The Law on Mutual Judicial Assistance has created a legal framework forthe fields of civil law, criminal law, extradition, and the transfer ofconvicts over the last six years, a conference heard in Hanoi onSeptember 30.
The law, the first act on mutual legal assistancedrafted by the National Assembly, came into effect in 2008. It isregarded as an important step in Vietnam’s international cooperationefforts on law and justice, participants in the conference to review thelaw’s implementation said.
Ministries and sectors handled anincreasing amount of complex judicial mandate cases.From January 2008 tothe end of June 2014, the Ministry of Justice received 14,842 legalmandate orders from Vietnamese agencies to other countries, and 5,193replies. Out of the replies, 540 came from countries with mutualjudicial assistance agreements with Vietnam.
Statistics show thatreplies from countries with legal agreements with Vietnam accounted for39 percent, while replies from nations without bilateral agreementsaccounted for 34.5 percent.
A total of 2,876 foreign judicialmandate orders were received, including 1,229 from countries with mutualjudicial assistance agreements. Half of the received orders havebeen processed so far.
According to Deputy Minister Nguyen KhanhNgoc, the low level of responses to mandate orders can be attributed tothe poor linkages between litigation regulations, including civil legalprocedures, and stipulations in the Law on mutual Judicial Assistance.
Additionally,the law on civil legal procedures does not mention specific regulationsfor cases with international elements or cases requiring legalmandates, Ngoc said.
In the short term, a hotline will beset up at the central level between Vietnam and countries that signedmutual judicial assistance agreements with Vietnam. This will enablecourts to directly notify the Government of Vietnam or Vietnameseoverseas representative offices, helping to shorten procedures and boostcoordination between relevant ministries, sectors and agencies.
Participantssuggested the development of separate laws to regulate differentaspects in mutual legal assistance in the long run. The Law on MutualJudicial Assistance should be revised and supplemented to ensure itaddresses Vietnam’s international commitments. It must meet therealistic demands of crime prevention and control, settle civil casesthat arise as a result of the country’s international integration andlegal reform, and clarify the areas covered by the Law on MutualJudicial Assistance and other laws on legal procedures.-VNA
The law, the first act on mutual legal assistancedrafted by the National Assembly, came into effect in 2008. It isregarded as an important step in Vietnam’s international cooperationefforts on law and justice, participants in the conference to review thelaw’s implementation said.
Ministries and sectors handled anincreasing amount of complex judicial mandate cases.From January 2008 tothe end of June 2014, the Ministry of Justice received 14,842 legalmandate orders from Vietnamese agencies to other countries, and 5,193replies. Out of the replies, 540 came from countries with mutualjudicial assistance agreements with Vietnam.
Statistics show thatreplies from countries with legal agreements with Vietnam accounted for39 percent, while replies from nations without bilateral agreementsaccounted for 34.5 percent.
A total of 2,876 foreign judicialmandate orders were received, including 1,229 from countries with mutualjudicial assistance agreements. Half of the received orders havebeen processed so far.
According to Deputy Minister Nguyen KhanhNgoc, the low level of responses to mandate orders can be attributed tothe poor linkages between litigation regulations, including civil legalprocedures, and stipulations in the Law on mutual Judicial Assistance.
Additionally,the law on civil legal procedures does not mention specific regulationsfor cases with international elements or cases requiring legalmandates, Ngoc said.
In the short term, a hotline will beset up at the central level between Vietnam and countries that signedmutual judicial assistance agreements with Vietnam. This will enablecourts to directly notify the Government of Vietnam or Vietnameseoverseas representative offices, helping to shorten procedures and boostcoordination between relevant ministries, sectors and agencies.
Participantssuggested the development of separate laws to regulate differentaspects in mutual legal assistance in the long run. The Law on MutualJudicial Assistance should be revised and supplemented to ensure itaddresses Vietnam’s international commitments. It must meet therealistic demands of crime prevention and control, settle civil casesthat arise as a result of the country’s international integration andlegal reform, and clarify the areas covered by the Law on MutualJudicial Assistance and other laws on legal procedures.-VNA
