Canada wishes to step up judicial cooperation with Vietnam
Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court Nguyen Hoa Binh recently held a working session with Chief Justice of Canada Richard Wagner in Ottawa, as part of his working trip on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties.
Wagner told his guest that the Supreme Court of Canada wants to strengthen cooperation and share experience with Vietnam, adding that Canada also expects to step up judicial collaboration with Vietnam.
Binh informed the host about his successful working trip, which he said, was made possible with the support of various Vietnamese representative offices in Canada and relevant Canadian agencies.
He said the delegation had held a working session with units of the Canadian Department of Justice, during which they were updated about the court system, judicial independence, specialised courts and information about juvenile justice in the North American country.
According to him, the Supreme People's Court of Vietnam plans to submit a draft law on juvenile justice to the National Assembly next year.
During a working session with the Chief Justice of the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice, an unit that previously engaged in training cooperation with the Judicial Academy of Vietnam, Binh raised the issue of training collaboration between the institute and the Vietnam Court Academy in order to improve the capacity of Vietnamese judges through a course aimed at capitalising on the expertise and resources of the Canadian side.
Visiting other Canadian judicial institutions, Binh affirmed that bilateral judicial cooperation is an essential requirement, given that trade, investment, tourism, education ties and people-to-people exchange between the two countries are growing. He suggested the Canadian counterparts actively support coordination in this field.
At present, there are about 21,000 Vietnamese students in Canada and nearly 300,000 Vietnamese people living in the country. Therefore, legal matters are of utmost importance to address their needs, he said, adding that close judicial cooperation will also help Canadian investors feel secure when doing business in Vietnam, on the back of its transparent legal environment that protects investments and intellectual property.
In his view, effective legal cooperation between the two sides aligns with Canada's promotion of the Indo-Pacific Strategy, in which Vietnam plays a central role and serves as an active member of the Canada-ASEAN strategic partnership. It is also consistent with the current comprehensive partnership between the two countries.
Meeting the Vietnamese official, Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly affirmed that Canada always considers Vietnam a key partner in its implementation of the Indo-Pacific Strategy.
She also expressed her wish to further deepen ties with Vietnam in all areas, including politics-diplomacy, national defence-security, trade and economy, education and judicial affairs.
