Vannophea ran a Street Law training session on June 23, 2009, in Songha Village, Praey Sloeak Commune, Trean District, Takeo Province. Unlike the previous training sessions I have been to, the majority of the participants were men, with twenty-two men attending, and seven women.  This is because most of the women in that village are farmers and did not have time to come to this session.

The topic of the training session was the new code of criminal procedure.  Vannophea gave out copies of Section 3 of the Code, which states the rules for seizing a court of first instance.  This encompasses Articles 291 through 299, regarding rules for summoning witnesses, joinder of cases, setting hearing dates, and so on.  He went through each rule in detail, explaining what it meant and answering questions as they arose.

The audience was very engaged, asking many questions with complicated scenarios.  For example, one person set up a scenario in which Person A is attacked from behind by Person B, with no witnesses.  Can Person A sue, if he does not know Person B’s identity?   Vannophea gave very practical advice – start by thinking about any enemies that Person A may have, and move on from there. The victim could also ask neighbors about anyone who may have wanted to attack him.  Another question involved a situation in which two people, getting divorced, have a dispute over restitution money.  They had agreed that in case of divorce, she would not get restitution.  Vannophea told her that while she cannot get restitution, she can get part of the property from their time together.

The audience asked many more questions along these lines for about an hour before the session finished.  At the end, several audience members stood up and thanked Vannophea and IBJ for holding these Street Law sessions and teaching them about the law.  The Chief of the Commune also thanked IBJ and asked the audience members to spread the word about what they learned of their rights.

On May 27, 2009, IBJ Cambodia ran a Street Law training program in Village II, Rorkar Knong Commune, Daun Keo City, Takeo Province.  About twenty people attended the three-hour meeting.  Most were women, with about five men attending.

Vandeth and Vannophea asked questions of the attendees rather than lecturing.  One of the most striking moments occurred when Vandeth asked if anyone knew the difference between an NGO lawyer and a private lawyer.  When no one could answer, he informed them that NGO lawyers work free of charge, while private lawyers charge a fee for their services.  This method of conducting the meeting engaged and interested the audience, who participated freely.  They asked many questions, such as: what are the details of a lawyer’s work, at what age may the police arrest someone, how soon and under what conditions can an arrested person contact his or her family, etc.

Two days later, Vannophea held a Street Law training session in Or Svay Check Village, Rorkar Knong Commune, Daun Keo City, Takeo Province.  There were thirty participants, of which twenty were women and ten were men. The attendees were particularly interested in learning their rights in case they are ever arrested.  Many were unsure of what a lawyer does, and asked for clarification.  There were five overarching topics that the participants wanted to discuss.  The first was the rights of a child when that child is accused of killing someone.  For example, how long can they be held in jail?  The second involved details about the services that IBJ can provide.  Third, many asked questions about what to do in case of domestic violence.  The fourth topic was what a family can do when a family member is being held by the police.  Last, many wanted to know whether prison guards are authorized to punish the prisoners.

At both training sessions, attendees expressed satisfaction and pride at learning about their rights by requesting more training session in the future.