Vietnamese lawyers’ ability to deal with international disputes has increased significantly, according to Mr. Nguyen Van Thao, director of the Justice Ministry’s Legal Aid Department.
This improvement was not a small accomplishment, said the director of the Multilateral Trade Assistance Project II (MULTRAP II) at a workshop held on November 8 in Hanoi to improve the awareness of lawyers, business leaders and state officials about WTO dispute settlement procedures.
“Dispute settlement procedures are complicated, requiring parties to have knowledge in commercial laws and legal procedures of a country and of the WTO as well,” the director said.
As case studies, workshop participants discussed some dumping disputes that have affected Vietnam’s interests.
According to an European lawyer, one of the strategies in WTO dispute settlement is to settle disputes as soon as possible.
“A developing WTO member can also launch a case together with a more experienced WTO member to gain experience in the procedures, the preparation of submissions and rebuttals and other factors relevant to an appeal,” the lawyer said.-