PRESS RELEASE

May 15, 2008

United States Supports Publication of Supreme People’s Court Decision

(Hanoi – May 15)  Vietnam’s Supreme People’s Court released two volumes of decisions of its Judicial Council this morning.  The publication of these 2005 and 2006 Supreme Court decisions was made possible through the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through its Support for Trade Acceleration (STAR) Vietnam program.   Opening the event, U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Michael Michalak underscored the importance of the publication.  “This marks another major stride in Vietnam’s commitment to international standards of legal governance, transparency and independence of the judicial system.  This is a tangible demonstration of Vietnam’s WTO commitment to economic integration, as well as a landmark step in strengthening the rule of law for Vietnam’s 85 million citizens.”
 
In publishing court decisions as a “best international transparency practice” common in many countries, Vietnam is taking another landmark step in meeting its WTO obligations and developing the rule of law.   Published decisions are a source of reference materials for legal education and judicial professionals, offering them a better understanding of common principles used in creating a uniform foundation for judicial decisions.  Teachers, researchers and students will be able to analyze and evaluate court decisions and see how laws are applied in practice.
 
This is the second time the Supreme People’s Court has released its decisions. The first set of decisions covering 2003 and 2004 was published in May, 2005 through support from USAID’s STAR-Vietnam program.   All volumes will also be available online at  www.starvietnam.org.

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