Governance

Pr. Stefan BRAUM

Project leader for the University of Luxembourg

After his school education, which was partially spent in France, Stefan Braum studied law at the “Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität” in Frankfurt. Having passed the first examination with honors, he then prepared his thesis on criminal procedure. From 1996 to 1999 he obtained practical legal training in Brussels (Committee of the Regions) and, as part of a large law firm, he was able to acquire in-depth experience as a lawyer in the field of corporate criminal law. After succeeding in his second examination, also with distinction, Stefan Braum prepared his “habilitation” in international and European criminal law, and published a book entitled “Europäische Strafgesetzlichkeit.”

In 2004 he became the Chair of criminal law and criminal procedure at the University of Cologne. After holding another position at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum in 2005, he was appointed professor of criminal law at the University of Luxembourg in 2006. In Luxembourg, as a member of the “European Criminal Law Academic Network” (ECLAN). Stefan Braum has published articles on European criminal law as well as on the doctrine of criminal law and criminal procedures, always with an interdisciplinary orientation.

In March 2012, Stefan Braum was elected Dean of the Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance by his peers – to which he was appointed by the President with effect from 1 September 2012 for a period of five years until 2017. He has been the engineer behind the creation of the Inter-University Cooperation Laos-Luxembourg and has been the project leader for the University of Luxembourg since its inception. He supervises the project from Luxembourg, working closely with the Liaison Officer on the ground, and travels to Laos several times a year.

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University of Luxembourg and LuxDev collaboration

On 11th January 2024, the University of Luxembourg signed a collaboration agreement with LuxDev, the Luxembourg Development Cooperation Agency integrating the Inter-University Cooperation Project, into the LuxDev Rule of law, access to justice and good governance (ROLAG) programme. Until then the Inter-University Cooperation project has been implemented in Laos by the University of Luxembourg, a Liaison officer and in collaboration with the Institute for Legal Support and Technical Assistance (ILSTA). Since the beginning of February 2024, the Inter-University Cooperation Project, together with the Liaison Officer and Project Assistant, are firmly anchored within the LuxDev ROLAG programme.

For the Inter-University Cooperation Project Laos-Luxembourg, LuxDev will take care of the coordination of administrative and financial matters with regards to the Inter-University Cooperation Project activities including teaching and research visits in both Luxembourg and Laos, as well as preparing financial reports, with the assistance from the Liaison Officer.

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Paulina Baschton

Liaison Officer of the University of Luxembourg 2023

Paulina Baschton studied Law at the Maastricht Law School. She completed her masters in Globalisation and Law, and Corporate and Commercial law, graduating with honours. With extensive experience spanning over seven years, Paulina has served as a legal advisor in various international organizations. Her roles have encompassed project management and team leadership, showcasing her strong capability in coordinating and guiding complex legal and operational initiatives.

Paulina currently works as the University of Luxembourg Liaison Officer on site in Vientiane at Faculty of Law and Political Science of the National University of Laos since the start of 2023. She manages the implementation of the Inter-University Cooperation Project and is designing and conducting legal training as well as project activities and ensuring the smooth execution of collaborative academic endeavours between the institutions. She has been instrumental in the successful integration of the project activities, administration, and finances into the LuxDev, the Luxembourg Development Cooperation Agency at the beginning of 2024.

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Mr. Xayasith LEUANGDETH

Project Assistant 2024

Xayasith LEUANGDETH is a young graduate from the Political Science Department of the Faculty of Laos and Political Science (FLP) of the National University of Laos. Xayasith alias “Jimmy” worked as an intern with the LuxDev Project LAO/031 (Legal Teaching and Training and Promotion of the Rule of Law Concept in Lao PDR) and later as Project Assistant to the LuxDev Project LAO/037 (Rule of law, access to justice and good governance). He previously was involved with the Asian Law Student Association (ALSA Forum Lao 2021) as Secretary General. In these positions he acquired skills in communication, organisation, and academic administration. As an intern with the Project LAO/031, and later Project Assistant with LuxDev Project LAO/037 he brought on relevant knowledge with regards to the collaboration between LuxDev and the FLP.

Xayasith joined the Inter-University Cooperation Project in May 2024 as the new Project Assistant. Under the direction of the Liaison Officer, he provides valuable assistance to the project for all administrative and organisational matters as well as for certain academic tasks.

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Dr. Perrine SIMON

Liaison Officer of the University of Luxembourg 2018 – 2022

Perrine Simon studied Law in France and in England. She completed her masters in Public law and Criminal law with distinction. Dr Simon then carried out her doctoral research under the joint supervision of Prof. Stefan Braum (University of Luxembourg) and Prof. Édouard Dubout (Université Paris 2 – Panthéon Assas). Her thesis, “La compétence d’incrimination de l’Union européenne. Recherche sur le pouvoir pénal européen”, investigated aspects of European criminal law under the Treaty of Lisbon, in particular fundamental rights. She defended her thesis in October 2017 and was awarded the distinction “Excellent”. Along with her research investigations, Perrine has been teaching diverse subjects of Public law and European and International law to bachelors and masters students, at the University of Poitiers, the University of Paris Est and at Sciences Po Paris.

In 2018, Dr Simon qualified as Assistant Professor in France (“Maître de conférences”). She was also awarded the Prix Vendôme by the French Ministry of Justice for her doctoral work. In addition to the Prix Vendôme, she has also been awarded the “Prix de la Chancellerie des Universités de Paris 2018”, one of 17 laureates in the law and political science group.

Dr Simon worked as the University of Luxembourg Liaison Officer on site in Vientiane at Faculty of Law and Political Science of the National University of Laos since mid-2018 till the end of 2022. She managed the implementation of the Inter-University Project, as well as designed and conducted legal training.

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Mr. Patthanaphone Nammalath

Project Assistant 2022 – 2024

Patthanaphone Nammalath is a young graduate from the International Relations of the Faculty of Laos and Political Science of the National University of Laos. Patthanaphone alias “Bank” was the Director of the Community development group of FLP and the President of International Relation Students’ Group (IR Students’ Group) of IR department. He has also been actively involved in the ICRC Asia Pacific International Humanitarian Law Moot Court Competition supported by the University of Luxembourg since 2019 and won the Lao National Competition in 2021. Bank became familiar with the Inter-University Cooperation Project through the coaching provided by the Liaison Officer for the Moot. From September 2021 until June 2022, Patthanaphone also worked as an intern, besides his studies,  with the LuxDev Project LAO/031 (Legal Teaching and Training and Promotion of the Rule of Law Concept in Lao PDR). He acquired skills in communication, organisation, academic, administration and finance. As an intern with the Project LAO/031, he has assisted with the coordination with the University of Luxembourg.

Patthanaphone joined the Inter-University Cooperation Project in July 2022 as the new Project Assistant. Under the direction of the University of Luxembourg, he provided valuable assistance to the Liaison officer for all administrative and financial matters as well as for certain academic tasks.

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Ms. Sandra SCHWARZ

Administrative support at the University of Luxembourg 2018 – 2023

Sandra Schwarz started her career in France before joining in 2001 a communication company in Luxembourg collaborating with European Union (EU) institutions. Since then, she always worked in a multicultural environment combining team work and international relations. In 2004, she moved to the EU institutions, first working at the EU Office of Publications (in charge of editing official institutional publications), then later on for Eurostat, the statistics office of the EU. Since 2012, Sandra has been working with the University of Luxembourg. She was first attached to the Faculty of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences as Administrative assistant.

In 2015, she joined the Faculty of Law, Economy and Finance (FDEF) as Administrative assistant with a broader portfolio, including the management of several budgets, in particular the budget of the cooperation project with Laos. For the Inter-University Cooperation Project Laos-Luxembourg, Sandra Schwarz took care of the expenses, the travel and the coordination of administrative/financial matters with the experts from the University of Luxembourg and researchers from Laos coming to Luxembourg. She also assisted the Liaison Officer to coordinate with the different services of the University and the preparation of financial reports.

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Dean Ass. Pr. Viengvilay THIENGCHANHXAY

Project leader for the National University of Laos

Ass. Pr. Viengvilay THIENGCHANHXAY is the Dean of the Faculty of Law and Political Science (FLP) which was founded in 1997 (replacing the original School of Law established by the Ministry of Justice in 1986). Ass. Pr. Viengvilay THIENGCHANHXAY has been the Project leader for the National University of Laos (NUOL) since the inception of the Inter-University Project. He played an important role in creating strong ties with the University of Luxembourg since the inception of this project.

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Mr. Somsack SILITHIP

National Coordinator for  the National University of Laos 2017 – 2023

Mr. Somsack Silithip is a law lecturer at the FLP and currently the Head of Research Division at the Faculty. He has previously worked at the Salavanh Provincial Chamber of Commerce and at the Ministry of Justice of Lao PDR. He has bachelor in English and a bachelor of Law from the NUOL and has been a staff member of the Faculty of Law in Vientiane since 1998.

Somsack has been the National Coordinator for the National University of Laos since the inception of the Inter-University Project in 2017. He was helping the Liaison Officer of the University of Luxembourg to coordinate with the different actors and services of NUOL. He was also the coordinator for the FLP with the Rule of Law Project (Lao/031) of LuxDev in Laos.

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