Samdech Hun Sen

Prime Minister of the Royal Government of Cambodia

Foreword

Justice for all is at the heart of the Royal Government strategy to achieve sustainable and fair development for the benefit of the people. The Royal Government's National Poverty Reduction Strategy singles out the strengthening of institutions and improving governance as the key to poverty reduction without which little else is possible. Awell-functioning Legal and Judicial sector ensuring justice for all is a central element herein. The Governance Action Plan is a compendium of over a hundred priority initiatives to make good governance the backbone of the Government's strategy.

Cambodia can be proud of the progress made since the Paris Accords and particularly in the last five years in every aspect of governance. Prerequisites to security, democracy, rule of law and a market economy were set. New institutions were created, others were strengthened. Cambodia is now preparing to joint WTO and meetits stringent conditions.

Progress in legal and judicial reform is no less impressive. With the help of partners, great strides were made to rebuild the Judiciary and establish core elements of the Legal Framework. Attention has now turned to ensuring the fair and equitable application and delivery of Justice.

The Royal Government, from the very beginning of its mandate, has commissioned studies and facilitated the work of numerous missions to develop an overall strategy and program to better coordinate efforts to reform the Legal and Judicial Sector. The objective has been to finalise a strategy and program of action, through which the overall goal of establishing a credible and stable Legal and Judicial sector upholding the rights of the individual, separation of powers and the rule of law in a liberal democracy fostering private sector economic led growth could be realised.

The Vision and the Action Plan to Reform the Legal and Judicial Sector is anchored into the four core values of the Cambodian Constitution: individual rights, liberal democracy, separation of powers and rule of law. It articulates specific goals and strategies and it priorities initiatives to provide the conditions for sustainable progress.

This pamphlet was developed for wide distribution to explain the scope and breath of the Government's efforts to reform the Legal and judicial Sector. It is based on the Vision and Programme of Action themselves the result of extensive consultations among the government, the judiciary, the private sector, civil society and development partners.

Cambodia's success will depend in large measure on the quality of the partnerships and the timely availability of means. The consensus about what needs to be done is very broad and the will to change is strong.

Hun Sen
Prime Minister

The Vision

The Royal Government's vision for the Legal and Judicial Sector is based on the values enshrined in the Constitution and the principles of international laws as adhered to by Cambodia. The vision aims to:

secure the personal freedom and rights, including property rights, of all individuals throughout country through the timely, effective and fair delivery of justice;

protect the existence of a liberal democracy within the sovereign Kingdom of Cambodia;

ensure a credible and stable legal and judicial framework within a system of Separation of Powers, including an independent and capable judiciary;

uphold the rule of law in a market-based economy;

rely on institutions that uphold principles of good governance;

ensure effective access to justice for all in the due process of law before a court or other conflict resolution mechanisms in all settlement of disputes between the State and individuals and between individuals;

ensure the timely and impartial enforcement of all legal decisions, be transparent and promote awareness by citizens of their rights and obligations;

earn the confidence and respect of the citizens to the judiciary that is held to high standards of professionalism, ethics and accountability.

The Strategic Objectives

The strategic objectives of the Royal Government Legal and Judicial Reform directly flow from the above vision in support of the policies of the Royal Government as embodied in the National Poverty Reduction Strategy and the Governance Action Plan. The strategic objectives that will guide the implementation of the vision are:

·    Improving the protection of fundamental rights and

freedoms by developing and supporting measures to safeguard right and raise awareness among the people and all institutions involved aiming to promote equitable and sustainable development as a simultaneous and integrated part of the fulfillment of rights.

·     Modernising the legislative framework by developing a comprehensive framework of laws through an efficient, coherent and participatory law-making process ensuring balanced legislation and the implementation of the rule of law.

·  Providing better access to legal and judicial information by promoting dissemination of basic legal knowledge through official publications, electronic media and information folders and ensuring easy accessibility to all legal and judicial information for legal practitioners and any other interested party.

·    Enhancing quality of legal processes and related services by strengthening the legal profession, enhancing access to legal assistance and streamlining judicial procedures in order to ensure fair justice and due process for the people.

·    Strengthening judicial services, i.e. the judicial power and the prosecutorial services by introducing the necessary legislative, procedural, structural and educational measures to ensure access to justice within fair, credible and independent judicial institutions enjoying broad respect.

· Introducing and reinforcing alternative resolution mechanisms to enable quick, informal and easy dispute resolution to the benefit of involved parties and to ease the burden on the established judicial system.

· Strengthening justice sector institutions to fulfil their mandates by strengthening management, planning and monitoring mechanisms and capacity in general in order to enable the provision of public services and to ensure decision- making in accordance with principles of good governance and their efficient enforcement.

The Results

Should requisite partnerships and means be in place, the royal Government expects the following results as outlined in the National Poverty Reduction
Strategy:

Early results:

·     The Reform Strategy and Program of Action are implemented
in consultation with partners and with their participation;

·    Institutions such as the Supreme Council for the Magistracy and the Ministry of Justice are strengthened and the Statute for the Magistracy and the Code of Ethics for judges are approved;

·    The capacity of support institutions such as the Project

Management Unit to the CL&JR are strengthened;

·The law formulation process is a participative, predictable and effective process;

·     Fundamental and urgent elements of the legal framework such as the civil and criminal codes, including the corresponding procedure codes, and laws and regulations relating to investment, commerce and trade are completed;

·    Mechanisms to promote access to and understanding of legal and judicial information are strengthened;

·   Programs to strengthen the capacity of the Judiciary through Human Resources Development, motivation and discipline measures are implemented ; and,

·     A participative program in support of human rights is implemented.

Medium-term results:

·    The legal framework and conflict resolution mechanisms meet the needs of the poor and standards for involvement in international for a such as WTO and ASEAN;

·  The civil and criminal codes and the corresponding procedure codes are implemented;

·  The judiciary is strengthened through improving community confidence and the development of alternative conflict resolution mechanisms readily accessible to citizens;

·        New courts and tribunals to improve access and to enhance conflict resolution in specialized areas (commerce, administration) are established;

·       A "Bench Book" to ensure uniform legal practice and due process, including an electronic data base on texts and decisions, is published;

·       The broad dissemination and understanding of laws and legal texts is assured, including the establishment of a justice knowledge centre;

·     The capacity of the judiciary police is strengthened; and

·     The management and independence of the Judiciary is strengthened, including the provision of adequate means.

The Treaties

Over the years, Cambodia has signed numerous international treaties and conventions. Cambodia is one of the founding members of the International Court of Justice. Cambodia is now preparing to join the WTO. The following international treaties, conventions and agreements expand on key aspects of the Constitution and their provisions are good indicators of progress.

• Universal Declaration of Human Rights

• Declaration on the Elimination of all Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination based on religion or belief

• International covenant on Civil and Political Rights

• International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

• Convention on the Rights of the Child, including optional protocols

• Convention on the Elimination of All forms Discrimination Against Women

• Slavery Convention and the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery

• Convention on the Repression and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide

• International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the crime of Apartheid

• Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination

• Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

• Convention and Protocol on the Status of Refugees

Appendix

The Actors

Reforms demand leadership, cohesion and broad participation. Thousands of men and women will be involved in State institutions, in the civil society and in the private sector all over the country. The Council for Legal and Judicial Reform was established by Royal Decree to guide the reform of the Legal and Judicial Sector. It is supported by a Permanent Coordination Body representing sector stakeholders and a Project Management Unit facilitating the implementation.

Council for Legal and Judicial Reform

Permanent Coordinating Body

Project Management Unit