Japanese legal experts and relevant officials gather for group photo at the awards ceremony.

Japanese professor, experts awarded at Supreme People’s Procuracy’s 35th Anniversary

Japanese legal experts from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) were recognised by the Supreme People’s Procuracy of Laos at an awards ceremony held to celebrate the 35th Anniversary of its establishment.
Receiving awards were a Japanese professor and JICA experts of the Project for Promoting the Development and Strengthening of the Rule of Law in the Justice Sector (J-ROL Project) on February 10, 2025.
The ceremony was co-chaired by Supreme People’s Procuracy of Laos Deputy Prosecutor General, Mr Bounthanh Bounthavilay, Ambassador of Japan to Laos Mr Tsutomu Koizumi and JICA Laos Office Senior Representative, Ms Yuki Yoshimura.
The event was also attended by heads and deputy heads of departments, the Institute for Research and Training of Prosecutors, the Project Management Committee of the Supreme People’s Procuracy (Prosecutor), the Faculty of Law and Political Science, members of the working groups, students from Keio University, Japan, and relevant officials from both sides.
On this occasion, Mr Bounthanh expressed appreciation to Professor Hiroshi Matsuo, J-ROL Project chief Mr Hayato Yaoita and J-ROL expert Mr Akitaka Asambo for their significant contributions to enhancing the rule of law in Laos.
In response, Mr Hayato Yaoita, congratulated the Supreme People’s Procuracy on the 35th anniversary and expressed appreciation for all those demonstrating a deep understanding of and appreciation for the significance of the rule of law.
JICA has been cooperating with Laos in the legal sector since 1998 beginning with a training programme in Japan. Ongoing bilateral cooperation is based on developing human resources in the justice sector to promote the rule of law.
In this process, Lao-Japan cooperation efforts have successfully supported the completion of the Lao Civil Code, the creation of manuals in the fields of civil law, criminal law, civil procedure law, criminal procedure law, and manuals on investigation, researching and developing educational and legal training curricula for Laos.
The rule of law cannot be realized only by the existence of law, but must be utilized appropriately by legal practitioners. Each law and its articles have backgrounds relating to respective purposes and intentions.
Therefore, when applying the law to real cases, the judges, the prosecutors and the lawyers must interpret articles, considering the reasons and intentions behind why these articles have been created by legislators.
By doing so, the law will be more effectively enforced by persuasively stating logical reasoning to protect the interests of the nation and society and ensure justice for the people.
Awardee, Mr Akitaka is set to publish the book “Basics of Law – Technique for Legal Interpretation” in Lao language in February 2025.
He said he truly hoped the rule of law in Laos would continue to develop.
This book is the first in Laos to explain the most basic and vital techniques of legal interpretation to those who are practicing law and whose work involves interaction with legal occupations. Although generally law textbooks tend to be difficult to understand without deep knowledge, the book illustrates complicated legal skills clearly and simply, to make the contents readily understandable, even for general readers who haven’t learned law previously. 
Accordingly, the book is truly recommended for a wide audience from beginners in law to legal specialists. It contains many attractive examples with details of the process of legal interpretation. Those examples sure to catch the readers’ eye include football rules and signs prohibiting bringing dogs inside a hotel.
Mr Asambo said the content of the book was easy to understand to suit those who study the law for the first time before entering a career in legal field, he said. However, at the same time, the book is suitable for skilled professionals who are eager to improve their legal skills.
“If this book can provide an opportunity for legal students and specialists to acquire vital legal interpretation skills, it will be a great honor for me to be one of the legal experts who could contribute to make legal history in Laos”.

By Advertorial Desk
 (Latest Update February 21, 2025)