The People’s Supreme Court and Institute for Legal Support and Technical Assistance ILSTA convened an international colloquium on administrative law in order to further the draft resolution on the setting up of an Administrative Court system in Laos.
The three-day meeting, funded by the Government of Luxembourg, was co-chaired Mr Khampha Sengdara, Vice President of the People’s Supreme Court and Mr Richard Philippart, President of the Institute for Legal Support and Technical Assistance (ILSTA) from Luxembourg.
The conference brought together senior Lao legal experts from the Ministry of Justice, the People’s Supreme Court, the National Assembly, the Public Prosecutor, the State Inspection Authority as well as academics and invited experts from Vietnam and Luxembourg.
Administrative courts rule on the legality of administrative decisions and acts and matters of negligence and delay. The draft resolution will be submitted for debate during the next session of the National Assembly. Work on the resolution has involved several previous consultations as well as study tours to Vietnam, Thailand and France.
Speaking at the opening of the workshop Mr Khampha Sengdara said, “The resolution will be a significant tool to protect the rights and interests of all citizens and the State. Laos is striving to achieve the Rule of Law goal and as part of this process Administrative Courts should be established within the People’s Court system.”
During the workshop, participants learned of the experiences and perspectives on administrative procedure cases and administrative law in Vietnam and Luxembourg. Mr Steve Helminger, a lawyer from Luxembourg, presented the Luxembourg administrative court system, outlining the procedure of taking an administrative case through the court system illustrating the process through specific examples.
Ms Dao Thi Xuan Lan, a judge in administrative law from the Vietnamese Supreme Court, presented the experience of Vietnam, which has set up an administrative law system since 1996. Participants discussed and provided further input and legal opinions on the current draft resolution.
Speaking at the closing of the workshop, Mr Claude Jentgen, Charge d’Affairs of the Embassy of Luxembourg in Laos, emphasized the importance of a more transparent and accountable administration in moving towards a rule of law state and reiterated Luxembourg’s support to Laos in achieving this goal.
The draft resolution, if adopted, will provide a means for addressing administrative disputes between administrative agencies and the general public; between state organisations; and between administrative agencies and civil servants as well as other non-state organisations.
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