Vietnam attends 10th meeting of Council of ASEAN Chief Justices

Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court Nguyen Hoa Binh (center, front line) at the event

In her opening speech, Chief Justice of Malaysia Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat expressed delight that Malaysia is the first country to host the in-person meeting after two years of teleconferencing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is also the first year the CACJ has launched the ASEAN+ initiative with the participation of Chief Justices of China, the Republic of Korea and Japan.

She affirmed that over the past decade since its establishment, CACJ has taken long strides and made important achievements. She hoped the CACJ will increase the sharing of information about judicial affairs in the near future.

Talking with the Vietnam News Agency (VNA)'s resident reporter on the sidelines of the event, Binh said the meeting focused its discussions on future cooperation that benefits citizens, including application of technology in court activities, sending documents in civil disputes and child-related disputes which are issues of public concern.

Asked about Vietnam’s contribution to CACJ, Binh affirmed that Vietnam has always actively and proactively joined its discussions and offered constructive initiatives.

At the meeting

Among CACJ’s 10 meetings, two were hosted by Vietnam, including one offline and one online.

Vietnam’s proposal to recognize CACJ as a political entity won consensus and was added to the ASEAN Charter. The country’s efforts to fight COVID-19 during its peak were also welcomed by CACJ, he said.

Binh also said Vietnam has taken specific steps to improve court governance and operations, and provide public judicial services and several legal proceedings on digital platforms with initial positive results which were shared at the meeting.

At the end of the meeting, CACJ signed the Kuala Lumpur Declaration and took note of resolutions to lay a foundation for its activities in the near future.

Source: VNA