Events in the German-Vietnamese Rule of Law Dialogue

Middle: Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Justice Nguyễn Khánh Ngọc, third from right: Director of the Department for International Cooperation: Nguyen Huu Huyen, left next to him: Anne Zimmermann, Head of the International Legal Cooperation Divi-sion at the Federal Ministry of Justice, 4th from the left: Dr Mario Györi, political atta-ché at the German Embassy Hanoi
Middle: Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Justice Nguyễn Khánh Ngọc, third from right: Director of the Department for International Cooperation: Nguyen Huu Huyen, left next to him: Anne Zimmermann, Head of the International Legal Cooperation Divi-sion at the Federal Ministry of Justice, 4th from the left: Dr Mario Györi, political atta-ché at the German Embassy Hanoi
Vietnam

On the basis of the 2024 work plan of the German-Vietnamese Rule of Law Dialogue, the IRZ, in cooperation with the Vietnamese Ministry of Justice, held a workshop on the abolition of the death penalty on 10 December 2024. In the context of evaluating the penal code, which was reformed ten years ago, there are considerations to reduce further offences punishable by death. Prof Dr Henning Rosenau, Professor for Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure and Medical Law at Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg and Executive Director of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Medicine, Ethics and Law, highlighted the global trends towards the abolition of the death penalty. The focus of the exchange with the Vietnamese participants was on the long-term process of how the death penalty can be eliminated.

A workshop on the topic of commercial arbitration, which is important for the economy, was held with the Vietnam Lawyers Association from 10 to 11 December 2024. Prof Dr Stephan Wernicke, DIHK Chief Legal Officer and Vice-President of the IRZ Board of Trustees, and lawyer Jan Schäfer represented the IRZ. Together with the participants from Vietnamese arbitration institutions, the scientific community, the ordinary courts and others, they held interesting and lively discussions on how modern and attractive arbitration models for investors can be set up. The relevant Vietnamese law from 2011 is to be amended in 2025, so the IRZ would like to continue its advisory services.

The last of the events was a lecture by Prof Dr Henning Rosenau on ‘Euthanasia and the right to a self-determined death’ at Hanoi Law University, attended by around 80 students, who contributed many questions to the subsequent discussion.

Together with Anne Zimmermann, Head of the International Legal Cooperation Division at the Federal Ministry of Justice, and Dr Mario Györi, political attaché at the German Embassy, Angela Schmeink, the IRZ Head of Division for Vietnam and Ukraine, visited the Vietnamese Ministry of Justice to discuss the 2025 work plan for the German-Vietnamese rule of law dialogue with Mr Nguyen Huu Huyen, Director of the Department for International Cooperation.

High-level distinction for Head of Section Angela Schmeink

Head of Section Angela Schmeink and the Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Justice, Nguyễn Khánh Ngọc during the presentation of the order
Head of Section Angela Schmeink and the Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Justice, Nguyễn Khánh Ngọc during the presentation of the order
Vietnam

During a festive ceremony, the Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Justice Nguyễn Khánh Ngọc presented the ‘Order of Merit for Justice’, the highest award given by the Ministry of Justice to foreign citizens, to the IRZ Head of Division for Vietnam and Ukraine, Angela Schmeink. In his laudatory speech, she was honoured for her commitment to German-Vietnamese cooperation over the past 15 years.

Workshops and nationwide conference on juvenile criminal law in Hanoi

Workshop with the Supreme People's Prosecutor's Office on aspects of criminal prosecution and supervision of criminal proceedings, including human rights guarantees for female and juvenile offenders in Hanoi (2nd row from bottom, from left to right): Annette Eisenhardt, judge at the Berlin-Tiergarten Local Court Prof. Dr. Georg Güntge, Deputy Attorney General Schleswig-Holstein, Angela Lummel, Project Manager IRZ, Dr. Nguyen Van Khoat, Director of the Academy of People's Procuratorate; Ms. Hoang Thi Thuy Hoa, Head of the International Program Management Department, Department of International Cooperation and Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (Dept. 13) of the Supreme People's Procuratorate; and Prof. Dr. Mai Dac Bien, Deputy Director of the People's Procuratorate Academy.
Workshop with the Supreme People's Prosecutor's Office on aspects of criminal prosecution and supervision of criminal proceedings, including human rights guarantees for female and juvenile offenders in Hanoi (2nd row from bottom, from left to right): Annette Eisenhardt, judge at the Berlin-Tiergarten Local Court Prof. Dr. Georg Güntge, Deputy Attorney General Schleswig-Holstein, Angela Lummel, Project Manager IRZ, Dr. Nguyen Van Khoat, Director of the Academy of People's Procuratorate; Ms. Hoang Thi Thuy Hoa, Head of the International Program Management Department, Department of International Cooperation and Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (Dept. 13) of the Supreme People's Procuratorate; and Prof. Dr. Mai Dac Bien, Deputy Director of the People's Procuratorate Academy.
Vietnam

In mid-June 2023, the IRZ held several face-to-face events in Hanoi with the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Prosecutor's Office on juvenile criminal law. These events are embedded in the German-Vietnamese dialogue on the rule of law between the Justice Ministries of both countries, which was implemented in 2010.

The Supreme People's Court is responsible for modernising the juvenile criminal law and plans to pass its own juvenile court law in 2024. Based on the translated draft law, the main features of German juvenile criminal law were discussed and recommendations made in a one-day workshop with around 40 participants.

The talks focused on:

  • The aims of juvenile criminal law and the concept of education
  • The scope of application of the Juvenile Court Act and system of legal consequences of juvenile offences with its own sanction system
  • The aims, criteria and forms of the diversion
  • The tasks and duties of juvenile legal support agencies

The theoretical basics were supplemented by the IRZ training film “Theft of a jacket and its consequences: a main hearing in juvenile criminal proceedings”. The expertise required for the events was provided by the German juvenile court judge Annette Eisenhardt from Berlin and the Deputy Prosecutor General of Schleswig-Holstein, Prof. Dr. Georg Güntge, who gave a clear and fascinating explanation of the various process steps. At the explicit request of the Supreme People's Court, the legal training film was also shown at the nationwide conference of the Supreme People's Court on 15 June, where approx. 10,000 judges took part online along with 300 participants.

The Supreme People's Procuratorate was the partner for the two-day workshop involving approx. 60 participants and focused on aspects of criminal prosecution and the monitoring of criminal proceedings, including human rights guarantees for female and juvenile offenders. The legal training film was also shown here which, following the overwhelmingly positive response, both the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate are planning to use for training purposes at their own advanced training academy. The German team of experts used examples in practice to convey the observance of human rights and the rights of the accused in measures involving deprivation of liberty, and analysed the specific features of juvenile criminal law.

These events enabled the IRZ use a film to raise awareness of differentiated criminal law for young persons in an important phase of the modernisation of juvenile criminal law and to potentially incorporate various elements into the legislation. The IRZ will continue to assist the development of juvenile criminal law in Vietnam.