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Court Administration
Laos’ court system is characterized by low volume and low capacity. Recent reforms have begun to establish a sound framework of laws, which, if implemented, may form an adequate foundation for effective and transparent commercial dispute resolution. At this point, however, the courts have heard very few commercial cases (and relatively few civil cases generally) and almost none involving significant foreign transactions.
Laos’ court administration is significantly impaired by a lack of resources and a lack of well-trained staff. Although some courts have stand-alone computers, the case management system, docketing, record keeping, and decisions are all performed by hand. Court records are technically public, but are generally unavailable to anyone other than the immediate parties to a dispute. In many cases, relevant departments such as the Ministry of Justice reported difficulties in obtaining judgments or other documents to execute their functions. This difficulty reflects a record keeping system that is based on handwritten legers and in which many court decisions are not intended to be kept after the conclusion of a proceeding.
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