Legal Aid of CambodiaBangkok , 13-13 August 2015

Mr. RUN Saray

Executiva Director

And Lawyer

Legal Aid of Cambodia

ACCESS TO ACCESS TO LEGAL AIDLEGAL AID

PresentationPresentationbyby

LAC Legal Status Legal Aid of Cambodia (‘LAC’) is a non-government organization that is independent, non-profit and non-political.

LAC aims to provide quality legal aid services, legal and human rights education, outreach and advocacy services for the underprivileged in Cambodia.

LAC has 65 staff members (including 18 lawyers).

Provide legal services more than 500 clients in both civil and criminal cases per year.

Mission

Provide quality legal aid, legal and human rights

education / outreach and advocate for

theunderprivilegedin Cambodia in order to

ensure access to justice, promote respect of law,

human rights and advance legal and judicial reform.

Mission

Provide quality legal aid, legal and human rights

education / outreach and advocate for

theunderprivilegedin Cambodia in order to

ensure access to justice, promote respect of law,

human rights and advance legal and judicial reform.

LAC believes that:

1.Justice comes from adherence to just laws.2. Delivering quality legal services contributes to a just society with the rule of law.3. Good governanceleads togreater trust from relevant stakeholders.4. Through staff commitment, LAC provides quality legal services to the underprivileged.

LAC believes that:

1.Justice comes from adherence to just laws.2. Delivering quality legal services contributes to a just society with the rule of law.3. Good governanceleads togreater trust from relevant stakeholders.4. Through staff commitment, LAC provides quality legal services to the underprivileged.

Vision

A just and fair Cambodian society,

where everyone enjoys equal rights

before the law.

Vision

A just and fair Cambodian society,

where everyone enjoys equal rights

before the law.

Principles of Legal AidLegal aid is a fundamental human right and and

imperative to a fair and effective criminal justice system that is based on rule of law.

These rights include the right to a fair trial, access to legal aid services staring from police custody to end of legal proceedings.

Legal Framework

The right to access and to legal aid are found in the Constitution, Law on the Bar, Internal Regulations of the Bar, Code of Criminal Procedure, UDHR, ICCPR, CRC, UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, etc.

State Obligations and Responsibilities The State has duties and responsibilities to :

- Enact specific legislation and regulations and ensure that a comprehensive legal aid system is in place that is accessible, effective, sustainable and credible.

- Ensure that anyone who is detained, arrested, suspected of, or charged with a criminal offence is entitled to legal aid at all stages of the criminal justice process.

Numbers of Lawyers in CambodiaAs of June 2014, a total of 899 lawyers (167

females) were listed in the Bar Association of Kingdom of Cambodia (BAKC), with a population of 14 million people

725 lawyers are practicing lawyers

44 Lawyers are non-practicing who requested not practice law but remain on the list.

33 lawyers are not in this BAR list but their status are still lawyers.

Legal Aid Services in CambodiaIn Cambodia, most of Legal aid services or

representations are primarily provided by NGOs, with funding support from international donors.

The services provided by NGOs vary, however, do include representation, education, mediation and paralegal services.

Current Practice in CambodiaBar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia

works to provide legal aid to the poor.

However, the budget from the government for this purpose is insufficient to meet the needs of the poor.

A very small number of legal aid lawyers work in provinces of Cambodia

Current Practice in CambodiaNGOs: specialist NGOs are the primary source of legal aid in

Cambodia, though financing constraints and attached conditions are restricting their ability to deliver general legal aid or to direct legal aid towards areas (both thematic and geographical) of greatest need.

BAKC: providing legal aid services are thought to be largely ineffective. Low financing and issues with accessing finance contribute towards this.

Paralegals: are being successfully engaged in rural communities by some NGOs however their official status remains uncertain.

University Legal Clinics: the spread of law campuses is wide, however the quality of the students and education on offer is unknown, as is the potential quality of legal assistants.

Current Practice in CambodiaJudicial Police: are required to offer access to a

lawyer after 24 hours however the absence of such a service in rural areas is problematic.

Prisons: do provide access to lawyers and in many cases have separate interview rooms however do not actively promote nor supply information on legal aid.

Courts & Prosecution: request legal aid for hearings involving felonies and minors however this is often done only at the trial stage in order to satisfy procedural requirements.

Challenges/constraints in the delivery of Legal Aid servicesFinancial – insufficient financeLegislative – constraints on increasing the

number of lawyers and the types of assistance that can be offered by non‐BAKC members is inherent in the Law on the BAKC

Procedural – legal aid is not required to be sourced at the investigative stage of a case

Managerial – Government agencies do not understand their management responsibilities in relation to facilitating legal representation.

Professional – some lawyers do not act with sufficient professionalism when undertaking legal aid work

Challenges/constraints in the delivery of Legal Aid ServicesFraud & corruption – fake lawyers undermine

confidence of people in rural communities and pettycorruption drives up the cost of cases and can be an

impediment to people who cannot afford legal services.

Cultural and general lack of understanding of the role of lawyers – many people do not understand the difference between lawyers and judges and often believe they are the same. At times this results in the rejection of legal aid services offered in favor of using connections provided by those perceived to be wealthy or powerful individuals.

Table1 NumberandLocationofLegalAidLawyers(asofAug/Sep2010)

* AccordingtoinformationbytheBACK,only8 outofthese15lawyersworkfull-timeonlegalaid.**TheASF-supportedschemeprovidesonenon-fulltimelawyerpereachprovincialcourt,withtheexceptionofBattambangandSiemReapwhichhaveeach2lawyers.

8

Organization

AD

HO

C

AS

F/

BA

KC

**

BA

KC

/L

AD

*

CD

P

CL

EC

CW

CC

IBJ

LA

C

LIC

AD

HO

LS

CW

PJJ

TOTAL

BanteayMeanchey 1 1 2

Battambang 2 1 3

KampongCham 1 1 2

KampongChhnang 1

KampongSpeu

1

1

KampongThom 1 1

Kampot 1 1

Kandal 1 4 5

KohKong 1 2

Kratie 1 1

Mondulkiri 1 1

PhnomPenh 2 - 15 19 6 2 3 17 5 5 4 78

PreahVihear 1 1

PreyVeng 1 1 2

Pursat 1 1 2

Ratanakkiri 1 1 2

SiemReap 2 2 1 1 6

PreahSihanouk 1 1

StungTreng 1 1

SvayRieng 1 1

Takeo 1 1 2

TOTAL 2 22 15 22 6 4 6 27 5 6 4 119

PROVINCE

1

Suggestion/recommendationsIncreasing the number of lawyers: That the number

of lawyers, particularly those based in the provinces, be increased above the current rate set by BAKC.

Formalizing the use of paralegal services: Paralegals are provided with a definition, minimum requirements and the ability to officially interact with the formal justice sector.

Promotion of pro‐bono services: Conditions are created to promote the use of pro‐bono services in Cambodia

Government funded legal aid service: The RGC finances legal aid lawyers in all provincial locations.