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New Three-Year Agreement in German-Vietnamese Rule-of-Law Dialogue

Published: May 6, 2015

The intensive Rule-of-Law Dialogue between Germany and Vietnam was extended by three years in April by a new agreement.

On 14 April 2015, the Parliamentary State Secretary, Mr Christian Lange, and the Vice-Minister of Justice, Ms Nguyen Thuy Hien, signed the new work programme in a ceremonial act for the period of April 2015 to April 2018. The programme is aimed at implementing the German-Vietnamese Rule-of-Law Dialogue which was initiated by a joint declaration of the two foreign ministers in 2008 and has been extended and detailed for the third time by the respective three-year programmes since 2009.

This intensive cooperation in the fields of law and the judiciary underscores the close partnership between the two countries, which are celebrating 40 years of diplomatic relations this year.

The Agreement is aimed at continuing the legal-judicial cooperation with the central idea being support for the rule of law and the modernisation of the legal system in Vietnam. The coming years will particularly be marked by a large number of reform processes to harmonise the existing regulations with the new constitution against the background that the new constitution entered into effect on 1 January 2014.

The IRZ is an important partner in the implementation of the Rule-of-Law Dialogue and will initiate many measures under the programme this year as well. The cooperation will focus on the consultations of the Ministry of Justice and the People's Prosecution Office concerning the upcoming reforms of the Civil Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure. Numerous measures are moreover planned with regard to the further training of legal practitioners. The IRZ offers these events in cooperation with the Judicial Academy and the Bar Association as partners.

The IRZ will also organise a conference aimed at strengthening human rights and the independence of the judiciary for the fifth time in a row with the Institute for Human Rights.

Against the background of Vietnam's current eagerness to carry out reforms and the fact that both the Party Conference and the Parliamentary elections will take place next year, the IRZ is looking forward expectantly to the upcoming developments and projects in Vietnam.