The National Assembly of Laos has completed its examination of the new draft constitution, which aims to strengthen local administrations, promote a self-sufficient economy, and strengthen the role of the People’s Prosecution Office in legal proceedings. Among the novelties, there is also the explicit recognition of the Laotian diaspora as an integral part of the nation.

Vientiane (AsiaNews) – The National Assembly of Laos has just completed the review of the draft of a new constitution, a process the Southeast Asian country customarily undergoes every decade or so.

From Monday till today, Laotian lawmakers discussed a series of important changes to the country's political and legal structure with the aim of empowering local governments and developing an independent economy, goals that echo changes neighbouring Vietnam went through recently.

The latest round of constitutional revision in Laos began in June last year, with the announcement by the government of the creation of a special commission.

In accordance with the provisions of existing legislation, the bill was made available in January on the website of the Ministry of Justice to facilitate the consultation process, even if the draft legislation says nothing about how comments would be used.

Promulgated for the first time in 1991, 16 years of the founding of the Lao People's Democratic Republic,  the Laotian Constitution was amended in 2003 and 2015, inaugurating the practice of revising the fundamental charter every 10-12 years, in a relatively short period of time.

In August 2021, the 30th anniversary of the 1991 Constitution, the president of the National Assembly, Xaysomphone Phomvihane (son of Kaysone Phomvihane, the first leader of the Laotian People's Revolutionary Party, the country’s sole ruling party), stressed “the need to amend the constitution in response to changes in modern times,” while a few months earlier he had declared that “the planned changes will better support the Party and government’s development goals,” led by Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone.

Unlike the past, constitutional amendments have become more important for the party, some noted. The changes in the draft revision are not yet final, but they signal Laos’s ambition to overcome its status as an underdeveloped country.

Article 13 introduces the concept of an “independent economy” and emphasises the importance of stable, self-sufficient and environmentally sustainable growth.

Local media have also highlighted Laos’s willingness to reduce its dependence on external factors while attracting more sustainable investment.

Much like Vietnam, Laos also intends to include innovation, science and technology as key drivers of future economic growth.

To achieve these economic objectives, the local administration will be rebooted. The 2015 Constitution provides for management structured around individual executive roles (governors, mayors, and village chiefs).

The new text abolishes these positions and introduces government committees led by a president, a decision designed to decentralise decision-making and distribute power more evenly, local media report.

At the same time, the draft provides for the creation of an additional administrative level, called "ta seng", which would correspond to a sort of county, halfway between the district and the village.

This proposal probably serves to lighten the administrative burden of some districts and reduce the sense of distance the population feels towards government institutions.

The most important innovations, however, concern the judicial system. The amended constitution would strengthen the role of the People’s Prosecution Office, which would be able to prosecute, a key change from its previous role, which was more about legal oversight and supervision. This would boost the government's control over legal proceedings.

The National Assembly will thus exercise greater control over the Supreme People’s Prosecution Office, and ensure the central government’s role in overseeing the country’s judicial institutions.

Another important change concerns the explicit recognition of Laotians living abroad as part of the national community. The draft mentions the Lao people rather than citizens, a term that seems to include those who emigrated in the past and acquired a new citizenship.

Although the text does not grant particular legal recognition to members of the diaspora, it could be a first step towards the inclusion of Laotian communities abroad, a sensitive issue due to the political divisions and consequent waves of migration that occurred after 1975.

After the end of the Vietnam War and the creation of a communist regime in Laos, about 300,000 people, out of a total population of 3 million, left the country crossing the border into Thailand.

• laos
• constitutional change
• amendments
• national assembly
• diaspora
• one-party state