On April 17, NA Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong chaired the 48^th session of the NA Standing Committee with the participation of Vice State President Truong My Hoa and representatives from relevant sectors and ministries.

The NA Standing Committee gave opinions on the establishment of a marriage and family court within the organisation structure of the People’s Supreme Court, and the centrally- run municipal and provincial People’s Courts. It also adopted a decision made by the Chief Judge of the People’s Supreme Court on setting up two department-level under the People’s Supreme Court.

Most NA Standing Committee members agreed upon the court’s establishment. However, some of them raised concern over the timing of establishing the court as civil, marriage, family related affairs are resolved only by the Civil Court, thus affecting the quality of trials on marriage and family-related cases.

In regard to the establishment of the International Cooperation Department and the Statistics Department under the People’s Supreme Court, the NA Standing Committee asked relevant agencies to study the functions, tasks and names of the two departments. The establishment of the marriage and family law court will be considered for approval at the next NA session.

The same day, the NA Standing Committee heard a report on supervising the establishment of policies and laws on healthcare insurance.

During the past 15 years, the medical examination and treatment of people with healthcare insurance cards has improved substantially. However, the report pointed out difficulties and weaknesses in implementing healthcare insurance policies such as having no Healthcare Insurance Law and failing to control healthcare insurance funds and unreasonable insurance fees and complicated healthcare insurance procedures.

Currently, the contents of the draft law on healthcare insurance continue to be finalised for the NA to consider in its next sessions.

In addition, the NA Standing Committee also heard a report on the implementation of incentive policies towards relatives of revolutionary activists prior to January 1, 1945 and those from January 1, 1945 to the General Uprising on August 19, 1945 who died before January 1, 1955.

The NA Standing Committee will continue its 48^th session on April 18.