The Ministry of National Defense assesses that financial contributions instead of directly performing military service have a large social impact, many contents are unclear, so it has not been included in this law amendment.
The content is stated in the report expected to receive and explain opinions of National Assembly delegates on the project Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of 9 laws on military and national defense drafted by the Ministry of National Defense.
Previously, delegate Nguyen Cong Long, full-time member of the Law and Justice Committee, proposed studying a mechanism so that people who have reached the age of enlistment but have not yet been selected can still contribute to building the country.
According to the Ministry of National Defense, the possibility of replacing direct military service with financial contributions or military service tax has been studied by the authorities during the preliminary and final review of the implementation of the Military Service Law.
However, the drafting agency assessed that this policy has a huge social impact, while many contents are unclear and do not have enough practical and legal basis. Policy development therefore requires more time for comprehensive and thorough research and evaluation.
This revision, the Government focuses on institutionalizing the conclusions of the Politburo and the Secretariat on local military organizations, including building a regular commune-level military command and reorganizing the regional defense command to suit the two-level local government model. Therefore, the drafting agency has not proposed a financial contribution policy.
The Ministry of National Defense said it will continue to research when the Military Service Law is overall revised. Policies and specific contents will be carefully evaluated before being submitted to competent authorities for consideration and decision.
Agreeing with the Ministry of National Defense, Lieutenant General Tran Duc Thuan, Deputy Chairman of the National Defense, Security and Foreign Affairs Committee, said that not including this policy in the current law revision is prudent, because the issue is of concern to society but there are many different interpretations.
According to him, first of all, it is necessary to distinguish military service from the general responsibilities and obligations of citizens to the country. Military service is a constitutional obligation, directly linked to the task of protecting the Fatherland. Therefore, the fact that people who are qualified but not selected due to quotas have an additional form of contribution should not be understood as "paying money instead of military service", much less can it create a message that people with money have the right not to enlist.
Mr. Thuan requested the Ministry of National Defense to comprehensively summarize the implementation of the Military Service Law; Statistics on the number of qualified citizens but not selected due to quotas; classify each group and determine the actual need for a new contribution mechanism.
Along with consulting international experience, the policy needs to be evaluated on five aspects, including constitutionality and legality; social justice; economic impact; affecting national defense and security; and ability to organize implementation. The research process needs to seek opinions from defense and military agencies, legal, economic and social experts and the people. If the evaluation results prove that the policy is necessary and feasible, the authorities will consider including it in the overall revision of the Military Service Law.
"The policy must aim to ensure fairness in the performance of civic duties, mobilize more social resources, but not let military service be understood as being able to be "bought" with money," he said.
Regarding the proposal to increase sanctions for people who avoid military service, the Ministry of National Defense said that this draft adds the acts of not complying with the decision to call for medical pre-qualification and cheating in military service registration. Depending on the nature and severity, violators may be disciplined, administratively fined or prosecuted for criminal liability.
The current Penal Code stipulates that people who avoid military service can be subject to non-custodial reform for up to 2 years or imprisonment from 3 months to 2 years; Aggravated cases may result in imprisonment of 1-5 years.
According to the Ministry of National Defense, acts of not complying with decisions on registration, pre-qualification, medical examination or military enlistment have been classified in terms of the nature and level of violations in the Penal Code and by-law documents. The current regulatory system basically ensures deterrence, education and enforcement.
The drafting agency will continue to review and study the overall amendment when there is sufficient legal and practical basis.
The National Assembly plans to consider and approve a draft amendment to 9 laws on military and national defense on August 24.
