Judicial and other law enforcement agencies need to enhance their expertise in several areas in order to fight corruption and other crimes more effectively, Deputy Prime Minister Trương Hòa Bình said yesterday. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Judicial and other law enforcement agencies need to enhance their expertise in several areas in order to fight corruption and other crimes more effectively, Deputy Prime Minister Trương Hòa Bình said yesterday.

Towards this, he urged relevant ministries and sectors to enhance their capacities towards “thorough resolution” of corruption cases.

Addressing an online conference held to review Project 258, which focuses on judicial reforms and enhancement of judicial expertise, Bình said constant improvements in democracy, transparency and equality were required to ensure national renewal and the building of a law-abiding nation of the people, by the people, for the people.

Judicial assessment plays an important role in this process, providing objective documentation and evidence to agencies conducting legal proceedings, he said.

Bình, who heads the Project 258 Steering Committee, said that the project, approved by the Government in 2010, was an effective tool for individuals and organisations to protect their legitimate rights and interests.

He also pointed out shortcomings in judicial activities after five years of implementation, including unclear procedural laws, inconsistent implementation by agencies, a shortage of people to assess judicial activities, especially at the local level, and ill-equipped judicial assessment agencies.

“The quality of expertise in a number of areas, including forensic science, psychiatry, drugs, finance, banking and construction is limited,” Bình said.

On judicial expertise related to economic corruption and related issues, Bình noted irresponsibility in conductiong inspections and prolonged assessments in some cases were causing difficulties in initiating legal proceedings.

“These problems have reduced the confidence of the people in the determination of the Party and State to prevent and fight against corruption,” he said.

Bình asked the Ministry of Justice to submit its report to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision on continued implementation of Project 258 until 2020, alongside judicial reforms and implementation of the Law on Judicial Expertise.

He suggested that ministries and agencies act immediately to remove bottlenecks in assessing cases to make the fight against corruption more effective.

He also felt that agencies conducting the proceedings at the central level, including the investigating agency, the Supreme People’s Procuracy and Supreme People’s Court, should review activities initiated to improve judicial expertise across the board.

A report presented by Deputy Justice Minister Nguyễn Khánh Ngọc said the number of judicial inspectors had increased in both quantity and quality after Project 258 began implementation.

“Currently, the total number of inspectors in the judiciary sector is 6,154, more than double the number before Project 258 began,” Ngọc said. — VNS