The Chief Judge of the People’s Supreme Court Trương Hòa Bình. — Photo congly.com.vn

HÀ NỘI (VNS) — Integration and justice harmonisation in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are the biggest concerns for member nations, according to the Chief Judge of the People’s Supreme Court Trương Hòa Bình.

Bình made the comment during a seminar in Hà Nội yesterday on the nation’s integration into ASEAN, which was hosted by the Supreme Court.

The establishment of the ASEAN Community marked a big step for nations that are in the process of broadening their economic integration, Bình said.

But along with these opportunities, ASEAN members would also face several challenges including legal and justice-related issues, he added.

“With differences in economies, politics, societies and legal systems among the ASEAN members, regional integration and justice harmonisation in the community has brought several challenges in ensuring national interests on the basic of co-operation and unity to reach a common voice,” he said.

“Justice harmonisation would also ensure that disputes are immediately solved for the interests of related individuals and organisations,” he added. “In addition, justice harmonisation helped members’ legal and justice systems come closer to a common bottom line so as to minimise disputes on civil procedural work.”

In the seminar, legal experts shared experiences on theory and practical issues related to justice harmonisation and expressed the need for justice harmonisation among member countries.

The participating judges also discussed favourable conditions and difficulties in justice harmonisation for investment fields as well as the need for co-operation among countries’ courts.

Participants agreed that justice harmonisation requires each country to actively contribute to establish a common legal framework aiming to reduce legal differences and obstacles.

During the process of legal integration and justice harmonisation, the role of courts is very important, experts said.

In recent years, the Vietnamese court has made strong improvements to the process such as proposing that the National Assembly adjust or supplement laws and legal regulations to fit international standards.

The seminar was held in preparation for the fourth conference of ASEAN Chief Judges, which will be held in April in HCM City.

The conference, an annual event for ASEAN chiefs and senior judges, is a venue for participants to share experiences and promote co-operation on legal issues. — VNS