Vietnam, Thailand boost judicial cooperation

Vietnamese Minister of Justice Le Thanh Long  (L) holds  talks with his Thai counterpart Somsak Thepsuthin (Photo: VNA) 

Bangkok (VNA) - Vietnamese Minister of Justice Le Thanh Long held talks with his Thai counterpart Somsak Thepsuthin on November 17 in Bangkok, during which they proposed orientations for cooperation between the two agencies in the coming time.

There is great potential for the ministries' collaboration, the Vietnamese official said, adding that the two sides should further promote their cooperation, thus helping foster the two nations' relationship in particular and cooperation within ASEAN in general.

The ministers agreed to map out a number of major orientations to strengthen their future connections, including perfecting criminal law, juvenile justice as well as in civil judgment enforcement, including the multilateral cooperation mechanism in ASEAN.

They also reached consensus to enhance coordination in training judicial staff; promoting digital transformation in judicial activities and settling disputes at grassroots level and outside of the courtroom (arbitration, commercial mediation).

The ministers underlined the need to continue to develop a cooperation programme between the two agencies in the following years in order to effectively implement the Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2015, focusing on promoting the exchange of experts to share legal and judicial experience.

Previously, on November 16 afternoon, Long and Secretary General of the Thai Office of Justice Teerasak Ngeyvijit signed an agreement on mutual judicial assistance in civil matters between the two countries in the witness of President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

The agreement is expected to serve as an important legal basis, contributing to ensuring the interests of citizens and legal entities in each country in civil relations involving foreign elements./.