Ann and Robert Seidman, co-founders of ICLAD, began work in Vietnam in 2000 under a DANIDA funded project aimed at legal reform. The project included training more than 80 government drafters who worked on a variety of topics including Water, Coastal Management, Environment, Public Construction, State Budget, Criminal Procedures, Bankruptcy, Law on Laws, Traffic Accident Reduction, Telecommunications, and Farmers Credit. As part of this project DANIDA funded the translation of both the Seidmans’ drafters’ and legislators’ manuals have been translated into Vietnamese, however Vietnamese-grounded learning materials are needed.

Late in 2003, the Vietnamese government sent a high level delegation of senior officials from the Government Office (the equivalent of Cabinet), the Ministry of Justice, and the Parliamentary staff for a two week session to assess the BU Program as a potential source of legislative drafting training.   After reviewing the institutionalist legislative theory, methodology and techniques, as well as the BU four month residential training program, they decided to enroll three middle level officials from each of those Vietnamese institutions in the four month program in the spring, 2004, term.   There, together with the assistance of Giao Hoang, a Vietnamese Fulbright fellow and Vietnam National University Professor who had participated as a Visiting Scholar in the program in the fall of 2003, the three completed the program; the Fulbright fellow served as interpreter and, in the process, strengthened his own understanding of how best to translate the theory, methodology and techniques for use in Vietnam’s unique circumstances.   On their return, the Vietnamese apparently decided to set up an on-going government agency, headed by Giao Hoang working together with the Deputy Director of the Government Office, to institutionalize the learning process in Vietnam.   [Both serve as members of ICLAD’s Advisory Board.]

Ann and Robert Seidman, Sara Johnson-Steffey, Director of Capacity Building, and Lorna Seitz, Director of Research and Training returned to Vietnam from May 24th-June 4th, 2005 for a training with 20 government drafters and university faculty members to discuss the draft Law on Laws and other legislation.

Click here for the agenda for a five-day workshop LERES ran in March, 2006.