Ministries Seek to Bridge Gaps of Justice
By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original re****t from Phnom Penh
04 April 2008
The poor, women and minority indigenous groups suffer from informal or
non-existent systems of justice, which the government is now seeking
to redress.
The Ministry of Justice and the Council for Legal and Judicial Reform
are seeking ways to improve access to judicial proceedings for the
groups.
UNDP recently studied four provinces: Mondolkiri, Rata****kiri, Kampong
Chhnang and Kampong Speu, to see whether establi****ng new courts would
work.
"More than 90 percent of those interviewed in Mondolkiri and
Rata****kiri said that land disputes and domestic violence are the top
problems," said Raymond Leos, a top adviser at UNDP. "The people in
the two provinces have almost zero access to the courts, because they
are unaware of the procedures and fear corruption."
"Cases in the two provinces are similar to the provinces of Kampong
Speu and Kampong Chhnang," Leos said.
Officials hope to empower the poor and vulnerable, including women and
minorities.
The result of the study have been proposed for the government's plan
for development.
Meanwhile, the ministries of Interior and Justice, with help from
UNDP, are beginning to build district-level "justice centers" and
commune-level dispute resolution practices, the UNDP said.
"The mobile courts will benefit the poor, so they won't have to travel
from remote provinces, and will reduce costs when their disputes
cannot be solved at the district level," said Pov Sophy, secretary-
general of the Ministry of Justice.
Officials met Thursday to discuss indigenous law, examine divorce and
separation issues, and to discuss "the feasibility of a Justice of the
Peace system," Sophie Baranes, UNDP deputy country director for
Cambodia, said.
Nut Sa An, secretary of state for the Ministry of Interior, said the
government has established justice centers, or mobile courts, in four
districts of Kampong Chhnang and Kampong Speu province.
They will expand into Mondolkiri and Rata****kiri, as well as
Battambang and Siem Reap in 2008, he said.
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