Further promote legal and judicial relations between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Russian Federation

On the afternoon of June 20, 2024, within the framework of the State visit of Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin to Vietnam, in the presence of President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam To Lam and President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Justice of Vietnam Le Thanh Long and Minister of Justice of Russia Konstantin Chuychenko discussed the "Cooperation Program between the Ministry of Justice of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation for the period 2024-2025" (Cooperation Program 2024-2025).
The 2024-2025 cooperation program is a continuation of the cooperation programs of previous stages to concretize the cooperation orientations in the Cooperation Agreement between the two Ministries of Justice signed in 2010. Accordingly, in addition to the Vietnamese Ministry of Justice's commitment to attend the Saint Petersburg International Legal Forum (the largest legal event hosted annually by the Russian Ministry of Justice), the two Ministries of Justice will also coordinate to organize 04 cooperation activities each year on different topics (lawyers, legal aid, criminal law, judicial expertise, civil status, out-of-court dispute resolution, judicial assistance, etc.). The specific form of cooperation (organizing delegation exchanges, conferences, seminars, consultations, etc.) will be determined depending on the needs and practical situation.
Legal and judicial cooperation between Vietnam and the Russian Federation was first officially recorded on December 10, 1981 when the two countries signed the Agreement on mutual legal and judicial assistance in civil and criminal matters between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Soviet Union (the successor of the Russian Federation). In 1998, the two Ministries of Justice signed the first Cooperation Agreement. In 2010, the two Ministries of Justice signed a Cooperation Agreement replacing the 1998 Cooperation Agreement between the two Ministries of Justice. After 14 years of implementing the Cooperation Agreement signed in 2010 between the two Ministries, the two sides have signed two-year cooperation programs and achieved many remarkable results. The Vietnamese Ministry of Justice has sent many delegations to Russia to attend the Saint Petersburg International Legal Forum and exchange expertise in a number of legal and judicial fields. Russia also sent many experts to share experiences in the criminal and civil fields... The highlight was that in 2015, during the visit to Vietnam by Russian Justice Minister Konovalov, the Justice Ministers of the two countries agreed to establish a Vietnam-Russia Joint Working Group on Law. After more than 8 years of operation, the Working Group's activities have recorded many positive results, providing very specific scientific advice on each group of issues that the Vietnamese Ministry of Justice needs (law on sectors such as constitutional, criminal, civil, international).
In December 2021, during the official visit to the Russian Federation by President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, for the first time, the content of cooperation on law and justice was included in the Joint Statement on the Vision of Vietnam-Russia Relations to 2030, specifically as follows: "Strengthening judicial cooperation, improving the effectiveness of the Working Group between Vietnam and the Russian Federation on law, in order to continue to further improve the legal basis for bilateral cooperation".
The agreement of the two Ministries of Justice to sign and exchange the Cooperation Program for the period of 2024-2025 within the framework of the State visit of the President of the Russian Federation to Vietnam this time continues to create an important mark, bringing the legal and judicial cooperation between the two countries to an increasingly practical and effective depth, thereby contributing to further deepening the Vietnam - Russian Federation Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
Delegation of the Ministry of Justice attended the 12th Saint-Petersburg International Law Forum
From June 26 to June 28, 2024, the Ministry of Justice delegation led by Deputy Minister Nguyen Khanh Ngoc attended the 12th Saint Petersburg International Law Forum with the main theme "Law is the foundation of global balance" in an online format. This year's forum was sponsored by the President of the Russian Federation, attracting thousands of delegates who are industry leaders, experts, and leading legal scientists from Russia and other countries.
On the side of the Ministry of Justice of Vietnam, the Forum was also attended by leaders and representatives of the General Department of Civil Judgment Enforcement, the Department of International Cooperation, the Department of International Law, the Department of Civil and Economic Law, the Department of Criminal and Administrative Law, the Department of Judicial Support, and the Institute of Strategy and Legal Science.
The Saint Petersburg International Law Forum is an annual event organized by the Russian Ministry of Justice and is a meeting place for scientists, politicians, and jurists to discuss issues related to the legal life of each country and on a global scale. Within the framework of the Forum, many different activities take place, including negotiations and signing of agreements, exchange of experiences and achievements in the legal field, and exhibitions introducing the cultural life of the Northern Capital of Russia. The working programs are divided into 09 main topics: International law in the new situation; Society and human rights; Criminal law; Regulation and sovereignty of the state; Innovation, technology and law; Dispute resolution; Business environment, corporate governance, legal services market; Ecology and urbanism; Legal education: science and art. In addition to the open session of the Ministers of Justice, this year the Ministry of Justice delegation chose to attend sessions with the following themes: “Market: Platform or Transaction? In Search of a Legal Model”; “New Challenges and Modern Solutions in Competition Law”; “Intellectual Property Law in the 21st Century”; “Artificial Intelligence Creation and the Results of Intellectual Activity: Legal Aspects”, “Legal Education in BRICS Countries: On the Path to Integration”; Personal Data: Highlights; “Open Dialogue with the Russian Federal Enforcement Agency”, “Criminalization and Decriminalization: In Search of Balance”, “Criminal Law: Crimes and Punishments”, “Extrajudicial Punishment: How to Replace Custody ?”, “Prison Policy and Its Role in Reducing Recidivism: International Experience and Achievements”, etc.
Over 3 days with more than 120 diverse activities, the Saint Petersburg International Legal Forum attracted about 5,000 participants from 81 countries and territories.
In previous years, the Ministry of Justice has organized ministerial-level delegations to participate in the Forum (Minister Ha Hung Cuong's delegation participated in 2011, Deputy Minister Le Hong Son's delegation participated in 2013, Deputy Minister Nguyen Khanh Ngoc's delegation participated in 2015, Deputy Minister Tran Tien Dung's delegation participated in 2016, Deputy Minister Nguyen Khanh Ngoc's delegation participated in 2018). From 2021, the Ministry of Justice has also regularly sent delegations to attend the Saint-Petersburg International Legal Forum in an online format. Participation in the forum is also an activity under the Cooperation Program between the Ministry of Justice of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation for the period 2024-2025, aiming to further promote the legal and judicial cooperation between the two countries to become increasingly in-depth, practical and effective.
Deputy Minister of Justice Dang Hoang Oanh received Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Cuba to Vietnam
On the morning of June 27, Deputy Minister of Justice Dang Hoang Oanh received Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Cuba to Vietnam Orlando Nicolás Hernández Guillén.
At the reception, Deputy Minister Dang Hoang Oanh expressed his pleasure that Ambassador Orlando Nicolás Hernández Guillén had arranged time to visit the Ministry of Justice of Vietnam. The Deputy Minister affirmed that the friendship and solidarity between Vietnam and Cuba remains unchanged and is increasingly strengthened and consolidated. The Deputy Minister hopes that the Cooperation Program for the period 2024-2025 signed between the two Ministries of Justice will continue to be effectively implemented, bringing positive and practical results to both sides. The Deputy Minister thanked the Ambassador and colleagues of the Cuban Embassy for actively supporting the arrangement of the working delegation of the Ministry of Justice of Vietnam scheduled to visit Cuba in the near future.
Sharing about the Ministry of Justice carrying out the necessary internal procedures to complete the Technical Support Project Document for the Cuban Ministry of Justice. The draft Project Document has just received comments from the Ministries and sectors and is being finalized to prepare for submission to the Prime Minister for approval of the Project Document, the Deputy Minister also provided more information about the Ministry of Justice's working delegation scheduled to visit Cuba in the near future.
The Deputy Minister hoped that the Ambassador would continue to support and promote the Havana University Law School to soon officially respond to the draft Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between Hanoi Law University and Havana University Law School so that the two sides can sign this Memorandum of Understanding within the framework of the visit. In addition, the Deputy Minister expressed his delight that the Vietnam Judicial Academy and the Ramal School of the Cuban Ministry of Justice agreed to sign the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation within the framework of the visit.
Deputy Minister Dang Hoang Oanh believes that Cuban Ambassador to Vietnam Orlando Nicolás Hernández Guillén will always support and care for the special traditional brotherly friendship between Vietnam and Cuba in general, and the cooperation in the field of law and justice in particular, to continue to be maintained and developed better and better.
Thanking the warm welcome of the Ministry of Justice of Vietnam and Deputy Minister of Justice Dang Hoang Oanh, Ambassador Orlando Nicolás Hernández Guillén affirmed that he will continue to support and care for the special traditional friendship between Vietnam and Cuba in general, and the cooperation in the legal and judicial fields in particular, to develop better. The Ambassador hopes to continue to receive the solidarity and support of the Ministry of Justice of Vietnam in the judicial and legal cooperation between Cuba and Vietnam.
Ministry leaders receive delegation of the Russian Federation Lawyers Association
On April 23, Deputy Minister of Justice Nguyen Khanh Ngoc had a meeting with the delegation of the Russian Federation Lawyers Association led by Mr. Sergey Stepashin Vadimovich, Chairman of the Russian Federation Lawyers Association, former Prime Minister, former Minister of the Interior, former Minister of Justice of the Russian Federation. Attending the meeting on the side of the Ministry of Justice were representatives of the leaders of the following units: Department of International Cooperation, Department of Organization and Personnel, Department of International Law, Department of Legal Aid, Department of Legal Dissemination and Education.
Speaking at the reception, Deputy Minister Nguyen Khanh Ngoc highly appreciated the comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and Russia, especially the bilateral cooperation in the field of law and justice between Vietnam and Russia which has been increasingly consolidated and developed recently. At the same time, the Deputy Minister affirmed that Vietnam always attaches importance to the traditional friendship between the two countries and wishes to promote cooperation with Russia in the field of law and justice.
At the meeting, Deputy Minister Nguyen Khanh Ngoc also shared information that the two Ministries of Justice signed a Cooperation Agreement in 2010 and Cooperation Programs for the periods 2013-2014, 2015-2016 and 2018-2019, 2022-2023 to implement this cooperation agreement. Recently, through the Vietnam - Russia Working Group mechanism, the Ministries of Justice of the two countries have carried out research, consultation, exchange of professional information, sent and translated documents and successfully organized many online seminars to exchange experiences in building and perfecting laws, specifically the application of information technology, digital transformation in the fields of notarization, civil judgment enforcement, etc. Through this, Vietnam has consulted and learned a lot of valuable information and experience from Russian experts.
Deputy Minister Nguyen Khanh Ngoc hoped that the two sides would further promote the traditional friendly cooperation between the two countries in the field of law and justice in the spirit of the Joint Statement on the Vision of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Russian Federation until 2030, and hoped that the Russian Lawyers' Association and the Ministry of Justice would continue to expand cooperation in the fields of legal aid; dissemination and education of law; sharing experiences in assessing the conformity of international treaties with domestic legal regulations and promoting cooperation between law training institutions of the two countries to improve the capacity of legal staff... The Deputy Minister expressed his hope that Russia would soon accept Vietnam's membership in the 1970 Hague Convention on the Collection of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters to expand the channel of judicial assistance cooperation between the two sides in the civil or commercial field.
More information about the cooperation in legal training between the two countries has been very well implemented. The Russian Federation is the cradle of many generations of leaders for Vietnam in general and for the Ministry of Justice in particular. Specifically, in the past, 4/6 leaders of the Ministry of Justice graduated in Russia, now 50% of the Ministry's leaders and many Department-level leaders have graduated in Russia.
In addition, the Deputy Minister also hoped that the President of the Russian Lawyers Association would convey the invitation of the leaders of the Vietnamese Ministry of Justice to the leaders of the Russian Ministry of Justice to arrange a visit and work to exchange and share experiences in specific areas of cooperation that both sides are interested in.
Thanking the Vietnamese Ministry of Justice for the welcome, Mr. Sergey Stepashin Vadimovich affirmed that in the coming time, he will continue to pay attention to and support the activities of the Ministries and Justice sectors of the two countries, thereby contributing to promoting diplomatic relations in general as well as cooperation in the fields of law and justice in particular, including the field of training legal human resources.