Vietnam will serve as the ALA President from this General Assembly on. Three years ago, the Vietnam Jurists Association held the ALA’s Governing Council Meeting.

The 10^th ALA General Assembly, themed “ASEAN Charter – Taking ASEAN to New Heights”, is expected to contribute to forming an ASEAN community by 2015.

The ALA, which was founded in Jakarta in 1979, is one of the largest non-governmental organizations in Southeast Asia.

Its last general assembly took place in Bangkok in 2006 to discuss issues such as teaching law in ASEAN in the 21^st century, the impact of trade liberalization and the WTO on the region, and the settlement of disputes by negotiating within ASEAN.