OUR GOALS
We aim to enrich academic programmes, competence and capacity of individuals in the field of law. By doing so, we seek to strengthen the Rule of law and justice institutions in Lao PDR.
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LATEST NEWS
Project supported by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Directorate for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Action
ຂ່າວສານ
The University of Luxembourg actively supports problem-based learning (PBL) through Moot Court trainings. Following the success of our first and second Moot court ‘training the trainers’ in November 2021 and March 2022, Lao lecturers were eager to deepen their mooting skills and solicited another training with Dr. Papawadee Tanodomdej from Chulalongkorn University (CU). Ms. Tanodomdej is specialized in Public International Law and coach for Chulalongkorn’s team for the Red Cross International Humanitarian Law Moot Court Competition and the Philips C. Jessup International Moot Court Competition. From 12th to 14th of October, our third Moot Court Training for lecturers took place at the FLP in Vientiane.
The main objectives of this training were to build an understanding of IHL (International Humanitarian Law) and ICL (International Criminal Law) legal issues and pleading skills to prepare the lecturers in moot court coaching. The 3-day training was run in Thai language and attended by five lecturers as well as students who were potential mooters for the upcoming Lao national competition.
Morning sessions were primarily dedicated to lectures, whereas afternoon sessions included group activities and discussions. Participants were provided with the moot problem both in English and Thai language, presentation slides prepared by Dr. Tanodomdej and relevant international instruments.
The first day of the training was dedicated to introducing mooting and dealing with core IHL principles. In the afternoon, Dr. Tanodomdej introduced the participants to environmental protection during armed conflict. In addition, Dr. Tanodomdej provided the lecturers with a group exercise, dividing the participants into two groups to identify whether the Vietnam war and Gulf war could be considered as a war crime under article 8(2)(b)(iv) of the ICC Statute.
The second day of the training was dedicated to the analysis of the moot problem and search of reliable legal resources. Ms. Tanodomdej also briefed the participants on the methodology required to write the memorials for the ICRC/Red Cross IHL Moot Court Competition for Asia-Pacific region (IHL Moot). Information is available in English at: https://www.redcross.org.hk/en/moot20/index.html. In the afternoon, lecturers were divided into two groups to discuss “the war crime of excessive incidental death, injury, or damage to civilian objects or widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment” – article 8(2)(b)(iv). Dr. Tanodomdej also shared the best memorials from last year’s team and tips on how to make a good pleading. The participants were then split into two groups as Prosecution and Defense teams and had to prepare for the pleading next day.
On the last day, lecturers and students had the opportunity to practice actual pleading, while some were acting as judges allowing them to comment each other’s pleadings. Dr. Tanodomdej provided tips and suggestions to help the lecturers instruct the mooters in the future.
This practical aspect of the training helped the participants to gain an in-depth understanding of how moot court pleadings work!
We hope in the future to keep working with Chulalongkorn University and Thai colleagues on joint Moot court activities.
***
Useful resources in Thai and English can be found online such as :
https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/ihl
For Thai language at:
https://blogs.icrc.org/th/wp-content/uploads/sites/104/2021/12/Additional-Protocols-THAI_web-version.pdf
ຂ່າວສານ
From 12th-17th September 2022, a delegation from Laos including Ass. Pr. Viengvilay Thiengchanhxay (Dean of FLP-NUOL), Mr. Somsack Silithip (Coordinator for the FLP), accompanied by Dr. Perrine SIMON (Liaison Officer of Uni.lu) and Mr. Patthanaphone Nammalath (Uni.lu’s Project Assistant) travelled to Luxembourg to attend the Inter-University Cooperation Project’s Monitoring Committee in Luxembourg City. This visit was very much awaited after the easing of travel restrictions.
The delegation was welcomed by Prof. Stefan Braum, the Project leader. The Monitoring Committee took place at the Faculté de Droit, Économie et Finance (FDEF) of University of Luxembourg on 13th of September 2022. The meeting was the opportunity to introduce Prof. Thomas Mastrullo, who will travel to Laos in January 2023 to the FLP and to discuss upcoming activities as well as Laotian research fellows’ progress and difficulties. Exchanges focused in particular on the enrolment of our first doctoral candidate and the need to identify subsequent candidate(s), and also on the need to take concrete steps in the development of an institutional repository for Lao legal research outputs.
On 14th September, the delegation also visited the Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (MFEA) at the Direction of the Cooperation and met with Mr. Claude Jentgen, the Coordinator for Bilateral Cooperation. The delegation highlighted the milestones of the inter-university cooperation between Laos and Luxembourg and the willingness to deepen it in the future.
This “monitoring” trip ended by paying a courtesy visit to the Lao Ambassador in Brussels, H.E. Phoukhong Sisoulath. Dr. Perrine Simon reported on the achievements of the Project and explored how to reinforce synergies with the Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
ຂ່າວສານ
In the framework of the Inter-University Cooperation Project, the University of Luxembourg is supporting curriculum development.
A 3-day workshop dedicated to teaching skills was organized from 27th-29th July 2022 at the Faculty of Law and Political Science, in Vientiane.
The workshop focused on legal teaching techniques and course syllabus design, taking examples from Criminal Law. This seminar was led by Prof. Yeo Meng Heong from the National University of Singapore and Prof. Chan Wing Cheong from Singapore Management University. This was complementary to the workshop on Substantive Criminal Law which took place from 18th-20th July 2022. It brought together again the lecturers from the Faculty of Law and Political Science (FLP) of the National University of Laos, the Faculty of Law and Administrative (FLA) of the Champasak University, National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Vientiane, Luang Prabang and Savannakhet, who had attended this previous seminar.
The training dealt in particular with how to find the right level of teaching to create an effective learning environment for students through the strengthening of teaching skills.
Sessions combined lectures and group discussions. Participants were provided with a handout prepared by Prof. Yeo Meng Heong and Prof.Chan Wing Cheong giving in particular guidelines on teaching skills and techniques for finding the right level of law teaching through the method called Bloom’s Taxonomy and learning same as techniques for teaching in big and small classrooms, PowerPoint design, students’ participation, engagement, and assessment.
Participants discussed in groups some selected course syllabi included in the Handout and assessment plan. They looked at the differences and similarities of these syllabi to identify the pros and cons in comparison with their own syllabus and also discuss the possible integration of parts of it into the Lao curriculum.
The participation of the lecturers of the Faculty of Law and Administrative of Champassak University and of the National Institute of Justice was made possible with the financial support of the LuxDev Project LAO/031.
ຂ່າວສານ
In the framework of the Inter-University Cooperation Project, the University of Luxembourg is supporting curriculum development.
A 3-day seminar dedicated to Criminal Law was organised from 18th -20th July 2022 at the Faculty of Law and Political Science, in Vientiane. We had the pleasure to welcome for the first-time academics from Singapore. The seminar was led by Prof. Yeo Meng Heong from National University of Singapore with Prof. Chan Wing Cheong from Singapore Management University.
The seminar focused on Criminal Law and Criminal Justice using Comparative Law to analyse Lao Criminal Law making references to Singaporean, German and Thai Criminal Law. The Inter-University Project brought together Criminal Law lecturers from the Faculty of Law and Political Science (FLP) of National University of Laos, the Faculty of Law and Administrative (FLA) of Champasak University, and from the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) of Vientiane, Luang Prabang and Savannakhet. 6 Practitioners – lawyers members of the Lao Bar Association, judges from Lao People’s Supreme Court, and prosecutors from the Lao Office of the Supreme People’s Prosecutor also attended the workshop.
Sessions were a combination of lectures and group discussions. Participants were provided with a handout prepared by Prof. Yeo Meng Heong and Prof. Chan Wing Cheong using a comparative legal method to analyse Criminal Law. The sessions focused on the elements of crime, standard offence of murder, as well as on participation, attempt and the defence/self-defence and insanity legitimation.
Participants discussed in groups many “hypotheticals” (small hypothetical legal cases to resolve) exploring provisions of the Penal Code of different countries. This allowed interactive discussions pointing at issues of legal certainty, actual meaning of certain provisions, pros and cons about the terminology used in Lao Law compared to other jurisdictions.
The participation of the lecturers of the Faculty of Law and Administrative of Champassak University and the National Institute of Justice was made possible with the financial support of the LuxDev Project LAO/031.
ຂ່າວສານ
From 21st-24th June 2022, Prof. Stefan Braum, the Project Leader of the Inter-University cooperation project Laos-Luxembourg could finally travel to Laos after the easing of travel restrictions associated with the COVID 19 pandemic. His visit started with the Steering Committee Meeting, which took place face-to-face for the first time in two years at the FLP on Wednesday, 22nd of June. The Steering Committee Meeting was attended by Sam Schreiner (Chargé d’Affaires of the Luxembourg Embassy in Laos), Anika Brück (Desk Asia, Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and Luxembourg partners including LuxDev and ILSTA). The meeting served to show the accomplishment of the Project’s phase 2 and to discuss the project planning and budget for 2022.
On 23rd June 2022, Prof. Stefan, Dr. Perrine Simon (Liaison Officer of Uni.lu) accompanied by Dr. Somdeth Keovongsack (Vice-dean of FLP), Somsack Silithip (Coordinator of the Project for the FLP) and Ms. Thongkhoon Xayyahong (Uni.lu’s Project Assistant) paid a courtesy visit to the National University of Laos, meeting the Vice-President and Prof. Dr. Houngphet Chanthavong, as well as to the Lao Ministry of Education and Sports, where they met with the Minister Assoc. Prof. Phoud Simmalavong.
ຂ່າວສານ
In the framework of the Inter-University Cooperation Project, the University of Luxembourg is supporting curriculum development.
A 3-day training dedicated to Legal Education Pedagogy dealing specifically with International Law & International Human Rights Law curriculum was organised from June 15th -17th 2022 at the Faculty of Law and Political Science, in Vientiane.
The training focused on course syllabus of International Law & International Human Rights to strengthen the teaching skills of lecturers from the Faculty of Law and Political Science of National University of Laos, the Faculty of Law and Administrative of the Champassak University, and also National Institute of Justice Vientiane, Luang Prabang and Champasak.
This teaching skill training was organised in collaboration with Prof. Jonathan Liljeblad from the Australian National University and coordinated by Dr Perrine Simon (Uni.lu’s Liaison Officer).
Morning sessions were dedicated mostly to lectures and afternoon sessions included group activities and discussions. Participants were provided with a syllabus including references for teaching law International Law and International Human Rights Law and several templates of real syllabi from different universities around the world.
Participants discussed in groups the selected syllabi looking at their pros and cons, the differences and similarities with their own syllabus and possible integration of parts of it in the Lao curriculum.
On the last day of the seminar, Prof. Jonathan Liljeblad dealt with Teaching Techniques and Assessment Techniques, introducing them in particular to the IRAC formula used for legal reasoning).
The participation of the lecturers of the Faculty of Law and Administrative of Champassak University and of the National Institute of Justice was made possible with the financial support of the LuxDev Project LAO/031.
