Law propagation, dissemination and education is part of the work of political and ideological education. It is also an important, routine task of party committees, party organisations, commands, and mass organisations across the Military. Hence, over the years, offices and units within the Military have always well performed this work via various, practical measures as an important prerequisite for raising the law-abiding awareness of cadres, soldiers, and citizens, reducing violations of the State’s law and the Military’s discipline, and improving our Military’s combat strength.

To well conduct the work of law propagation, dissemination and education, all-level party committees, commissars, commanders, and political offices have frequently promoted the role and responsibility of cadres, party members, organisations, and forces, with political cadres and staff members from judicial, inspection, legislative, and law enforcement agencies acting as the core fore. Consideration has been given to making law dissemination and propagation relevant to function, task, and particularities of each office, unit, and group of troops. Forms of law education have always been diversified and renewed to be more convincing. The order and regulations for law propagation, dissemination and education, especially the Legal Study Day and the Political and Cultural Day have been maintained scientifically, uniformly across the Military. A contingent of law reporters, propagandists, lecturers, journalists and editors has been consolidated both qualitatively and quantitatively, with great knowledge of law and discipline and good pedagogical method. Funding and especially social resources for law propagation, dissemination and education have been more effectively exploited. Via the mass mobilisation work, offices and units have cooperated with local party committees and authorities in law propagation, dissemination and education for locals in tandem with the movements, such as “all people unite in building cultural lifestyle in residential areas” and “all people take part in protecting national security,” while including this work in meetings by organisations and unions. Press agencies within the Military have regularly maintained special pages and columns on law propagation, dissemination and education, updated legal normative documents, and opportunely reflected the results of this work for all cadres and soldiers.

The work of propagation and education to raise troops’ awareness of all-level party congresses (photo: baoquankhu4.com.vn)

In the process, there have been many effective, creative models and approaches, such as law propagation and dissemination via the Internet, the Military’s Misten network, and web portals, projection of images and documentaries, theatricisation combined with artistic performance, “soldiers’ psychological and legal consultancy team,” “one article of law on a weekly basis,” “one legal question on a daily basis,” and “law bookcase.” Besides, offices and units have aligned law propagation, dissemination and education with political and ideological education, training, combat readiness, military standard order building, discipline management, the studying and following of Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, ethics and lifestyle according to 5 standards of “Uncle Ho’s soldiers,” and other campaigns and emulation movements, thereby directly, positively impacting on troops and citizens’ law-abiding awareness and culture. There has been a positive change in cadres and soldiers’ observance of the State’s law and the Military’s discipline, the number of incidents and violators have been reduced year by year, and the ideological situation within the Military has been stable as the basis for raising the Military’s power, meeting the requirements of national protection, and maintaining political security and social order and safety across the country.

However, there have been several weaknesses in law propagation, dissemination and education across the Military. Due attention has yet to be paid to heightening the importance of law propagation, dissemination and education; therefore, the awareness of this work amongst a number of offices, units, cadres, and soldiers has yet to be sufficient. Concretisation of the guidelines and policies on law propagation, dissemination and education into resolutions, regulations, and action progammes/plans has been still slow in some places. Cooperation between competent offices and coordinating councils for law dissemination and education has yet to be closely maintained, thus leading to the overlapping direction, instructions and inspection. A reform in the contents, forms, and methods of law propagation and education has yet to be regular. The role of mass organisations and soldiers’ councils has yet to be brought into play. Meanwhile, personnel, funding, and social resources for this work have been limited.

In the upcoming years, the security and political situation on a global and regional scale will be complex and unpredictable. Domestically, the hostile forces will enhance their sabotage scheme. Our fight for defending national sovereignty over seas and islands will continue to be intense. Violations of law, crime, and the society’s dark side will negatively impact on cadres and soldiers’ ideology, sentiment, and awareness. The work of law propagation, dissemination and education will be carried out under the rapid development of information technology and social networks. The system of laws in general, legal documents on the military-defence task in particular are being formulated and competed. Meanwhile, the increasingly higher task requirements will be imposed on the Military build-up. By 2025, the Military shall basically complete adjustments in its organisational structure. By 2030, the Military will be made revolutionary, regular, seasoned, and gradually modern while the modernisation of several services, corps, and forces will be accomplished. From 2030, we will build a modern Military. To achieve that goal, it is necessary to synchronously adopt groups of solutions and the work of law propagation, dissemination and education for cadres, soldiers, and the people should be enhanced with several basic measures as follows.

First of all, strengthen leadership and direction and raise public awareness of law propagation, dissemination and education. Units’ party committees, commands, and political offices should keep grasping and seriously executing directives and resolutions by the Party, the Central Military Commission (CMC), and the Ministry of National Defence (MND) on law propagation, dissemination and education, particularly the Conclusion 80-KL/TW, dated June 20^th, 2020 by the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat on continuing to implement the Directive 32-CT/TW, dated December 9^th, 2013 by the 9^th Party Central Committee’s Secretariat on enhancing the Party’s leadership over law propagation, dissemination and education for officials and the people as well as the Law on law propagation and dissemination (2012). Grounded on those documents, it is essential to render staff members fully aware of the importance of law propagation, dissemination, and education to forming troops and citizens’ law-abiding awareness and culture as well as the necessity of enhancing the Party’s leadership and the responsibility of sectors, cadres, and party members for this important work. Doing so will help create a positive change in the observance of the State’s law and the Military’s discipline and reduce violations, especially the serious ones. Besides, all-level party committees should combine law propagation, dissemination and education with political education, ideological orientation, and administrative measures, while building a healthy military cultural environment and creating a favourable condition for troops’ self-improvement. The MND’s Department of Legal Affairs should work with relevant offices to design “documents on law dissemination and education,” “skills in law dissemination and education,” and central topics for offices and units on a yearly basis. Mass media and press agencies within the Military should disseminate legal documents to all cadres, soldiers, and citizens. Due regard should be paid to organising refresher courses on new legal contents and continuing to include the Law on law dissemination and education in in-service courses for cadres and soldiers. To achieve the effectiveness of law dissemination and education, all-level party committees and organisations should consider it as one of their central tasks, while issuing specialised resolutions on this task. Offices and units should concretise such resolutions into action plans. Mass organisations should develop action plans for such resolutions and organise programmes and activities to equip their members with necessary legal knowledge.

Second, identify the central contents and select forms of law propagation, dissemination and education in accordance with each group of troops, office, unit, and area. Grounded on the general education programme, it is important to analyse the characteristics of each group of troops and the developments in the Military build-up, national defence consolidation, and the Homeland protection to identify the contents properly. Officers and cadets within military schools should be equipped with general knowledge of state and law on national defence, security, economy, and administration as well as legal documents on function, task, and field of work. Other groups of troops will be educated on legal documents on the military-defence task and their speciality as well as military regulations. Meanwhile, legal documents on national defence and security, national border protection, social order and safety, and popular social relationships will be introduced to citizens in the stationed areas.

The whole Military should place emphasis on renewing, improving, and diversifying forms of law propagation, dissemination and education in accordance with units’ practical condition and troops’ psychological characteristics. Due attention should be paid to celebrating the annual Legal Day of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (November 9^th) and maintaining the “Legal Study Day” on a monthly basis within the Military. Law bookcases should be well exploited and provided with new books for troops’ study and consultation. Military press agencies should regularly maintain special columns on law education, update legal normative documents, and opportunely reflect the results of law propagation, dissemination and education, combine this work with campaigns and movements, and multiply typical examples and effective models in this work. At the same time, it is essential to include law propagation, dissemination and education in troops and unions’ meetings to positively impact on the law-abiding awareness of cadres, soldiers and the people.

Third, develop human resources for law propagation, dissemination and education in accordance with the Military’s particularities. Grounded on the Project to consolidate and improve human resources for law propagation, dissemination and education to meet the requirements set by national renewal and development in the period of 2013-2016 and beyond, offices and units should grasp the quantity and quality of law reporters and lecturers. Importance should be attached to providing those cadres with necessary knowledge of law and improving their capability in law propagation, dissemination and education so that they will always fulfil their assigned task. Besides, due regard should be paid to dispatching cadres to attend training courses on law specialities at military and civilian schools, organising in-service training courses, and encouraging them to self-improve their knowledge. It is necessary to keep implementing the policy on recruiting graduates with merit or distinction from law specialities to be lecturers of the State and Law subject at military schools or cadres at judiciary, inspection, and legislative offices across the Military. At the same time, cadres with sufficient qualities and good capacity should be sent to major in law at different universities. Great weight should be added to regularly organising contests for law reporters and lecturers, particularly at the MND’s affiliated offices and units so that they could broaden their work experience and learn from one another.

Fourth, maintain close coordination between organisations and forces both inside and outside the Military to promote the synergy for raising the quality of law propagation, dissemination and education. On an annual basis, the MND’s Coordinating Council for Law Dissemination and Education should advise the MND on promulgating the Action Plan and identifying the central topics and regular contents of law propagation, dissemination and education for each group of troops. The General Department of Politics should give instructions on political education and law propagation, dissemination and education. The General Staff should direct the building of typical units in the observance of the State’s law and the Military’s discipline. Judiciary, inspection, and legislative offices should counsel the development of plans and directly take part in performing this work. Mass organisations should formulate and execute action programmes via emulation movements and campaigns. Based on higher echelons’ direction and guiding documents, offices and units should issue their action programmes and direct their affiliates to develop and implement such programmes. The MND’s competent offices should cooperate with ministries and central and local sectors, such as the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Information and Communications, the Vietnam Television, the Voice of Vietnam, and localities, particularly 44 provinces and municipalities which possess borderline or coastline in executing projects on law propagation and dissemination and especially the Project on “enhancing law dissemination and education for cadres and locals in the border, sea, island areas.” At the same time, it is important to well carry out the work of mass mobilisation and special propagation and grasp locals’ customs and the operational environment to select the contents and methods of propagation properly. Consideration should be given to closely cooperating with party committees, authorities, offices, sectors, and twinned units in organising programmes of law propagation, dissemination and education for cadres, soldiers, and locals in the stationed areas.

Fifth, create a favourable condition for law propagation, dissemination and education and mobilise social resources for this work. Due regard should be paid to providing equipment, facilities, and funding for political education and law propagation, dissemination and education. At the same time, it is essential to mobilise resources from organisations, forces, and enterprises and encourage them to participate in law propagation, dissemination, and education. In addition to the annual budget allocated by the MND, offices and units should be proactive in funding law propagation, dissemination and education, while military enterprises should deduct part of their revenues for this work. Additionally, party committees and commanders should focus their leadership and direction on inspecting, supervising and reviewing law propagation, dissemination and education. Doing so will enable party committees and commanders at all levels to exercise more effective leadership and direction over the work of law propagation, dissemination and education.

Well implementing those above-mentioned measures will contribute to quickly achieving the goal of building the Military set by the 11^th Military Party Congress.

Sr. Lt. Gen. NGUYEN TAN CUONG, Member of the Party Central Committee, Member of the Central Military Commission, Deputy Minister of National Defence, Head of the MND’s Coordinating Council for Law Dissemination and Education