Enhancing legal and judicial cooperation, fostering the special friendship between Vietnam and Laos

Attending the ceremony, on behalf of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, there were comrades: Phay-vi Xi-bua Li-pha - Member of the Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, Party Secretary, Minister of Justice; Van-na-xay Thep-thi-lat - First Secretary of the Embassy of the Lao People's Democratic Republic in Vietnam. Comrades in the working delegation of the Ministry of Justice, of the capital Vientiane and the provinces sharing the border with Vietnam.

On the Vietnamese side, there were comrades: Le Thanh Long - Member of the Party Central Committee, Minister of Justice; Deputy Ministers of Justice: Nguyen Khanh Ngoc, Nguyen Thanh Tinh. Comrades in the working delegation of central ministries, branches and provinces sharing the border with Laos.

On the side of Nghe An province, there were comrades: Thai Thanh Quy - Member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation, Chairman of the Provincial People's Council; Nguyen Duc Trung - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; representatives of relevant departments, branches and units.

Delegates salute the flag at the Commemoration Ceremony. Photo: HT

Welcoming the delegates of the Lao People's Democratic Republic to attend the ceremony, Comrade Le Thanh Long - Member of the Party Central Committee, Minister of Justice, on behalf of the Party Committee, Party Committee, and leaders of the Ministry of Justice, expressed sincere thanks to the comrades in the working delegation of the Lao Ministry of Justice and the First Secretary of the Lao Embassy in Vietnam. The ceremony is one of the activities to celebrate the "Vietnam - Laos Solidarity and Friendship Year 2022", commemorating the 60th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam - Laos diplomatic relations and the 45th anniversary of the signing of the Vietnam - Laos Treaty of Amity and Cooperation.

The Vietnamese Minister of Justice emphasized that the great friendship between Vietnam and Laos is a "unique" relationship in world history, as President Kaysom Phomvihane affirmed: "In the history of world revolution, there have been many shining examples of proletarian internationalism, but nowhere and never before has there been such a special, long-lasting, comprehensive solidarity and alliance"; or the heartfelt words of President Souphanouvong: "The Vietnam-Laos friendship is higher than mountains, longer than rivers, wider than the ocean, brighter than the full moon, more fragrant than the most fragrant flower".

In that general flow, the cooperative relationship between the two countries' ministries and branches of justice was established in 1982, that is, only 1 year after the Ministry of Justice of Vietnam was re-established, with the signing of the Agreement on Legal and Judicial Cooperation between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Lao People's Democratic Republic. This is an important document, the foundation, the political and legal basis for the two countries' ministries and branches of justice to jointly carry out legal and judicial cooperation activities.

Vietnam's Minister of Justice delivered a welcoming speech to delegates attending the Celebration Ceremony. Photo: HT

In the coming stages, Comrade Le Thanh Long hopes that the cooperative relationship between the two Ministries of Justice will continue to be nurtured, developed and developed by generations of leaders and officials of the two countries' ministries and branches of justice, and will be supported and encouraged by senior leaders of the Party and State of Vietnam and Laos to achieve many outstanding results, contributing to the development of the great solidarity and friendship between Vietnam and Laos.

Since 1982, the two Ministries of Justice have regularly signed memorandums of understanding on cooperation in each phase, such as the Agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance in Civil and Criminal Matters between the two countries in 1998. Through this, legal and judicial cooperation between the two Ministries of Justice has achieved many remarkable results. The two Ministries have exchanged more than 30 delegations at the ministerial level; more than 80 delegations at the department and expert levels to consult each other's experiences, serving the work of perfecting the legal system, reforming the judiciary, and building a socialist rule of law state in both countries.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Justice has supported the Lao Ministry of Justice in researching and submitting for approval a number of important legal documents such as the first Constitution in 1991, the 2019 Civil Code, the 2019 Law on State Compensation Liability, the 2022 Law on Civil Judgment Enforcement, and is currently continuing to support the development of the Law on Promulgation of Legal Documents, the Law on Enterprise Bankruptcy, etc. The development and completion of Laos' legal system serves the internal needs of the neighboring country in socio-economic development, ensuring social order and security. Vietnam has also learned a lot from Laos' experiences to serve legal and judicial work.

Comrade Phay-vi Xi-bua Li-pha - Member of the Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, Secretary of the Party Committee, Minister of Justice of the Lao People's Democratic Republic hopes that the two Ministries of Justice of Vietnam and Laos will continue to cooperate in increasingly in-depth and effective work. Photo: HT

The Ministry of Justice of Vietnam (through Hanoi Law University) has trained 193 Lao students at bachelor's level, 166 Lao students at master's level and especially 4 Lao students received doctoral degrees. The Central Law College (formerly Dong Hoi Law College) has trained over 300 students for Lao localities. In addition, the ODA project assigned by the Government to the Ministry of Justice of Vietnam to support the Lao Ministry of Justice (Lao National Judicial Academy) is also entering the final stage. Through this, Vietnam has significantly helped Laos in training and fostering human resources for the judiciary.

Through the judicial conference mechanism of border provinces held since 2011, the two ministries have coordinated to handle many specific tasks, such as the Vietnamese side has resolved to grant Vietnamese nationality to 1,516/1,836 Lao people who migrated freely and got married without a certificate (82.6%); the Lao side has resolved to grant Lao nationality to 2,726/6,571 cases (41.5%); and has strengthened the dissemination and education of law and legal aid to people of the two countries in border areas, contributing to building a peaceful and stable Vietnam-Laos border.

A special art program praising the Vietnam - Laos friendship. Photo: HT

Speaking at the ceremony, Comrade Phay-vi Xi-bua Li-pha expressed that over time, the two countries of Vietnam and Laos have cooperated comprehensively, reaching new heights and becoming more closely connected. The two sides held the ceremony to remember the contributions of the leaders of the two Ministries of Justice who have pioneered and implemented cooperation to contribute to enhancing the special friendship between the two peoples. With pure and meaningful feelings as President Ho Chi Minh said."Vietnam and Laos, our two countries, have a love deeper than the Red River and Mekong River". ChairpersonKaysone Phomvihanealso confirmed“Mountains may wear away and rivers may dry up, but the Laos-Vietnam relationship will forever be stronger than mountains and rivers”...

“Over the past 40 years, the two Ministries of Justice have proactively implemented the signed contents synchronously from the central to local levels, regularly exchanging working delegations between the two sides to resolve issues related to the border and judicial activities of the two countries. Hopefully, in the coming time, the two Ministries of Justice of Vietnam and Laos will continue to improve the quality of cooperation, contributing to increasingly connecting and nurturing the special comprehensive friendship between Vietnam and Laos “Higher than mountains, longer than rivers, wider than seas” - Comrade Phay-vi Xi-bua Li-pha emphasized.

Authorized by the President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Minister of Justice Le Thanh Long presented the Friendship Medal to the Minister of Justice of Laos. Photo: HT

At the ceremony, Comrade Van-na-xay Thep-thi-lat - First Secretary of the Embassy of the Lao People's Democratic Republic in Vietnam also expressed his pride and joy to see that, although the world has many complicated developments, the relationship between the two peoples of Vietnam and Laos has not faded, but has become increasingly deeper. He highly appreciated the effectiveness of cooperation between the two Ministries of Justice of the two countries, including valuable support from Vietnam for the judicial work of Laos, especially the provinces sharing the border have cooperated very closely, helping people on both sides of the border to have a favorable life, contributing to the development of the country and fostering the special friendship between Vietnam and Laos to be increasingly sustainable.

In recognition of the contributions of individuals and organizations in judicial cooperation between Vietnam and Laos, the President of Vietnam decided to award the Friendship Medal to 11 groups and 4 individuals; and the Friendship Medal to 4 groups and 6 individuals of the Ministry of Justice of Laos.

Lao Minister of Justice awarded the Second Class Labor Medal to Comrade Le Thanh Long - Minister of Justice of Vietnam. Photo: HT

On this occasion, the President of the Lao People's Democratic Republic also decided to award the Second Class Labor Medal to comrade Le Thanh Long - Minister of Justice of Vietnam; award the Third Class Labor Medal to comrade Nguyen Khanh Ngoc - Deputy Minister; award the It-xa-la Freedom Medal to comrade Nguyen Thanh Tinh - Deputy Minister of Justice and award the Friendship Medal to collectives and individuals of the Ministry of Justice of Vietnam.

Hoai Thu