National Assembly and law enforcement representatives met last week in Vientiane to discuss their biggest concerns in relation to the violation of the country's laws.
Chairman of the NA Law Committee Keyoun Yotsayviboun highlighted a number of weak points in law enforcement which needed to be addressed.
These included problems relating to drug abuse, land use, and the informal borrowing of money which is a common practice.
Mr Keyoun said another issue was the detention of suspects without permission from the people's prosecutor office.
Cooperation between police and the people's prosecutor was not effective or standardised.
“Drug dealers have not always been taken to court because they have had powerful backers,” he said.
Officials said the resolution of some cases, especially drug abuse, was often slow due to a lack of sufficient evidence.
Lao law stipulates that a suspect's confession should not be the primary evidence in a trial. The case should be based on factual evidence because suspects could refuse to admit their crime.
But in reality confessions are often used by the court in making a decision due to a lack of evidence.
In some cases, sentences handed down to those found guilty have not been consistent with the law.
The Ministry of Justice reported that about 7,419 cases nationwide were heard in people's courts from October 2008 to May 2009, of which 4,600 were criminal cases.
Drug abuse is one of the most common crimes.
The Ministry of Public Security reported about 40,000 people are at risk of drug addiction, especially young people and the unemployed.
Drug abuse was spreading from the larger cities to smaller towns and then into the rural areas of Laos .
The report stated drug abuse was having a serious impact on society and social order. Robberies and bag snatching were also common crimes.
In 2008, police investigated 499 cases of drug abuse, holding 845 people in detention and seizing 22,960 kg of heroin and 242,587 kg of other drugs.
Since the beginning of this year, police have investigated 159 cases of drug abuse and held 281 people in detention.
They have also confiscated 21.4 kg of heroin and 22.3 kg of other drugs. Laos is making progress towards becoming a state governed by the rule of law.
The National Assembly has so far approved more than 80 laws, but the implementation of these laws is weak.
Legal officials say education is a factor in poor law enforcement because many people, especially those in rural areas, do not understand the laws.
Some officials took advantage of the law for their personal gain.
Most agreed that dissemination of the country's laws was important to encourage people to comply with the laws while addressing current loopholes.
How does Lao authorities inform the public, expecially in the rural communities/ villages about the existing or new laws? Was there an assembly conducted that gathers all village leaders to discuss and communicate implementation of new laws. Although ignorance of the law is never an excuse, but at least there should be some efforts to make people aware, right?
