Vietnam, EU eye stronger judicial cooperation

During the meeting, Binh highlighted the effective cooperation of the two agencies with the Supreme People's Court of Vietnam in judicial and legal activities and other fields, expressing his hope that the agencies will continue to effectively implement cooperation activities as well as develop cooperation plans for the coming time.

For his part, Aliberti stressed that the cooperative relationship between the EU and Vietnam has developed strongly in all spheres, including justice and legislation, in recent times.

He vowed to do his best to help the Vietnam – EU friendship and cooperation develop stronger and more comprehensively.

The sides highly valued the effective support of the EU and UNICEF for the Supreme People's Court of Vietnam over the past years via the EU Justice and Legal Empowerment Programme (EU JULE) on strengthening the rule of law in Vietnam through a more reliable, trusted and better accessed justice system.

The EU-JULE project has supported the Supreme People's Court in terms of policy research and development; mechanisms to resolve cases at the court; improving capacity of judges and court staff; developing training materials and case law.

It has also benefited other agencies of Vietnam, including the Ministry of Justice, the Supreme People's Procuracy, and the Ministry of Public Security.

The agencies also pledged to continue effectively implementing the EU-JULE project in the time to come, focusing on the implementation of the Law on Mediation and Dialogue at Court; studying international experience in conciliation mechanism in criminal proceedings and plea agreement; and implementing recommendations, thus contributing to improving the quality of building legal documents of the Supreme People's Court.

Activities to better the professional capacity of judges and court staff will be arranged through organising training courses and supporting the court’s development of case law.