Southeast Asian Legal Research Guide: Introduction to Lao PDR & its Legal System

Laos inherited a typical civil law-based legal system from the French colonial administrators. The original civil codes took Lao customary law into account. After independence, Lao law remained undeveloped until the early 1990s - since then Lao PDR's ambitious plan to develop and revise its laws has seen at least 120 new or modernised laws, according to the Official Gazette website. The revised laws follow the typical forms and approach of French civil law, but foreign models are also followed. Customary law is widely practiced by ethnic Laotian peoples, but not formally recognised as part of State law.