Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. State Great Hural (Parliament) of Mongolia opened its regular spring session of 2021 today.

In his opening speech, Speaker of the State Great Hural G.Zandanshatar stressed that the package law on Courts was the major legal document approved by the State Great Hural in the autumn session of 2020 which aimed at reviving the amendments to the Constitution and ensuring demand for social justice. He noted that when the law came into force on January 1, the scandal surrounding the names of some court officials was causing public outrage. This is a sign of the loss of independence of the judiciary and a sign that the judiciary is beginning to be cleaned up. The package law on Courts states that the Judicial General Council and the Judicial Disciplinary Committee are responsible for ensuring the independence of the judiciary, as well as defines the responsibilities and prohibitions of judges. In this context, he stressed that the new law must be strictly adhered and the guilty must be held accountable for "tarnishing" the reputation of the judiciary.

He also noted that in addition to passing laws, the State Great Hural must constantly work to monitor the implementation of laws passed by it, demand their implementation and improve them within the framework of its constitutional responsibilities. He underscored that one of the goals of this spring session is to select and appoint members of the new Judicial General Council and the Judicial Disciplinary Committee, ensuring participation of citizens, in connection with the implementation of the package law on Courts. According to the law, half of the members of the Judicial General Council and the Judicial Disciplinary Committee will be elected by secret ballot among all judges.

He highlighted that a working group chaired by Deputy Speaker T.Ayursaikhan has been established to monitor the implementation of the Resolution No.92 of 2019 which is designated to ensure Mongolia’s interests in the development of Oyu Tolgoi deposit and is bringing some positive results. Emphasizing that the benefits of wealth should be spent  to the well-being of citizens, he said that the State Great Hural and the government will continue to work together in this direction.

“Also, in order to bolster the constitutional amendments, the Law on State and Local Property, the Law on the National Wealth Fund, the Law on the Legal Status of the Capital City, Towns and Villages, the Law on Environmental Protection, the Law on Political Parties, the Law on President, etc. should be discussed and ratified. Members of the State Great Hural were reminded to use ‘lawmaker’ and ‘lawforum’ systems which allow citizens to express their views, ideas and proposals on bills”, he said.

He noted the need to change the legal framework for education reform, introduce e-learning at all levels of education, and move to a new system. He stressed the importance of aligning the science sector with Mongolia's development priorities and strengthening its competitiveness in the world, while underlining that a set of laws to reform the education and science sector would be discussed during the spring session.

Moreover, he stressed the need for a step-by-step policy to mitigate the risk of a COVID-19 pandemic to minimum. The Speaker said that in order to overcome the negative impact caused by the pandemic and to stimulate economic growth and businesses, all relevant organizations and citizens need to pay special attention to the implementation of the government's MNT 10 trillion comprehensive plan.

“More than 90 percent of Mongolia's exports are highly dependent on mining. Therefore, a new development model needs to be defined. Therefore, the Japanese model, which is considered to be a miracle of the world economy, is considered to be the best system for supporting export and industrial development and is very suitable for Mongolia. If we can adapt good practices to Mongolia's specifics and create a Mongolian development model, we will be able to make rapid progress in the near future. Therefore, scholars and members of the State Great Hural are urged to actively cooperate in establishing the Ministry of Development Policy and Planning in accordance with the "Vision-2050" policy document”.