The German Law Centre at the Hanoi University of Law formally opened on May 6to help boost the professional skills of Vietnamese lawyers, officials and scholars to international standards.

The new centre was created as part of the cooperative programme in law and justice undertaken by Vietnam's Ministry of Justice and the German government during the 2009-11 period and will be supported by Germany's Friedrich Ebert Institute for the first three years of its operations.

Deputy Minister of Justice Hoang The Lien told the opening ceremony that the establishment of the centre, which marked the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Germany , will create opportunities for legal experts and academics to engage in exchanges of research and information.

Lien, who is also rector of the Hanoi University of Law, said the centre will hold professional training courses in both Vietnamese and German with lectures given by from German professors and set up a legal library with thousands of volumes and documents in the near future.

The head of the Friedrich Ebert Institute, Anke Fuchs, said she hoped the centre's activities will contribute to the perfection of Vietnam 's legal system through introducing experiences from Germany and other countries./.