Cambodia has only recently emerged from an era in which opportunities to acquire a formal legal education were practically nonexistent. As a result, Cambodia’s legal profession suffers from a lack of well-educated judges and lawyers. To help address this problem, PRAJ has made the improvement of legal education in Cambodia one of its primary goals.
Improving Teaching Methodology
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Consultant Delaine Swenson works with
two commercial law professors on an
interactive exercise that they later
presented to the group
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PRAJ’s initial efforts in this area were aimed at improving the quality of legal instruction at Cambodia’s foremost educational institution, the Royal University for Law and Economics (RULE). PRAJ worked with the RULE faculty to introduce modern teaching methodologies and materials that focused on enhancing the students’ analytical reasoning capabilities as well as developing practical lawyering skills. In February 2006, PRAJ conducted a survey of RULE’s human resources to determine their current teaching practices and needs. In May 2006, PRAJ delivered a workshop to selected RULE professors which passed on new teaching methods such as role playing, case studies, Socratic dialogue, brainstorming, moot court, mock trials and other simulated activities. In the 2006-2007 academic year, PRAJ-selected RULE professors applied these methodologies while teaching the following courses: Legal Reasoning, Legal Ethics, Land Law, Commercial Law, and Family Law.
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Professor Swenson provides information
to professors on interactive techniques
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In August 2007, PRAJ extended its teaching methodology program to include two private law faculties in Cambodia: Norton University and Cambodian Mekong University. PRAJ sponsored a workshop that taught interactive teaching methodologies to twenty law professors from these schools, and completed a follow-on lesson plan development project.
Most recently, PRAJ managed the final review of all completed lesson plans, marking the completion of the project.
Legal Ethics
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RULE Rector Yuok Ngoy awards a certificate
of completion given to RULE student
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With PRAJ support, in May 2007, RULE created and delivered a one-semester seminar course in Legal Ethics. This was the first time that any Cambodian law school had ever offered such a course. The course included discussion of the professional codes of ethics being considered for adoption by the Cambodian legal profession, and gave consideration to Cambodia's unique, Buddhism-based, ethical context. PRAJ and RULE plan to provide this class again in mid-2008.
Advocacy Skills
PRAJ helped RULE develop an advocacy skills program that taught the basics of both oral and written legal advocacy.
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The RULE professors visit the Tver Law
Faculty Clinic
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In October 2006, PRAJ sent three RULE professors on a one-week study trip to Russia to learn about legal clinics. PRAJ then worked with those RULE professors to develop a curriculum for a legal clinic at RULE. The clinic began operation in May 2007, and consisted of a classroom component and an internship component. The classroom component covered three legal subjects: Administrative Law, Land Law and Introduction to Legal Advocacy.
Students showed a great deal of interest in the advocacy class - overseventy students signed up for the eleven available slots.
In 2008, PRAJ and RULE plan to run this program again, increase the student number to twenty, and expand the topics to include ADR (alternative dispute resolution). |
Client Counseling Competition
In 2008, PRAJ also sponsored an oral skills competition for law students, entitled the "International Client Counseling Competition." To prepare students for the competition, PRAJ first sponsored a Client Counseling Skills Workshop for Cambodian law students and professors. PRAJ and the Cambodian Bar Association then sponsored the first-ever Cambodian Client Counseling Competition. Teams from five Cambodian law schools competed for the honors of national champion. The winning team was then invited to represent Cambodia at the April 2008 International Client Counseling Competition in Bangalore, India.
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Students counsel a client (played by an actress)
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U.S. Ambassador Joseph Mussomeli and Bar President Ky Tech with the winning team and coach
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Related links:
http://cambodia.usembassy.gov/counseling_2.html
http://cambodia.usembassy.gov/cccc_2008.html
http://cambodia.usembassy.gov/sp_022908b.html
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Mock Trial Competition
In the spring of 2007, PRAJ worked with Cambodian law faculties to host the country’s first national mock trial competition. PRAJ delivered a two-day training program to the schools in March and April. Then PRAJ assisted RULE in sponsoring the “First Annual Cambodian Mock Trial Competition” in June 2007. Teams from seven law schools competed in a two-day competition in front of mixed panels of local and international judges. A RULE team won the competition. An estimated 2,000 Cambodian law students watched the competition. PRAJ and RULE plan to sponsor the competition again in October 2008.
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A student cross-examines a key witness during the competition
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U.S. Ambassador Joseph Mussomeli and H.E. Im Sethy pose with the winning team
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Mock Courtroom Renovation
In 2007, PRAJ renovated an existing auditorium at RULE, making it a state-of-the-art mock court classroom. The renovation transformed an old, dilapidated structure into an exciting new venue for learning. The mock courtroom features modern audio and video capabilities and a seating capacity of 200.
Related link:
http://www.usaid.gov/kh/documents/Remarks_Ribbon_Cutting_RULE_092507.pdf
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BEFORE: The old auditorium was leaky, dirty and almost unusable. It had endured over 30 years of wear and tear
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AFTER: Students and legal practitioners can now work on advocacy skills in a courtroom-like setting
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