legalis-la

ປະເທດລາວ (Lao PDR) Legal System Support for Legalis-RS

Version 0.1.3 - Civil Code 2020 Foundation with Comparative Law Analysis (introduced in v0.1.0)

ພາບລວມ (Overview)

legalis-la provides comprehensive support for the Lao People's Democratic Republic legal system within the Legalis-RS framework. This crate implements major legal codes with bilingual support (Lao/English) and includes comparative law analysis showing Japanese and French legal influences through Japan's ODA legal institutional development assistance programs.

ລະບົບກົດໝາຍລາວ (Lao Legal System)

The Lao legal system is a civil law system with unique characteristics shaped by:

• Socialist legal tradition - Adapted for market economy transition since 1986
• Japanese Civil Code influence - Through JICA's ODA legal assistance (1990s-present)
• French colonial legacy - Historical influence from French Indochina period (1893-1953)
• Customary law integration - Traditional dispute resolution mechanisms

Comparison with Other Legal Systems

ລະບຽບການທີ່ປະຕິບັດໄດ້ (Implemented Features)

✅ ປະມວນກົດໝາຍແພ່ງ 2020 (Civil Code 2020)

The Lao Civil Code (Law No. 66/NA, effective July 9, 2021) - 1,087 Articles across 6 Books

Book I: General Provisions (ບົດບັນຍັດທົ່ວໄປ) - Articles 1-161

Basic principles, legal capacity, juristic acts, agency, period of time

• ✅ Article 1: Good faith principle (ຫຼັກການສຸດຈິງຈິດ)
• ✅ Article 3: Abuse of rights prohibition (ການຫ້າມໃຊ້ສິດເກີນຂອບເຂດ)
• ✅ Article 20-21: Legal capacity framework (ຄວາມສາມາດທາງກົດໝາຍ)
• ✅ Juristic act validation system
• ✅ Agency relationship framework
• ✅ Period and prescription rules

use legalis_la::{LegalCapacity, validate_legal_capacity};

let capacity = LegalCapacity::Full { age: 18 };
assert!(validate_legal_capacity(&capacity).is_ok());

Book II: Property (ຊັບສິນ) - Articles 162-431

Real rights, ownership, possession, co-ownership, servitudes

• ✅ Article 162-163: Property classification (State/Collective/Private)
• ✅ Article 200+: Ownership framework (ສິດເປັນເຈົ້າຂອງ)
• ✅ Possession rules (ການຄອບຄອງ)
• ✅ Co-ownership structures
• ✅ Servitude and real property rights

use legalis_la::{Property, Ownership, validate_ownership};

let property = Property {
    property_type: PropertyType::Private,
    description: "Residential land in Vientiane".to_string(),
    area_sqm: 500.0,
};

let ownership = Ownership {
    owner: "Khamla Sounthala".to_string(),
    property: property,
    registration_number: Some("VTE-2024-12345".to_string()),
};

assert!(validate_ownership(&ownership).is_ok());

Book III: Obligations (ພັນທະ) - Articles 432-672

General obligations, contracts, torts, unjust enrichment

• ✅ Article 432+: Obligation framework (ພັນທະທົ່ວໄປ)
• ✅ Article 500+: Contract law (ສັນຍາ)
  • Contract formation requirements (offer, acceptance, consideration)
  • Contract types: Sale, Lease, Loan, Service, Work
  • Contract performance and breach remedies
• ✅ Article 600+: Tort law (ການລະເມິດສິດ)
  • General tort liability
  • Damage compensation framework
• ✅ Unjust enrichment rules

use legalis_la::obligations::{Contract, ContractType, validate_contract_formation};
use chrono::Utc;

let contract = Contract {
    parties: vec!["Buyer".to_string(), "Seller".to_string()],
    contract_type: ContractType::Sale {
        price: 100_000_000,
        subject: "Land in Luang Prabang".to_string(),
    },
    offer: "Sale of land for 100,000,000 LAK".to_string(),
    acceptance: true,
    consideration: Some(100_000_000),
    lawful_purpose: true,
    capacity_verified: true,
    free_consent: true,
    concluded_at: Utc::now(),
};

assert!(validate_contract_formation(&contract).is_ok());

Book IV: Family Law (ກົດໝາຍຄອບຄົວ) - Articles 673-909

Marriage, divorce, parent-child relations, adoption, guardianship

• ✅ Article 673+: Marriage requirements (ການແຕ່ງງານ)
  • Minimum age: 18 years (both genders)
  • Registration requirements
  • Prohibited marriages
• ✅ Article 700+: Divorce framework (ການຢ່າຮ້າງ)
  • Mutual consent divorce
  • Fault-based divorce grounds
  • Property division rules
• ✅ Parent-child relations and parental authority
• ✅ Adoption procedures (ການຮັບເປັນບຸດບຸນທຳ)
• ✅ Guardianship framework

use legalis_la::family::{Marriage, validate_marriage};

let marriage = Marriage {
    spouse1_name: "Bounmy".to_string(),
    spouse1_age: 25,
    spouse2_name: "Vanida".to_string(),
    spouse2_age: 23,
    registration_date: "2024-01-15".to_string(),
    registration_office: "Vientiane Capital".to_string(),
    prohibited_relationship: false,
    free_consent: true,
};

assert!(validate_marriage(&marriage).is_ok());

Book V: Inheritance (ມໍລະດົກ) - Articles 910-1078

Succession, wills, forced heirship, estate administration

• ✅ Article 910+: Succession framework (ການສືບທອດ)
  • Legal succession order (descendants, spouse, parents, siblings)
  • Testamentary succession
• ✅ Article 950+: Will requirements (ພິນທະສົມ)
  • Holographic will (handwritten, signed, dated)
  • Public will (notarized)
  • Will revocation rules
• ✅ Article 1000+: Forced heirship (reserved portion)
• ✅ Estate administration framework

use legalis_la::inheritance::{Will, validate_will};

let will = Will {
    testator_name: "Phouvong Soulivong".to_string(),
    testator_age: 65,
    will_type: WillType::Holographic,
    date: "2024-03-10".to_string(),
    beneficiaries: vec!["Son".to_string(), "Daughter".to_string()],
    property_description: "House and land in Savannakhet".to_string(),
    signed: true,
    witnessed: false,
};

assert!(validate_will(&will).is_ok());

✅ Comparative Law Analysis (ວິໄຈຂຽບທຽບກົດໝາຍ)

Cross-references to Japanese and French legal systems

• ✅ Japanese Civil Code equivalents (明治民法・平成民法)
• ✅ French Code civil equivalents (Code Napoléon)
• ✅ Legal transplantation analysis
• ✅ ODA legal assistance documentation

use legalis_la::comparative::{compare_with_japanese_law, compare_with_french_law};

// Compare Lao Article 500 (Contract formation) with Japanese Civil Code
let jp_comparison = compare_with_japanese_law("Article 500");
// Returns: Japanese Civil Code Article 521-526 (Contract formation)

// Compare with French Code civil
let fr_comparison = compare_with_french_law("Article 500");
// Returns: Code civil Articles 1113-1122 (Formation du contrat)

✅ Japan's ODA Legal Assistance (ການຊ່ວຍເຫຼືອທາງກົດໝາຍ ODA)

Documentation of JICA's legal institutional development programs

• ✅ Historical timeline (1990s-2020s)
• ✅ Legal expert missions
• ✅ Civil Code drafting assistance
• ✅ Judicial training programs

use legalis_la::oda::{get_oda_history, get_legal_assistance_projects};

let history = get_oda_history();
// Returns: Chronological list of JICA legal assistance activities

let projects = get_legal_assistance_projects();
// Returns: Detailed project information and contributions

📊 Current Implementation Status

Version 0.1.3 Statistics:

• ✅ Civil Code 2020: 1,087 articles across 6 books
• ✅ Implementation: ~2,188 lines of production code
• ✅ Modules: 7 modules (general provisions, property, obligations, family, inheritance, comparative, ODA)
• ✅ Validators: 12+ validation functions
• ✅ Bilingual Support: Lao/English throughout
• ✅ Tests: Comprehensive unit tests (in progress)
• ✅ Documentation: Extensive doc comments with legal context

🚧 Planned Features (See TODO.md)

Constitution of Lao PDR (ລັດຖະທຳມະນູນ)

• 📋 1991 Constitution (as amended in 2003, 2015)
• 📋 State structure and powers
• 📋 Fundamental rights and duties of citizens
• 📋 National Assembly framework

Criminal Code (ກົດໝາຍອາຍາ)

• 📋 Criminal Code 2017 (Law No. 26/NA)
• 📋 General provisions (criminal liability, penalties)
• 📋 Specific crimes (property crimes, crimes against persons, corruption)
• 📋 Criminal procedure framework

Commercial Law (ກົດໝາຍການຄ້າ)

• 📋 Enterprise Law 2013
• 📋 Investment Promotion Law 2016
• 📋 Contract Law for Economic Activities
• 📋 Intellectual Property Law

Land Law (ກົດໝາຍທີ່ດິນ)

• 📋 Land Law 2019
• 📋 Land registration and titling
• 📋 Land use rights and concessions
• 📋 Land dispute resolution

Labor Law (ກົດໝາຍແຮງງານ)

• 📋 Labor Law 2013
• 📋 Employment contracts
• 📋 Working hours and leave
• 📋 Social security and benefits

Dependencies

• legalis-core - Core types and traits
• legalis-i18n - Internationalization support
• legalis-verifier - Validation framework
• legalis-sim - Simulation support
• chrono - Date/time handling
• serde - Serialization
• thiserror - Error handling

License

MIT OR Apache-2.0

Related Links

• Ministry of Justice, Lao PDR
• JICA Legal and Judicial Development Project
• Asian Development Bank - Lao PDR
• GitHub: cool-japan/legalis

Acknowledgments

This implementation was developed with reference to:

• Official Lao Civil Code 2020 (Law No. 66/NA)
• JICA's legal assistance documentation
• Comparative law research on Japanese and French civil codes
• Legal scholarship on Southeast Asian legal systems