By M. Williams and J. Salomé

On 24^th and 25^th March 2014 International Bridges to Justice (IBJ) partnered with the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) to host an inaugural Defense Lawyers Training Program.  IBJ invited all its lawyers, lawyer assistants and legal interns from its provincial offices. Keith Raynor, ECCC Senior Assistant Prosecutor, Nicholas Koumjian, International Prosecutor, and Song Chorvoin, National Deputy Co-Prosecutor, led an intense and interactive training, involving guest lawyers from Cambodia, France, Germany and Argentina. By inviting prosecutors to facilitate its training, IBJ endeavored to bring a different approach to the practice of its lawyers, with savvy advice from professionals that are usually the opponent party in the court room. “As a prosecutor, it is in my interest to have strong defense counsels”, emphasized N. Koumjian. “A justice system works when there are strong, trained defense counsels to challenge the evidence brought by the prosecutor. The primary goal of a legal system is to decide on those who are guilty or not guilty, it is not about winning a case. It is about justice and it is crucial that every accused receives a fair trial”.

Nicholas Koumjian and IBJ lawyers and lawyer assistants on the first day of the training

The training aimed primarily at discussing selected provisions of the Cambodian Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure Code in light of international jurisprudence, for the lawyers to gain a better understanding of the law and the ability to make an argument to the judge when there are doubts on interpretation. Indeed, the current criminal system in Cambodia relies upon the Criminal and Criminal Procedure codes, enacted respectively in 2009 and 2007. As the Khmer Rouge regime left the country with a destroyed legal system and very few justice professionals, re-creating a legal framework is still of utmost importance. The two codes put an end to several years of uncertainties where the judiciary relied both on old laws and UNTAC codes to decide on criminal matters[1]. Yet, because of its short existence, the new criminal law still leaves room for different interpretations by various justice stakeholders, thereby making the understanding of some provisions unclear and uneasy.

Before the training, IBJ defense lawyers submitted to the team of trainers a list of questions on specific provisions of the codes. They discussed these questions relying on jurisprudence from other countries, particularly France as its criminal law was the main source used to draft the Cambodian codes. The lawyers’ questions helped to raise important issues about the nature and scope of criminal offenses, the meanings and definitions of certain words, the circumstances in which defenses may be available and the sentencing options available to judges. The trainers and participants talked through many everyday examples with every one adding extra circumstances to the case scenarios to push the discussion further and exemplify to which extent the same legal provision can cover a variety of situations.

Mock Trial with Song Chorvoin as the victim (left), Keith Raynor as the judge (middle), and the defense team composed of IBJ lawyers and lawyer assistants (right)

On the second training day, IBJ lawyers and lawyer assistants demonstrated their advocacy skills in an 8-hour long mock trial. Staff members were divided in small teams in charge of defending an accused person charged with an offense of rape. The IBJ teams acted alternatively as defense advocates in a fictive pre-trial hearing involving the questioning of the alleged rape victim, her friend, an expert doctor, the judicial police officer and the accused. Not only did this practice enable IBJ lawyers and lawyer’s assistants to perform a practical court room exercise with the feedback of international prosecutors and defense lawyers, but it enabled them to learn from each other by observing their counterparts’ defense tactics and approaches.

(From left to right) Kan Senghouth (Lawyer Assistant DRC8), Kin Vibol (Phnom Penh Lawyer) and Ly Kosal (Lawyer DRC1) practicing during the mock hearing for pretrial detention

Overall the training with the ECCC team was a success.  All lawyers and lawyer’s assistants were engaged and fully participated.  They were ready and willing to immerse themselves wholeheartedly in understanding and learning Criminal Penal Code and the Code of Procedures, as well as the best practices used in having a successful trial with the best possible outcomes.

All participants to the training