Promoting their 60-year tradition of construction and development, Military Procuracies at all levels have been taking measures synchronously, drastically to fulfil their task of maintaining discipline and contribute to making the Military increasingly strong and building the Socialist Rule-of-Law State.

Under the Constitution of 1959 and the Law on organising the People’s Procuracies (1960), at its meeting taking place from the 24^th of April to the 29^th of April, 1961, the Central Military Commission Standing Board issued the Resolution on organising Military Procuracies across the Military. On May 12^th, 1961, the General Department of Politics released the Circular 06/TT-H to give instructions on organising military procuracies at all levels, marking the birth of Military Procuracies under the system of the People’s Procuracies within the Military.

Over the past 60 years, under the direct leadership and direction of the Central Military Commission, the Ministry of National Defence, and Head of the Supreme People’s Procuracy, all-level Military Procuracies have kept developing. In the early days of establishment, they were just a section of the Department of Military Legal Affairs, the Court Martial, the Military Court. Up to now, Military Procuracies have been organised at three levels, namely the Central Military Procuracy, military regions’ military procuracies and equivalent, and regional military procuracies, which has proved their role in the system of judiciary agencies of the State and the Military.

In recent years, under the Party’s guidelines and the Strategy on Judiciary Reform within the Military towards 2020, Military Procuracies at all levels have witnessed developments in their organisation and operation. They have proactively given advice to the Party, the Central Military Commission, and the People’s Procuracies on preventing and combating violations of law and crime, while implementing measures synchronously to raise their task performance, particularly exercise the right of prosecution and control judiciary operations within the Military. In spite of difficulties, with their respect for the Constitution and law as well as a sense of political responsibility, all-level Military Procuracies have proactively strictly exercised their authority and abided by the professional procedures set by the Supreme People’s Procuracy, thereby making a huge positive change in their task performance which has always achieved or exceeded the targets assigned by the National Assembly and the People’s Procuracies. All letters of denunciation, pieces of information about crime, and petitions for prosecution have been investigated. All prosecutions have been on schedule. The rate of correct prosecutions was 99.3% and 99.7% in 2019 and 2020 respectively. There has been no suspended case due to a lack of criminal act committed by the accused or defendants. Once Military Procuracies has prosecuted, there has been no acquittal order by courts. Besides, Military Procuracies have designed a large number of documents on law dissemination and education, while proactively cooperating with offices and units’ party committees and commands in well conducting this work to raise cadres and soldiers’ law-abiding awareness in each area. Doing so has made active contributions to protecting the Constitution and law, preventing and combating violations of law and crime, ensuring political security and social order and safety, maintaining military discipline, and improving the Military’s combat power.

Exercising the right of prosecution and the control over a preliminary hearing at the Military Region 7

In the upcoming years, the task of judiciary reform, the building of a Socialist Rule-of-Law State, and the Military build-up will have new goals and requirements. Due to the hostile forces’ sabotage scheme and the negative impacts made by the market economy and the development of information technology and social networks, violations of law and crime within the Military will be more complex and impose more task requirements and difficulties on military judiciary agencies in general and Military Procuracies in particular. To fulfil their mission, all-level Military Procuracies will continue promoting their tradition and cooperate with relevant offices in adopting measures synchronously to raise their task performance, with a focus on the following.

First of all, enhance the Party’s leadership to build politically strong Military Procuracies. This is a valuable lesson drawn from 60 years of construction and development, while acting as a determinant to ensuring that Military Procuracies will operate under the Party’s guidelines, the State’s law, and the direction by the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defence. To that end, Military Procuracies shall abide by the Central Military Commission’s Regulation 600-QĐ/QUTW, dated October 17^th, 2012 on all-level party committee’s leadership over Military Procuracies, while strictly maintaining the principle of focalised, uniformed leadership and the statutes on direction and leadership of all-level party committees and Head of the Supreme People’s Procuracy over all operations. At the same time, due attention will be paid to proactively, resolutely fighting against the flippant observance of party committees’ leadership, or the loose leadership from party committees, or the incorrect intervention in the prosecution work. Cadres and employees of Military Procuracies shall continue grasping the Party’s guidelines and the State’s law, fully understanding Military Procuracies’ role in the State apparatus and their authority to exercise the right of prosecution and control judiciary operations, and heightening a sense of responsibility for their work. At the same time, great value should be attached to building really pure, strong, exemplary, typical party organisations capable of leading units to successfully fulfil all missions.

Second, consolidate the organisational structure and build a comprehensively strong contingent of prosecutors to meet the task requirements in both long and short terms. All-level Military Procuracies shall be made compact and strong in line with the Military’s strategies on judiciary reform and force adjustment. Consideration should be given to building comprehensively strong offices and units and consolidating a pool of prosecutors both qualitatively and quantitatively on a par with their task requirements. Promoting the obtained good results, Military Procuracies shall continue to review their contingent of managerial cadres and commanders, while making a breakthrough in “recruiting, training, and cultivating their cadres.” Emphasis should be placed on rotating jobs between cadres, well carrying out the work of cadre appointment and use, enhance the training and building of cadres and prosecutors with political zeal, professional competence, good knowledge of law, uprightness, and responsibility. At the same time, due attention should be paid to diversifying forms of training and retraining, promoting the effectiveness of Professional Training Centres, designing specialised topics, organising intensive training courses, and collaborating with Military Courts in holding trial rehearsals to draw lessons. International cooperation in training and experience sharing should be promoted, while it is important to build and select expert and typical prosecutors at all levels. In addition, significance should be attached to improving cadres and prosecutors’ professional knowledge, skills, responsibility, and morality according to the standards of “uprightness, objectivity, caution, and modesty” to meet the requirements set by the fight against violations of law and crime in the new situation.

Third, synchronously take measures to renew and improve prosecution operations. All-level Military Procuracies shall keep realising the Politburo’s Resolution 49-NQ/TW, dated June 2^nd, 2005 and the Central Military Commission’s 67/NQ-ĐUQSTW, dated March 8^th, 2007 on the Strategy for judiciary reform, the Project on “renewing the organisation and operation of judiciary agencies within the Military, and directives by the Ministry of National Defence and Head of the Supreme People’s Procuracy in accordance with the Military’s particularities. In this regard, emphasis should be placed on enhancing the exercise of the right of prosecution and the control over prosecution operations. Greater importance should be attached to raising the quality of investigations by the Investigation Office of the Central Military Procuracy, especially into serious, complex cases. A sense of unity and coordination should be fostered to fulfil the professional targets set by the National Assembly and the Supreme People’s Procuracy. A breakthrough in “opportunely, sufficiently managing and settling letters of denunciation, pieces of information about crime, and petitions for prosecution” should be achieved. Meanwhile, the guidelines on “raising the responsibility for prosecution during investigations, aligning prosecution with investigations, and improving the quality of litigation by prosecutors during the trial” should be executed. Cadres and prosecutors at all levels shall heighten their responsibility for performing the task, strictly adhere to the procedures and their authority under law, resolutely fight to defend justice and socialist legislation, ensure the exercise of the right of prosecution and the control over prosecution operations in a timely, stringent, close manner to avoid miscarriage of justice. Moreover, it is vital to proactively mobilise resources to modernise facilities and apply information technology to directing and managing professional operations and raising the task performance.

Fourth, closely cooperate with relevant offices and localities in performing the function and task. According to law, Military Procuracies shall operate without dependence on any agency. However, to fulfil their mission, all-level Military Procuracies should build and foster their work relationship with offices and units, particularly judiciary and law enforcement agencies both inside and outside the Military. Such a connection will ensure the role of Military Procuracies and help promote the synergy for exercising the right of prosecution and controlling judiciary operations under authority. Cadres and prosecutors at all levels shall be proactive in working with relevant parties to well perform their function and task, settle cases and incidents, and ensure that all activities by judiciary agencies and prosecutors will be in accordance with law. Furthermore, it is essential to keep cooperating with units in carrying out the work of law dissemination and education for their staff members, while units across the Military should assist Military Procuracies in consolidating their organisational structure to meet the requirements of judiciary reform.

Being proud of their 60-year glorious tradition and recorded achievements, all-level Military Procuracies will strive to fulfil their assigned function and tasks to contribute to protecting the Constitution and law, building a Socialist Rule-of-Law State, and making the Military increasingly strong in the new period.

Lt. Gen. TA QUANG KHAI, PhD, Deputy Head of the Supreme People’s Procuracy

Head of the Central Military Procuracy