UNIT 5 OVERVIEW OF THE STATE APPARATUS AND OTHER | INSTITUTIONS IN VIET NAM Discuss these questions with a partner | Lead-in 1. What is the meaning of the State Apparatus? 2. What do you know about the State Apparatus? Section I THE STATE APPARATUS IN VIET NAM Reading Comprehension Reading 1 Exercise 1 Answer these questions, then read the article below to check | your answers. 1G What is the Communist Party of Viet Nam? 2. _ | What are the State leading agencies? 35 What is the role of the Communist Party of Viet Nam in Viet Nam? 4. _ | What types of classes are mentioned in the article? 5. | What are the judicial and executive bodies that are listed in the reading? i | | | 98JEXT 1 THE STATE APPARATUS AND OTHER INSTITUTIONS UNDER THE POLITICAL CONTEXT OF VIET NAM. Since its inception in 1930, the Communist Party of Viet Nam (CPV) has been in the vanguard of the struggle for national independence, liberating the country from’ almost a century of domination by western colonialists and leading the people to total victory in the 30-year resistance war against powerful aggressors. Since the country's reunification, the CPV has led the Vietnamese people in carrying out the country's renovation, modernization, and industrialization. Constitution 2013, Article 4 (1) defines that: “The Communist Party of Viet Nam - the Vanguard of the Vietnamese working class, simultaneously the vanguard of laborers and of the Vietnamese nation, the faithful representative of the interests of the working class, laborers, and the whole nation, acting upon the Marxist-Leninist doctrine and Ho Chi Minh's thought, is the leading of the State and society.” The role of the Party bodies is to lead and make other members of the organizations implement the guidelines and policies of the Party, increase the influence of the Party, improve the close relationship between the Party and the people, realize the Party's resolutions on organization and personnel management and decide matters of organization and personnel management in line with the duties assigned by the Politburo. The State administrative apparatus is established in line the Party organizational system from central level to provincial, city, district, and communal levels. In the State leading agencies (National Assembly, People’s Councils) and socio-political organizations at the central level and in provinces/centrally-administered cities which are formed through elections, Party committees set up Party bodies at the same level, composed of some Party members who work for the related organizations and some members appointed by the same-level Party committees. 99In judicial and executive bodies (the government, ministries, courts, the inspection agency, etc.) at the central level and in provinces/centrally- administered cities, Party committees set up the Party boards at the same level, which are composed of some Party members who work for the related bodies, and some appointed by the same-level Party committees, including the secretaries. The role of the Party boards is to make other members of the bodies understand and implement the: Party's guidelines and policies; give advice to the Party committees on operation, duties, organization, and personnel management; make decisions within their competence, and to observe the implementation of the Party's guidelines and policies, However, it is worth noting that: the State is organized and operates in concordance with the Constitution and the law, manages society by the Constitution and the law and practices the principle of democratic centralism (Article 8.1 Constitution-2013). Therefore, it is essential to clarify the leading role of the Communist Party and the operation of state apparatus in the specific context of Viet Nam. (Adapted from Political system available at the link hitps.//vietnam. gov.vnlpolitical-system-68959, accessed on 7 Dec 2021) Language work Exercise2 Vocabulary (Translate the following words/terms into Vietnamese) N° English terminology Vietnamese equivalent 1 | The Communist Party of Viet Nam (CPV) (np) 2 | government (n) administration (n) I | | | | | |4 | state apparatus (np) fi 5 | domination (n) 6 _| The State administrative apparatus (np) 7 | the Vietnamese people (np) 8 | personnel management (np) Exercise 3 Find nouns/ verbs/ adjectives in the article that collocate with these words 1. | role 4, colonialists = 7. policies 2. | apparatus 5. | independence 8. | guidelines _ 3. | committees 6. | class 9. | liberating 1. _ | This is the gun with ... _-the murder was committed. Exercise 4 Complete these sentences with a suitable relative pronoun. 2. |The bagin.....:... the robbers put the money was found later. 3. The work of the government consists of two parts formulation of public policy and the execution of such policy. .. include the 4, _ | Law is the system of rules .... functions of government are to be performed. «++. regulate the methods by which the not restrain each other through separated functions. 5. In the United States, there are three branches of government ....... 101Exercise 5 Work in pairs. Take turns choosing one of the words in the box and define or describe it for your partner to guess. When they have guessed the word, they must put it into a sentence of their own. arust’ enhance ban fined breachdamages disqualification dominate influential prohibit restrict unenforceable Reading 2 Exercise 1 Discuss these questions with a partner. te How can you define the term “government”? 2. What are the functions of the government? 3. Can you list the form of Government? 4. What is the responsibility of the government to the citizens? 5. How do you understand the term “central government”? TEXT2 THE STATE APPARATUS MODELS In every system of government the power to govern is located in one or more places geographically. From this standpoint, some basic structures exist, such as unitary, federal, ... Unitary Government A unitary government is often described as a centralized government. All powers held by the government belong to a single, central agency. The central (national) government creates local units of government for its convenience. Those local governments have only those powers that the central government chooses to give them. Most governments in the world are unitary in form. 102Great Britain is a classic example. It has a single central organization, the Parliament, holding all of the government’s power. Local governments exist solely to relieve Parliament of the tasks that would be difficult or burdensome to do. Though unlikely, Parliament could get rid of those agencies of local government :at any time if it wanted to. Be careful not to confuse a unitary government with a dictatorship. In the unitary government, all forms of power are held by the central government, but that government can still be elected by the people, and if so, would only have the powers that the people allowed it to have. So, a government could be both unitary and democratic. Federal Government A federal government is one in which the powers of government are divided between a central government and several local governments. An authority superior to both the central and local governments makes this division of powers on a geographic basis, which cannot be changed by either the local or national level alone. Both levels of government act directly on the behalf of the "| people through their own sets of laws, officials, and agencies. In the United States, for example, the Federal Government has certain powers, and the 50 individual -states have others. This division of powers is set out in the Constitution. The Constitution stands above both levels of government and cannot be changed unless the people agree to that change. Australia, Switzerland, Canada, Mexico, Germany, India, and some 20 other states also have federal forms of government today. In the United States, the term ‘Federal Government’ is often used to refer to the National Government but note that the 50 state governments are unitary in structure, not federal. (Adapted from hitps://www.thompsonschools.org/ Structures of Government) 103Language work Vocabulary N°: English terminology Vietnamese equivalent 1 | unitary government (np) chinh quyén tap trung 2 | federal government (np) chinh quyén lién bang i 3 | local government (np) ‘chinh quyén dia phuong 4 | power (n) thdm quyén 5 | Parliament (n) Nehi vién 6 | hold the power (collo) nam git quyén luc 7 | burdensome (a) nang né 8 | agency (n) co quan 9. | dictatorship (n) ché d6 déc tai 10 | elect (v) bau cir 11_ | democratic (a) dan cht 12. | divide (v) - phan chia : 13. | set of laws (np) hé théng an) dinh phap luat 14 | Constitution (n) Hién phap : cao hon 15. | superior (a) Exercise 2. Read the text above and answer these questions. 16 What is the unitary government? Give an example 2. What are the features of the unitary government? 104¥ Se ee ee Se rei 3. _ | What authority body holds all of the government’s power in the unitary government? 4, | What is the federal government? Give an example 5. _ | What are the features of the federal government? Exercise 3 Read the text again carefully and determine which government has the following characteristics. 1. _ | All powers held by a single and central agency. 2. | Local governments have only authority vested in them by the central government. 3. _ | Citizens can still elect the leader of their government. 4. | The powers of government are divided between a central government and several local governments. 5. _ | The United States belongs to this type of government. Exercise 4 Complete these sentences with the correct form of the words society. (civil) lL. Such behavior is totally unacceptable in a . to drive through a red light. (legal) 3. | The dictator showed his .........- to govern effectively which led to a chaotic society. (capable) 4. There are signs of growing ............ amongst voters. (affect) 5. | The ..........., normally the Parliament, has the function of making law. (legislate) 105Exercise 5 Work in pairs. Take turns choosing one of the words in the box and define or describe it for your partner to guess. When they have guessed the word, they must put it into a sentence of their own. division unitary dictatorship judiciary state authority organization democracy federal constitution administration Section IT OVERVIEW OF THE STATE APPARATUS IN VIET NAM Reading 3 Exercise 1 Answer these questions, then read the article below to check your answers. 1. | What is the legislature in Viet Nam? What principle is applied when the state governs in terms of the Constitution and the law? 3. | What is the highest state administrative body in Viet Nam? 4. | How many levels is the state structured? 5. | What is the responsibility of the People’s Committees? TEXT 3 STRUCTURE OF THE STATE APPARATUS AND OTHER INSTITUTIONS IN VIET NAM The Vietnamese state is organized and operated in terms of its Constitution and the law. The state governs in terms of this Constitution and the law in accordance with the underlying principle of Democratic Centralism. This principle does not rely on the separation of powers as understood in other democracies around the world, but instead uses a top-down approach to state authority which concentrates significant power in the National Assembly — 106the national legislature of the country. The Constitution states that the “National Assembly shall exercise constitutional and legislative powers, decide on important issues for the country, and conduct the supreme oversight of the activities of the state.” The Constitution further establishes that the National Assembly appoints and exercises.control over the government and organs such as the Standing Committee of the National Assembly. The National Assembly is the highest state authority in Viet Nam. While the government is the highest state administrative body, and the Supreme People’s Court the highest judicial authority, both are responsible to and report to the National Assembly. The state apparatus is inherently hierarchical. The following diagram illustrates the basic structure of the Vietnamese state. Structure of the’State Apparatus National Assembly peo Supreme People’s Court Y People’s Council H People’s Committee High Courts I 1 Provincial Courts ‘Aueg isjunuud District People’s District People’s Council Committee District Courts ———r_—__—_ Commune People’s Commune People Council Committee 107As illustrated above, the state is structured in four levels: the national level or central level, the provincial level, the district level, and the commune level, ‘The National Assembly is elected by the citizens as the highest central state | organ in the country. At the local level, the People’s Councils are similarly elected to organize and ensure the implementation of the Constitution. In the same way that the National Assembly appoints the Government, including the President, Prime Minister, and Ministers, as the executive arm of the state’ the People’s Councils select members to join People’s Committees. These Committees are responsible for local government administration. (Adapted from the book published by Max Plack under project Rule of Law Attps://www.mpfpr.de/projects/vietnam/supporting-administrative-law-in-viemam/) Vocabulary N° English terminology Vietnamese equivalent 1 operate (v) hoat d6ng, van hanh 2 | in accordance with (prep) tuan theo 3 | democratic centralism (np) tp trung dan chi : 4 _| separation of powers (np) 7 phan quyén (tam quyén phan lap) 5 _ | Standing Committee (np) a uy ban thudng vu : 6 exercise (v) thure hi 7 legislative power (np) quyén lap phép 8 | administrative body (mp), ; co quan hanh chinh - 9 judicial authority (np) co quan tu phap 10 | important issue (np) vin 48 quan trong 108Language work Exercise 2 Find words in the article that collocate with these following words 1. ‘| principle 4. | Power 7. | authority 2. | centralism 5. | issue 8. | body 3. | approach 6. | Oversight 9. | tevel Exercise 3 (a) Match these words to'make collocations from the article 1. | state a. court 2. | supreme b. authority 3. | local c. power |4.. | standing . d. level 5. | constitutional e. administration. 6. | basic f. party 7. communist g organ 7 8... | government a h. committee 9. | judicial i structure (b) Write a sentence using each collocation in context lL. 109(©) Work in pairs. Test your partner on the collocations by giving the first or second part to elicit the other. 110Exercise 4 Complete these sentences with the correct form of the words 1. |The National Assembly holds two sessions each year to pass the proposed by the executive branch. (amend) 2. | The decision of the Supreme Court of the U.S can be changed only by a constitutional .. (interpret). 3. | The President has the power to ... and direct military strategy and actions in times of war and peace. (determination) 4, | The General Assembly has the power to admit new members to the UN. It also approves the budget for UN programs and ..-- (operate). 5. | Nixon’s second ........0:s+0e: helped him to avoid impeachment. (resign) Exercise 5 Work in pairs. Take turns choosing one of the words in the box and define or describe it for your partner to guess. When they have guessed the.word, they must put it into a sentence of their own. amendment _ interpretation executive branch judicial branch legislative branch duties policy obey reluctance —_services Writing Exercise 1 Write complete sentences from these words. You do not need to change the word order. Add other words if necessary. 1. aim/ communist party/ make/ Viet Nam/ strong/ independent/ prosperous/ democratic/country/ equitable/ civilized/ society/ realize/ socialism/ ultimately/ communism. Ill2. party/ organizational/ system/ establish/ in line/ State administrative/ apparatus/ cenitral level /provincial/ city/ district’ communal level/ administrative bodies/ schools/ enterprises/political/social/professionaV/organizations/ army/ police forces. 3. government/ accountable/ National Assembly/ National Assembly’s Standing Committee/ President of State. » 4. Viet Nam/Labor/ Confederation/ well-organised/ various levels/ operate/ all/ country "5. Viet Nam/Fatherland/Front/voluntary/ political _coalition/ _ political organizations/ socio-political organizations/ social organizations/ individuals/ all classes/ social strata/ ethnic groups/ religions/ include/overseas Vietnamese. 6. Standing Committee/National Assembly/permanent/ body/ National Assembly/ two sessions. 112eT eee eee 7. other social/political organizations/ play/ important role/ struggle/national salvation. Exercise 2. You are a Vietnamese law student. Write a letter to a foreign student who wants to know about the state apparatus in Viet Nam. You should include: - The role of Communist Party of Viet Nam - Overview of the state apparatus in Viet Nam 113UNIT 6 THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY Discuss these questions with a partner Lead-in __| 1. What do you know.about the National Assembly in Viet Nam? 2. What is the function of the National Assembly in Viet Nam? Section LEGISLATURE IN SOME COUNTRIES Reading Comprehension Reading 1 Exercise 1 Answer these questions, then read the article below to check your answers. 1. _] What are the basic needs of Aftican citizens in the 21" century? 2. _ | How can the citizens’ needs and aspirations be responded to? -[3. | What does “collective efforts” mean? - 4. | What are the key factors of the development and democratization processes? 5. _ | Whatis the fundamental role of the Parliament? 114TEXT 1 PARLIAMENT IN AFRICA The parliament or legislature plays an important role in the life of a nation. It thus performs three main functions: a) make new laws, change existing laws, and repeal laws which are no longer needed; b) represent and articulate the views and wishes of the citizens in decision making processes and c) oversee the activities of the executive so that the government is accountable to the people. Achieving good governance requires the existence of a strong, effective and efficient parliament. This is so becduse parliament plays a crucial role in gauging, collating and presenting the views and needs of the people, articulating their expectations and aspirations in determining the national development agenda. As an oversight body, parliament helps to identify problems and policy challenges that require attention, and assists in overcoming bureaucratic inertia. In the 21st Century, African citizens around the world have many needs, and aspirations like never before. These range from the basic needs of | preserving and sustaining life, reducing poverty, ensuring peace, security, and stability, to the aspirations of improving the quality of life: from basic freedoms and human rights, the rights to participate in the decision-making processes that affect one’s living and livelihood, to a sense of well-being and self-esteem. Responding to these needs and aspirations would involve all the domains and levels of governance: executive legislature, judiciary, village, district, and city councils as well as the other agencies in the social organizations and private sectors. It will also be bound to be collective efforts, requiring the participation of the people, institutions, and agencies of governance, civil society, and the private sector. People, with their ever- changing needs, wants, fears, and aspirations are thus at the centre of the development and democratization processes. For development to be meaningful and sustainable, it must be initiated and undertaken by the people 115themselves. Only when the people effectively participate in the development | processes can development truly be of their choice. But the people must be sufficiently empowered, meaning that they are provided with the relevant information, knowledge, education, and training so that they can effectively and meaningfully participate in the development processes. People now demand empowerment and participation in the development and democratization processes. The existence of a parliament is not synonymous with democracy, but democracy cannot exist without a parliament. Democracy, in its various manifestations over the centuries, is by far the most coveted political system that serves to link government to the people. A democratically elected parliament is the only true voice of the people. Accountability to the people it serves is the basic plank of a democratic system, and one of its core principles is the principle of political equality, meaning that political power should be distributed as widely and evenly as possible among the people. This principle is captured by the adage: government of the people, by the people, and for the people. The parliament as an important arm of the State has a crucial role in ‘promoting and protecting democracy and good governance, thereby establishing not only the necessary check and balances, but also developing norms and standards for institutions of democracy and governance. The role and functions of parliament to promote democracy and good governance assume great significance today in view of the basic principles and assumptions associated with parliamentary democracy. A parliamentary democratic system acknowledges the fact that parliament derives its powers directly from the consent of the people expressed through periodic elections, and that parliament is to implement the will of the people, among other functions. In Africa, there is an increasing appreciation of the role parliaments | can play in promoting democracy and good governance. 116In short, Parliaments have a critical role to play in the promotion of democracy and good governance. As a result of their lawmaking, representation and oversight functions, parliamentarians can actively engage in the development and implementation of laws and policies that promote democracy and good governance. (Adapted from hitps:Marchive.uneca.org/sites/defaultffiles/PublicationFiles/ role- of-parliament-in-promoting-good-governance.pd) Vocabulary N° English terminology Vietnamese equivalent 1 | parliament (n) Nghi vién, quéc héi 2 legislature (n) Co quan lap phap 3 | manifestation (n) Su biéu hién 4 _| aspiration (n) Khat vong 5 | judiciary (n) Co quan tr phép/ B6 may tu phap 6 | ever-changing (adj) luén thay adi 7 | well-being (adj) thinh vung 7 : 8 | agency (n) co quan (nha nuée) 9 accountability (n) Trach nhiém giai trinh 10 | self-esteem (adj) tu trong 11 | governance (n) diéu hanh 12 decision-making (adj) alae quyét dinh 13 | empowerment (n) trao quyén 14 | democratization (n) sy dan cha hoa 15 | the people (n) ngudi din 117Language work Exercise 2. Find nouns or these,verbs noun phrases in the article that collocate with 1. | reduce 4. | participate in 7. | link 2. | improve 5. | Demand 8. | distribute 3. | require 6. | Ensure 9. | elect Exercise 3 (a) Match these words to make collocations from the article ite basic a. Rights 2. | human b. council : 3. [executive c. _ | processes 4. ar d. Power 5. | democratic e. Sector — 6. - collective f. freedom 7. democratization g legislature 8. | political h. | System 9. | private i Effort - (b) Write a sentence using each collocation in context ie 118(c) Work in pairs. Test your partner on the collocations by giving the first or second part to elicit the other. 119Exercise 4 Rewrite the following sentences in the passive voice. 1. |The law now empowers the people more to participate in the development and democratization processes. '- The people -- 2. _ | The people elect their parliament democratically every four years. - The parliament 3. |The state must sufficiently provide its people with the relevant information and knowledge, education and training. - The people 4. |The state should distribute political power as widely and evenly as possible among the people. - Political power 5. _ | It is thought that the term ‘the people’ is the entire population. - The term ‘the people’ - Exereise 5 Work in pairs. Take turns choosing one of the words below and define or describe it for your partner to guess. When they have guessed the word, they must put it into a sentence of their own. existence nature domain involve equality —-voice core synonymous attempt entire Reading 2 Exercise 1 Discuss these questions with a partner. 1, What are the three big developments in the political system of the United Kingdom? 120; : 2. | How is the Parliament of the United Kingdom structured? 3. | Who are the members of the House of Lords? 4. _ | Who are the members of the House of Commons? 5. | What is the main function of the Parliament of the United Kingdom? TEXT2 PARLIAMENT OF THE UNITED KINGDOM The UK Parliament has two Houses that work on behalf of UK citizens to check and challenge the work of Government, make and shape effective laws, and debate/make decisions on the big issues of the day. The House of Lords The Lords turned out to be far from the politically timid body that Bagebot had described, In 1893 Gladstone’s Liberals, aided by most of the Irish members, carried a bill to give home rule to Ireland. The bill was rejected by the Lords, | but no action was taken against them, for it could be said that they were reflecting popular opinion more accurately than was the Commons. The situation was very different in 1909. The Liberal government had become increasingly restive as the Conservative-dominated Lords rejected or mutilated its bills. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lloyd George, skillfully maneuvered the Lords into rejecting the 1909 budget. Two elections were held in 1910, the first to give authority to force through the ‘people’s budget’ (the Lords yielded), and the second to end such struggles between the two houses. The Parliament Act of 1911 provided that bills which had passed the Commons unaltered in three successive sessions would become law after two years even if the Lords did not agree, and all power of the Lords over money bills was effectively lost, being reduced to a mere one month’s ‘suspensive veto’. The Lords very reluctantly agreed, but the alternative was the creation of perhaps 121the Lords were further reduced from two years to one and from three sessions to two, as a result of the Lords delaying a 1947 proposal of the Attlee Labour Govérnment to nationalize the steel industry. Of coutse, there have been many inquiries into the role and composition of the Lords. Russell produced a reform scheme in 1869 and Rosebery in 1884 and 1888. The Lords themselves tried in 1907. The preamble to the Parliament Act of 1911 announced the intention of making the upper house elective, ‘constituted on a popular instead of a hereditary basis’, and the Bryce Conference was appointed in 1917 to produce a scheme, but nothing came of it. In 1968 an all- party plan was produced for a nominated upper house with a six-month suspensory veto. Nominations were to be controlled so that the government of the day had a narrow majority over the opposition, with the balance of power held by Independents. In 1958 life peers had been introduced, a measure advocated by Bagehot a century earlier. Before this change - and, it took some time to havé an effect - the Lords met for only 60 days a year, rarely for more than three hours a day, and only about 60 members attended at all regularly. It seemed to be dying, peacefully, in its sleep. But the influence of the life peers was eventually decisive. There were Labour peers, and thus some party conflict. The ‘crossbench’ Independent peers played an important role, and || there were now ‘working’ peers, once almost a contradiction in terms. The result was a much livelier house, prepared to challenge the government - whether Labour or Conservative-where there was evidence of strong public support. The quality of inquiries by the Lords also improved, as did the pool of potential ministerial talent, the latter particularly important for a Labour government, which could expect to find few supporters among the hereditary peers. In May 1997, the Labour Party, led by Tony Blair, won an overwhelming victory in the general election. The new Lord Chancellor tried to modernize the 122[dress of his office. ‘I feel that ... the days of breeches, tights and buckled shoes should go’, he told a parliamentary committee, but the House of Lords was still very conservative on matters which seemed to erode its dignity and power. Eventually; the Lord Chancellor was allowed to jettison his half-pants, stockings, and slippers in favor of ordinary black trousers and well-polished black shoes, but when he was presiding over the Lords he still had to wear his long, heavy robe and his long, heavy wig. One of the promises in the 1997 Labour manifesto was the removal of the right of the 758 hereditary peers to sit in the House of Lords, but some negotiations were necessary to get the bill through the Lords, for the Conservative Party opposed reform, the House of Lords being one of their only effective forums of opposition. Eventually, a deal was struck with Lord Cranborne, the Leader of the Conservatives, that 92 hereditary peers, elected by their colleagues, would remain in the Lords as an interim measure. Lord Cranborne was sacked by the leader of the opposition, William Hague, for negotiating the agreement. This was only the first stage in the Lord's reform for, as Tony Blair said, the government was ‘perfectly prepared to agree that in the first stage one in ten hereditaries ‘stays, and in the second stage they go altogether.’ A royal commission was set up to make recommendations by December 1999 on full- scalé“reform of the upper house. The Blair Government promised that a reformed upper house would be in place by the next general election, but this election was held in 2001, without the reform of the House of Lords being completed. The House of Commons Bagehot thought that the effects of the 1867 Reform Act would take some time to become evident, but there were almost immediate changes. The 90 percent increase in the number of voters completely changed the relationship between a 123member and his constituents. To gain the support of such a number of voters] there had to be a mass organization, The Conservative National Union was formed in 1867, and the National Liberal Federation in 1877, to meet this need, These new organizations had to offer the voters some policies and to offer some prospects of the promises being kept. This in turn necessitated a disciplined parliamentary party that would support the government in implementing the promises, and MPs began to be elected as representatives of a party rather than as individuals. The change in voting patterns in the House of Commons was dramatic. In 1860 in only 6 percent of the divisions were their party votes, normally defined as one where at least 90 percent of a party voting in a division do so on the same side. This rose to 35 percent in 1871, 47 percent in 1881, and 76 percent in 1894, By 1967, a hundred years after Bagehot wrote, party discipline was taken for granted, and many thought that MPs were mere robots and that the possibility of significant cross-voting was negligible. The House of-Commons now consists of 659 members, from single-member constituencies with roughly equal numbers of voters, the boundaries being drawn by independent commissioners. Yet it took a long while to get there, and in all the changes the UK lagged years behind the more developed of its colonies. It.will be remembered that in 1867 less than a third of the adult male population could vote, and voting was in public. The secret ballot was introduced in 1872, and in 1884 the electorate was increased from three to five million by enfranchising rural workers, but voters still had to be householders. | In the following year, there was an attempt to redistribute electoral districts so | they would be equal on a population basis and each would have one MP However, some universities and a score of towns retained two MPs. (Adapted from Canberra corporateName=Commonwealth Parliament; address=Parliament House.) 124Vocabulary N° English terminology Vietnamese equivalent 1 | House of Lords (np) Thuong vién 2 | Bill () / dy thao luat 3._| representative (n) ngudi dai dién : 4 | House of Commons (np) Nehi vién 5 | Lords (n) Thugng nghi sy 6 | maneuver (n) Su diéu dong : 7 | Conservative Party (np) Dang bao thi 8 Parliament Act (n) Dao luat cla Quéc héi 9 | federation (n) Lién bang - 10 | suspensive veto (np) Su pha quyét tam thoi 11: | MPs (n) (Members of Parliament) Thanh vién quéc héi - Language work Exercise 2. Read about THE HOUSE OF LORDS in the text 2 above and answer the following questions. 1._| What are the purposes of two elections held in 1910? 2. | What was produced for a nominated upper house with a six-month suspensory veto in 1968? 3. | What was a special event happening in May 1997? 4. | What was the promise in the 1997 Labour manifesto? 5. | When was a royal commission set up to make recommendations on full- scale reform of the upper house? 125Exercise 3 Read about THE HOUSE OF COMMONS in text 2 and decide these following statements True (T) or False (F) 1. | The 1867 Reform Act would create some changes at first. 2. |Some new organizations had to offer some policies and some prospects of the promises being kept to voters to get their support. 3. | The change in voting patterns in the House of Common witnessed a dramatic decrease and the close of the 19th century. 4. | The House of Commons has always consisted of 659 members. 5. | Every electoral district in the United Kingdom has only one MP. Exercise 4 Complete these sentences with an appropriate preposition. 1. | One of Parliament’s main roles is to examine and challenge the work of the government . . questioning ministers, debating and committee work. 2. | MPs debate the proposals and scrutinise the Finance Bill which brings them .. law. 3. | A central role of Parliament is to make new laws as well as making changes ... . existing legislation. 4. |UK parliament is made . . of three central elements: the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the Monarchy. 5. | Parliament is an essential part of UK politics and interacts ... a daily basis with a number of important institutions. Exercise 5 Work in pairs. Take turns choosing one of the words below and define or describe it for your partner to guess. When they have guessed the word, they must put it into a sentence of their own. move toward turn out —_reject agree influence contraction election reformhereditary negotiate 126Section IT THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF VIET NAM Reading 3 Exercise 1" Answer these questions, then read the article below to check your answers. L What is the law-making body named in Viet Nam? 2. | How is the Vietnamese state organized and operated? 3. What is the jurisdiction of the National Assembly of Viet Nam? [4. : F Can you name fone oo at the central level in Viet Nam? ls. What is the authority of the Standing Committee? TEXT 3. THE JURISDICTION OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF VIET NAM | The 2013 Constitution of Viet Nam, Article 69 defines that: (1) The National Assembly is the highest representative body of the People and the highest state power body of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam; (2) The National Assembly shall exercise constitutional and legislative powers, decide on important issues for the country, and conduct the supreme oversight over the activities of the State. In addition, Article 70 determines in detail the tasks and powers of the National Assembly such as: (1) To make and amend the Constitution; to make and amend laws; (2) To exercise the power of supreme oversight over the observance of the Constitution, laws and resolutions of the National Assembly; to review work reports of the President, Standing Committee of the National Assembly, Government, Supreme People's Court, Supreme People's Procuracy, National Election Council, State Audit Office, and other agencies established by the National Assembly; (3) To decide on the country's major goals, targets, 127policies and tasks for socio-economic development; (4) To decide on fundamental national financial and monetary policies; to introduce, change or abolish taxes; to decide on the division of revenues and expenditures between the central and local budgets; to decide on the safe limits for national, public and government debts; to decide on state budget estimates and the allocation of the central budget; and to approve the final accounts of the state budget; (5) To decide on state policies on ethnicities and religion; (6) To regulate the organization and operation of the National Assembly, President, Government, People's Courts, People's Procuracies, National Election Council, State Audit Office, local administrations, and other agencies established by the National Assembly... Significantly, the Constitution further establishes that the National Assembly appoints and exercises control over the government and organs such as the Standing Committee of the National Assembly. The National Assembly holds the power to review the constitutionality and legality of legal documents issued by the organs at the central level including the Standing Committee of the ‘National Assembly, Government, Supreme People’s Court, Supreme People’s Procuracy, National Election Council, State Audit Office, and other agencies established by the National Assembly; The Standing Committee of National Assembly also holds power to supervise the implementation and to suspend the implementation of the legal documents issued by the competent organs at the Central and Provincial level in case of contradicting to the Constitution and Laws enacted by National Assembly. When a law or legal document is determined to be unconstitutional, only the National Assembly can annul such law or legal document based on the proposal of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly. In addition, the Standing Committee has the authority to suspend or annul the legal documents issued by the executive branch. Significantly, the court only reviews the constitutionality and legality of legal | documents issied by executive organs when dealing with administrative 128disputes. For example, during the process of handling an administrative case, if a court finds that the legal ground for making an administrative decision is illegal or unconstitutional, then the court only can recommend to the competent agency to examine, ‘amend or suspend those legal documents. For example, Article 6 of the Law on Administrative Court Proceeding provides that: during the time of settlement of an administrative case, the court may recommend competent agencies and individuals to examine, amend, supplement or annul legal documents when detecting that such documents are contrary to the Constitution, laws or legal documents of superior state agencies. (Adapted from Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam 2013) Vocabulary N° English terminology Vietnamese equivalent 1 | power body:(np) Co quan quyén lye 2. | supreme oversight (np) o_o Giam sat t5i cao 1 , 3 - | National Assembly (np) Quéc hoi T >. ——— 4 | Constitution (n) Hién phap 5 | Standing Committee (np) Uy ban thudng truc 6 National Election Council (np) H6i déng bau cir quéc gia 7 | competent organ (np) co quan quyén luc 8 | executive organ (np) co quan hanh phap 9 | administrative dispute (np) tranh chdp trong Iinh vue hanh chinh 10 | legal ground (np) cn ett phap ly/ co sé phap ly 129Language work Exercise 2 Find nouns or noun phrases in the article that collocate with these verbs (a) Match these words to make collocations from the article. ‘1. | exercise review 7. | annul 2. | conduct supervise 8. | deal with 3. | enact decide on 9. | issue Exercise 3 We monetary a. Power 2. | state 2 b. | Organs 3. | legislative c. Policies 4, administrative d. Document 5. | executive 7 e. Authority 6. | legal f Authority 7. | state 7 g. Dispute : 8. | National : h. Committee 3 9. | Standing i Assembly (b) Write a sentence using each collocation in context. 1G; 130(©) Work in pairs. Test your partner on the collocations by giving the first or second part to elicit the other. 131Exercise 4 Complete these sentences with the correct form of the given word at the end of each sentence. Pay attention to the grammatical features of the words if necessary. | 1. The National Assembly exercises the right to supreme ... all activities of the State. (supervise) 2. |The National Assembly has the highest Constitution and Laws. (authorize) . to make 3. | The National Assembly approves all .. of Ministers upon the recommendation of the government. (appoint) 4. | The Standing Committee of the National Assembly is the .. body of the National Assembly. (permanence) 5. | The members of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly may not ... .. be members of the government. (simultaneous) Exercise 5 Work in pairs. Take turns choosing one of the words below and define or describe it for your partner to guess. When they have guessed the word, they must put it into a sentence of their own. govern concentrate appoint establish review hold enact issue annul recommend