Training for Judges on Rehabilitation and Bankruptcy Case Management
On September 26 – 28, 2022, at the Moung Thanh Hotel in Vientiane Capital. The People’s Supreme Court, with support of the Lao PDR Competitiveness and Trade Project, organized a three-day training for judges to implement the Law on Rehabilitation and Bankruptcy of the Enterprises. The training was chaired by Mr. Bounkhuang Thavisak, Vice President of the People’s Supreme Court, attended with 41 representatives from various concerned agencies, including the People’s Supreme Court, the Central People’s Court, the People’s Court in Vientiane, the Investment Promotion Department of Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Planning and Cooperation Department of Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Legal Department of Ministry of Justice, and Insolvency Administrators from various professional fields such as business administration, accounting, and law who met the conditions outlined in the amended Law on Rehabilitation and Bankruptcy of Enterprises.
The purposes of this training are to (1) create a pool of qualified insolvency Judges; (2) raise awareness and understanding of the amended Law on Rehabilitation and Bankruptcy of Enterprises and other relevant laws; 3) learn from foreign experts the international best practices and experiences in resolving enterprises bankruptcy. All of this is intended to create conditions and improve the ease of doing business in Lao PDR, in accordance with the Prime Minister’s Order on the Improvement of Regulations and Coordination Mechanisms for Doing Business in Lao PDR, No. 02/PM, dated 01 February 2018.
During the three-day training, and through comprehensive presentations from international experts, the trainees gained better understanding of the fundamental elements of the business’s rehabilitation and bankruptcy, the role of Judges and the rehabilitation and bankruptcy case management proceeding under the amended Law. In addition, the trainees had more insight on the international lessons and practical experiences in resolving the bankruptcy of enterprises. There was a Q&A session, and a fruitful and direct exchange of lessons on the enterprise’s rehabilitation and bankruptcy through the interactive practical case studies.
At the end of the training, the chairperson instructed the participants to apply the provisions of the amended Law on Rehabilitation and Bankruptcy of Enterprises as well as the lessons learnt from the training, and continue to develop self-sufficiency skills in order to become the qualified insolvency Judges. He also urged the trainees to carry out the case proceeding in compliance with the laws and the Judges’ code of ethics.
Lao Competitiveness and Trade (LCT) project is a multi-donor project funded by Australian Aid, Irish Aid, USAID, and the World Bank Group, which implementing at the Department of Planning and Cooperation, Ministry of Industry and Commerce. LCT project aims to eliminate the barriers to private sector-led growth by improving the regulatory environment, lowering trade costs and raising firm-level competitiveness.