Continuing the agenda of the First Extraordinary Session of the 16th National Assembly, on the afternoon of August 6, the National Assembly held group discussions on the following: the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Architecture; the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on the State Bank of Vietnam, the Law on Anti-Money Laundering and the Law on Credit Institutions; and the draft National Assembly Resolution on crime prevention and control and the prevention of law violations, the operations of the People’s Procuracies and People’s Courts, and judgment enforcement. The Resolution is intended to replace National Assembly Resolution No. 96/2019/QH14 on crime prevention and control and the prevention of law violations, the operations of the People’s Procuracies and People’s Courts, and judgment enforcement. 

Delegates of the Hanoi National Assembly Delegation participate in the group discussion on the afternoon of August 6.

Taking part in the discussion on the draft amended Law on Architecture at Group 1, Mr. Ho Si Hung, VCCI President and a delegate of the Hanoi National Assembly Delegation, noted that the draft Law places greater emphasis on culture and national cultural identity. This is a convincing approach, particularly in highlighting the distinctiveness and defining characteristics of Vietnamese architecture.

“We are in the process of development, and culture itself is also evolving rapidly. Without proper orientation, architecture could become culturally diluted or even regress. Therefore, cultural considerations need to be given due attention during the revision of the Law,” VCCI President Ho Si Hung said.

President Ho Si Hung proposed that the draft Law should make greater use of language emphasizing the “cultural dimension,” including national cultural identity, modern culture, and the integration of Vietnamese culture with global culture.

VCCI President Ho Si Hung, a delegate of the Hanoi National Assembly Delegation, participates in discussions on amendments to the Law on Architecture and the Law on the State Bank of Vietnam at the afternoon session on August 6.

In addition, according to delegate Ho Si Hung, Clause 4, Article 1 of the draft amended Law stipulates that “the architectural design dossier is a component of the construction design dossier and serves as the basis for carrying out subsequent design steps of a construction investment project.” This would establish an independent and separate step requiring a dedicated architectural design dossier.

For many small-scale projects, this requirement could create difficulties. Therefore, differentiation should be considered. While such a requirement is necessary for large-scale projects, for projects where architectural design and construction design are integrated, such integration should be permitted to reduce overly separate and burdensome procedural requirements. This is particularly important in rural and economically disadvantaged areas, where the regulation could inadvertently create an additional burden and increase administrative procedures.

Commenting on regulations concerning architectural practice certificates, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ho Si Hung said that the Law provides for individual practice certificates and sets a minimum competency requirement, under which applicants “must hold a university degree in architecture or construction from a domestic or foreign educational institution recognized in accordance with regulations,” while also requiring an assessment of professional experience.

“If these requirements are in place, is it necessary for a State agency to issue the practice certificate? Or, once an individual has completed training at a recognized educational institution, gained professional experience and passed an assessment administered by socio-professional organizations, such as the Vietnam Association of Architects, could the certificate be issued directly by such organizations?” President Ho Si Hung raised the question. He also noted that transferring the entire dossier to a State agency for certification, followed by subsequent adjustments and amendments, could result in numerous procedures while the practical effectiveness remains unclear.

According to VCCI President Ho Si Hung, Point b, Article 21 of the amended Law also addresses competency standards for individuals holding architectural practice certificates. Essentially, the current provisions repeat the same requirement: a university degree qualifies an individual to obtain a practice certificate, and holding a practice certificate qualifies the individual to practice.

“I propose simplifying this matter by assigning socio-professional organizations or educational institutions to conduct competency assessments and issue practice certificates, while State agencies should focus on post-inspection and the disclosure of relevant information,” delegate Ho Si Hung said.

Regarding the amendments to the Law on the State Bank of Vietnam, he also pointed out overlaps in inspection and examination activities and proposed establishing a single focal agency with overall responsibility for inspection, examination and supervision. This would help avoid a situation in which authorities at both central and local levels conduct inspections and supervision, resulting in duplicated workloads.

Also commenting on the draft amended Law on Architecture, particularly the provisions on national cultural identity in architecture, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Dung, a delegate of the Hanoi National Assembly Delegation, said that defining national cultural identity in association with residential communities within a specific geographical area could narrow the scope of architectural identity.

She therefore proposed broadening the definition to encompass architectural characteristics at the national, cultural-region, ethnic, local and residential-community levels. At the same time, the determination of architectural identity should be based on surveys and consultations with cultural authorities, experts, professional organizations and local communities.