The 16th National Assembly is set to convene its second session on 17/10, a 30-day working period that will extend over weekends, including six saturdays and one sunday. This session aims to review and pass 43 laws and resolutions. The session is scheduled to conclude on 21/11, divided into two phases: from 17/10 to 13/11, and from 19/11 to 21/11. Notably, the National Assembly will meet all day on saturday, 17/10 and sunday, 18/10, during the first weekend.

Among the 43 draft laws and normative resolutions slated for approval are significant legislative pieces, including the Penal Code, the Criminal Procedure Code, the Land Law, the Housing Law, the Real Estate Business Law, and the revised Law on Handling Administrative Violations. Additionally, the National Assembly will provide feedback on four other draft laws: the Derivatives Trading Law, the Vietnam Maritime and Inland Waterway Code, the revised Food Safety Law, and the Cultural Industry Development Law.

Beyond legislation, the National Assembly will address 10 groups of issues related to socio-economic affairs, the state budget, and oversight, alongside other important matters. These include: the socio-economic development plan, state budget estimates and allocation, and the 2027 public investment plan. The session will also feature interpellation and question-and-answer sessions. To ensure the quality of these legislative efforts, agencies of the National Assembly, the Government, and related bodies will dedicate the period from 15/11 to 19/11 to incorporating feedback, revising, and finalizing the draft laws and resolutions.

Deputy Head of the National Assembly Office Nguyen Van Hien speaks at the conference on 13/10. *Photo: Dai bieu Nhan dan Newspaper*

The upcoming session follows a preparatory conference held on 29/9, co-chaired by Prime Minister Le Minh Hung and National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man. This meeting, involving the Standing Committee of the Government's Party Committee and the Standing Committee of the National Assembly's Party Committee, focused on discussing the session's agenda. Both parties agreed to coordinate policy-making, resolve differing opinions early, and ensure the quality of decisions. Chairman Man emphasized prioritizing quality over speed, especially for laws that can be passed within a single session. Prime Minister Hung stressed the importance of preventing sectoral or local interests from influencing policies and detecting loopholes that could lead to negative practices. He underscored that new laws must be implementable from the outset, avoiding last-minute revisions.

This second session marks the 16th National Assembly's regular year-end gathering, opening three days earlier than the customary 20/10. The first session in April focused on consolidating high-level personnel and establishing development plans. Subsequently, the first extraordinary session in August passed 15 laws and 6 normative resolutions, while also providing initial feedback on 7 draft laws. Following this extraordinary session, government agencies organized 30 specialized meetings on law-making, reviewing 34 items, draft laws, and resolutions, with the Prime Minister chairing three meetings to consider 8 important items.

Son Ha