Vietnam-Laos legal and judicial cooperation enters new phase

Photo caption — The Ministers of Justice of Vietnam and Laos exchanged the Agreement on legal and judicial cooperation for the period 2026 - 2030.

The Vietnam - Laos Agreement on Legal and Judicial Cooperation for the 2026 - 2030 period was built by the two sides on the basis of inheriting the contents of the Cooperation Agreement for the 2021 - 2025 period and with some amendments and supplements to suit the practical situation, cooperation needs and capabilities of the two sides in the current period.

According to this Cooperation Agreement, in the period of 2026 - 2030, the two Ministries of Justice will focus on cooperation in the following areas: Exchange of experience in the work of building, perfecting laws and organizing law enforcement; exchange of experience in building a rule-of-law state; exchange of experience in the field of law; enforcement of civil judgments; judicial administration; dissemination and education of law; legal aid; registration of security measures; State compensation; international law; arbitration; mediation; exchange of experience in applying information technology, digital transformation and artificial intelligence (AI) in building and organizing law enforcement; improving the qualifications and capacity of officials of agencies, units and legal and judicial training institutions of the two sides; promoting training, research on law and judicial titles, fostering expertise and judicial skills...

In addition, the two sides promoted the effective implementation of the Agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance in Civil Matters between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Lao People's Democratic Republic signed on January 11, 2023, including enhancing the capacity to effectively implement requests for mutual legal assistance in civil matters between the two countries; effectively and on schedule implementing the Technical Assistance Project of the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam for the Ministry of Justice of the Lao People's Democratic Republic on improving the legal capacity of officials of the Lao Ministry of Justice; cooperating and coordinating activities at regional and multilateral organizations and forums on legal and judicial cooperation; promoting and supporting cooperation between localities in border areas as well as other localities of the two countries.

The two sides also agreed to implement cooperation activities in various forms such as: Exchange of delegations at the Ministerial level once a year, alternating in Vietnam and Laos; exchange of delegations at the Deputy Ministerial level, Department level, officials and legal experts. Specific contents related to the exchange of delegations (name, composition, time, etc.) will be agreed upon by the parties in the annual Cooperation Program between the two Ministries of Justice; maintain the organization of the Judicial Conference of provinces sharing the Vietnam - Laos extended border co-chaired by the Ministers of Justice of both sides twice a year, alternating in Vietnam and Laos; The Ministry of Justice of Vietnam receives officials of the Ministry of Justice of Laos to Vietnam to attend training programs and short-term training courses to improve their capacity and professional qualifications.

In addition, specific contents related to training programs and refresher courses (content, components, time, funding, etc.) will be agreed upon by the parties in the annual Cooperation Program between the two Ministries of Justice. The two parties will coordinate to implement and deploy cooperation projects in the field of law and justice from the non-refundable aid capital of the Vietnamese Government for the Lao Ministry of Justice; coordinate to conduct joint legal science research on areas of mutual interest; exchange legal documents, materials and legal publications that have been officially published according to the legal regulations of each party; increase the organization of conferences, seminars, talks and training courses online or in person.

In addition, the Cooperation Agreement also clearly states that the Ministries of Justice of the two countries will encourage and facilitate the signing and implementation of Cooperation Agreements between local legal and judicial agencies of Vietnam and Laos; between Hanoi Law University, the Judicial Academy (under the Ministry of Justice of Vietnam) and the Lao National Judicial Academy (under the Ministry of Justice of Laos).

The signing of the Cooperation Agreement for the period of 2026 - 2030 by the Ministry of Justice of Vietnam and the Ministry of Justice of Laos will continue to create a turning point in the legal and judicial cooperation between Vietnam and Laos, inheriting the cooperation achievements from previous stages in implementing cooperation activities in the legal and judicial fields between the Ministry of Justice of Vietnam and the Ministry of Justice of Laos more and more effectively, in depth, substantively and practically for both sides. In addition, the successful implementation of the Cooperation Agreement in the legal and judicial fields will contribute to further tightening the special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two Parties, the two States and the People of Vietnam and Laos.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/phap-luat/hop-tac-phap-luat-va-tu-phap-viet-nam-lao-buoc-vao-giai-doan-moi-20251201140017108.htm