Why is rule of law important to a democracy

The sweeping ruling by the court, with a 6-3 conservative majority, was set to alter American life, with nearly half the states considered certain or likely to ban abortion. Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas suggested the court's reasoning could also lead it to reconsider past rulings protecting the right to contraception, legalizing gay marriage nationwide, and invalidating state laws banning gay sex. As the day progressed, the number of demonstrators outside the Supreme Court increased substantially. The fenced-off area in front of the high court was filled largely with those demanding abortion rights. Crowds carried posters with slogans such as "Abort SCOTUS." One protester carried a placard that said "limit guns, not women" in reference to another Supreme Court decision this week expanding gun rights. Earlier in the afternoon, a supporter of Friday's ruling said: "The thing that 'my body, my choice' advocates don't get is that the aborted baby never had a choice." The … [Read more...] about Protesters at U.S. Supreme Court decry abortion ruling overturning Roe v. Wade

The sweeping ruling by the court, with a 6-3 conservative majority, was set to alter American life, with nearly half the states considered certain or likely to ban abortion. Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas suggested the court's reasoning could also lead it to reconsider past rulings protecting the right to contraception, legalizing gay marriage nationwide, and invalidating state laws banning gay sex. As the day progressed, the number of demonstrators outside the Supreme Court increased substantially. The fenced-off area in front of the high court was filled largely with those demanding abortion rights. Crowds carried posters with slogans such as "Abort SCOTUS." One protester carried a placard that said "limit guns, not women" in reference to another Supreme Court decision this week expanding gun rights. Earlier in the afternoon, a supporter of Friday's ruling said: "The thing that 'my body, my choice' advocates don't get is that the aborted baby never had a choice." The … [Read more...] about Protesters at US Supreme Court decry abortion ruling overturning Roe v. Wade

Illustrative image (Source: VNA) Khanh Hoa (VNA) – The Forest Protection Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development , in collaboration with the United States Forest Service (USFS), held a workshop on building a law enforcement curriculum for forest rangers in Vietnam on June 30 in the central province of Khanh Hoa. Speaking at the workshop, Nguyen Quoc Hieu, Deputy Director of the Forest Protection Department , said that the event is an important demonstration of progress in cooperation between the department and the USFS to jointly develop a standardised training programme in law enforcement for Vietnam ese rangers. Cooperation focuses on the building of professional training plans, programmes and documents, capacity training, and training courses to guide the implementation of legislation in the forestry sector. According to the department, in April 2019 in Washington D.C, the US Department of Agriculture and the Vietnam Administration of … [Read more...] about US supports law enforcement training for Vietnamese forest rangers

Mobile police forces in Vietnam will be furnished with aircraft and ships, in addition to weapons and other equipment, according to a new law passed by the country’s legislature last week. The lawmaking National Assembly approved the Law on Mobile Police at its third session on June 16 with over 91 percent of the votes from 474 delegates present. The law, which has five chapters and 33 articles, will take effect from January 1, 2023 and replace the 2013 Ordinance on Mobile Police. As per the new legislation, mobile police will be equipped not only with weapons, explosives, supporting tools, and vehicles as well as professional technical equipment, but also aircraft and boats to carry out their functions, tasks, and powers. Accordingly, mobile force units will be allowed to use aircraft and boats designated for them to implement their law enforcement activities when necessary. The government will issue detailed instructions to implement this regulation, the law says. The … [Read more...] about Vietnam’s mobile police to be equipped with planes, boats: new law

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue (second, left) presents a gift to the Vietnamese expatriate community in the UK. (Photo: VNA) London (VNA) - The official visit to the UK by Vietnamese National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue has come in a very opportune and important time, as the two countries are seeking ways to deepen their parliamentary and political dialogues, said Mr Wayne David MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Vietnam. Making his remarks in a virtual meeting with the Vietnam News Agency's correspondent in the UK ahead of the top legislator’s trip from June 28-30, Mr David said the visit is important not only symbolically, but in a very practical sense as well, because during the visit, the two sides will be talking about different issues important to both countries. According to the APPG Chair, Mr Hue will be meeting not only the Speaker of Commons and the Speaker of Lords, members of all political parties and the APPG, but also … [Read more...] about Top legislator’s UK visit comes in opportune and important time: APPG Chair

Making his remarks in a virtual meeting with the Vietnam News Agency's correspondent in the U.K. ahead of the top legislator’s trip from June 28-30, David said the visit is important not only symbolically, but in a very practical sense as well, because during the visit, the two sides will be talking about different issues important to both countries. According to the APPG Chair, Hue will be meeting not only the Speaker of Commons and the Speaker of Lords, members of all political parties and the APPG, but also members of the government, including the Deputy Prime Minister and the Home Secretary. Therefore, the visit is not only official but also practical. According to David, for a number of years, there has been relations between the National Assembly of Vietnam and the British Parliament, but this relationship has seen a formalization over last few years, particularly with the British Inter-parliamentary union's visit to Vietnam in October 2018. He said the visit, led by … [Read more...] about Top legislator’s U.K. visit comes in opportune and important time: APPG Chair

An important legal framework On the basis of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982, the National Assembly of Vietnam passed the Vietnam Law of the Sea on June 21, 2012. The law started to officially take effect from January 1, 20213, serving as an important legal framework to regulate Vietnam’s relations at sea and oceans. Dr. Tran Cong Truc shared that the Vietnam Law of the Sea has 54 articles in seven chapters. There are four contents legalized in the law, namely the demarcation of sea areas and continental shelves and assertion of sovereignty over islands and archipelagos; activities in Vietnamese waters; marine economic development; and the management and protection of sea and islands. Article 1 of the Law of the Sea of Vietnam states, “This law provides regulations concerning the baseline, internal waters, territorial sea, contiguous zone, exclusive economic zone, continental shelf, islands, the Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands, the Truong Sa … [Read more...] about Part 2: Vietnam Law of the Sea adds more legal basis to UNCLOS

Australian foreign minister Penny Wong is welcomed by her Vietnamese counterpart Bùi Thanh Sơn on Monday. — VNA/VNS Photo Lâm Khánh HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese foreign minister Bùi Thanh Sơn on Monday welcomed his Australian counterpart Penny Wong on her official visit to Việt Nam. Việt Nam is the first Southeast Asian country Wong paid a visit to after assuming the Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs position. Congratulating Australia on its success in the federal election and COVID-19 vaccination campaign, Minister Sơn believes that Wong’s visit will further promote the strategic partnership between the two countries. Việt Nam and Australia will soon commemorate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic relations in 2023. The Vietnamese foreign minister also expressed his gratitude to the Australian government for their prompt support in providing COVID-19 vaccines and medical equipment for Việt Nam, particularly the 14.4 million doses for children, which … [Read more...] about Concrete actions are important to shared prosperity: Australian foreign minister

Reporter: The adoption of VNLOS could be considered the localization of the UNCLOS in Vietnam. Could you please  elaborate more about the policy and principles of Vietnam when applying the above two legal documents to the demarcation of waters and dealing with arising issues at sea in reality, sir? Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh: First, There are two basic legal documents that we rely on when exploiting resources, protecting and operating in Vietnamese waters. They are UNCLOS internationally and VNLOS domestically. At present, there are a lot of conventions, international laws or legal documents. They are not issued by any courts, but built based on the commitments of coastal and island states. Due to the characteristics of UNCLOS, each country needs to devise its own law of the sea, but basically all of those laws must comply with and be based on UNCLOS. Generally, international conventions or laws at large, not only on the sea, are loose to some extents, but first … [Read more...] about Part 3: Upholding VNLOS is upholding international law

Marcel Schröder, Economist, Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department Asian Development Bank At the beginning of the conflict, the crude oil price breached $130 per barrel in March, the highest since 2008. Since then, it retreated to about $100 in April, before rising again to $120 following the European Union’s partial ban on Russian oil in May. Some worry that the oil price could spike to $200 per barrel in the coming months and how such a shock would impact the economic prospects of Asia’s developing countries. While many institutions, including ours, project a significantly higher oil price in 2022 compared with 2021, these predictions do not foresee $200 per barrel because they attach a low probability of a sudden shock to the global oil supply. A sudden shock is unlikely given the EU’s decision to gradually phase out Russian oil imports by the end of 2022, allowing an orderly transition to alternative supplies and keeping prices stable and affordable for … [Read more...] about Additional oil spike impacts cannot be ruled out