On April 12, addressing and clarifying opinions from National Assembly delegates, Minister of Justice Hoang Thanh Tung affirmed that the revised Capital Law will provide a strong legal foundation to realize Hanoi's 100-year development vision.

The minister said that 20 delegates contributed opinions on the draft law during the discussion, affirming that the revision is a historic step to establish a new development institutional model and shift from administrative management thinking to development governance.

The guiding principle is to grant stronger authority, promote decentralization and delegation and ensure clear accountability, following the approach "Hanoi decides, Hanoi implements, Hanoi takes responsibility."

"The revised Capital Law will create a solid legal foundation to realize a 100-year development vision, strengthen Hanoi's role as the national political and administrative center and build it into a leading financial and innovation hub on par with global cities," Tung emphasized.

He also stated that the draft law defines the core role of the Capital region, ensuring harmony of interests among the State, citizens and businesses, with people's well-being as the central development criterion.

The Minister of Justice acknowledged feedback from delegates regarding decentralization related to organizational structures and the issuance of legal documents under the authority of higher-level state agencies or those affecting human and civil rights.

He said the draft law will clearly define the authority of each agency and the city government.

For decentralization across development sectors, the law will stipulate only core principles linked to expected outcomes and implementation roadmaps, creating a framework that allows the Capital to exercise autonomy, innovation and initiative in implementing policies suited to its specific development conditions, while maintaining flexibility and adaptability.

Regarding the requirement to balance decentralization with power control, the minister said the draft law has been designed with systematic, transparent and accountable inspection and supervision mechanisms strong enough to match the extensive decentralization granted to Hanoi.

This includes clarifying criteria for decentralization and specifying when authority is assigned to the People's Council, the collective People's Committee, or the Chairman of the People's Committee to ensure clear responsibility.

It also introduces provisions on accountability outcomes and legal consequences if explanations are inadequate or authority is exercised ineffectively, providing a basis for timely adjustments.

Regarding the proposal to allow the Hanoi People's Council to pilot policies different from existing laws or National Assembly resolutions, or in areas not yet regulated, Tung said the list of applicable fields and mechanisms will be carefully reviewed.

He added that clearer provisions will be established in specific sectors to address development bottlenecks while avoiding overly broad policy expansion and ensuring consistency within the legal system.

Concluding the session, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Khac Dinh said the Standing Committee of the National Assembly assigned the Secretary-General of the National Assembly to immediately compile discussion feedback and send it to the Government and drafting agencies for review and completion of the draft law.

He also requested that the Government direct drafting agencies to closely coordinate with reviewing bodies and relevant agencies to study and incorporate as much feedback as possible from delegates.

At the end of the morning session on April 12, Nguyen Khac Dinh stated that the first phase of the first session of the 16th National Assembly was conducted seriously, promptly, democratically and responsibly in accordance with Party and State regulations, achieving positive results.

"From April 20, the National Assembly will enter the second phase of the session with a heavy workload and high-quality requirements, during which most of the session's contents will be adopted," he said.