elected body. Many newspapers increase their pages during the NA's sessions, the number of hits to news websites jumps, and people can be seen voicing their opinions on the NA meeting everywhere, from pavement tea stalls to offices. Questioning sessions of Cabinet members are broadcast live nationwide and attract a great number of viewers. The public shares with NA deputies the concern over pressing problems and how leaders of the State, the NA, the Government and related branches deal with them. People have got used to the sight of reporters surrounding NA deputies and government officials to question them on outstanding cases of corruption or wastefulness, which was a rarity only 10 years ago.

The NA has also striven to enhance its supervision of the administration's activities, assigning full-time deputies to each field, holding more public questionings of Cabinet members and collecting voters' opinions.

The National Assembly is working hard to build up its achievements over the past six decades to deserve its role as Vietnam's "Palace of Democracy." (VNA)