A new Clinical Legal Education Centre (CLE) was opened at the National Institute of Justice of Vientiane on Nov 1.
As part of the Lao efforts to build Rule of Law in the country, the Centre will have the specific mandate to strengthen the legal knowledge, skills and law values among the NIJ students and teachers, to promote exchanges and research on Law, as well as to provide people with legal advice and information.
The inauguration ceremony took place at the presence of the EU Ambassador Ina Maraciulionyte, Vice Minister of Justice Ketsana Phommachanh, and Director General of the Department of Treaties and Laws, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Douangmany Ngothsyoudom.
“The rule of law is one of the fundamental values of the Union and our external relations – said the EU Ambassador – Legal Education is essential to protect and uphold the law, to make sure it is correctly implemented and enforced”.
The opening was made possible through the “Citizens Engagement for Good Governance, Accountability and Rule of Law’ (CEGGA) programme, co-funded by EU, Germany and Switzerland and implemented by GIZ, in collaboration with BABSEACLE, the Ministry of Justice and the National Institute of Justice.
The Center is the third to be established in country, after the one already existing at the Faculty of Law and Political Science of the National University of Laos.
During the ceremony, two new textbooks on Criminal and Constitution law were also handed over to the NIJ. The textbooks produced under CEGGA will be used by teachers and students of the four NIJ campus (in Vientiane, Champasak, Luang Prabang, and Savannakhet) to support legal teaching and training.
As training institution of the Ministry of Justice, the National Institute of Justice represents, together with the Universities, one of the main providers of legal education in Laos.
Only in Vientiane, the NIJ hosts about 1,700 students and 100 teachers engaged in Law and Justice education along a 3 year diploma and 4 years bachelor programme led by the Ministry of Justice.
Source: Lao News Agency