US embassy cable - 04HANOI2878

UNCLAS HANOI 002878 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV AND CA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PHUM, KJUS, VM 
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR, CA A/S HARTY DISCUSS OPPORTUNITIES FOR 
COOPERATION WITH MINISTER OF JUSTICE 
 
1. (SBU) Summary:  During an October 20 meeting, Minister of 
Justice (MOJ) Uong Chu Luu identified for the Ambassador and 
Consular Affairs A/S Harty a number of areas where he 
thought the Vietnamese legal system needs reform, most 
notably in commercial law.  Minister Luu also spoke very 
highly of his September study trip to the United States. 
The Ambassador proposed assistance to Vietnam's judicial 
system through a "next generation" of the STAR project and 
suggested a collaborative seminar on the training of 
lawyers.  End Summary 
 
2. (SBU) During an October 20 meeting with Ambassador and 
visiting Consular Affairs Assistant Secretary Maura Harty, 
Minister of Justice Uong Chu Luu began by praising the 
experiences of a delegation of top MOJ officials he led to 
the United States in September.  Of particular interest were 
the measures taken in America to ensure the independence of 
judicial agencies, the role of bar associations in assisting 
the members to work effectively with court officials and how 
judges and public prosecutors in the United States identify 
their responsibilities in protecting the public interest. 
Luu added that he had been "very honored" to be able to 
discuss areas of cooperation with Attorney General Ashcroft 
during the trip. 
 
3. (SBU) Minister Luu suggested a number of possible areas 
of bilateral cooperation to advance further Vietnamese legal 
reform.  Since the signing of the Bilateral Trade Agreement, 
the MOJ had strengthened cooperation with the USG, and U.S. 
assistance in helping Vietnam to develop a "comprehensive 
and stable legal regime" would lead to enhanced commercial 
ties.  The MOJ is now engaged in developing a legal reform 
strategy through 2010, and much of this will be focused on 
improving the court system, including increasing capacity 
for judicial investigation and developing the skills of 
prosecutors.  As part of this, a recent Support for Trade 
Acceleration (STAR) project program to train lecturers at 
the Hanoi University of Law in commercial law  -- something 
that Vietnam particularly "lacks" -- is significant.  "We 
sometimes have suffered at the hands of more developed 
nations" as a result of a lack of training in commercial 
law, he said, citing foreign anti-dumping suits as an 
example. 
 
4. (SBU) The Ambassador said that the USG will focus on 
helping the MOJ in these areas of reform.  The "bedrock" of 
U.S. - Vietnam relations is trade and commercial ties, but 
these need a strong and transparent legal system to 
flourish.  The USG is ready to offer similar assistance in 
criminal justice reform.  Additionally, the USG now has to 
think about the "next generation" of the STAR project, and 
the Ambassador asked for MOJ suggestions to plan this. 
Developing the skills of Vietnam's lawyers and prosecutors 
is an area of particularly pressing need, the Ambassador 
noted, and the Embassy, the MOJ and the American Bar 
Association could possible collaborate on a seminar to 
present American experiences in this area to Vietnam. 
Minister Luu said he would welcome such a seminar. 
 
5. (U) A/S Harty and the Ambassador also raised the issues 
of adoptions and Consular notification of the detention of 
American citizens (reported septel). 
MARINE