News
ຂ່າວສານ
Two Laotian lecturers, Mr Bounleuth XAPHAKDY and Mr Somsack HONGVICHIT, were welcomed by the University of Luxembourg for a two-month research stay in May and June 2019. Soon after their arrival, the lecturers had to present their intended research topic at an event organised by Uni.lu Doctoral School of Law (DSL). They had the chance to receive feedbacks from law professors and to meet other PhD students.
They attended a number of seminars and conferences at the FDEF, made use of the University of Luxembourg facilities’ in particular the e-library. They also had time to discuss in-depth their paper with law professors acting as their mentor and other researchers. Both are currently drafting their research paper under the supervision of the Liaison officer, which will support them to publish it in a peer-reviewed law journal in English. Both studies are very relevant and topical for Laos: Mr HONGVICHIT is working on « The development of an enforcement mechanism under the former European Economic Community Treaty: what lessons for the ASEAN?” and Mr XAPHAKDY on the “Critical Analysis of the Legal Framework for Combating Corruption in Lao PDR”.
ຂ່າວສານ
The Inter-University Project organised the 3rd edition of its “Seminar on Legal Research and Methodology” from 21-23 of May 2019. The delegation from the Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance – Luxembourg, headed by Pr. Stefan Braum, accompanied by Mr. Jean-Marc Ceci, Dr. Sofia Mirandola, Mr. Andrii Hubai and Ms. Marie Gerardy.
The 3-days seminar covered extensively methodology in legal research, it is about providing teachers with basic legal research skills.
The seminar offered some plenary lectures such as “Law as an academic discipline”, “The role and the function of the judiciary”, some plenary workshops such as “Referencing, plagiarism and academic ethics” or “Teaching skills” as well as some more specific workshops for which participants were split into groups to join more basic or advanced workshops on methodology (e.g. “Designing a good legal research: steps and concrete examples of legal research”; “How to comment a court’s judgement”, etc.).
The delegation also paid a courtesy call to His Excellency Minister of Justice Xaysy Santivong on the 24th of May.
ຂ່າວສານ
As part of his visit the Head of the delegation, Pr. Stefan Braum, accompanied by Ph.D. and post-doc researchers paid a courtesy call to His Excellency Minister of Justice Xaysy Santivong on the 24th of May.
Moreover, Pr. Stefan Braum took the opportunity to discuss the progress of the Inter-University project between the FLP and FDEF with various actors in the fields of education and law. In particular, he met with Ass. Pr. Houngphet Chanthavong, Vice-President of NUoL. They reaffirmed their commitment to set up, through this concrete cooperation between our two Law faculties, a model for other NUoL’s faculties.
In view of better connecting legal education with the needs of practice and have a better understanding of the Lao context, Pr. Stefan Braum and Dr. Perrine Simon also had the chance to meet on 27th and 28th of May with Mr. Bounta S. Phapmixay, Director of National Institute of Justice and with Mr. Khamsay Soulinthone, President of the Lao Bar Association.
ຂ່າວສານ
For four days, from Tuesday 23rd until Friday 26th of April 2019, the Faculty of Law and Political Science of NUOL in cooperation with the University of Luxembourg welcomed Dr. Basak Baglayan for a seminar dedicated to “International Human Rights Law”.
Dr. Basak Baglayan is a distinguished expert in human rights and has written extensively in this field, in particular on business and human rights. She gave a series of lectures to around 15 FLP lecturers tackling general and specific aspects of International Human Rights Law including a focus on foreign investments. Participants engaged in fruitful discussion and all received a certificate of participation.
Ms. Baglayan invited Dr. Boulaphiane Sisouk, lecturer at the FLP to contribute to the seminar with a presentation on Human Rights in ASEAN law.
ຂ່າວສານ
On the 21st of March 2019, Dr. Perrine SIMON, Liaison Officer of the University of Luxembourg based in Vientiane, organized a workshop on ‘What is Legal Research?’. Around 20 teachers and members from FLP and the Research Division of NUoL attended the workshop. The workshop created a platform for attendees to learn and discuss about the commonalities and the distinctions between research methodologies in law and political science.
ຂ່າວສານ
Congratulations to the Lao team participating in the Red Cross International Humanitarian Law Moot Court which took place in March 2019 in Hong-Kong.
The Liaison Officer has been coaching the students for the national rounds in 2018 and 2019 and for these international rounds. For the first time in Hong-Kong, the Lao team put in a very competitive performance against the best universities in Asia, coming in ahead of Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam.
Last November 2019, the University of Luxembourg organised an its second intensive course on mooting competition at the FLP led by two external specialists of mooting (Dr. Lawrence Siry and Dr. Heleen De Geest, former coaches at Uni.lu for the JESSUP Moot).
ຂ່າວສານ
In February 2019, for the first time, the Steering Committee of the Inter-University Cooperation Project with the National University of Laos (NUOL) took place in Luxembourg city. The delegation going to Luxembourg included Ass. Pr. Viengvilay Thiengchanhxay, Dean of the Faculty of Law and Political Science (FLP) of NUOL and Mr Somsack Silithip, Coordinator of the Project for the FLP. They were accompanied by Dr. Perrine SIMON, the Liaison Officer of Uni.lu based in Laos. Their trip to Luxembourg included several visits such as the European Court of Justice, a meeting with the Head of the Doctoral School in Law of UL and PhD students as well as an official meeting with the Lao Ambassador in Brussels.
It was the first visit of the Dean of the FLP to the University of Luxembourg.
ຂ່າວສານ
For two days, on Thursday 20th and Friday 21st of December 2018, the FLP in cooperation with the University of Luxembourg, welcomed Dr. Basak Baglayan for a series of lectures on “International Human Rights Law”. Dr. Basak Baglayan is a Human Rights expert, currently a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Luxembourg where she did a PhD on “Corporations and Human Rights: Searching for International Norms for Corporate Conduct in Domestic Case Law”.
Around a hundred bachelor students and teachers attended the four lectures on ‘History of International Human Rights Law’, on ‘The United Nations charter-based system’, on ‘The United Nations Treaty-based system’ and on ‘Globalisation and Human Rights’.
ຂ່າວສານ
On Wednesday 28th of November 2018, the national round of the Asia Pacific International Humanitarian Law Moot Court Competition organized by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) took place at the Faculty of Law and Political Science. This competition is actively supported by the University of Luxembourg, The students have been trained by Dr. Perrine Simon, Liaison Officer of the University of Luxembourg based in Vientiane, and Dr. Lawrence Siry from the University College Cork gave them a week-long intensive course on Mooting.
We congratulate all the students involved, in particular the two best mooters that going to Hong-Kong for the international round in March 2019.
ຂ່າວສານ
For the first time, the Inter-University Project organised a crash-course on mooting led by an external specialist of mooting, Dr. Lawrence Siry. Lawrence ran a 5-day course on moot court for students at the Faculty of Law who will take part in the Asia Pacific International Humanitarian Law Moot Court Competition.
Dr Lawrence Siry, Lecturer at the University College Cork (Ireland) and former researcher at the University of Luxembourg, visited the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences of NuOL (Vientiane) from 5th to 9th of November. He used to be the coach for the JESSUP Moot at the University of Luxembourg, and he is a former Criminal Defence Lawyer (US).
Dr Lawrence Siry also gave an open lecture organized on “Structure and actors on international criminal law” for more than 100 students and teachers of the FLP, in the framwork of our cooperation with ILSTA (ILSTA’s open lectures at the FLP).
ຂ່າວສານ
Dr. Lawrence Siry, Lecturer at the University College Cork (Ireland) and former researcher at the University of Luxembourg, was visiting the Faculty of Law and Political Science of NUOL (Vientiane) from the 5th to the 9th of November. Dr. Siry came in the framework of the Inter-University Cooperation Project Laos-Luxembourg to give a week-long training for students to prepare them for the national round of the ICRC IHL Moot Court Competition.
As part of his visit, he also kindly agreed to give a special open lecture at the faculty as part of our collaboration with ILSTA on “Structure and actors on international criminal law” on the 7th of November. The lecture introduced the participants to International criminal law and to the role and jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. It took place at the FLP’s lecture room and was attended by more than 100 students and teachers of the faculty. Many questions were raised by the participants showing how fascinating International criminal law can be!
ຂ່າວສານ
Dr. Perrine Simon, the Liaison Officer of the University of Luxembourg gave a special open lecture on “The Concept of Rule of Law”, on 2nd of November 2018 at the Faculty of Law and Political Science of the National University of Laos.
This lecture is part of the Inter-University Project’s cooperation with ILSTA who organises open lectures for students at the FLP. The University of Luxembourg regularly contributes to them.
The event brought together more than 100 students and teachers as well as law professionals.
ຂ່າວສານ
The cooperation between the University of Luxembourg and the NUOL with the Faculty of Law and Political Science (FLP) organised its second Legal Research Seminar from 4th-7th of September 2018.
This was the first event organised by the newly arrived Liaison Officer Dr. Perrine SIMON, replacing Dr. Heleen De Geest. She welcomed with the FLP a delegation composed by Professor Stefan Braum accompanied with a team of four Post Graduate researchers from the University of Luxembourg. who will deliver seminars on legal research at the Faculty over the next three days.
The week-long workshop focused on legal methodology and on how to structure and write a research paper. The last legal research seminar was very well received by the lecturers of the FLP. The workshops were highly appreciated by the teachers, which was reflected in their dynamic participation allowing significant interaction between the seminar leaders and them.
Some of 50 lecturers from the Faculty of Law and Political Science, National University of Laos were awarded certificates after participating in the three-day seminar on legal research led by Professor Stefan Braum and researchers from the University of Luxembourg. The lecturers also received some thank you gifts from the FLP.
ຂ່າວສານ
The FLP welcomed for the first time a delegation of two Professors, Pr. Luca Ratti and Pr. Matthew Happold from the University of Luxembourg to teach for a week long in Vientiane. They each gave a series of lectures on Public International Law and Labour law to targetting FLP lecturers.
As part of cooperation with ILSTA, they also contributed to ILSTA’s Open lectures by giving each a conference to FLP students. Professor Matthew Happold gave a conference on “International Law in a Multipolar World, Perspectives in the Age of Trump, Putin and Brexit” attended by more than 140 professors and students.
Pr. Ratti also gave an open lecture on “The Core Concepts of Labour Law and their Evolution”. He outlined the origins, sources and general principles of labour law, as well as the termination of the employment relationship and unfair dismissal protections .
ຂ່າວສານ
On Wednesday 23rd of May, Dr. Heleen De Geest delivered a presentation in the Open Lecture at the Faculty of Law and Political Science under the topic “Who are the players in criminal courtroom?”. The Open Lecture series organised jointly by ILSTA and the Faculty of Law and Political Science, National University of Laos.
Dr. Heleen outlined the important roles of players in criminal case proceedings ranging from the judge to the defendant. More than 120 professors and students attended the lecture. The students expressed a high interest in the topics through an interactive discussion and during the Q&A session.
ຂ່າວສານ
In May 2018, the University of Luxembourg welcomed for the first time two Lao teachers for a research-stay of one month. It enabled Ms Thipmany Inthavong to start a research on dispute resolution in labour law (The just cause requirement in labour law, dismissal law in Laos, Comparative study analysis) and Mr Pangthong Xayyavong on ecological obligations of foreign investors in Laos in the context of international law (The Environmental Obligations of Foreign Investors in Host States).
The two lecturers had the opportunity to use the Uni.lu library facilities to conduct their research and to meet with Law professors to have some feedback on their intended topic. They also visited the European Court of Justice of the European Union and paid a courtesy visit the Lao embassy in Brussels (Belgium).
The research stay implies to finalise a paper under the supervision of the Liaison officer, taking the form of a law journal article in English. Mr Pangthong Xayyavong has successfuly completed his research and published his paper “Foreign Investments and Environmental Protection: the Case of Laos” in a special edition on the Inter-university project in the ‘Critical Quarterly for Legislation and Law/ Revue critique trimestrielle de jurisprudence et de législation’ (Nomos) in 2019 (see).
ຂ່າວສານ
Dr. Heleen De Geest, the Liaison Officer of the University of Luxembourg gave a special open lecture on “The current role of the United Nations Security Council”, on 22 November 2017 at the Faculty of Law and Political Science of the National University of Laos. This lecture is part of the Inter-University Project’s cooperation with ILSTA who organises open lectures for students at the FLP. The University of Luxembourg regularly contributes to them.
Dr. Heleen gave an overview of the historical background of the UN Security Council, its composition, functioning and sanctioning powers. More than 120 students attended the lecture, raising critical questions, generating a very lively, interesting and interactive session.
ຂ່າວສານ
As part of a cooperation project to support the Faculty of Law and Political Science at the National University of Laos, a delegation of four PhD students and one post-doctoral researcher, accompanied by Associate Prof. Silvia Allegrezza and the Faculty Dean, Prof. Stefan Braum, joined a research workshop in the country’s capital Vientiane at the end of May 2017.
For Prof. Braum and Associate Prof. Silvia Allegrezza, both specialists in criminal law, this was a continuation of a project launched in 2013 with a view to strengthening legal higher education in the country. They previously visited the university in Laos in May 2016 to assist workshops on human trafficking and the smuggling of migrants in the region.
During their trip this year, they were joined by PhD candidates Olivier Voordeckers, Moritz Klein, Anna Mosna and Basak Baglayan Ceyhan, and post-doctoral researcher Dr Giovanni Zaccaroni.
In cooperation with the Institute for Legal Support and Technical Assistance (ILSTA), which works with the Luxembourg Foreign Ministry, the academics from Luxembourg joined workshops focusing on fostering research skills at the Vientiane Faculty. Three days were devoted to intensive workshops where the genesis of a research paper was discussed, starting with a workshop on how to pick a topic and culminating in a workshop on legal writing skills.
The Luxembourgish delegation was warmly welcomed in Laos. The workshops proved a success generating interesting debate around research questions. Also contributing to the discussion was Dr Zaccaroni’s lecture “The Role of the European Union as a Global Legal and Political Actor”.
Future cooperation
The extensive research workshop was the first of its kind hosted between the two faculties, with plans to organise such an event annually. Similarly, it is planned that two Lao researchers will be selected for a research stay in Luxembourg next spring.
To highlights this important partnership, the entire delegation met with Lao Minister of Justice, Mr Xaysi Santivong, together with the Chargé d’affaires of the Luxembourg Embassy in Laos, Mr Claude Jentgen, as well as further representatives of ILSTA and Lux Development.
Efforts to support law teaching and research in Laos will continue in the future as part of the Faculty’s international outreach activities. Dr Heleen De Geest, a PhD graduate of the University of Luxembourg, is based in Vientiane as the liaison officer since February 2017. “Being on the ground allows a better assessment of the teachers’ research needs here and enables me to directly pass on my experience,” explained Dr. De Geest.
Article retrieved from: https://wwwfr.uni.lu/fdef/actualites/fostering_research_skills_at_national_university_of_laos