Mobilizing social resources to enforce amended Capital Law

To operationalize the revised Capital Law and achieve the development goals expected by the capital's people, the nation, and the international community, new, breakthrough thinking and concerted efforts are essential.

Hanoi from above. Photo: Hai Linh/The Hanoi Times

On the morning of June 28, the 15th National Assembly, in its 7th session, passed the revised Capital Law with a very high approval rate. This important legal framework serves as a driving force for the rapid and sustainable development of the capital. More importantly, it is crucial to effectively implement the law to make it work in practice.

Drastic action to realize ambitious visions

"The capital of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is Hanoi", a unique metropolis with a thousand-year history of culture and heroism, as recognized in the 1946 Constitution and reaffirmed in the current 2013 Constitution. Throughout its development, Hanoi has received attention, direction, and a special legal framework from the Party, the National Assembly, and the State.

In November 2012, the National Assembly passed and enacted the Capital Law (2012 Capital Law). After nine years in force, this law has achieved significant results, addressing practical issues and enabling the capital to exercise its role and position.

To define the capital’s development directions and tasks until 2030, with a vision to 2045, the Politburo issued Resolution 15/NQ-TW in May 2022. To institutionalize this resolution, Hanoi proactively worked with central ministries and sectors to study and amend the 2012 Capital Law. The thorough and scientific research, based on nine identified special policy groups, involved extensive consultation and gained high consensus.

The revised Capital Law was approved by the 15th National Assembly in its 7th session, marking a significant milestone with profound socio-political implications for both the capital and the country as a whole.

The revised Capital Law inherits the essential elements of the 2012 Capital Law, identifies special features and privileges for Hanoi, and decentralizes and empowers the city with greater responsibilities at the regional, national, and international levels. To put the revised Capital Law into practice and realize the vision and development aspirations expected by the people of the capital, the nation, and the international community, new, breakthrough thinking and collaborative efforts are essential.

First, it is crucial to focus on raising awareness about the Capital Law, the policies for the capital's development, and the responsibilities of various levels and sectors in implementing the law. The 2012 Capital Law consisted of four chapters and 27 articles. The revised Capital Law now comprises seven chapters and 54 articles, addressing specific issues such as urban governance, development and protection of the capital, finance, budgeting, resource mobilization, regional development linkage, supervision, inspection, and implementation.

Each of these aspects has specific policies that require extensive dissemination not only through the media but also directly to localities, political and social organizations, the general public, central and municipal agencies, and provinces in the region so as to achieve consensus. This helps guide public opinion, enhance understanding, and promote a sense of responsibility.

For Hanoi, it is necessary to thoroughly disseminate the law and its detailed implementation guidelines to all party committees, government levels, organizations, and the public through various forms such as conferences, workshops, discussions, and distribution of materials. While the city has achieved significant results in implementing the 2012 Capital Law, the complexity and scope of the revised law's content require more specific and decisive actions.

Additionally, it is essential to develop a detailed plan to complete the legal documents guiding the law's implementation. The  2012 Capital Law required  34 sub-legal documents issued by the Ministry,  the Municipal Council, and the City People's Committee so as to comply with the law's effective dates. The revised Capital Law requires more specific documents (about 80), including more than 50 documents from the City Council, over 15 from the City People's Committee, and around 5 from relevant ministries.

The city has drafted a plan for this extensive work, but due to its scope and specificity, it needs a thorough review and timely involvement of various stakeholders to meet the law's effective dates of January 1, 2025, and July 1, 2025.

Completing the guidelines to concretize spatial organization, scale, and population distribution is fundamental to the realization of the special policies set out in the Capital Law. Therefore, it is necessary to finalize the two plans for approval and simultaneously develop a comprehensive plan to implement the system of plans as stipulated in the Planning Law and Construction Law.

The Capital Law stipulates that the development and management of the capital must adhere to the two main plans and implement seven measures to ensure plan execution, prioritizing the planning of the Red River and Duong River subdivisions, environmental zoning, functional subdivision, and sectoral planning of technical infrastructure, including the relocation of certain sites.  These detailed requirements must be reflected in the plans, and their implementation must go hand in hand with the concretization of the Capital Law, ensuring a comprehensive basis for implementation by the time the law comes into force.

The newly passed Capital Law addresses all aspects of economic, cultural, and social development. It not only inherits the essence of the 2012 Capital Law but also introduces new topics such as underground space, the capital's science and technology hub, innovative city models, controlled trials, transit-oriented development (TOD) models, and venture investment.

While Hanoi has done some initial research on these issues, there are still different approaches Therefore, it is crucial to clearly outline these aspects during the concretization phase of the Capital Law. The city must focus on favorable policies to mobilize the intellectual potential of the capital to enhance scientific research and develop high-quality, practical legal documents to be issued by the City Council and People's Committee.

*Assoc. Prof. Dao Ngoc Nghiem is Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Association for Urban Planning and Development